books

3 Books I Read in January

by Marian Schembari on February 3, 2012

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t find myself struggling through books this month. I’ve been reading a lot of crap lately and it’s been at least a year since I read a book I couldn’t put down. Thankfully, the tides are turning!

Here’s what I read in January:

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harback

Pretty good. I was hoping for another book like Wait Till Next Year, which my dad gave to me when I was a kid, but Fielding featured almost too much baseball. This book is the intertwining stories of a college shortstop, his roommate, the school’s president, his daughter and the captain of the team.

I used to date this guy who played college soccer and the team in this book reminded me of the guys on the Davidson soccer team. Entitled and cocky and so completely in love with the sport and each other it’s almost unhealthy. At the same school I took a class that dealt a lot with homo eroticism in sport. See where I’m going with this?

It was a weird book. But I’m really glad I read it. I had to skip over a lot of the baseball stuff but at the end of the day parts of this story moved me and other parts I couldn’t put down. This was definitely a breath of fresh air, albeit a slightly congested one.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Go get this book RIGHT. NOW. Immediately. Stop what you’re doing and go get it. Not since Petty Magic have I wanted so badly to crawl inside a book and live there. I want to eat this book. I want to breathe it.

I can’t even properly explain what it’s about without giving anything away, but it’s very loosely the story of a circus that’s mysterious and beautiful and complex. And it’s the story of two magicians who play out this very elaborate game and the stories of the people around them who are part of the circus, the game, and the main character’s lives. It jumps back and forth in time and told from many perspectives. You’d think it would be complicated and over the top but it just… works.

It’s beautifully written without being flowery. It’s magical without being cliched. Basically, it’s been a very long time since I’ve read a book that I couldn’t wait to read every day. A book I’d tell all my friends about. This, my friends, is that book.

The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

I’m not sure about this one. On one hand, I sped through it and enjoyed the read. On the other hand, it depressed me a little – and for no meaningful reason. On the other other hand (10,000 points to anyone who can tell me what show that’s from), I both hated and loved the main character.

I remember seeing The Girl’s Guide on my mom’s dresser when I was young and I always thought it was beautiful. I loved the title and the cover and when I asked my mom what it was about she said it was sort of complicated, but a girl’s story of growing up and the relationships she has throughout her life. It may have taken me a decade to actually pick up my own copy, but that’s exactly what this book is about. I couldn’t relate to the character at all, but at the end of the day, sometimes I find myself comparing my own relationships to the one in this book. And if you’re thinking about a book long after you’ve read it, well, then it’s definitely worth a read.

What books did you read last month? Anything you couldn’t put down?

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4 Books I Read in December

by Marian Schembari on January 10, 2012

It’s that time of the month again!

Hmm… perhaps different wording is in order?

Regardless, here are the books I read in December:

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

I started this book last month and fell head over heels in love. The story of zombies, never mind a zombie “filled with love” is not my usual reading material, but I couldn’t put this book down. I found myself underlining passages in every chapter and staring in awe at the author’s mad writing skills. HOWEVER. Because I need something to complain about (and I do have one complaint), the first half of the book was significantly better than the second. The first half was witty and moving without being cheesy and overly sentimental. The story was super tight and obviously well-crafted. The second half, however, was slightly over the top and I lost the plot at a few points. I’d still recommend Warm Bodies though as it was a complete treat to read.

Watermelon by Marian Keyes

I was obsessed with Marian Keyes as a teenager and after reading something quite heavy, I like to mix it up with chic lit or a YA novel. While the number of times I’ve read Watermelon is already in the double digits, I didn’t love this story any less this time around.

I followed up Watermelon with another chic lit book by a new author. But this particular book was so bad, so poorly written, with characters so utterly and completely disgusting, I refuse to tell you the name of it as I hope this book dies a slow and painful death. Let’s just say I thought the story of a Connecticut girl moving to London would be JUST UP MY ALLEY SEEING AS IT’S ACTUALLY MY LIFE, but instead it was filled with gratuitous shopping, loud Americans an anonymous sex. Because, you know, that’s exactly what all 20-something American girls do.

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

I recently joined an Auckland book club and this was our first book. I ended up missing the meeting due to torrential rain and a lack of car and I’m still bummed I didn’t get a chance to hear what everyone else thought about Blue Nights. I’d never read Joan Didion before so wasn’t sure what to expect.

