The Palace of Illusions: Stories

The Palace of Illusions: Stories Kim Addonizio 4/5	Published September 2014 First Sentence "Annabelle puts her hand in the water and scoops out one of the goldfish she got at the county fair."
Publisher's Description: In her new collection, gifted poet and novelist Kim Addonizio uses her literary powers to bring to life a variety of settings, all connected through the suggestion that things in the known world are not what they seem. In “Beautiful Lady of the Snow,” young Annabelle turns to a host of family pets to combat the alienation she feels caught between her distracted mother and ailing grandfather; in “Night Owls,” a young college student’s crush on her acting partner is complicated by the bloodlust of being half-vampire; in “Cancer Poems,” a dying woman turns to a poetry workshop to make sense of her terminal diagnosis and final days; in “Intuition,” a young girl’s sexual forays bring her closer to her best friend’s father; and in the collection’s title story, a photographer looks back to his youth spent as a young illusionist under the big tent and his obsessive affair with the carnival owner’s wife. The stories in this collection have appeared in journals ranging from Narrative Magazine to The Fairy Tale Review, and include the much loved "Ever After," which was featured on NPR's "Selected Shorts." Distracted parents, first love, the twin forces of alienation and isolation: the characters in The Palace of Illusions all must contend with these challenges, trafficking in the fault lines between the real and the imaginary, often in a world not of their making.
Dear Reader, This was a very special book of stories which connected with me on many levels. The Palace of Illusions is the perfect title for this grouping, or maybe the Author picked the perfect group of stories for the title. Whichever is true, everything fit perfectly. I've read many short story collections that had me stopping halfway through or maybe picking up one story and leaving the rest for another time. I felt The Palace of Illusions had a larger story to tell once you put everything all together. I love THOSE kinds of short story books the best. Maybe because I'm not the "short-story" kind of gal and I love myself a great big honkin' novel... but whatever the case, I fell in love with over half these stories. I thought the Author started off very strong and stayed that way for the first half of the collection. I wonder if it feels that way to me because she grouped them so that the first few might have been more my "type". Anyways, I would say that my favorite stories were: Beautiful Lady of the Snow, Breath, Night Owls, The Other Woman and In the Time of the Byzantine Empire. I took some notes on a few of the front runners before I started to see the connection. Without giving much away, I'll give a rundown of a few of the stories. The first story, "Beautiful Lady of the Snow", is told in the eyes of an innocent, it tells of the corruption surrounding her that starts to envelop her. The story is tragic yet at the same time you start to really understand how easy innocence can rot and can start to crumble apart. I won't say anymore, but this might have been my favorite story of the collection. "Breath" is about a woman attending a yoga session, and this was something I can totally relate to. So, you know how the yoga/meditation instructor tells you to release your thoughts and give your mind a blank slate... yeah? Does this ever work for anyone? Not for me and apparently, not for the main character in this story. I loved that, I loved the relatability and comradeship that this gave me, I AM NOT ALONE! Pretty spectacular is all I'm saying. Lastly, "Night Owls" is a cool take on the inner thoughts of a love triangle, with the 'grass is always greener' moral to ponder over. Taking all of these stories together (the whole collection) you begin to see a pattern and theme emerge. I love it when that happens, the "OH, I got it!" moment. The narrators of many of these stories aren't great people, they've done things most people would look down upon (if spoken aloud). These 'sins' throughout the stories connect so that we get to see those inner thoughts and relate to the mishaps (maybe we've done something similar but wouldn't like to admit it). The beauty of it lies within the looking glass, we get a different perspective, which ultimately unveils the illusion that surrounds these 'sins' or 'wrong deeds'. People are not perfect, you are not perfect, I'm not perfect... we all make mistakes. The title of this collection The Palace of Illusions is exactly that, a giant palace that houses many types of people (not perfect, very flawed and normal) and each person is very sweet on the outside (what you see) but then the layers pull away as the story unravels and you see the real stuff behind the illusion, the sour stuff within EVERYONE. You may call this bleak, sad, troublesome, etc... but I see it as real, she is giving us the real human condition served on a giant platter of candy. Enjoy! Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Left: Hardcover - Right: E-Book (Not available for pre-order yet)

