Happy New Year!

Book Beginning: The Lightening Round

HAPPY BOOK BEGINNING NEW YEAR!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

"It'll never fit. . . " Hanna More's mind raced as she viewed the enormous challenge confronting her.

-- The Lighening Round by Bruce Stewart. This San Francisco-set Rom Com with a fitness challenge theme seemed like the perfect book to start off the New Year!

EDITOR'S DESCRIPTION:

In THE LIGHTENING ROUND, Hannah More, a sassy single mom with weight issues, reluctantly enters Ultimate Level, a San Francisco gym which groups its members based on their weight and fitness levels. Much to her shock, Hannah actually finds that this crazy "fitness experience" works well for her. That is, until she falls for another gym member who is on a different level. Ultimate Level's rigidly enforced policies only allow its members to communicate with members on different levels in person for 15 minutes every two weeks both inside and outside of the gym. Hannah will have to come up with some rather ingenious and comic schemes in order to land the romance of her dreams.

2016 CHALLEGES: 2X16 & Mt. TBR

2X16: A PERSONAL TBR CHALLENGE

Like I've done the past two years, I'm combining the Mt. TBR Challenge with my own, idiosyncratic TBR challenge. I am going to read 32 books for this part of the challenge, one from each of the separate shelves on my TBR bookcases – 25 fiction books, and 7 non-fiction books. This year, I picked the book from each shelf that I've most been meaning to read for one reason or another.

I ended up with a mix of books, but not as crazy as when I picked the 14th book or the 15th book on each shelf like I did the last two years. There are a few prize winners on the list, a couple of classics, some pop fiction, and more mysteries than prior years,

These are the books in alphabetical order by author, but I am going to read them as the mood strikes.

THE 2X16 LIST

The King's English: A Guide to Modern Usage by Kingsley Amis FINISHED 

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood FINISHED (Booker Prize winner)

Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli FINISHED 

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess FINISHED (chunkster)

Mr. White's  Confession by Robert Clark FINISHED (Edgar Award winner)

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion FINISHED

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen FINISHED

The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan FINISHED

Longshot by Dick Francis FINISHED 

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald FINISHED 

Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George FINISHED 

The Big Seven by Jim Harrison FINISHED

Shaken and Stirred by William Hamilton FINISHED 

Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley FINISHED 

Devices and Desires by P.D. James FINISHED

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson FINISHED 

The British Museum  is Falling Down by David Lodge FINISHED 

The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy FINISHED 

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan FINISHED 

The Bell by Iris Murdoch FINISHED 

Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols FINISHED 

Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters FINISHED (Edgar Award winner)

Afternoon Men by Anthony Powell FINISHED

Morte d'Urban by J.F. Powers FINISHED (National Book Award winner)

The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell FINISHED 

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson FINISHED

The Light and the Dark by C.P. Snow FINISHED 

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz FINISHED

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor FINISHED

Bech is Back by John Updike FINISHED 

One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant FINISHED 

Orlando by Virginia Woolf FINISHED

THE MT. TBR LIST

Bev at My Reader's Block hosts the Mt. TBR Challenge and I am signing up for the Mt. Ararat Level to read a total of 48 books off my TBR shelves.  So in addition to those listed above, I need to knock off another 16.  I don't know which ones they will be, but I have a couple thousand to choose from! I have many mountains to climb.

OTHER TBR BOOKS FINISHED

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

More Baths Less Talking: Notes from the Reading Life of a Celebrated Author Locked in Battle with Football, Family, and Time Itself by Nick Hornby

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell

A Little Dinner Before the Play by Agnes Jekyll

The Fur Person by May Sarton

Kate Vaiden by Reynolds Price

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark

Fallen Into the Pit by Ellis Peters

The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (Vol I. East and West) by W. Somerset Maugham

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Wild Horses by Dick Francis

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

Family Album by Penelope Lively

Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography by William F. Buckley Jr.

