Laura Hillenbrand

Her next book was Unbroken, the biography of the World War II hero Louis Zamperini, published in 2010. If you haven’t heard of Zamperini, then you’re missing out on quite the story. In his youth, Zamperini (now 95 and an international speaker) was a top runner, with a four-minute mile in his sights and an eighth place finish in the 5k at the 1936 Berlin Olympics under his belt. When the war came around, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces. He survived a crash that stranded three of the eleven aboard the plane on a raft for 47 days at sea. And let’s just say that there’s more to the story, but I’ll let Hillenbrand do the rest of the narration for Zamperini’s truly astounding tale. This is truly a story you don’t want to miss.
Hillenbrand has been living with a debilitating condition known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which caused her to cut her college studies short. She is rarely able to leave her home due to her CFS. When asked by the Washington Post (see the article here) to comment on the irony of writing about such physical feats given her own physical state, Hillenbrand revealed what sets her apart from other authors. Her own physical incapacity gives her the drive to escape intellectually; describing another person’s physical accomplishments is her way of “living vicariously.” So that’s how she became a storyteller of nonfiction like no other before her.

I read A Long Way Down one summer while working at a golf course. I’d be sitting by the snack shack, ready to give golfers fuel in the form of hot dogs and beer, and they’d inevitably ask me what I was reading. When they questioned the plot, I always hesitated slightly: “It’s a story about four strangers who meet when they all decide to commit suicide on the same night,” sounds a little deranged, but it’s true. The novel is told in alternating viewpoints of the characters – an 18-year-old girl with a penchant for drama, a single mother of a disabled adult son, a struggling American musician, and a former morning show host shamed by a sex scandal – as they decide to put off their suicides and meet three months later to reconsider.

My first introduction to Hornby was through How to Be Good, a novel I read as an assignment in my introductory literature class freshman year of college. Since I had spent high school being forced to read books I didn’t particularly like (with a few exceptions), I was blown away to be reading material I actually enjoyed for an academic class. How to Be Good explores what it means… to be good. Go figure, huh? It focuses on a family of four’s reaction to the father suddenly enlisting the help of a spiritual leader and renovating his life to reflect “good.” This means giving away his children’s toys, inviting homeless strangers into the home, and other extreme behavior. His wife, a physician, struggles with understanding the actions of her “new” husband and tries to decide for herself what “being good” really is.

Hornby’s books tend to be quick reads with a lot of dialogue – not surprising, considering he writes a lot of screenplays and that his books are frequently adapted into movies. Despite addressing bizarre or extreme behavior some of the time, the characters are given backgrounds that make them feel familiar. When I get a chance (or an e-reader for my upcoming birthday… hint, hint!), I’m going to track down some other Hornby novels to give those a try too!

Patterson just might be the world’s best-selling author. His books have sold more than 180 million copies to date. Recently, his novels have sold more copies that those of Dan Brown, Stephen King, and John Grisham, combined! He holds the Guinness World record for the most bestselling hardcover fiction titles (63), which includes 19 consecutive #1 New York Times bestselling novels. His newest novel, Private, currently rounds out the top 10 bestsellers at Barnes & Nobles. (The Hunger Game Series currently dominates that list.)

We all probably have a few questions for someone like Patterson. Luckily, at least 10 questions have already been answered in an interview conducted by Time in July 2010. I found one of his most interesting responses to be the one that answered the question, “What do you say to critics like author Stephen King who say you are not a great prose stylist?” It must be tough to have Stephen King question your legitimacy as an author. Luckily, Patterson took the question in stride, agreeing that he simply is not a great prose stylist. “I’m a storyteller,” he explained. And that’s what the majority of the population is looking for, so it all works out quite nicely for Patterson in the end.

One of his major goals is to simply ignite a lifelong passion for reading across the population. This is evident from his Web site ReadKiddoRead, which makes some fantastic suggestions for young readers. You’ll see titles of some really fun books, such as The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. Of course, Patterson has the right to include some of his own hits such as the Maximum Ride series. Patterson is perhaps best known for his series geared towards adults, particularly the Alex Cross series, but has made quite a successful crossover to young adult literature. This is partly due to the fact that he has his own young teenage son to inspire in reading; what better motivation can there be?