Evil Librarian

Evil Librarian Michelle Knudsen 4/5	Expected Publication: Sept. 9th 2014 First Sentence "Italian class."
Publisher's Description: He’s young. He’s hot. He’s also evil. He’s . . . the librarian. When Cynthia Rothschild’s best friend, Annie, falls head over heels for the new high-school librarian, Cyn can totally see why. He’s really young and super cute and thinks Annie would make an excellent library monitor. But after meeting Mr. Gabriel, Cyn realizes something isn’t quite right. Maybe it’s the creepy look in the librarian’s eyes, or the weird feeling Cyn gets whenever she’s around him. Before long Cyn realizes that Mr. Gabriel is, in fact . . . a demon. Now, in addition to saving the school musical from technical disaster and trying not to make a fool of herself with her own hopeless crush, Cyn has to save her best friend from the clutches of the evil librarian, who also seems to be slowly sucking the life force out of the entire student body! From best-selling author Michelle Knudsen, here is the perfect novel for teens who like their horror served up with a bit of romance, plenty of humor, and some pretty hot guys (of both the good and evil variety).
Dear Reader, We were given this book as an advance reading copy from Candlewick Press before interviewing the Author, Michelle Knudsen at Book Expo America The wonderful Armchair BEA set me up with the publisher and I'm so grateful they did because we loved it. For those of you who don't know, Armchair BEA is a wonderful program run by volunteers who post/publish all book and blogging related posts coinciding at the same time as Book Expo America. So, if you can't attend the event, you can participate with Armchair at home in YOUR armchair. Wonderful, isn't it? Thanks to Armchair BEA, I got to meet Michelle Knudsen to talk about her book "Evil Librarian". You can find that interview here (on Armchair BEA's website). After I read the first chapter, the first thing that popped into my head was that Michelle Knudsen HAS to be a Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan. Many things in the book referenced this and the style of it (comical, goofy but also a little dark) made me jump with excitement. Not that this can replace Buffy in any way, it has different merits and I think will stand on it's own quite well. The Author makes mention that they wanted it to be a "Buffy meets Glee" feeling and I think she has managed to do that very well. The musical she selected for the book was perfect, it had a nice mirroring of the characters. Cyn's best friend falling in love with the demon, while Cyn gushes all over Ryan who plays the "demon barber" in the play. I loved the quirkiness of the book. It also reads like a rollercoaster, at one moment you think everything has peaked and will end soon, but you come down just to go back up that giant hill again. I loved that, you didn't know what to expect next. I can't wait to see they hype build around this book, with all the PR they pushed at BookExpo (devil horns were handed out, pure genius!), this book will no doubt be at the front of everyones radars. Hopefully, we can get Joss Whedon to pick up the book and possibly turn it into a musical, that would be amazing. So anyone with those connections, help make this happen! Michelle set up the book nicely to create a trilogy, but when asked about it... she states that it wasn't planned that way. We do, however, get a hint as to what the next book will include... I think I'll force you to read the interview for that insider info!! Enjoy this book, you can't go wrong reading a fun book like this and I'll go on the record for saying anyone can read this, you'll enjoy the quirks at any age! Happy Reading, AmberBug

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The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone Adele Griffin 3/5	Expected Publication: August 12th 2014 First Sentence "Headline from Daily News, Monday July 29th: ADDISON STONE, WELL-KNOWN ARTIST, DIES AT 18."
Publisher's Description: Two-time National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin offers an ingenious fictional take on the "oral history" celebrity bio that defined a bestselling genre: Edie, American Girl by Jean Stein and George Plimpton. In presenting herself as interviewer and curator of memories, Adele paints the portrait of a tragic young celebrity who allegedly committed suicide—presented in a series of brief first-person recollections—that ultimately results in the solving of a murder. Adele's words: "From the moment she burst into the downtown art scene, seventeen-year-old Addison Stone was someone to watch. Her trademark subversive street art and her violent drowning left her fans and critics craving to know more about this brilliant wild-child who shone so bright and was gone too soon. By means of more than one hundred interviews with those who knew her best—including close friends, family, teachers, mentors, art dealers, boyfriends, and critics—I have retraced the tumultuous path of Addison's life, with research that sheds new evidence on what really happened the night of July 28, 2013. With photo inserts and previously unpublished supplemental material."
Dear Reader, Are you an art freak? This might be the perfect oddball book for you then. Addison Stone is a very young, complicated, mentally unstable genius of an Artist. Did I forget to add dead? Yeah, she's also very dead. Adele Griffin, the Author, starts off introducing herself and why she started this "project" of a book. Right off the bat we're told that Addison is dead and this will be a recollection of her life through the interviews from friends and family (okay, maybe not all of them can be considered friends, hehe). Each chapter is filled with different viewpoints as well as chock full of photography and art. Since I received this edition from the Author at BookExpo this year, the copy isn't in color. I can't wait to see how it turns out though, I kept trying to see what some of the pictures and art would look like in the final book. This really is an oddball sort of book, unlike anything I've ever read. I know multimedia books are becoming all the rage these days (Night Film, J.J. Abram's S, and even one of the original House of Leaves, just to name a few). I have to admit, I fall for those crazy ideas behind them and I love anything even slightly innovative. Adele Griffin lightly kissed this genre with The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, she made sure it wasn't too gimmicky and it stuck with a more artsy feel. I enjoyed being shown Addison's life, how she went through the typical torture most fantastic artists have to endure. It was engaging to read into the life of someone so successfully brilliant, by the end of it... I wanted to be her friend. The Author did a really good job breathing life into Addison Stone and I can tell MANY girls will relate to her. I suppose I should have rated this a bit higher for all the praise I've given it but I have to admit, nothing in it wow'd me. This is a VERY solid book, with very interesting innovation. I'll be able to recommend it to many friends and I'll even suggest you check it out. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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BEA's Adult Author Breakfast on Thursday: Anjelica Huston