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk

The River Swimmer: Novellas by Jim Harrison

A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read

The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina

Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara (National Book Award winner)

Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan (Edgar Award winner)

The Known World by Edward P. Jones (Pulitzer Prize winner)

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

A Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone

Laughter On The Stairs by Beverley Nichols

Sunlight On The Lawn by Beverley Nichols

Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli

After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli

Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli

Be Cool by Elmore Leonard

UPDATE

As of mid-December, I've finished all of the 32 on my 2X16 list. And I've already read 33 other books of my TBR shelves, for a total of 55 books for the Mt. TBR challenge. So I surpassed my goal.

Teaser Tuesday: On Thin Icing

I picked up the flashlight and shone it in the direction of the gunshots. It created a spotlight on the trunk of an evergreen tree, but I couldn't see anything.

On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander.  This is the third book in Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery series featuring Jules Capshaw, an Ashland, Oregon caterer and amateur sleuth.

This time around, Jules' gig catering a winter business retreat for the directors of the Ashland Shakespeare Festival gets of to a bad start when she finds a dead bartender in the freezer.

There is a lot to love about this terrific new cozy series with its foody theme!

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday: Shylock Is My Name

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, and I am very excited to read it:



Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson. I loved Jacobson's Booker winner, The Finkler Question, so I am very excited to read his "re-imagining" of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, with Shylock case as an art dealer in contemporary England.

This is an ARC from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Shylock is My Name comes out on February 9.

Merry Christmas!

Book Beginning: On Thin Icing

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

They say that you can't go home again. I'm not sure that's true. I'd been home for almost six months, and found myself settling back into a comfortable and familiar pace.

On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander.  OK, that was way more than my usual one sentence. I don't like cliche beginnings and that first sentence is definitely a cliche, but I like the book, and wanted to give it more of a chance, so gave a longer than usual snippet.

On Thin Icing is the third Bakeshop Mystery. Alexander's fresh and fun series features Jules Capshaw, a baker in Ashland, Oregon, who finds herself solving murder mysteries along with her cooking.

In this book, Jules gets a hired to cater a winter business retreat for the directors of the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. Things start to go wrong fast when she finds a dead bartender in the freezer.

This is the perfect cozy mystery to curl up with on a wintry Christmas weekend!

2016 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE: WRAP UP POSTS

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017

THIS IS THE PAGE FOR WRAP UP POSTS.

TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

If you have finished the challenge at whatever level you signed up for, please do a wrap up post and enter a link to your post here. Please link to your wrap up post, NOT the main page of your blog.

If you do not have a blog, please leave a wrap up post in a comment on this page. Tell us the books you read and, if you reviewed them in comments on the review page, tell us that so we can go find your reviews.

Thank you for re-posting your link if I deleted it! Apologies for my goof up!

LINK YOUR WRAP UP POST HERE:

1 Day to Christmas!

2016 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE: REVIEW PAGE

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS.

IF YOU HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO HERE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

When you review a book for the 2016 European Reading Challenge, please add it to this list using the linky widget below.  Please link to your review post, NOT the main page of your blog.

If you don't have a blog or other place where you post reviews, so don't have a way to link your review below, just post your review in a comment on this page.

NOTE: There is overlap in January 2016 between the last month of the 2015 challenge and the first month of the 2016 challenge. If you participated both years, only count books read in January in one of the years, not both.

Please put your name or the name of your blog, the name of the book you reviewed, and the country of the book or author. For example: Rose City Reader, Doctor Zhivago, Russia.

LIST YOUR REVIEW HERE:

2 Days to Christmas!

2016 European Reading Challenge Up Now!

The European Reading Challenge

January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

OR ON THE PICTURE ABOVE

The 2016 European Reading Challenge is up now.  This reading challenge lets participants tour Europe through books. And have a chance to win a prize. Please join us for the Grand Tour!

THE GIST: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

Click the button above or here for more details or to sign up.

Participants in the 2015 European Reading Challenge can post their reviews here and their wrap up posts here.

Teaser Tuesday: Numbers and Nerves

Inside the church at Nyamata, my eyes are drawn to the ceiling. . . . Ten thousand people were murdered here. 

-- from "Healing Rwanda" by Terry Tempest Williams, in  Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data, essays edited by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic, published by OSU Press.

We are barraged with statistics, data, models, and projections every day and the information is overwhelming. In Numbers and Nerves, journalists, literary critics, psychologists, naturalists, activists, and other essayists look at how we are numbed by all this numerical information and offer strategies for overcoming this insensitivity.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

3 Days to Christmas!

Mailbox Monday: On Thin Icing

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, and it looks like the perfect cozy for Christmas weekend!



