Recommendation Tuesday: Summer Rain Anthology

Recommendation Tuesday: Summer Rain Anthology

Sarah Moon
Books

Recommendation Tuesday started as a joke and is now an official thing. Basically, this is my way of making Tuesday a little more awesome. If you've got a book to recommend on this or any Tuesday, tweet me at @FullShelves and I'll help spread the word.

View all of the past recommendations over here. 

When author Ruthie Knox emailed me about a review copy of the Summer Rain anthology, I jumped on it when I saw the lineup of authors contributing to this collection of "novelettes." In addition to Ruthie, favorites like Molly O'Keefe and Mary Anne Rivers also contributed to the anthology which supports the important work of RAINN. 

Each of the nine novelettes is a complete story (unlike so many anthologies which are too often stuffed with teasers for other books *shakes fist*), thematically bound together by the idea of summer rain. The major are contemporary stories, but there are a couple of science fiction/fantasy entries and there's also a "new adult" entry from Audra North. 

Stream-It Saturday: You Can Count on Me (Movie)

Stream-It Saturday: You Can Count on Me (Movie)

Sarah Moon
Movies

In my continuing selfless service to the world (ahem), I'm always looking for the next awesome thing to stream. And, of course, I must share my finds with you fabulous folks. Hence, Stream-It Saturday. 

This week's choice is one of my favorite movies, You Can Count on Me, released in 2000, starring Mark Ruffalo (Terry) and Laura Linney (Sammy) as estranged siblings reunited due to Sammy being broke once again. 

I'm not usually a fan of sibling stories, since I don't have any brothers or sisters and I find those relationships rather weird (sorry!), but You Can Count on Me is beautiful in its messiness. 

I've Been Listening... Quick Thoughts on 7 Audiobooks

I've Been Listening... Quick Thoughts on 7 Audiobooks

Sarah Moon
Books

I've been enjoying the hell out of my Audible subscription (seriously, it's so great) and have been using it, and Multnomah Country Library's rad digital downloads system, to check out books that I've heard mixed things about seem polarizing in some way. It's a fun way to explore books I'd maybe otherwise pass up. 

It's hard for me to write lengthy reviews of audiobooks because I don't retain details quite as well when I'm listening. But I thought I'd share some brief reflections on some books I listened to recently. 

A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka: Uneven, But Relevant & Gripping

A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka: Uneven, But Relevant & Gripping

Sarah Moon
Books

I don't know if I suffered as severe of dystopian burnout as a lot of readers, largely because I'm self-aware enough to know that any faction-based world irritates the crap out of me, so I managed to avoid a lot of the popular dystopian-ish novels that hit the shelves in the wake of The Hunger Games' popularity.

(Seriously, what is with all the factions, dystopian authors? I just don't get it.)

I've picked up a few recently that I've enjoyed at varying degrees. I enthusiastically enjoyed Maureen McGowan's corporate conspiracy-meets-X-Men Dust Chronicles action-adventure series; I was profoundly let down by the promising water-contamination novel The Ward by Jordana Frankel (that book had so much promise!).

Catherine Linka's debut, A Girl Called Fearless, likely sits somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, yet it manages to shine a bit more brightly than many others because it's both thought-provoking and gripping.

Recommendation Tuesday: A Darker Shade of Sweden (Stories)

Recommendation Tuesday: A Darker Shade of Sweden (Stories)

Sandra
Books

Recommendation Tuesday started as a joke and is now an official thing. If you've got a book to recommend on this or any Tuesday, tweet me at @FullShelves and I'll help spread the word.

View all of the past recommendations over here. 

This week, Sandra is getting in on the fun and recommending a collection of short stories she really, really enjoyed, A Darker Shade of Sweden. 

Without any sense of shame, I admit to judging a book by its cover. I laser in on a beautifully bound book. But, a book can’t get by on looks alone. Intelligent writing is what truly endears it.

A Darker Shade of Sweden edited by John-Henri Holmberg has it all: beauty and brains. 

 

Recommendation Tuesday: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Recommendation Tuesday: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Sarah Moon
Books

Recommendation Tuesday started as a joke and is now an official thing. If you've got a book to recommend on this or any Tuesday, tweet me at @FullShelves and I'll help spread the word.

View all of the past recommendations over here. 