Our Thursday at BEA 2014 started off spectacularly with a breakfast that featured Anjelica Huston, Tavis Smiley, and Lisa Scottoline, and was hosted by the amazing Neil Patrick Harris!  When we signed up for this breakfast, we knew of course that we would NOT be disappointed, and had been looking forward to it with anticipation for months.  

When the day finally arrived, we got to the Javits Center Special Events Hall to see a line that felt endless!  We eventually made it into the auditorium and found seats in the table area, which meant we were given a small stack of books (which included Anjelica Huston's first autobiography, Tavis Smiley's history of Martin Luther King, Jr's final year, and an excerpt from NPH's upcoming choose-your-own-adventure style autobiography).  Amber got a great shot of the newest additions to our collection:

We settled in with coffee, water, orange juice, and a muffin basket, and soon NPH was introduced.  He was instantly hilarious, with just the right mix of humility and hilarity (everyone knows that smile that he pulls off perfectly!).  He spoke briefly about his own upcoming book, and then introduced the speakers and turned the floor over to them. 

Anjelica Huston spoke first, and you can instantly tell there's a reason she's so revered in the industry.  She began with a poem by Maya Angelou, "A Brave & Startling Truth", to honor the poet's recent passing.  The entire hall full of people was properly respectful.  Then, Ms. Huston began her talk by mentioning how she only began publishing last fall.  (That was the autobiography which the breakfast attendees had received.)  Her mother was a dancer who once made the cover of Life magazine, a cover that was likened to the Mona Lisa - a photographer came to take images of a prima ballerina in the same corps as Anjelica's mother, but ended up enthralled by and snapping shots of Enrica Soma instead: 

Ms. Huston recalls reading Colette at age 13; her mother gave her the book. She commented on how she learned the art of live theater as much from her mother as from her more famous father.  She talked about how she used to make homes for the fairies in the hollows of chestnut trees with her doll furniture, which thoroughly charmed us.  She loved the Addams Family comics, and ironically would "practice" being Morticia in front of the mirror.  Her first performance was with the older daughter of a family friend, and took place in front of Peter O'Toole!  They put on part of Macbeth, although Anjelica remembers that she got stage fright and ran behind a curtain.  She had been bitten by the acting bug, though, and her life would never be the same.  She began to audition, although she felt very unlucky at first.  When she was dating Jack Nicholson in the 70's ("he was the love of my life...no, A love of my life" she quipped), she wanted to be getting the sorts of roles he was - for things like Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and The Shining.  A car accident which luckily caused no lasting damage, however, helped her change her attitude, and to "gain a little humility," she said.  Because "someone telling me what I can't do brings out my most childish defiance!"  

Luckily, Anjelica Huston went on to take on spectacular roles, and her performance in Prizzi's Honor made the Hustons the first family in history to have three generations of Oscar-winners.  So while it was a rough start, Ms. Huston really went on to shine, as we all know well!

At this point in her life, though, Ms. Huston wants only the simple things, such as being around the people and animals she loves, sitting by the sea, drinking a glass of wine, enjoying a pretty garden, and the like.  "I'm not so interested anymore in the big waves, they're hard on my heart...I want to live a harmonious life," she concluded.  

Finish reading about the breakfast on our second post here!

BEA's Adult Author Breakfast: Tavis Smiley & Lisa Scottoline

Our Thursday at BEA 2014 started off spectacularly with a breakfast that featured Anjelica Huston, Tavis Smiley, and Lisa Scottoline, and was hosted by the amazing Neil Patrick Harris!  When we signed up for this breakfast, we knew of course that we would NOT be disappointed, and had been looking forward to it with anticipation for months.  