I couldn’t finish it. Holysweetjesus does this woman name drop. And explain in flowery prose what could be said in two words. The book was supposed to be about the death of her daughter but not only do you get no indication of how her daughter dies, but it’s impossible to understand who she was. Didion spent more time talking about some hot shot she wrote a script with than the kind of person her daughter was. Every time she talks about some life event in her family she say something like, “In a few [pictures] she is wearing a cashmere turtleneck sweater I brought her from London when we went that May to do promotion for the European release of The Panic in Needle Park.”

This line is everything that’s wrong with Blue Nights. She talks more about her daughter’s clothes than her personality. She talks more about her own successes than stories about her daughter.  And, finally, this sentence has to be the shortest in the book. Stay as far away from Blue Nights as you possibly can.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Loved this book. I had no idea what to expect when going in as Amazon was sort of ambiguous on the details, but it’s essentially the story between a Nigerian refugee and a well-to-do(ish) British woman. The book revolves around the tragedy which prompts their meeting and how this refugee, Little Bee, gets her ass over to the UK and survives two years in a detention center. And, wait for it, the detention center where she was held? Loosely based on Yarl’s Wood. Yeah, that would be the center where I was held back in 2010. Since I was only there for two days I experienced none of Little Bee’s story, but something about her description of the facility and the author’s notes at the end got me all choked up.

I loved Little Bee’s character. I loved all the characters, actually. Including a 6 year old who refuses to dress up in anything other than a Batman costume. That said, the author was “flowery” and I freaking hate flowery writing. I mean, I appreciate beautiful prose. Good writing. But telling me, “She was whispering into it in some language that sounded like butterflies drowning in honey” is not actually helpful. Have you ever heard a butterfly drowning in honey? Didn’t think so. But still, Cleave came up with more brilliant lines than ridiculous ones, my favorite being, “When you are a refugee you learn to pay attention to doors. When they are open; when they are closed; the particular sound they make…”

This month I also tried reading The Tiger’s Wife as there’s been a huge amount of talk around it, but I just couldn’t get into it. Every few pages I’d think, “What did I just read?” and have to go back and have another look. So I stopped after a few chapters and have picked up The Art of Fielding which I’m really enjoying so far.

My book club choice for this month is The Night Circus. Anyone read it? What did you read last month? Any recommendations?

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The 8 Books I Read in Queenstown (some you should read, some you should burn)

by Marian Schembari on November 9, 2011

I had an absurd amount of time to read during my 3 weeks on the farm in Queenstown and a few of you asked for the titles and reviews. In writing this though, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m a shitty reviewer. Still though, read a few of these books if you have the time and/or inclination. Most of them left me with a giant feeling of “meh” but two or three are definite keepers.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Two young girls essentially get into what I refer to as an “arranged friend marriage” in 19th century China. I’d definitely recommend it as the history is fascinating but the author was never taught to “show, not tell.” Throughout the book we read that women are worthless, that footbinding will bring them happiness, etc etc. This got really boring after a while. We never hear how the characters felt about it besides physical pain and I don’t feel like I got to know any of the characters.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – The story of a doctor who delivers his wife’s twins only to discover one has Down’s Syndrome and makes a snap decision to give the child away without telling his wife. Another book where I didn’t feel like I connected to anyone, but the story was interesting enough to warrant finishing it.

One Day – Told on the same day every year for twenty years of a couple and how their relationship changes over that time. I’d heard the author, David Nicholls, was similar to Nick Horby, who I’ve never been able to get into, but I was really surprised by One Day. The story was realistic and moving and difficult and page-turning. I smashed this one out in two days, but I’m scared to see the movie as I’ve heard it’s crap.

Then Came You – Lesbians! Egg donation! Trophy wives! This book has it all… What can I say, I love me some chic lit and Jennifer Weiner always does this genre justice without being too girly. I’m a sucker for multiple narratives and the stories of women and I actually really loved this book.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Every. Single. Human. needs to read this. If you exist in the world and use medical care you need to know the story of the woman who transformed science. Henrietta Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer who’s cells were taken without her permission or knowledge in the 1950s. Those cells are now known as HeLa and have been sent to the moon, helped develop the vaccine for polio and are used to study cloning, cancer and bombs. This book is her story intermingled with the cell’s stories. Completely and totally brilliant.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – Meh. Japanese girl, Chines boy, World War II. Another one I was really looking forward to given all the positive reviews. I thought it would be very Snow Falling on Cedars but instead it was trying too hard to be everything to everyone and it took me a long time to slog through.

