martes, 31 de mayo de 2011

About Books & Literature: Plan Your Summer Reading List!

If you can't see this email, click here

About.com


From Megan Romer, your About Books & Literature Editor
I find that I read a lot more books in the summer if I plan out my reading list, a la 8th grade. I mean, if I don't have a list and a goal, I just sit around watching The Price is Right and experimenting with new hairstyles and lamenting the, like, total uncoolness of my parents until somebody, like, totally calls me inviting me to yet another rad pool party. (Okay, there's less complaining about my parents and more yard work, but I still don't get enough reading done.)

How to Plan Your Summer Reading List
Sitting down to plan a summer reading list is part of the fun. I like to mix it up, myself, and throw in a couple of classics, some heavy contemporary literature, one or two things I've read already, and naturally, a little something trashy -- a blowzy whodunit or a scandalous tell-all -- for days when I don't feel like thinking so hard.
See More About:  how to plan  how to  reading lists

Summer Reading Lists for Kids
I joke about 8th grade reading lists, but the fact of the matter is that most of us lose some of our motivation to read important books once we've finished high school or college, so checking out some reading lists for the younger set can actually be a great way to fill out your summer reading list. Plus, juvenile literature is actually really great sometimes. And if you've got a teenager of your own who you're trying to keep motivated to read this summer? We can help you with that, too.

Contemporary Classics Reading List
Okay, so you want to include a classic or two on your reading list, but you're not quite ready to commit to Dostoevsky? Perhaps a contemporary classic is more your speed. It's certainly summerier. (I just learned, right this very second, that summerier is a word. Fair warning: you will be seeing much more of it around here in the coming months.)

Book Club Reading Lists
I have this really great idea that involves starting a book club. The Really Cool Poolside Book Club, more specifically, where the gals and I sit around by (or in) a pool, reading and chatting about literature. I'm just coming up a little bit short on one thing: a friend with a pool. Oh, well. I can still read the books.
See More About:  book clubs  reading lists 

 


Books & Literature Ads
Featured Articles
RIP Gil Scott-Heron
The Harried Parents' Book Club
How to Get a Tax Deduction for Donating Comics
Coming Soon: Twilight Vol. 2 Graphic Novel
The 5 Most Romantic Sonnets

 

More from About.com

Backyard Chickens 101
Dabble in the self-sufficient, eco-friendly life with these essential chicken-raising tips. More>



24 Amazing Container Gardens
These gorgeous and creative gardens prove it doesn't take a lot of space to create something special. More>




 
Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics
You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here.

About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy

Contact Information:
249 West 17th Street
New York, NY, 10011

© 2011 About.com
 


Buzzworthy Memoirs
Tina Fey's "Bossypants"
Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother"
Joyce Carol Oates's "A Widow's Story"

Advertisement

martes, 24 de mayo de 2011

About Books & Literature: Bleak Books

If you can't see this email, click here

About.com


From Megan Romer, your About Books & Literature Editor
If beach reading is not so much your style, we've got a couple of darker book recommendations this week. Memorial Day is coming up, which means a somber day of remembrance and reflection, but it also (for most of us) means a day off -- why not use that time to read for a couple of hours?

New in Paperback: 'War' by Sebastian Junger
This first-hand nonfiction chronicle of soldier's lives in Afghanistan received rave reviews when it first hit the shelves in 2010 (and, indeed, made our list of the Best Books of 2010), and remains timely and relevant now. It's in paperback, so if you haven't read it yet, no more excuses.
See More About:  war by sebastian junger  afgh 

Review: 'When the Killing's Done' by T.C. Boyle
The latest from contemporary literature author T.C. Boyle is focused around how humans interact with the environment, revealed in a family drama set on the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara (a wild stretch of islands that some call California's Galapagos). Is it his best work? Maybe not, but it's still better than most of what's on the shelves today, and certainly worth a read.
See More About:  t.c. boyle  literary fiction 

For Memorial Day: Poems of War and Remembrance
Memorial Day is coming up here in the United States. It's a rare holiday in that almost every formal observance that takes place involves poetry, usually the famous "In Flanders Fields" (that's the one about poppies), but often others, as well. Even if you're not planning on attending an official Memorial Day service, taking a moment to read one or two of these poems would certainly be a nice way to remember the holiday.

Memorial Day Quotes
"And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave." - Joseph Drake

 


Books & Literature Ads
Featured Articles
Sit Down and Read, New Yorkers!
The Mortal Instruments Series
Shakespeare's Stratford: Top 5 Attractions
Marvel HeroClix Captain America
The Best of Stephen Sondheim

 

More from About.com

Backyard Chickens 101
Dabble in the self-sufficient, eco-friendly life with these essential chicken-raising tips. More>



24 Amazing Container Gardens
These gorgeous and creative gardens prove it doesn't take a lot of space to create something special. More>




 
Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics
You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here.

