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World Book Night

[ 4 ] January 27, 2012
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In honor of World Book Night, which will take place on April 23, 2012, Luxury Reading reviewer Marcus Hammond prepared a statement on literacy.

Read on for his thoughts and for more information about participating in World Book Night.

by Marcus Hammond

We, as avid readers and book bloggers share a literary kinship with one another that is special and, at times, taken for granted. We read, interpret, write, and discuss literature from all over the world, covering all types of topics, and we do it with passion. We are literate.

There are a large number of people in the world who do not have the ability to read or write at a level that allows them to be successful in society. Groups like Proliteracy and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) estimate that there are approximately 793 million illiterate adults. These adults lack the ability to identify words and comprehend their meaning. Large portions of these adults are found in countries like India (1.22 billion people) and China (1.33 billion people), but the United States (311 million people) does not go unscathed. The United States maintains an illiteracy rate between 3% to 5% (depending on the survey year and study group). If the math is done that’s still approximately 9, 330,000 to 15,550,000 people between 2003 and 2011 whom are unable to reach their full potential.

Illiteracy in the United States and the world is created by the lack of opportunity to learn and be exposed to reading and writing and results in many outcomes including but not limited to, increased high school drop out rates, increased unemployment and welfare rates, and decreased ability to care for themselves (filling out insurance forms or reading prescriptions).

Literacy is a learned function in society. It is taught through early exposure to written language and maintained by continued instruction. Providing young and old people alike with the opportunity to read and discuss written language is important to our success as human beings. We are lucky to enjoy such a special relationship with literature, and it’s humbling to think about how vital the skills we so passionately employ everyday here and in our personal lives are to the overall success our society.
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World Book Night

The event will take place on April 23, 2012 across the U.S., UK and Ireland.

During World Book Night, 50,000 people, named as “book givers,” will each be giving away 20 books from a select list with a goal to have 1,000,000 people across the United States alone celebrating reading en masse. There will be adult books and young adult titles given away.

People can sign up here by February 1st to apply to be a “book giver.”

You can see the complete list of titles that includes books from authors like Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver and Junot Diaz, among others.

Visit the official World Book Night website to learn more.

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Review: The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate

[ 2 ] January 27, 2012
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Reviewed by Lauren Cannavino

The Secret of Lies is a dark and introspective novel about one woman’s struggle to separate her past from her present. Stevie Burke is married and has a seemingly normal life in a sleepy little town. One day, she decides that she needs to break free. The reasoning is not exactly clear as she stows away in the night, but it all comes spilling out as the novel progresses.

Stevie, short for Stephanie, and her sister Eleanor spend the summers of their youth with their aunt and uncle in a beautiful house on the Atlantic Ocean. As the girls grow older and a bit different, the carefree summers begin to change. One particular summer, Eleanor, who is blossoming into a beautiful young woman, captures the attention and interest of the girls’ uncle. The two begin spending a lot of time together, much of it in secret, and the conditions at the house begin to change drastically.

When Stevie discovers the two engaged in sexual relations, she is mortified and this discovery ultimately sets the stage for a horrible tragedy. The secrets of that summer and the unfinished pieces of the story never leave Stevie and follow her into adulthood.

The Secret of Lies skips from present to past, and back to present, and author Barbara Forte Abate does a nice job of keeping the time periods easily identifiable, and the characters are all developed very well. Stevie is likeable and interesting, which helps the novel move quickly. However, I did feel that the ending of the novel was a bit lackluster and that while Stevie did receive answers to her troubling questions, there never was an exact moment that clarified that she was ready to come to terms with her past.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Lauren Cannavino is a graduate student, freelance writer, wine lover, and avid reader. Random musings can be found over at www.goldiesays.com.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Barbara Forte Abate. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Friday Cravings: The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman

[ 3 ] January 27, 2012
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It’s time for Friday Cravings! Read more about the feature here.

