| HOT Summer Reads with Random House's Ann Kingman & Michael Kindness! Hosted at RJ Julia Bookstore in Madison, CT July 1, 2014 |
Shelf Notes decided to head down to RJ Julia on a weeknight for this event. We both had fun things to discuss after, and wanted to share that with you. You'll find out chat below but before that, we've included some pictures from the event and a list of the books they recommended.
Here are the books that were discussed during the event (in order of appearance) :
(Click on any of the above books to be brought to their Amazon page!)
AmberBug: I loved meeting up with you for this event! I think we both came away from this with WAY too many books to add to our "to-read" pile! Which one of these caught your attention right away?
Arianna: I agree, it's always SO MUCH fun meeting up for our bookish adventures!! Especially at a place like RJ Julia. (We totally dig their paninis.) But, hmm, that's a good question, because I was fascinated by how I wanted to read ALL of the books after the talk, although going into it, I figured there would be a few I wouldn't be interested in. So I knew I wanted to read The Quick and The Painter (apparently I have a thing for "The ____" books!), but I wasn't so sure about Sous Chef or Astonish Me. But yeah, all of the books they mentioned are now on my to-read list, haha. What about you?
AmberBug: Yes, those paninis... so cheesy delicious. The books, must think about the books (not hard to do). The first one that caught my eyeClose Your Eyes, Hold Hands but I knew you had been reading it at the time. I'm almost finished with it now and I like it as much as you did. A bunch of these, surprisingly, I've already picked up and read (The Martian, Summer House with Swimming Pool and The People in the Trees). I have to say, I'm loving their taste in books. I'm currently diving into Amy Bloom's Lucky Me, which is another I know you liked. I agree, The Quick, looks really good and even though Ann Kingman told us that you don't need to be a fan of Ballet to get into Astonish Me, I just don't think it would be my thing.
Arianna: That's understandable. I'll just have to read it and then tell you how awesome it was! I'll wear you down until you are dying to read it, too. Then we'll hold a mini book club. I've totally got this all planned out. Hehe! -- Anyway, so glad you like both the Bohjalian and the Bloom, hurray! Two very different but very enjoyable reads, which the presenters corroborated. I can't wait to read the ones you've really enjoyed from their suggestions (I feel like you read like 50% of them already!). Delicious! also sounded intriguing because of its premise: letters between a young girl during WWII and James Beard, with clues that must be followed is how Michael described it. Sounds totally up our alley, right?!
AmberBug: Definitely! I actually bought that one on my Audible account, so it SHALL be listened to... just don't know exactly when. I was super intrigued by Sous Chef because the book included diagrams and drawings and lays out the inner workings of a restaurant which sounds fascinating. From what i could tell, that book would be one I'd like to physically read (buy or borrow from the library) because of all the fun extras inside. If you haven't checked out the podcast from Books on the Nightstand yet, you HAVE to... so much fun to listen to. They do so many book related topics and recommendations (NOT just Random House), although they work there... they do love ALL books, haha. Did you hear about this Summer Reading Bingo they're hosting? I love it! I wish I had known about it earlier, I feel like it might be too late to jump on the bandwagon!
Arianna: Ohhhh, YES! I really wanna play Summer Reading Bingo. We'll have to put a post up about it and share our progress! I could talk for ages about all the books I want to read from the presentation, but I'll limit myself to two more quick mentions. One, Casebook, because it was written by Steve Jobs' adopted sister, and described as "being for people who like Harriet the Spy"! The basic premise is that there is a boy who isn't allowed to watch the TV show "Survivor", even though it's all his classmates ever talk about, so he bugs his parents' room in order to learn what happens on the show...and in the process, learns that his parents are deeply unhappy. Simpson also wrote Anywhere But Here. And two, I'm surprisingly eager to read The Girls from Corona del Mar - described as a novel about friendship, as the cover indicates, but in an unexpected way. Ann promised that it's not "light and fluffy," and rings very true: a young girl idolizes her best friend, which certainly is something I could relate to. The two drift apart but are suddenly reunited as adults, and Maya is startled to see how she is now the more "together" one - "the perfect girl actually doesn't have a perfect life" kind of a realization. Sounds like something all of us self-doubting females must read! I know that you, too, could talk for ages & ages about books Amber! Any last remarks you wanted to make about the program or any of the books?
Amber: I think you covered the last one I was interested in, The Girls from Corona del Mar. I'm excited for all these books, but I just don't know how I'll fit them all in! Maybe some of our readers can pick up one or two and let us know what they think. ;) As usual, it was a pleasure and I can't wait for our next RJ Julia trip to see Edan Lepucki talk about her debut book "California"!