About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy

Contact Information:
249 West 17th Street
New York, NY, 10011

© 2011 About.com
 


Organic Gardening Books
'The Resilient Gardener' - Carol Deppe
'The Complete Compost Gardening Guide' - B. Pleasant and D. Martin
'The Truth About Organic Gardening' - Jeff Gilman

Advertisement

martes, 17 de mayo de 2011

About Books & Literature: Get Caught Reading!

If you can't see this email, click here

About.com


From Megan Romer, your About Books & Literature Editor
May is Get Caught Reading Month. Care to get busted with us?

What is Get Caught Reading Month?
If you've got a kid in school, you may very well already know about Get Caught Reading month, which encourages recreational reading for kids. There's nothing stopping grown-ups like us from celebrating it too. In fact, I'm taking it to heart and planning on including at least a couple of books on my reading list this month that are purely recreational -- that is, not gardening how-tos or cookbooks.

Review: 'Wicked Bugs' by Amy Stewart
Here's one for the reading list... maybe. How do you feel about creepy-crawlies? If the very thought of a centipede makes you shiver in fear, just go right on ahead to something else. If you take even a tiny bit of pleasure in the antics of bugs, though, you'll enjoy this book, a slightly twisted natural history.
See More About:  nonfiction  entomology  science writing

Reading List: Inspirational Memoirs
Moving right along... Perhaps memoirs and inspirational non-fiction are a bit more your speed? Eat, Pray, Love, perhaps, or others of its ilk? Here are some of the best recent books in that genre, for your own pleasure or for sharing with your book club.
See More About:  memoirs  reading lists  inspirational books

Review: 'Neverisms' by Mardy Grothe
"Never trust a book recommendation you receive in your email box." -- Megan E. Romer, 2011.

Well, maybe just this one... Neverisms is a collection of quotations from around the world that start with the word "Never." As in, "Never sit in the dunk tank at the company picnic," and other gems. Spanning from the erudite to the asinine, and with a hefty dose of background information and fact-checking, this is a true logophile's quotation anthology.

 


Books & Literature Ads
Featured Articles
$448,125 for a Piece of Comic Art?
All About Edith Wharton
Poetry Day and Night at the White House
Shakespeare's Sonnet 65
10 Plays by August Wilson: The Pittsburgh Cycle
What is Seinen Manga?

 

More from About.com

Backyard Chickens 101
Dabble in the self-sufficient, eco-friendly life with these essential chicken-raising tips. More>



24 Amazing Container Gardens
These gorgeous and creative gardens prove it doesn't take a lot of space to create something special. More>




 
Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics
You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here.

About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy

Contact Information:
249 West 17th Street
New York, NY, 10011

© 2011 About.com
 


Video Profiles of Kids' Book Authors
Virginia Lee Burton Biography
Beverly Cleary Biography
Roald Dahl Biography

Advertisement

martes, 10 de mayo de 2011

About Books & Literature: Vampires and Beaches and Other Fun Things.

If you can't see this email, click here

About.com


From Megan Romer, your About Books & Literature Editor
It's almost officially summer -- can you feel it? I'm thinking that some serious beach reading is on the menu for this upcoming season (even if the "beach" is a lawn chair by a kiddie pool in my own backyard), and I'm starting to assemble my lists already.

Review: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' by Sarah Vowell
I love Sarah Vowell! I love Hawaii! And she wrote a book about it! No, I will not calm down! This is really exciting stuff! (Note to self: though you may be excited now, just imagine how you're going to feel reading about Hawaii while being stranded next to a kiddie pool in the middle of Upstate New York.)
See More About:  sarah vowell  humor  history

Now in Paperback: 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'
I wasn't quite committed enough to the idea of taking this book seriously to buy it in hardcover, but I'll take a swing at the paperback copy. I thought Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was pretty much hilarious, so I'm hoping for good things from this volume.

Interview With Clare Vanderpool, 2011 Newbery Medal Winner
The author of the award-winning Moon Over Manifest had a chat with our Guide to Children's Books, Elizabeth Kennedy, and spoke about her work, her inspiration, and what's coming next!


Both comic book fans and film buffs seem to be raving about Thor. It's nice when we all agree, don't you think?
See More About:  thor  chris hemsworth  natalie portman

 


Books & Literature Ads
Featured Articles
"Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines" by Pablo Neruda
What is a "Split Infinitive" and What's Wrong With It?
Free One-Act Plays
Toronto Comic Arts Festival - Day 1
Pictures of Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations
Star Wars Quotes

 

More from About.com

Backyard Chickens 101
Dabble in the self-sufficient, eco-friendly life with these essential chicken-raising tips. More>



24 Amazing Container Gardens
These gorgeous and creative gardens prove it doesn't take a lot of space to create something special. More>




 
Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics
You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Books & Literature newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here.

About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy

Contact Information:
249 West 17th Street
New York, NY, 10011

© 2011 About.com
 


Quotes From Great Novels
'Cry, The Beloved Country'
'Candide'
'Moby-Dick'

Advertisement