Incarceron – I read Incarceron because I was completely obsessed with The Hunger Games and Amazon told me the two were similar. They are not. Incarceron is one of those weird, dark, pre-teen books where the actually story is lost on you because the author comes up with too many otherworldly names and places so you get lost trying to remember what they all mean. I’m actually surprised I finished this, though I can’t for the life of me tell you the plot. There’s a prison. And some alternate dimension. And weird monsters made up of metal objects. I’m still not really sure.

Winter Garden – I’d never heard of Kristin Hannah before this book, but a blogger I read highly recommended her. But I have to say, this book was painful to get through. Things like “her shining sapphire eyes” overwhelmed the story, which was actually an interesting one about two daughters and their Russian mother who survived the war in Leningrad. I guess you win some you lose some.

I definitely have a wide variety of tastes and tend to switch it up between bestsellers, young adult and some chic lit. I occasionally read a good non-fiction book and right now am reading – don’t laugh – The Good Marriage. It’s a 20-year-old study of a bunch of happily married couples and the traits that separate them from couples who get divorced. So far it’s fascinating.

Other titles my Kindle just begging to be read are Still Alice, Little Bee, Game of Thrones, The Paris Wife, Unbroken and These Is My Words. Reading over the above “reviews” though I realize I’m a little hard to please. Still, it doesn’t keep me from plowing through books like they’re chocolate cake.

Anyone read anything awesome lately?

p.s. This post is littered with affiliate links (go Amazon!). Click at your own risk. And by “risk” I mean “buy your books through those links so I can start making the big bucks.”

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Contest! Win a copy of Petty Magic by Camille DeAngelis

by Marian Schembari on October 13, 2010

I don’t do enough contests here, I know, so I figured it was high time to rectify the situation. I get so hopped up on social media that I often forget to blog about other things that make me happy. Like music and cupcakes and books.

Enter Camille DeAngelis.

Camille is one of my authors, but that doesn’t make me love her latest book any less. The woman writes stories I want to crawl up and live in – think Neil Gaiman but slightly more ladylike and lots more outspoken. Basically, Camille is the kind of author that reminds me why I’m in publishing.

I’ve already given away my copy of her latest, Petty Magic, because it’s so good I needed a friend to read it, so Camille has graciously agreed to give away a copy and one of the fabulous t-shirts she’s created at CafePress. Big prizes!

About Petty Magic

I suck at book reviews and, since I’m not in high school, I’m allowed to steal the synopsis from elsewhere. So thanks Booklist, for this great explanation of my new favorite story:

Evelyn Harbinger is a witch, but not one of those sinister ones with gnarled fingers and warts on her nose. She uses her powers for good, healing the injured and helping people fall in love. At age 149, she has enjoyed a life span nearly twice that of mere mortals. Though her typical appearance is grandmotherly and sweet, if Evelyn is attracted to a man, she can transform herself, albeit temporarily, into a voluptuous, thirtysomething siren. That’s just what she does when she meets Justin, who works at an antique shop near her sister’s bed-and-breakfast in [New Jersey]. Bright, handsome Justin bears an eerie resemblance to Jonah, Evelyn’s partner in espionage (and romance) when the two served the Allies during WWII. Evelyn begins to wonder whether Justin may be an incarnation of her late beau, who was killed during a raid. Critics have compared novelist DeAngelis (whose works include the acclaimed Mary Modern) to a modern-day Mary Shelley…

My (Glowing) Review

I adored everything about this book and read it lightning fast because not only was it compelling, but I’m a sucker for witches. Petty Magic is beautifully written and had this bewitching, old-fashioned feel, reminding me of fairy tales I read as a child. Except this time there is a slightly darker, more adult edge, which suited me perfectly. There’s a World War II back story, marionettes that come to life, a secret city and the most incredible antiques store ever. “Enchanting” is probably the best word to describe it.

So let’s go about giving it away. One lucky reader will receive a copy of Petty Magic and a t-shirt from Camille’s Cafepress store with the “slogan” of your choice. The main character, Eve, has some fabulous lines. My favorite: “I may not be all that picky, but I draw the line at the clap.”