Arianna: I agree, it's always SO MUCH fun meeting up for our bookish adventures!! Especially at a place like RJ Julia. (We totally dig their paninis.) But, hmm, that's a good question, because I was fascinated by how I wanted to read ALL of the books after the talk, although going into it, I figured there would be a few I wouldn't be interested in. So I knew I wanted to read The Quick and The Painter (apparently I have a thing for "The ____" books!), but I wasn't so sure about Sous Chef or Astonish Me. But yeah, all of the books they mentioned are now on my to-read list, haha. What about you?
AmberBug: Yes, those paninis... so cheesy delicious. The books, must think about the books (not hard to do). The first one that caught my eyeClose Your Eyes, Hold Hands but I knew you had been reading it at the time. I'm almost finished with it now and I like it as much as you did. A bunch of these, surprisingly, I've already picked up and read (The Martian, Summer House with Swimming Pool and The People in the Trees). I have to say, I'm loving their taste in books. I'm currently diving into Amy Bloom's Lucky Me, which is another I know you liked. I agree, The Quick, looks really good and even though Ann Kingman told us that you don't need to be a fan of Ballet to get into Astonish Me, I just don't think it would be my thing.
Arianna: That's understandable. I'll just have to read it and then tell you how awesome it was! I'll wear you down until you are dying to read it, too. Then we'll hold a mini book club. I've totally got this all planned out. Hehe! -- Anyway, so glad you like both the Bohjalian and the Bloom, hurray! Two very different but very enjoyable reads, which the presenters corroborated. I can't wait to read the ones you've really enjoyed from their suggestions (I feel like you read like 50% of them already!). Delicious! also sounded intriguing because of its premise: letters between a young girl during WWII and James Beard, with clues that must be followed is how Michael described it. Sounds totally up our alley, right?!
AmberBug: Definitely! I actually bought that one on my Audible account, so it SHALL be listened to... just don't know exactly when. I was super intrigued by Sous Chef because the book included diagrams and drawings and lays out the inner workings of a restaurant which sounds fascinating. From what i could tell, that book would be one I'd like to physically read (buy or borrow from the library) because of all the fun extras inside. If you haven't checked out the podcast from Books on the Nightstand yet, you HAVE to... so much fun to listen to. They do so many book related topics and recommendations (NOT just Random House), although they work there... they do love ALL books, haha. Did you hear about this Summer Reading Bingo they're hosting? I love it! I wish I had known about it earlier, I feel like it might be too late to jump on the bandwagon!
Arianna: Ohhhh, YES! I really wanna play Summer Reading Bingo. We'll have to put a post up about it and share our progress! I could talk for ages about all the books I want to read from the presentation, but I'll limit myself to two more quick mentions. One, Casebook, because it was written by Steve Jobs' adopted sister, and described as "being for people who like Harriet the Spy"! The basic premise is that there is a boy who isn't allowed to watch the TV show "Survivor", even though it's all his classmates ever talk about, so he bugs his parents' room in order to learn what happens on the show...and in the process, learns that his parents are deeply unhappy. Simpson also wrote Anywhere But Here. And two, I'm surprisingly eager to read The Girls from Corona del Mar - described as a novel about friendship, as the cover indicates, but in an unexpected way. Ann promised that it's not "light and fluffy," and rings very true: a young girl idolizes her best friend, which certainly is something I could relate to. The two drift apart but are suddenly reunited as adults, and Maya is startled to see how she is now the more "together" one - "the perfect girl actually doesn't have a perfect life" kind of a realization. Sounds like something all of us self-doubting females must read! I know that you, too, could talk for ages & ages about books Amber! Any last remarks you wanted to make about the program or any of the books?
Amber: I think you covered the last one I was interested in, The Girls from Corona del Mar. I'm excited for all these books, but I just don't know how I'll fit them all in! Maybe some of our readers can pick up one or two and let us know what they think. ;) As usual, it was a pleasure and I can't wait for our next RJ Julia trip to see Edan Lepucki talk about her debut book "California"!
After the event, Amber checked out the Books on the Nightstand podcast right away and fell in love with it. If you want to spend a short half hour a week listening to some good book related stuff, this podcast is one to check out! I love the casual way Michael and Ann interact with one another and I know my reading tastes align so well with theirs... I can't wait to hear what recommendations they have next week!
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| GREAT logo...that's what MY nightstand looks like! |
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