Some books become classics for a reason. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is one of them. The actual title of Defoe’s book is The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. The wordiness of the title on the cover is an indication of the story that lies beneath. Defoe’s writing is filled with long, cumbersome sentences that are delightfully layered with meaning and content.

Robinson Crusoe was first published in 1719, yet it feels relevant and fresh even in the light of the 21st century. Nearly three hundred years after it was written, Robinson Crusoe has a timeless quality that transcends the conventions of the era.

I was surprised to find, on reading this classic for the first time, that Crusoe did not become shipwrecked until the fourth chapter, or perhaps I should say more accurately that he did not suffer the shipwreck for which his story is so well known until the fourth chapter, that being actually his second shipwrecking of the novel. I confess that I am quite unable to do justice to Defoe’s distinctive writing style, but herein I am attempting to do so, filling each sentence with layers, and not only just layers, but also often contradictions, or seeming contradictions.

My high school English teacher would have emptied her red pen circling all the commas if I turned in sentences like Defoe’s. But in this book, it just works. Robinson Crusoe is an absolutely fabulous read. The story is written in the first person, as if the fictional Crusoe were relating his tale at a later point in his life.
Why every attempt to turn this book into a film has been a disastrous failure I do not know. Perhaps it is because the excellence of the book lies more in Defoe’s style than in the actual story. Page after page is devoted to such mundane details as the list of items Crusoe retrieves from the ship, but I never felt a lull, never desired to push through to the next exciting moment. In truth, there are scarcely any nail-biting moments right up until chapter 13, when the cannibals arrive. But every page is a joy for the reader who appreciates the innate beauty of language.

This book is the best book I have ever read aside from the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” series.  It is part of a series written by Ally Carter and is comprised of this book, “I Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy”, and also “Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover”.

The first book kept me up to 11:00 pm just to finish it.  It is about a girl named Cammie who is secretly a spy.  Her friends call her Chameleon because she blends into crowds so easily.  She goes to a special school for only certain girls.  The school hand picks the girls that they think will be good for being a spy.

At the school they have strict rules about how the girls there are not allowed to date, but Cammie falls in love with a boy, Josh, when she is on a mission.  She is not allowed to express her feelings for him for then she would have to kill him.  Instead of returning to her campus, she goes out with Josh and his friends. She can’t get him out of her mind after this evening.  He calls her at campus, and her friends find out about him.  Her friends ask her about him and warn her that if someone finds out, she could get into huge trouble.

You’ll just have to read the book to find out if Cammie get in trouble, can keep the guy, terminate him, or just keep it a secret.

This series tackles the various and numerous literary fairs and festivals celebrated all over the US. This time, we explore the festivals we can attend in Arizona.

1. Northern Arizona Book Festival http://nazbookfest.com

The Northern Arizona Book Festival is a gathering of poets, writers, authors, historians, painters in Flagstaff, Arizona, to share their love for the written word. It is a three-day weekend full of poetry readings, workshops, panel discussions and literary events that celebrate the literary community of Arizona and the USA. Past guests have included Diana Gabaldon, T. Greenwood and Bruce Aiken. The Northern Arizona Book Festival takes place in April every year.

2. Cochise Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering http://www.cowboypoets.com/joomla/index.php

Western poets and musicians gather at the Buena Performing Arts Center in Sierra Vista every February to celebrate Arizona’s history through words. The Cowboy Poetry Gathering also encourages students from Grade 3 to 12 in Arizona to celebrate Arizona’s history through a poetry contest. The winners get published and get to participate in readings during the gatherings.

3. Arizona Festival Of Books http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

The Festival Of Books is one of the largest, if not the largest, gathering of literary lovers in Arizona. Thousands of people fly to Tucson in March every year to hear authors, poets and writers share their love for written works. Poetry readings, exhibits, workshops and panel discussions keep people busy during these three days. Held at the University of Arizona, it’s a fun-filled event for the entire family.

Next stop: Connecticut

Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud is quite possibly the most useful children’s book that I have yet encountered. HYFYBT is not a typical children’s story. It really isn’t a story at all. There is no protagonist or character arc. HYFYBT is a how to manual on being happy for children.
The gist of the lesson is that we each carry an invisible bucket that we fill with good feelings about ourselves. We can fill other people’s buckets by saying and doing nice things to them. When we fill someone else’s bucket, we’re filling our own bucket, too.

The book goes on to explain that when we do unkind things (like being a bully), we are bucket dippers. Bucket dippers try to fill their own bucket by emptying the buckets of others. But that never works. Dipping into someone else’s bucket will never make you feel better about yourself.
The illustrations are cute, and the verbiage is simple without talking down to the reader. Our three year old is having some trouble with the concept of an invisible bucket, but he is starting to understand that when he gives us a hug or says “I love you” that he is filling our buckets, and his own as well.

One thing that differentiates HYFYBT from other lesson-oriented children’s books is that this is not tied to any particular form of spirituality. There are no references to the Bible, Koran, Torah, or anything else. This is a completely self-contained doctrine on finding happiness in being kind to others.

