The World in Half by Cristina Henriquez - Book Review

Oct 202010

The World in Half by Cristina Henriquez
Published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin

During her sophomore year of college, when her mother begins succumbing to early onset Alzheimers, Miraflores makes a discovery that changes the majority of what she has always believed about her life. Although Mira is half Panamanian, she was raised exclusively in the United States by her American mother and she has always been led to believe that her father was not interested in being a part of her or her mother’s lives. The letters that she finds give lie to everything she has been told. Now Mira must discover the truth about her life and her family for her own sanity, so she is heading to Panama to search for the father she never really knew.

This is a preview of The World in Half by Cristina Henriquez - Book Review. Read the full post (574 words, 2 images, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

Confessions of a Chicago Lawyer - Guest Post from David Ellis, author of Breach of Trust

Oct 192010

Author David Ellis

Somebody once asked me where I come up with my ideas for crimes and political scandals in my books. I told him I just open my eyes every day.

I’m kidding. Sort of. I’m a Chicago lawyer, and I work in the political arena, so I tend to see a lot of interesting things. As the lawyer for the Speaker of the Illinois House, I spent two years basically trying to prevent Governor Rod Blagojevich from doing all the goofy and corrupt things he wanted to do. Then I served as the House Prosecutor who tried and convicted him before the Illinois Senate during our historic impeachment trial.

This is a preview of Confessions of a Chicago Lawyer - Guest Post from David Ellis, author of Breach of Trust. Read the full post (475 words, 4 images, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

David Ellis Giveaway

Oct 192010

No, sadly I’m not actually giving away David Ellis. 5080947105 1dd9766cbb m picture

He’s cute though, right? Not to mention smart and funny, I absolutely love the guest post he sent me for today!

I am, however, giving away his most recent two books, which are actually the first two books in a new series. “The Hidden Man” is going to be released in paperback in January, and “Breach of Trust” will be released for the first time in hardcover February 3, 2011.

5080922455 98f4537df3 m picture 5080922479 547db4cbbd m picture

This is a preview of David Ellis Giveaway. Read the full post (149 words, 3 images, estimated 36 secs reading time)

Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea - Book Review

Oct 182010

Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea, illustrated by Christopher Cardinale
Published by Cinco Puntos Press

The small town of Rosario, Mexico is like so many other towns and cities across the world. Although most of the citizens are more or less good people, Rosario suffers from the hypocrisy and poor judgment that so often afflicts people living in close proximity to one another. Luckily - depending on your point of view - Rosario is also the home of Mr. Mendoza, the self-proclaimed Graffiti King of Mexico. Mr. Mendoza’s graffiti is not the normal, destructive kind that you might think, but instead he uses his paintbrush to attempt to goad the town into behaving more morally. When Mr. Mendoza finds the unnamed narrator, a young man, and his friend spying on a group of girls bathing in the river, he forces the boys to strip and run through the town, with messages about their perversity written on their bodies.

This is a preview of Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea - Book Review. Read the full post (413 words, 3 images, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

The Bookstore Celebrity Bookseller!

Oct 182010

Not only have my bookseller friends at The Bookstore in Glen Ellyn been incredibly supportive of my Chicago Author Month, they have also taken the idea and run with it in their own way. For one thing, they and I are co-hosting a Chicago Author Month on Thursday, October 28th (put it on your calendar and join us!), but more information about that next week.

This is a preview of The Bookstore Celebrity Bookseller!. Read the full post (208 words, 1 image, estimated 50 secs reading time)

Chicago Publishers: Spotlight on… Featherproof Books

Oct 162010

There are some really great publishers in Chicago which is, of course, why I am doing these spotlights. One of the most creative I have found during this feature is featherproof books. I mean, come on, the first sentence in their about statement is “featherproof books is an indie publisher dedicated to doing whatever we want.”

featherproof books was formed about five years ago by Zach Dodson and Jonathan Messinger while they worked on the launch of the TimeOut Chicago book section launch. Initially, featherproof books was all online mini-books which could be printed out and folded together. They do publish print books as well, and they treat each as an unique object of art. Zach tells me “We just didn’t see too many places publishing what we liked when we started, so we decided to make our own niche and fill it.”

This is a preview of Chicago Publishers: Spotlight on… Featherproof Books. Read the full post (200 words, 5 images, estimated 48 secs reading time)

A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka - Bookstore Review

Oct 152010

A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka
Published by Mariner Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

It seems like every time I turn around, my bookseller friend Margie is beating me to the punch by reading a book that I’m dying to read. It makes for a lot of “oh my gosh you haven’t read (insert fabulous book here) yet? You have GOT to read it!” Then I usually buy a copy, but it on my personal TBR pile, and fail to get to it.

This is a preview of A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka - Bookstore Review. Read the full post (323 words, 2 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

Divine Appointments by Charlene Baumbich - Book Review

Oct 142010

Divine Appointments by Charlene Baumbich
Published by WaterBrook Press, an imprint of Random House

This is a preview of Divine Appointments by Charlene Baumbich - Book Review. Read the full post (553 words, 3 images, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

Body Work by Sara Paretsky - Book Review

Oct 132010

Body Work by Sara Paretsky
Published by Putnam Books, an imprint of Penguin
Published in audio by Brilliance Audio

While finally taking a night off - and trying to make sure her young cousin is okay working at Club Gouge - V.I. Warshawski inadvertently witnesses the aftermath of a fatal shooting. It seems inevitable that the death of the young woman, Nadia, is tied to the provocative show put on by The Body Artist, which makes the troubled Iraq War vet Charles Vishneski a prime suspect. V.I.’s main concern initially is making sure that her cousin remains safe, but she becomes drawn deeper into this mystery when she is hired by Vishneski’s parents to help prove his innocence.

This is a preview of Body Work by Sara Paretsky - Book Review. Read the full post (331 words, 2 images, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)