Take Joseph Heller, for example. If the name doesn’t ring any bells, the title Catch-22 certainly will. It was Heller’s debut novel, about US servicemen during World War II. The words “catch 22″ became a common idiom that refers to a “no-win situation” or a “double bind” of any type. In the novel, it refers to a military rule. Heller went on to write a number of other novels that received moderate popularity and moderate critical praise, but none ever came close to the success of Catch-22.

The majority of people would recognize the title Gone with the Wind, but a much smaller proportion of the population would recognize the name of its author. Gone with the Wind was Margaret Mitchell‘s first published novel, which immediately became a smash hit. The sales started during the summer of 1936, selling at a virtually unprecedented price of three dollars. One million copies had been sold by December that year. The 1939 film by the same name received 10 Academy Awards, a record that stood for two decades. It starred Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. Gone with the Wind is commonly believed to be Mitchell’s only complete novel; however, a manuscript for a novel entitled Lost Laysen, written by Mitchell, was discovered many years after her death. Written in 1916, it was published in 1996.

Last but certainly not least, you probably recognize the name Harper Lee. That’s right, Lee is the author of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel was an instant success, going on to sell over 30 million copies. In 2007, Lee was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian award in the United States) for her contribution to literature. The major themes of the novel include racial injustice and destruction of innocence. It is believed that the novel is semi-autobiographical; the young protagonist Scout may represent Lee herself. But what has the author of Mockingbird done since its publication? Lee has accepted many honorary degrees, but has declined to make any speeches, and has not published any other novels to this day.

You can’t talk about science fiction without mentioning Isaac Asimov. As one of the most prolific writers that the world will ever see, Asimov published or edited over 500 books, in addition to tens of thousands of letters and postcards. A popular factoid about Asimov is that he has a book published under all ten sections of the Dewey decimal system with the exception of the philosophy and psychology section. He is best-known for his Foundation series, followed by his Robot and Galactic Empire series.

But where would science fiction be without Arthur Clarke? One thing’s for sure, we certainly wouldn’t have his Space Odyssey series, and without the series there would be no 2001: A Space Odyssey, and well, without that, we wouldn’t have one of the most memorable villains of all time: HAL 9000, the artificial intelligence on board the Discovery One spacecraft.

Perhaps the least well-known of the Big Three, Robert Heinlein is well-loved among science fiction fans. In addition to earning four Hugo Awards, Heinlein was awarded three “Retro Hugos” for his work published in years during which the Hugo Awards did not yet exist. Heinlein was the first to receive the Grand Master Award given by the Science Fiction Writers of America for his lifetime achievement. His most notable piece is perhaps the 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land, which tells the story of a human who comes to Earth after being born on Mars and raised by Martians.

For the two decades between the early 1960s and the mid 1980s, these three authors dominated the science fiction genre, essentially defining an entire generation in the genre. Through the continued interest in their books, these authors remain among the best-selling authors in science fiction, despite the fact that all have now passed away (Heinlein in 1988, Asimov in 1992, and Clarke, most recently, in 2008). As a group, this trio has collected 18 Hugo Awards. (The Hugo Award is awarded at the World Science Fiction Convention to, essentially, the best science fiction work of the previous year, voted by fans of the genre.)

Three cheers for the Big Three!

Sarah Dessen

I’ll be the first to admit that the story lines aren’t always realistic. If they were in cinematic form, they would absolutely scream romantic comedy (in fact, two of her books, Someone Like You and That Summer were adapted into the 2003 movie How To Deal, starring Mandy Moore, and I would not be surprised to see others making their way into theaters over the next few years). Still, there’s something about chick flicks (or chick lit, in this case of books), that appeals to the audience — it’s nice to think that everyone ends up happy in the end.