We’ve been reading it with our three year old for just two weeks now, and we are seeing definite signs that it is taking hold. Our 8 year old has cued in on it as well, and it has been a joy to see him taking the initiate to remind his baby brother about being a bucket filler, not a bucket dipper.

I wholeheartedly recommend Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? to anyone with a child under the age of 10. We could all use a little more in our buckets.

There are so many book fairs and festivals all over the US, and it’s just so hard to choose just one to attend. This new series features notable literary events every story lover should know and attend.

California

1. Bay Area Storytelling Festival

Featuring several of the best storytellers in the country and around the world, be prepared to hear a variety of stories told at the Bay Area Storytelling Festival. Held at the Kennedy Grove Recreational Area in El Sobrante, California, various storytellers stand  up to share new and old stories with the audience, from folk tales to ghost stories to fairy tales. This 2-day event welcomes people of all ages, from school kids to kids-at-heart.

2. Los Angeles Times Festival Of Books

The Los Angeles Times Festival Of Books is the event to go to when you want the chance to talk to your favorite authors. Held on UCLA grounds, outdoor events are free while panel events featuring different authors are ticketed events. This two-day event also features around 300 exhibits of booksellers, publishers, literacy and cultural organizations who are there to promote and sell books in their line-ups.

3. Mariposa Storytelling Festival

An annual event that features prominent storytellers from all over the country, prepare to be entertained with the stories they bring. They not only bring their stories but will share them with their audiences through movement, dance, song and expressions. Held at the Yosemite National Park, you definitely will experience another literary world.

Next stop: Arizona

I just finished reading Michael Crichton’s Next. Unlike many of his previous novels, Next is not ready-made for a movie. In fact, it was a somewhat jarring reading experience in that the main character is… indiscernible. There are so many characters and settings flopping around, it is difficult to latch on to any. Truly, several times I found myself flipping backwards to remind myself who a character was.

The ‘villain’, in as much as there is one, disappears for over a hundred pages before reasserting himself into the story. Oddly enough, he was one of the more sympathetic characters before his long absence and quite suddenly is amoral, bordering on sociopathic, when he returns.

The main dilemma of the story is not introduced until well past the halfway point of the book. The ancillary character who becomes the closest thing there is to a protagonist is introduced early on, but she doesn’t develop enough to capture our interest until the downhill run at the end of the book.

Lest it seem like I am doing some unfair author-bashing, I should pause here and point out that I am an avid fan of Michael Crichton. I’ve read every one of his fictional books and thoroughly enjoyed most of them. Most of the time that I was reading Next I was enjoying it, eagerly anticipating a satisfying culmination to the almost random mash up of characters and events throughout the book.

Sadly, it never came to be. There were hints of an anti-environmentalist tone, like his previous work, State of Fear. But unlike State of Fear, they never coalesced into anything solid. In many ways, this book read like scraps of ideas from past Crichton novels – the strong female legal-eagle from Disclosure, the ground breaking biologist from Andromeda Strain, the intelligent ape from Congo, the nature-defying scientist from Jurassic Park, the image and money driven CEO from Swarm.

Maybe Crichton had run out of ideas. Sadly, unless there is some unfinished manuscript waiting to be scooped up, this is the last work we will ever see from the late author. If you enjoy science fiction with a firm grounding in reality, I would recommend any of Crichton’s previous works, but give Next a pass.

Amazon, the almighty online distributor, has plans in the works to release and publish book titles.

AmazonEncore, Amazon’s newly established and “traditional” publishing company will be focused on re-releasing books from other major publishing companies that are currently out of print.

Their first publication will be the novel Legacy, which was written by a young teenager named Cayla Kluver. Legacy was a bronze medalist in the 2008 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, a finalist in Young Adult Fiction in the National Best Books Awards 2008, and is sponsored by USA Book News.

Legacy will be re-published as a hardcover edition sometime in August 2009.

Legacy, quite simply, is a fantastical coming-of-age novel about courtship. Princess Alera is being forced to marry an arrogant and unruly suitor named, Steldor. The son of her father’s enemies, Cokyri appears and shows her a different life, one that Alera desires so much more. The novel then thrusts Princess Alera into a wild series of events where she must choose to betray her kingdom for her own desires or hold it together for the good of her people.

Vice President of Amazon books Jeff Belle commented, “Legacy was on a long list of potential AmazonEncore books.” Belle did not comment on how many books Amazon plans to release annually but simply stated that it would depend on “how many great books we can identify.” Belle also commented that additional books would be chosen based on sales information and customer feedback (reviews).

Legacy received 15 total reviews on Amazon; 12 of those 15 were five-star reviews.

In August, Legacy also will be released as an audiobook through Audible, Amazon’s audio book company, as well as a special e-book edition for Amazon Kindle users.

Lookin’ to get more literary knowledge while in San Francisco? Or just want to get to know more literary lovers in the city? When in San Francisco, be sure to attend these festivals.

1. Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair

The Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair started when Bound Together, an anarchist collective bookstore, wanted to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Around 40 anarchist authors and publishers attended as vendors, displaying their works. Fourteen years later, the Anarchist Book Fair is still going strong with this year’s affair happening on May 14 and 15 at the SF Country Fair Building at Golden Gate Park.

2. Bay Area Playwrights Festival

The Bay Area Playwrights Festival was created to gather and get to know playwrights. The organizers select a play from submissions to their group and stage a public show of the same play. This year’s public shows will take place at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco from July 17 to 26.

3. San Francisco International Poetry Festival

Open to the public, the San Francisco International Poetry Festival showcases 15 poets from San Francisco and around the world and from up-and-coming poets to renowned masters. The festival features poetry readings in different bars and cafes in North Beach, Sunset and Bernal Heights.

4. The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival

Sharing the experience of Shakespeare’s plays is the goal of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Running from July 18 to September 20, the Festival will run in Pleasanton and Cupertino and end in San Francisco. Held at the Presidio in San Francisco, this year’s festival will host the production of Comedy Of Errors.

5. Litquake

Litquake is San Francisco’s premiere literary festival. It is held in various venues all over the city and features literary readings, performances and panel discussions. Every year, there are more than 300 authors joining literary fans in celebrating the written word. Litquake ends with Litcrawl, a three-hour literary crawl through the book shops and galleries of SF’s Mission District, featuring readings and panel discussions. This year’s festivities will take place all over San Francisco from October 9 to 17.

Is that enough reason for you to visit San Francisco to celebrate the written word? I hope it is!

NAIBA, or the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, has started a new program rightfully named the NAIBA Notables, which casts one worthy independent book a month in the limelight.

NAIBA executive director Eileen Dengler commented, “In a marketplace where books are sold everywhere, a little support each month on a very worthy title will remind publishers and consumers where the best books are sold.”

NAIBA plans to do just that, show readers which independent books are the best reads and where they can be found. The first few books featured will be chosen by the board to get the program started. However, in subsequent months booksellers and publishers will be able to nominate their own picks for the program. All books chosen must be very well written and have broad support from numerous publishers.

The books that are chosen will garner extra attention from NAIBA and will be featured in their “Notables” section in their stores and on their websites. If NAIBA’s plan goes accordingly, this will award some of those independent authors with the mainstream attention they deserve.

The first book, which will be featured May 12 is Richard Flanagan’s new novel, Wanting. The novel follows a young Aboriginal girl, Mathinna, who is adopted by Sir John Franklin and his wife, Lady Jane. The two are attempting to prove that “savages” can be civilized with much practice and determination. Following history, Sir John disappears while searching for the Northwest Passage and Lady Jane is left alone. Her only option is to turn to Charles Dickens for help.

As quoted on the official Wanting website, “WANTING is a haunting meditation on love, loss and the way life is finally determined never by reason, but only ever by wanting.”

As for why NAIBA chose this wonderful book to be their headline notable Lucy Kogler, a publisher from Talking Leaves in Buffalo commented about the novel, “Amazing. . . . I was utterly taken with [Flanagan’s] imagination, sense of politics and incredible ability to make me think about the title throughout the book.”

Keep an eye out for future NAIBA notables, as they surely will make for some good reading.

Chicken soup has been known to cure the body of any ailment, thus co-founders Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield thought it would be a fitting name for their new book, which would be a collaboration of short, inspirational stories. On June 28, 1993, the first edition was published: Chicken Soup for the Soul. Little did they know, it would spread like wildfire across the nation.

You are probably already familiar with the name (according to the company’s website, 88.7% of America knows what it is) and might even have a few of the books. I encourage you to return to these books because in these times Chicken Soup for the Soul could not be a better fit. These books are dedicated to life improvement, emotional support, and inspiration. Who could not use a lift right now? Some stories are heart-wrenching, some are humorous, some are comical, and some show pure faith overcoming challenges and reaching dreams.  There are nearly 200 different Chicken Soup for the Soul books now available. New releases include The Golf Book, Twins and More, On Being a Parent, and Loving Our Dogs. There are books for all generations and interests.

Lately, I find myself hesitant to start lengthy books, because I am unsure when or if I will find the time to finish them. It can be quite irksome to get through only half a chapter, then stop, and pick up a few days later. The pieces (or should I say ingredients) in all of the Chicken Soup for the Soul titles are short; one always can make time for a quick story, whether on a bus, on a break, or in a bed getting ready for sleep. They are the perfect pick-me-ups, like a cup of coffee, or rather, chicken soup.

These books would not exist without submissions from the public. Do you have a worthy story to share? The company is currently collecting stories about teachers, true love, endurance sport, miracles, and many more topics. (View the list here.) Nearly anyone has the potential to have his or her story published in of these books, and that is the beauty of the network that this collection creates. A single story can positively affect the lives of thousands of readers.