I want to reach back into my history with a grade-school pink eraser, scrubbing away my decisions like mistakes on a math test. Too bad I drew my mistakes in ink.

This week I'm happy to recommend a debut contemporary YA novel, Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. If you're looking for a a summer-themed read that offers a bit more than you're expected, this is a great choice.

There are oodles of summer road trip stories and I've gotten pretty particular about them, as much as I enjoy road trip narratives as concept. Open Road Summer is a bit different, however. Instead of a quest sort of story, the narrator, Reagan, is tagging along with her best friend, Dee, on a very structured sort of road trip--Dee's first major tour as emerging country artist Lilah Montgomery. 

Reagan is not only grabbing the opportunity to spend time with her close friend who is rocketing to stardom, but to run away from a bad breakup and make changes in her life: No more partying, drinking or boys that are bad for her. She's a bit surly, and definitely not very forgiving of other people--I found Reagan infinitely relatable. 

Inspiring & Hopeful - Finding Me: A Life Reclaimed by Michelle Knight

Inspiring & Hopeful - Finding Me: A Life Reclaimed by Michelle Knight

Sandra
Books
That day I disappeared in 2002, not many people even seemed to notice. I was twenty-one, a young mom who stopped a a Family Dollar store one afternoon to ask for directions. For the next eleven years I was locked away in hell. That’s the part of my story you may already know. There’s a whole lot more that you don’t.

— Michelle Knight, Finding Me

A Life Reclaimed - these three simple words give voice to the heart and soul of Michelle Knight’s memoir, Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed, written with Michelle Burford. Less than half the book speaks of the horror that she, Amanda Barry and Gina DeJesus faced each day while held in captivity by Ariel Castro, who Knight refers to as "the dude." 

In concise and clear words that never softens the reality of her experience nor overly dwells on it, she communicates the fear and the pain she knew as her constant companion during her years chained and held captive at the whim of the dude. She held tight to her memories of better times when she cradled her beloved son close, laughing and playing games with him.

Stream-It Saturday: The Fall (TV)

Stream-It Saturday: The Fall (TV)

Sarah Moon
Television

In my continuing selfless service to the world (ahem), I'm always looking for the next awesome thing to stream. And, of course, I must share my finds with you fabulous folks. Hence, Stream-It Saturday. 

This week, I'd like to introduce you to a fantastic thriller which originally aired on BBC and was a BBC-Northern Ireland production, The Fall. Starring the always-fascinating Gillian Anderson, with a fabulously-understated performance in a supporting role from Archie Panjabi, of The Good Wife fame, this is a great one for fans of stellar U.K. crime dramas like Luther. 

Recommendation Tuesday: More Like Her by Liza Palmer

Recommendation Tuesday: More Like Her by Liza Palmer

Sarah Moon
Books

There is more good than bad. Life and love win if you let them. If you believe in them.

Y'all know I've gushed quite a bit about Liza Palmer's books, especially last year's marvelous Nowhere But Home. As a result, I was surprised that I haven't written about any of her other novels beyond a vague, "Yo, this is awesome!"

I actually have a hard time picking a favorite of Liza's novels because I like them each for different reasons. More Like Her was actually the last Liza Palmer book I read, despite that I immediately bought her entire backlist after reading Nowhere But Home, and it sicks in my mind because it has one of my favorite final chapters (though, Liza pretty much kicks ass when it comes to last chapters).

That plus the fantastically well-done friendships and stickiness of work relationships makes More Like Her a can't miss novel and tied with Nowhere But Home for my favorite.

Recommendation Roundup: May 2014

Recommendation Roundup: May 2014

Sarah Moon
Recommendation Roundup

Holla, people! 

Try not to be too stunned, but I think this is the first time ever I've managed to post our monthly roundup of recommendations on the actual first of the month. I know, right? Stunning!

I have to say, I read some pretty great YA this month, which was a real treat, since I've had a whole slew of not-finished YAs recently. Have you checked out the last book in Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone series yet? Woo boy, is that good. I listened to the audiobook because one of my favorite narrators does that series and it was loooooong, but so worth it. I also enjoyed Jenny Han's new book, Liz Fichera's seemingly under-the-radar sweet YA romance, Jennifer Echols new book and a couple of other goodies as well. 

Clock through for 14 recommendations we read this month!