On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander.  This is the latest in Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery series featuring baker sleuth Jules Capshaw.

This delightful series is set in Ashland, Oregon, home of the world renowned Shakespeare Festival. This installment finds Jules catering a winter retreat for the Festival directors, but things start to go wrong fast when she finds a dead body in the freezer.

4 Days to Christmas!

5 Days to Christmas!

Author Interview: Digene Farrar

Digene Farrar was in New York City to re-launch her modeling career when the first jet crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. As a registered nurse, her instincts and training led her to the scene to help, and she was there when the second jet hit. The horror she witnessed that day reactivated her own secret trauma of childhood sexual abuse.

Finally Facing her childhood abuse lead Digene to seek counseling and help. She now works as a public speaker, advocate for the prevention of sexual abuse, and supporter of survivors. Not My Secret to Keep is her memoir of self-discovery, healing, and transformation.

Digene recently answered questions for Rose City Reader.

How did you come to write Not My Secret to Keep?

“If there is a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it”.

-Toni Morrison

I spent years looking for a book like this. I longed to read someone’s story that was similar to mine. I needed to understand what I was going through. I was looking for validation for my feelings and experiences. During my search for a book, I came across Toni Morrison’s quote. It inspired me to set out to write the book that I believed would truly be helpful for survivors.

Your memoir is an intensely personal account of being abused as a child and facing that trauma again. Was it difficult to tell such an intimate story?

It was difficult to tell such an intimate story but knowing the validation it could provide for others made it easier. I’ve always struggled to make sense of my experiences and in telling my story, it’s help me put this struggle to rest, knowing that I’m helping others.

Who is your intended audience and what do you hope your readers will gain from your book?

I offer this memoir to survivors -- to validate and encourage them. I offer it to their loved ones -- to help them be sensitive and supportive of the survivor. And I offer it to therapist -- to foster learning and understanding of the intricacies of the healing process.

What did you learn from writing your book – either about the subject of the book or the writing process – that most surprised you?

What I learned most from the process of writing my book is that I could let the story go and take no ownership in what happened to me, solely placing the responsibility on the abusers. The ultimate transition/gift for a survivor!

Can you recommend any other books about healing after child sexual abuse?

In the second part of my book I provide a list of recommended books that I found helpful during my healing process.

You were one of the cast in the play Telling. Explain a little about that project and what it was like to be involved in it.

Being cast in the play Telling was a life changing experience on so many levels. The amazing bond that was established among the seven of us, the survivors. The playwright Margie Boule, did an amazing job of weaving our seven different stories into one story that helps survivors break their silence, know they are not alone, encourages them to seek counseling and begin to heal. Another highlight was working under the direction of the director Jamie M. Rea, who brought a wealth of experience to helping us survivors appear comfortable telling our stories on stage. The peak experience was the opportunity to perform as part of the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. This play is an excellent resource to survivors.

What can friends and family of abuse victims do to support them?

The most valuable advice I can share in working with survivors is take the lead from (LISTEN) to the survivor.

What are you working on now? What’s next?

I’m currently working on partnering with organizations that support survivors, to distribute books to organizations to donate to survivors, staff training for organizations, advocacy work on behalf of the survivors. As well as taking advantage of any motivational speaking opportunities.

Up next, I’m working to produce the play Telling in Seattle in 2016.

THANKS, DIGENE! AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU

NOT MY SECRET TO KEEP IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON IN KINDLE OR PAPERBACK, OR ASK YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE TO ORDER IT!

6 Days to Christmas!

7 Days to Christmas!

Book Beginning: Numbers and Nerves

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

You have in your hands a book that glides gracefully between two standpoints, logical and emotional, illuminating as it does the broad and murky territory in between.

-- from the Foreword, "Headbone and Horemone: Adventures in the Arithmetic Life" by Robert Michael Pyle to Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data, essays edited by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic, published by OSU Press.

As we enter the twenty-first century, many of the important issues that occupy news headlines and capture the attention of world leaders and ordinary citizens require us to use the best available statistical information -- gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, numbers of fishermen put out of work by the disaster, billions of dollars made available in an effort to stem the economic damage and compensate the local residents -- to assess various situations and mitigate problems. 