Have a book that you’re craving to add to your collection? I’d love to hear from you! Just leave a comment here. And if anyone has read the book below, please let me know what you thought.

Pick of the Week – The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman

Found: Don’t even remember, but need to have it!

Publisher’s Description

Style is a luxury, and luxury is simply what makes you happy.

Over the years, founding editor in chief of domino magazine Deborah Needleman has seen all kinds of rooms, with all kinds of furnishings. Her conclusion: It’s not hard to create a relaxed, stylish, and comfortable home. Just a few well-considered items can completely change the feel of your space, and The Perfectly Imperfect Home reveals them all.

Ranging from classics such as “A Really Good Sofa” and “Pretty Table Settings” to unusual surprises like “A Bit of Quirk” and “Cozifications,” the essential elements of style are treated in witty and wonderfully useful little essays. You’ll learn what to look for, whether you are at a flea market or a fancy boutique—or just mining what you already own.

According to Deborah, the point of decorating is to create the background for the best life you can have, with all its joys and imperfections.

This book will show you how.

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Review: Living with Depression by Deborah Serani

[ 2 ] January 26, 2012
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Rating: +4 (from 4 votes)

Reviewed by Sara Drake

Living with Depression should be read by anyone with depression or anyone who cares about someone with depression. I wanted to say that up front as that thought kept going through my head as I read through this great synopsis of a common mental illness. I have long looked for a resource that so clearly lays out the basics and offers good advice.

Deborah Serani begins with a touching description of her own battles with depression. I found myself holding my breath as I read about her plans for suicide, waiting to see what happens next. Yes, I knew that she clearly lived through it to write the book but I could not help getting sucked into the story! Her personal view throughout the book keeps it from reading like an academic text book. Instead, reading it feels more like listening to a wise professor chat over lunch.

After her personal story, Serani describes the clinical definitions of mood disorders, their causes, their treatment, and the problems faced by those with a mood disorder. She includes a great deal of technical detail in her sections on the etiology of depression and the medications used to treat it. While she does a great job at describing the biological details, some readers may be intimidated by the density of scientific terms.

She offers helpful suggestions and contacts for anyone stuck in the morass that the U.S. mental health care system has become. I have read several books on depression and this is the first one to offer practical advice for individuals needing treatment. Too often, books focus on the mental illness or the treatment itself neglecting to help individuals with details.

Overall, I found Living with Depression to be both informative and enjoyable. I plan on keeping it as a handy reference for its listing of multiple resources that can be called on to assist with getting appropriate treatment.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Sara Drake has been an avid reader since a young age. She has both a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling and a Master’s in History.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Deborah Serani. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Closet Cleaning Giveaway

[ 45 ] January 26, 2012
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It’s time for a much-needed Closet-Cleaning Giveaway!

Julia’s Child by Sarah Pinneo

Force of Nature by Edward Humes

Little Gale Gumbo by Erika Marks

One winner will receive all 3 books.

Mandatory entry: Comment on this post with your e-mail address

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):

- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another giveaway on this blog (1 entry each)
- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (1 entry, 1 tweet per day)

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on February 10, 2012.

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SheKnows Book Club Pick: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

[ 7 ] January 26, 2012
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Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay is the January pick for the SheKnows Book Club!

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova (Luxury Reading)

I’ve heard great things about Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay ever since it was published in 2008 but never got around to reading it. I was thrilled to see it picked as the SheKnows Book Club selection for January and to finally experience this amazing yet heartbreaking story.

Sarah’s Key is a book of dueling stories – one of Sarah, a 10-year-old girl growing up in 1940’s Paris and another of Julia Jarmond, an American living in modern-day Paris – that come together in an unforgettable and haunting way.

Sarah Starzynski was born in France to Jewish parents. On the fateful day in July 1942, the family was rounded up by the French police along with thousands of other Jews and hoarded into Vel d’Hiv, an indoor sports stadium. Unaware of the permanence of the situation, Sarah locked her little brother in a hidden cupboard in their apartment and pocketed the key, promising to return for him as soon as possible.