How to Enter

Just leave a comment with your favorite childhood fairytale. Easy peasy. If you want an extra entry just his retweet this post and be on your merry way. A name will be randomly chosen this Friday, October 15th, so make sure to get your entries in before then! You can also just buy a copy of Petty Magic here.

I’ll start us off: My favorite childhood fairytale is/was The Lady of the Linden Tree. Given to me by my mother and still one of my all-time favorite books, Linden Tree is filled with obscure fairy tales and is, sadly, out of print.

So what’s yours?

UPDATE: Entries are now closed! And the winner is… Alison!! Thanks so much y’all for entering. Who knows, might do another contest soon ;-)

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Why I Hate Information Products

by Marian Schembari on September 30, 2010

There are a number of ways bloggers can make money – the most common method being advertising, followed by donation buttons, services and products. For most people at my level of blogging (not enough traffic to make any real cash through ads, good enough traffic to sell things to our audience), the next logical step is to offer an infoproduct. Most bloggers I know offer products that teach about blogging, but depending on the niche you can offer anything from recipe books to DJing tutorials.

Infoproduct: The Definition

Last week I created a Twitter poll asking how you felt about infoproducts, and a surprising number responded saying, “What’s an infoproduct?”

According to Wikipedia, an information product is “any final product in the form of information that a person needs to have.” Oh wow. Thanks, Wiki. Soooo helpful.

So I’ll try my best to enlighten you: An infoproduct can be anything from a book to training videos, but in the online world an infoproduct is usually found in the form of a “blueprint,” “mastermind group,” or “training program.” Vomit vomit vomit. EBooks, video workshops, membership sites… infoproducts come in many forms, so if you’re still confused here are some examples:


It’s Already Been Said

Due to some reader suggestions and general popularity of said products, I’ve considered offering something similar. It would be nice to make a product and be done with it, as the freelance lifestyle is full of the stress of finding the next client. Thing is, I have some issues with the It’s Already Been Said model.

One of my biggest problems is that I’m in a business that, by definition, consists of a HUGE online community. Meaning what I have to teach has already been taught. Social media is always changing, yes, but the content that’s already out there is pretty stagnant. On top of that, even though I know a few people would buy my stuff (like the Pajama Job Hunt), I just feel “icky” repeating the same ole information. I guess I have this very large desire to be different. Creating an infoproduct means I’d just be following the crowd.

That said, a client said to me during an email debate about products, “As for the information being the same, that may very well be true.  However, I’m a picky girl when it comes to teachers and you’re much more my style.” She also told me to tell myself, “Who cares! Hasn’t been said by me!”

There is No “One Size Fits All”

Also, I think the services I offer now are pretty awesome. And unique. Consulting is a VERY personal thing, and despite what many social media consultants preach, one size doesn’t fit all. Besides avoiding spam, there are very few rules we can all follow successfully. So while I see a lot of people making the same “mistakes” online, I also think different people needed to be treated in different ways. Different issues need to be addressed. I’ve bought a product or two and have concluded they can’t possibly be a substitute for someone coaching you along the way. So I think that’s where I’m headed. There’s definitely an eBook in my future and I know books are basically an infoproduct, but paying $200 for stuff I could learn for free by Googling it just isn’t my cup of tea.

There is so much free information online it’s relatively easy to learn how social media works and you can then put it into practice. But once you’ve learned it, I come in and point out what you’ve missed, where you’re losing followers, how to pimp out your profile. I do the things a generic infoproduct can’t do.

That said, a $17 eBook on Twitter is obviously way cheaper than my $100 critiques and there will be those who can’t afford my rates.  It’s probably smart to offer less expensive solution to working with me. This is my dilemma.

Everyone, Their Mom and Probably Your Mom Too

In my Twitter poll, a whopping 48% ticked off “everyone and their mom is creating a product.”

I’m not saying infoproducts are bad for everyone, I just think so many internet people go about it the wrong way by creating sleazy sales pages or teaching the same regurgitated bullshit over and over. I’ve bought a few infoproducts, created one and been given a few for free and have decided they’re not for me. But they may be for you. I highly recommend reading Catherine Caine’s How to buy infoproducts wisely if you’re considering a big purchase.

Am interested to hear your experiences now. Have you ever bought one? Would you do it again? Are you like me and sick-to-freaking-death of every blogger under the sun creating a product??

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