Still, despite the too-good-to-be-true nature of the stories, Sarah Dessen novels are among my guilty pleasures. It was only when I looked at her website that I realized just how nearly complete my personal collection was. Of her ten novels, I own half and have read six. Like Picoult’s books, if you read more than one you’ll notice overlaps – characters that appear in minor roles in more than one book, or made-up bands, restaurants, and shops that remain consistent in Dessen’s universe. For an observant reader, they’re nice little treats. The overlapping characters can especially reveal more between the lines.

The nice thing about Dessen’s books is that her characters are not perfect — they all have flaws, which makes them realistic (and not the I’m-so-clumsy fatal flaw of Bella Swan a la Twilight). There are broken families, insecurities, and other emotional issues that tend to rear their ugly head. Often, accepting and coming to peace with these issues are  first steps to overcoming them, which is a nice message to readers. The situations in the books aren’t sugar-coated: these are high school kids, and yes, they swear, drink, and have sexual relationships. This kind of honesty in a book is refreshing.

Roald Dahl

Everybody knows James and the Giant Peach. Everybody knows Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. If you haven’t read Matilda, you’ve probably seen the movie. And please tell me you’ve already read The B.F.G. and the other aforementioned books. If not, get thee to a library, immediately! Borrow them and read them for your own pleasure; better yet, share them out loud with your family. Dahl‘s children’s works are witty and entertaining. They are usually told from a child’s point of view and include mean, spiteful adults as villains, but at least one “good” adult to oppose the evil one(s). But assuming you’ve read his most popular novels already, here are a few other children’s titles that you might want to give a try:

• The Gremlins (1943). Not to be confused with the 1984 horror comedy film, this novel is Dahl‘s first children’s book. It was written for Walt Disney Productions, which intended to publish the book as a promotional device for a feature-length animated film, but the film  ended up never being made.
• The Enormous Crocodile (1978). This is one of Dahl‘s only picture books. It was illustrated by Quentin Blake, who collaborated with Dahl on most of his other novels. An enormous crocodile trudges through the woods telling all of the animals of his intentions to use his tricks to eat the tasty children. They tell him it’s a horrible thing to do, but he tries anyway. Moral of the story: If you try to eat children, an elephant will swing you around until you fly into the sky and crash into the sun.
• Esio Trot (1990). Mr. Hoppy is a shy old man who, for many years, has been secretly in love with the woman who lives in the apartment below him, Mrs. Silver. One day, Mrs. Silver expresses how she would like her pet tortoise Alfie to grow more. Mr. Hoppy tells her that he knows a spell that will make her tortoise grow. Each day, unbeknownst to Mrs. Silver, he swaps her tortoise for a slightly bigger one. Will Mrs. Silver find out, or will she and Mr. Hoppy end up happily together? And what will happen to Alfie? You’ll have to read it to find out.

The Piano Teacher

The Piano Teacher is Janice Y.K. Lee’s first novel and it’ll be hard for her to top this one. Her writing is smooth and easy and The Piano Teacher is a page-turner. She was able to visually translate Claire’s coldness and apathy at the start of the story and still manage to make her interesting to hold attention until the end of the book. The back-and-forth account of Claire’s life in 1952 and Will’s life in 1942 is seamless and makes you look forward to reading both stories. The end leaves you with questions and an unforgettable experience. It’s not a story with resolutions but a story that explores character. It’s a light read that still provokes thoughts and discussions afterward. It definitely is worth the money.

About the Author

Janice Y.K. Lee was born to Korean parents in Hong Kong and lived there until she was 15, when she moved to New Hampshire to attend boarding school. She stayed in the US and studied English and American Literature and Language in Harvard, where she  eventually met her future husband. She moved to NY and got her first job as an assistant to a beauty editor for Elle Magazine, and eventually moved up the ranks to features. She eventually worked in the features departments in different magazines before the call of writing her own book nagged at her. She enrolled in the MFA Program at Hunter College, which led the way for her to become a published short story writer. She had the idea for The Piano Teacher while spending her summer residency at the Yaddo artists’ colony and while she was pregnant with her firt child. She moved back to Hong Kong after she had her second child and put her book aside to concentrate on motherhood. When she became a pregnant a third time (with twins!), she decided now would be a best time to go back to The Piano Teacher. Five years after beginning it, she sold The Piano Teacher two months before she gave birth to the twins. Now, she is working on her second novel, which she is hesitant to divulge because of her superstitions and she didn’t want to jinx it.