Anjelica Huston spoke first, and you can read all about that speech on our previous post, here. 

Tavis Smiley was the second speaker selected for the breakfast and boy, did he have a LOT to say (typical talk show radio host). His talk was really interesting and he definitely flowed over his time. He started off saying that he was so grateful to be selected by the "secret committee" who decides these things. [Chuckle from Audience] He followed this up with a lovely memorial story of Maya Angelou, mentioning how this moment was a little surreal to him (which is explained a bit in the story). He states, "You are who you are, because somebody loves you. I am who I am because somebody loved me, and Maya Angelou loved me." Apparently, Maya Angelou brought him to Africa when he was a small child (she was the first to take him there). "It was through reading that I was able to realize there was a world beyond my experience." Reading allowed him to see the world beyond the small home with the cornfield in Indiana. The life in Indiana consisted of a trailer of 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom to be split among 13 people. He also tells us that Maya Angelou was one of the few Americans who spoke at the "home going" (like a wake/funeral) of both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. THAT is how important she was/is. She was even haunted by MLK's death: she was born April 4th 1928, and MLK died on the same date in 1968.

After honoring Maya Angelou, Smiley made a serious joke about Martin Luther King speeches, "I know you think MLK, like most Americans, made only one speech with only one line in it" [Chuckle from Audience] "But he made quite a few." Tavis Smiley considers himself a self-taught expert on MLK, who he has been studying since he was 12 years old. He spent all that time studying him but this is the first time he has written it down, in his book Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year. The reason it took him so long to write anything about the great humanitarian? "King has been sanitized, sterilized and even lionized...to the point where we don't even know who he is anymore."  

He spoke from the heart, and you could tell that he wanted to speak his piece (even if he went overly political with his speech). He states, "This gap between the rich and the rest of us needs to stop. The new poor are the prior middle class." He said that MLK tried to tell us this and warn us that this was going to happen. I'm very interested to see where he goes with all of this in the book. 

The third Author featured, Lisa Scottoline, is the author of 22 novels. Her introduction was an nod to her prolific-ness: "Lisa, we are all trying to catch up with you." She came on stage and took a moment to flip her hair and give it more body (which had everyone laughing). She stated... 

...Actually, she was so funny and intriguing that neither of us stopped to take enough notes. We'll give you the little we have and can only say that it doesn't do her justice!!

One of the facts she gave us from her life that struck both of us, was that her mother was 1 of 19 kids. She had a great story to go with that, one that ended with them running into a relative they didn't recognize and saying, "That's your Aunt Lena, we haven't spoken to her in 12 years." Why hadn't they spoken to her? Because she brought a gun to a wedding! She even poked a little fun by saying the great love of her life is ALSO Jack Nicholson. Here's a couple other great quotes from her speech:

• "What's the difference between a mother and a Rottweiler? The Rottweiler eventually lets go!"
• "Books become a very intimate thing. You feel their soul and you connect that way. We are all of us engaged in promoting the books, selling the books, writing the books.... How lucky are we?" She also says something along these lines (not an exact quote), "There are many ways to live a life and make a living, but we are so lucky."
• "I'm privileged to have a life in books - I'm LUCKY to have a life in books."
• "Truth matters because it connects one to the other." If she writes something really true, you will know it and you will start to find the things in your life that are that. Book clubs are proof of that.
• "When you talk about your favorite book, you're talking about yourself!"

The entire breakfast was really great and I think we'll want to go again next year. It was nice to sit, relax, and hear some inspiring things about BOOKS! You can't really go wrong with that, can you?

-Amber & Arianna

Acquired Books from BEA 2014 (Survey for Potential Giveaways)

Hi Everyone! Amber & Arianna back with all the inside BEA info!

We wanted to give you the chance to see all the great books we picked up this year at Book Expo America 2014. Below is a slideshow of all the books (there might be a couple missing). The list is Alphabetical and doesn't reflect favorites.

We'd love to hear from everyone, please take the survey below the slideshow and let us know which books YOU can't wait to read (we might take those answers and turn them into future giveaways on the site).

IF you DON'T see the slideshow below, please try a different browser without ad blocking (the slideshow doesn't show up with any adblocking software). 