-- from the editors' Introduction "The Psychophysics of Brightness and the Value of a Life."

Information presented in the form of numbers can be overwhelming, especially when we face a daily barrage of statistics, data, models, and projections.

In Numbers and Nerves, journalists, literary critics, psychologists, naturalists, activists, and others explore our cognitive response to quantitative information and offer strategies for overcoming the insensitivity to the meaning of such information.

It's a book to make you think, with a mix of essays that vary in tone between scientific to more contemplative.  Great gift idea for the big thinkers or professorial types on your holiday gift list!

8 Days to Christmas!

9 Days to Christmas!

Teaser Tuesday: Portlandness

What if Portland's neighborhoods were defined by the sensory experience of living in them, like the things you can hear or smell? Most strong smells in Portland originate from particular types of pungent businesses, such as coffee roasters, breweries, bakeries, or (less pleasantly) heavy chemical industries or roof tarring.  

-- Portlandness: A Cultural Atlas by David Banis and Hunter Shobe, published by Sasquatch Books.

Portlandness is a book of "new cartography" that depicts Portland's "culturalness" through 150 infographic maps, including the one described above that maps Portland by the way neighborhoods smell. It is one of my favorite maps in the book because that hoppy brewery smell so common in Portland always reminds me of going downtown as a kid, back when the Henry Winhard brewery made most of downtown smell like that.

Authors David Banis and Hunter Shobe both work as geographers at Portland State University, studying how people connect to places and environments and how cartographers can tell stories with maps.

Here is the review from The Oregonian. Portlandness is a great mix of cartography, sociology, and graphic design.  It is definitely a good Christmas present idea for the wonkier friends and Portland lovers on your gift list.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

10 Days to Christmas!

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, and I am really into it. I'm only reading fun, enjoyable books right now, nothing too heavy or taxing, because I am getting ready for a big sex abuse trial that starts in January and my brain does not have the capacity for anything complex.



Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. A food memoir is perfect for me right now. I don't have time to make my traditional Christmas favorites, so listening to someone talk about food is a good substitute.

11 Days to Christmas!

12 Days to Christmas!

13 Days to Christmas!

14 Days to Christmas!

Book Beginning: Portlandness: A Cultural Atlas

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Maps have a strong hold on people's imaginations. When presented with a map, most people take it as authority -- this is what's in this place.  

-- Portlandness: A Cultural Atlas by David Banis and Hunter Shobe, published by Sasquatch Books.

This book of "new cartography" includes 150 infographic maps of Portland and explores the "culturalness" of the city, including it quirky side, like city chickens, wild coyote encounters, fests and paloozas, strip clubs, food-truck trends, and (of course) coffee and beer. It is a great mix of cartography, sociology, and graphic design.

Authors David Banis and Hunter Shobe both work as geographers at Portland State University, studying how people connect to places and environments and how cartographers can tell stories with maps.

Here is the review from The Oregonian. Definitely a good Christmas present idea for the wonkier friends and Portland lovers on your gift list.

15 Days to Christmas!

16 Days to Christmas!

Teaser Tuesday: Dear Committee Members

This letter recommends Melanie deRueda for admission to the law school on the well-heeled side of this campus. I’ve known Ms. deRueda for eleven minutes, ten of which were spent in a fruitless attempt to explain to her that I write letters of recommendation only for students who have signed up for and completed one of my classes.

-- Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher.

That was just one of the many lines that made me laugh in this hilarious campus novels told entirely through a series of letters of recommendation written by Jason Fitger, a professor of creative writing and literature at a small, undistinguished liberal arts college in the Midwest.

This has been on my Campus Novels list since it came out a year ago, and I am so pleased to be tearing through it.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

17 Days to Christmas!

Mailbox Monday: Dear Committee Members

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, started it, and I am enjoying to to no end!



Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Campus novels are favorites with me and this one is spot on hilarious. The whole thing is a series of letters of recommendation written by Jason Fitger, a professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University.

I added this to my Campus Novels list a while back, after hearing about it on NPR, but I just got a copy the other day when I was looking for a fun and funny book to read.