Sixty years later, journalist Julia Jarmond is researching the Vel d’Hiv round up for an article commemorating the anniversary of the tragic event. Many of the people she speaks to know very little about Vel d’Hiv; others are embarrassed about the French involvement in the deportation of thousands of innocent Jewish families. What Julia does not expect is the strange reaction of her husband’s family to her questions and their mysterious connection to the Starzynski family.

I’ve read many books about the Holocaust but knew nothing about the fate of French Jews. Although Sarah’s Key is a work of fiction, De Rosnay based the book on the actual Vel d’Hiv round up that occurred on July 16 and 17, 1942. Sarah’s fictional trials could have easily been the reality for many children who were woken up from their beds, forced into inhumane conditions and eventually sent to their deaths. De Rosnay’s fluid writing style brings life to those terrible days in a story that will stay with you long after the final page.

Movie note: I rushed to see the movie after reading Sarah’s Key and was sad to see that it did not do justice to the book. Then again, do any movies ever do? The film version felt rushed and jumbled, and I was constantly filling in the missing pieces for my friends who have not read the book.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

This book was provided free of any obligation by St. Martin’s Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Fast Media, Media Fast by Dr. Thomas Cooper

[ 4 ] January 26, 2012
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Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

Do you ever feel as if the world around you is moving too quickly, that you are drowning in a constant stream of stimuli, that you have forgotten what it means to be you?

In Fast Media, Media Fast, Dr. Thomas Cooper discusses the increasing speed and saturation of media of all forms in the world, and establishes a framework for taking a “media fast” – for divorcing yourself temporarily from all of the outside noise in order to rediscover the individual within.

The book is divided into four parts: Part 1 discusses the how and why of a media fast; Part 2 is an indictment against fast media, charging that fast media damages every aspect of our physical, emotional, and environmental well-being; Part 3 highlights group fasting and cultural groups who are continuously separated from media; and Part 4 highlights the “Ultimate Choice” between speeding up and slowing down. This division is convenient for those who simply want to try a media fast, allowing consumption of only those sections that are relevant to their goals.

Cooper outlines several methods, potential purposes, and goals for those intent on a media fast. He also encourages personal observation of feelings and trends before, during, and after a fast, the better to evaluate the effects of the fast on one’s approach to consuming or creating media. Two appendices provide even more detail on the ways one can successfully fast.

While his perspectives are compelling, reading past Part 1 is difficult due to Cooper’s stream-of-consciousness writing style. Many points are reiterated, and there is little organization of his thoughts beyond the chapter headings. There are also several editorial issues: extra or missing words make sentences awkward; punctuation errors are jarring to one’s concentration; and in two separate chapters he misspells the names of different countries (Colombia and Kiribati, the latter being correctly spelled in the preceding and following paragraphs).

Cooper notes that “…I had originally intended this to be three books: one for the general public, one for teachers leading classes on media fasts, and a third for their students.” (p. 111); despite his justifications for consolidation, a two-or three-part book series would have made this a more coherent and enjoyable read. I will use Cooper’s suggestions for taking my own media fast, but otherwise Fast Media, Media Fast is merely another contributor to the media overload against which Cooper rails.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fianc é and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Newman Communications. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Giveaway Winners!

[ 2 ] January 26, 2012
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Thank you to everyone who entered these giveaways!

A copy of A Discovery of Witches is going to:

#47 Lisa Garrett

3 copies of Home Front are going to:

#6 Laura Kay

#67 Joy Cook

#18 Carol Wong

My Memories Digital Scrapbook Software is going to:

#22 Faith Wafford

2 copies of Queen Hereafter are going to:

#16 Lisa Garrett (double winner!)

#45 Marci

A  copy of The Keeper is going to:

#14 Debbie Walter

All winners have been contacted and have 48 hours to respond before a substitute winner is selected.

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