The novel starts just a few months after its publication date (late January of this year). The author assumes that the economy is slowly picking up, the war in Afghanistan is still chugging along, and presidential candidates, including the current president, are starting to put together their campaign teams for the 2012 election. The novel is centered on a few main characters:

• O – The president of the United States. It’s blatantly obvious that “O” is meant to represent Obama. O is portrayed as very determined, though weary, and a secret smoker.
• Tom “Terrific Morrison” – Morrison is O’s opponent. He is a square-jawed candidate who has it all: military achievements, good judgment, and perhaps most annoyingly for O, modesty. One might say he is the “perfect” combination of Mitt Romney and John McCain.
• Cal Regan – Regan is quickly working his way up the political ladder, recently taking over the position of campaign chief after O’s veteran chief is forced to resign.

One can imagine that with its plot being a presidential campaign, O is not exactly a fast-paced novel. I read this novel naively hoping that at the end, the “anonymous” author would reveal whether or not he figured that O or his opponent would win the reelection. I was hoping that getting through the novel would at least reward me with that bit of speculation. Unfortunately, the novel conveniently ends right before the results are revealed. I suppose I should have expected that to be the case, but there’s always wishful thinking.

So did this author really manage to stay anonymous? After several months of sleuthing, most journalists agree upon the suspected author of the novel: Mark Salter, John Cain’s 2008 senior campaign advisor. The writing in O is adjective-heavy, similar to the style used speeches that Salter co-wrote with McCain. Additionally, publisher Karp has worked with them before.

Looking for a similar novel? Primary Colors (1996) is a novel about Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. The style of writing is a bit different, but this novel was also originally published by an anonymous author, although columnist Joe Klein later admitted to authoring it.

In true Potter fashion, fans were able to discover the secret behind Pottermore through a series of riddles. Using the Secret Street View feature of Google Maps, Rowling hid letters spelling out P-O-T-T-E-R-M-O-R-E in locations important to the books (King’s Cross Station in London, the Forest of Dean, etc.), and posted these coordinates on various fan pages. When fans unscrambled the letters and went to the website, they were forwarded to a YouTube account counting down to an announcement that would be made 11 a.m. on June 23. (11 a.m. is, coincidentally, the time that the Hogwarts Express traditionally leaves for Hogwarts). Fans were guessing what it could be, from a new book, to an encyclopedia, to a social networking site.

Finally, on June 23, the website added a video of Rowling explaining the concept of Pottermore — an interactive website where fans can share information about the books. There will be 18,000 words of new information that Rowling has written specifically for the website, and there will also be a store for buying the books in e-book form, something that hasn’t been available yet. Rowling means for Pottermore to be a “Thank you”to her fans who have stuck by Harry throughout the series.

Pottermore will go live to a group of beta users soon — a million spots were available in yet another series of clues and puzzles, leaving fans around the world scrambling for a membership. I was lucky enough to claim my spot on the fourth day of registration (there were seven, one for each book) after solving a riddle and finding the “Magic Quill” embedded in another site. The Magic Quill is Hogwarts’ quill that writes down the names of magical children that will be offered a spot at the school. My name was added to the list of magical students alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and I was assigned a username. Anyone who wasn’t able to get an early spot will have to wait until October, when registration is open to the general public.

All the excitement about Pottermore has inspired me to reread the series, reminding me just how much I love the world of Harry Potter. Since J.K. Rowling has sworn up and down that she will not be writing a new Harry-centric book, Pottermore is the next best thing to continue the magic!