For those of you who can't view the above slideshow, here is the list of books:

• 10:04: A Novel by Ben Lerner - Exp Pub: Sept 2nd
• The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Beside by Ben Tripp - Exp Pub: Oct. 14th
• Alistair Grimm's Odditorium by Gregory Funaro - Exp. Pub: Jan 6th
• The Amado Women by Des Zamorano - Exp Pub: July 1st
• The American Plate: A History of the United States in 100 Bites by Libby O'Connell -Exp Pub: Nov 1st
• The Angel of Losses: A Novel - Exp Pub: July 29th
• At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well by Amy Chaplin - Exp Pub: Oct 21st
• The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak - Exp Pub: Sept. 30th
• The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day - Exp Pub: July 8th
• Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes - Exp Pub: Sept. 6th
• The Button Man: A Hugo Marston Novel by Mark Pryor - Exp Pub: Sept. 2nd
• Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Final Year by Tavis Smiley - Exp Pub: Sept. 9th
• Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen - Exp Pub: Sept 9th
• Fives and Twenty-Fives by Michael Pitre - Exp Pub: Aug 26th
• The Furies: A Novel by Natalie Haynes - Exp Pub: Aug 26th
• Garlic, an Edible Biography: The History, Politics, and Mythology behind the World's Most Pungent Food by Robin Cherry - Exp Pub: Nov 11th
• Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff - Pub: May 27th
• Her by Harriet Lane - Exp Pub: June 12th
• Hold the Dark: A Novel by William Giraldi - Exp Pub: Sept 8th
• The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street: A Novel by Susan Jane Gilman - Exp Pub: June 10th
• The Ice Creamery Cookbook: Modern Frozen Treats & Sweet Embellishments by Shelly Kaldunski - Exp Pub: July 1st
• Jackaby by William Ritter - Exp Pub: Sept. 16th
• Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett - Exp Pub: Oct 12th

King Dork Approximately by Frank Portman - Exp Pub: Dec. 9th

Last Winter We Parted by Fuminori Nakamura - Exp Pub: Oct 21st

Let's Do Brunch: Sweet & Savory Dishes to Share with Friends by Brigit Binns - Exp Pub: Sept. 3rd

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens - Exp Pub: Oct 14th

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf - Exp Pub: June 24th

Love Me Back: A Novel by Merritt Tierce - Exp Pub: Sept 16th

The Magician's Lie: A Novel by Greer Macallister - Exp Pub: Jan 13th

Man's Best Hero: True Stories of Great American Dogs by Ace Collins - Exp Pub: June 17th

Meatless All Day: Recipes for Inspired Vegetarian Meals by Dina Cheney - Exp Pub: March 4th

Mind Without a Home: A Memoir of Schizophrenia by Kristina Morgan - Exp Pub: Sept 3rd

Morte by Robert Repino - Exp Pub: Jan 20th

Murder at the Brightwell: A Mystery by Ashley Weaver - Exp Pub: Oct 14th

My Real Children by Jo Walton - Pub: May 20th

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond - Exp Pub: Sept 30th

The Palace of Illusions: Stories by Kim Addonizio - Exp Pub: Sept 9th

Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine by James L. Sutter - Exp Pub: April 30th

Poisoned: Chicago 1907, a Corrupt System, an Accused Killer, and the Crusade to Save Him by Steve Shukis - Exp Pub: Sept 17th

Rock Angel by Jeanne Bogino - Exp Pub: Sept 16th

Skink - No Surrender by Carl Hiassen - Exp Pub: Sept 23rd

Smart Machines: IBM's Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly III, Steve Hamm - Pub: Oct 15th, 2013

Station Eleven: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel - Exp Pub: Sept 9th

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis - Exp Pub: Oct 14th

A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York by Anjelica Huston - Exp Pub: Nov 19th

Straight White Male by John Niven - Exp Pub: Oct 7th

The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones - Exp Pub: July 4th

Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel by Herman Koch - Exp Pub: June 3rd

Sweetness #9 by Stephan Eirik Clark - Exp Pub: Aug 19th

A Tale of Light and Shadow by Jacob Gowans - Exp Pub Sept 9th 

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone: A Novel by Adele Griffin - Exp Pub: Aug 12th

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin - Exp Pub: Nov 4th 

We Love Each Other (Yonezu Board Book) - Pub: Nov 1st, 2013

Wild Connection: What Animal Courtship and Mating Tell Us about Human Relationships by Jennifer L. Verdolin - Exp Pub: June 3rd

Your Perfect Life: A Novel by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke - Exp Pub: June 10th

Zooburbia: Meditations on the Wild Animals Among Us by Tai Moses - Exp Pub: May 20th

Interview with Michelle Knudsen on Armchair BEA

Special LIVE from BEA
Interview with Michelle Knudsen
who wrote "Evil Librarian"

Live from BEA - Recap of Thursday on Armchair

Check out our 2nd LIVE from BEA post!