Anyway…. there was actually a very good bunch of books this month; it was hard to decide. But, forced by my own rules, I managed to narrow the list down to five. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. 🙂
I thought this one reflected the tone of the book quite nicely. It was a hard book to write a blurb for, because there wasn’t much “action”, being a series of childhood reflections. But this did a good job of capturing the essence of the book.
4. Dragon Slippers (Bloomsbury): “Many stories tell of damsels in distress who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor and swept off to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this is not one of those stories. True, when Creel’s aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that a knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it’s Creel who talks her way out of the dragon’s clutches. And it’s Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king’s city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession. But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom… or destroy it.”
It’s cute and spunky. Just like the book.
3. Northanger Abbey (Everyman’s Library): “Northanger Abbey is a perfectly aimed literary parody that is also a withering satire of the commercial aspects of marriage among the English gentry at the turn of the nineteenth century. But most of all, it is the story of the initiation into life of its naive but sweetly appealing heroine, Catherine Morland, a willing victim of the contemporary craze for Gothic literature who is determined to see herself as the heroine of a dark and thrilling romance. When she is invited to Northanger Abbey, the grand though forbidding ancestral seat of her suitor, Henry Tilney, she finds herself embroiled in a real drama of misapprehension, mistreatment, and mortification, until common sense and humor — and a crucial clarification of Catherine’s financial status — resolve her problems and win her the approval of Henry’s formidable father. Written in 1798 but not published until after Austen’s death in 1817, Northanger Abbey is characteristically clearheaded and strong, and infinitely subtle in its comedy.”
I have discovered that writing blurbs for classics is actually a very tricky business. Saying something interesting about a book that’s really well known (or a lesser-known book by a well-known author) is not as easy as it sounds. This one did well. 2. Song of the Sparrow (Scholastic Press): “Since the days of King Arthur, there have been paintings and poems created in her name. She is Elaine of Ascolat — the Lady of Shalott. And now, there is a new story, a new vision, of this mysterious and captivating girl…. Beautiful sixteen-year-old Elaine has a temperament as firey as her long red hair. The daughter of a solder in young Arthur’s army, Elaine is the sole girl in the militaristic world of men. Often slipping into daydreams, she wishes that the handsome Lancelot would see hear as more than a tomboy. Then a new girl arrives, and Elaine is thrilled — until Gwynivere proves to be cold and cruel. But when Elaine and Gwynivere are thrown into a situation of gravest danger, the girls must band together in order to survive. Can Elaine find the strength to fight for the kingdom she has always believed in? Acclaimed author Lisa Ann Sandell brings a haunting lyricism and an epic sweep to this tale of love, betrayal, and war. Heartbreaking, eloquent and gripping, this novel is a striking addition to the canon of Camelot mythology.
A beautiful blurb for a beautiful book. Reflects the tone, gets the gist of the story and make me (at least) want to read it (again).
1. The Year of Living Biblically (Simon & Schuster): “Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history’s most influential book with new eyes. Jacobs’s quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations – much to his wife’s chagrin. Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain. Jacobs’s extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.”
Yeah, it’s long. But it’s funny; the last line cracks me up every time I read it. And it’s compelling: it makes me, at least want to read the book.
If Mama Don’t Laugh, it Ain’t Funny (Palm Tree): “From hunting down AWOL hermit crabs, to euthanizing pet watermelons, to sharing a meal of prescription strength crow, you’ll tag along on absurd adventures, observe awkward family rituals, squirm under uncomfortable questions, and explore the perpetual mysteries of children. If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny will make you laugh until stuff comes out of your nose. Pass a tissue to your mama ’cause she’ll be laughing too.”
The back blurb wasn’t nearly as horrific as the cover, but it is presty lame. Full of quotes from people I didn’t know, this little blurb was nearly buried. It tries to be clever… and doesn’t quite make it. Which is too bad, because the book’s actually pretty good.
The Book Nut 