Tag Archives: novels

Tristi’s Picks: Best Novels Read in 2007

It’s that time of year – the time to look back at my reading for the last year and decide which books were the most outstanding. As always, it’s a tough call, more so than usual, as I really found some great reads in 2007. I decided to allow for fifteen top favorites instead of my usual ten – ten is just too limiting. 1. “Wildwood Dancing” by Juliet Marillier was my favorite read over all. This delightful and enchanting fairy tale took the stories of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and “The Frog Prince” and blended them together in a … Continue reading →

Book Review: Digging to America

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Novelist Anne Tyler’s book Digging to America centers around the relationships of members of two families who meet at the airport the night their daughters arrive from Korea. Although very different, the couples decide to get together annually to celebrate the anniversary of the girls’ arrival. Eventually their lives intertwine in many different ways over the next ten years. The book is fiction, and not strictly or even primarily an adoption book. One family is Iranian-American and, although they are thoroughly “Americanized”, I enjoyed learning a bit about that culture. We hear a bit about the grandmother’s life as a … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Marsha Ward, Multi-Facted

Our author interview for today features Marsha Ward, novelist, journalist, and poet. Marsha, you have published over 900 articles. I can’t even begin to imagine how you did that. Tips? Advice? Are you magic? I’m not magic. I merely worked for several newspapers, and was editor of three of them. The bulk of my article credits come from those days. I also edited and published two periodicals for writers, one a newsletter and the other a small magazine. I had a couple of columns in other small publications, as well. That sounds pretty magical to me. Plus, you’re a published … Continue reading →

What Does Erin Klingler Like to Read?

Authors, whether they specialize in fiction or nonfiction, tend to do a lot of reading. Not only do they research what’s going on in their genre, but they need to take a break from staring at their own words and look at someone else’s for a while. I thought it would be fun to talk to several authors and find out what their favorite books are. Who should know better than an author what’s good to read, right? Today’s contributing author is Erin Klingler. An LDS romance writer, she has one book published entitled “Love Beyond Tomorrow,” and we are … Continue reading →

Author Review — Jennifer Chiaverini

As I prepare to start a blog series on the Elm Creek Quilts, I thought it would be fun to take a look behind the scenes at the woman who crafted the books. Jennifer Chiaverini has a long history of writing. She got a BA in English from Notre Dame and an MA from the University of Chicago, and has taught writing at Edgewood College as well as Penn State. After she married her husband Martin, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where the couple is raising their two sons. Jennifer is an accomplished quilter, as you can tell just by … Continue reading →

Is the Book or the Movie Better?

While checking out books at the library this morning, I got into a discussion with two librarians about books that had been made into movies, and how the book is almost always better. One of the ladies commented that “E.T.” and “The Horse Whisperer” made much better movies than books, and I got to thinking about that as I drove home. What movies have I seen that were more enjoyable than the books? The first that comes to mind is “Somewhere in Time.” The movie, made in 1980 and starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, is a beautiful if somewhat … Continue reading →

The Truth about Celia – Kevin Brockmeier

This book is written in a literary style, which I don’t traditionally go for, but as I’m working to expand my repertoire, I thought I would give it a try, and found it fairly fascinating in the way it was constructed. The book is, in actuality, a work of fiction written by Kevin Brockmeier. However, once within the book, you are invited to believe that it was written by the main character, Christopher, and that you are reading a true story. Celia was just seven years old when she disappeared from her own yard. Her father was inside the house … Continue reading →

NanoWriMo: Always Wanted to Write a Novel?

If you have ever wanted to write a novel, then now is the time to do it! November is National Novel Writing Month. In honor of National Novel Writing Month each year thousands of writers work towards a common goal: to complete a 50,000 word novel in a month’s time. In order to participate in the contest all you have to do is sign up on the National Novel Writing Month (NanWriMo) website. The contest is entirely web based. You can begin writing your book at 12:01 am November 1st, and attempt to complete it by November 30th at 11:59pm. … Continue reading →

Miss Julia Takes Over — Ann B. Ross

As we start the second book in the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross, we find Miss Julia in a distracted tizzy. Too upset to invite her friend Sam over for lunch, she can’t keep from worrying – Hazel Marie didn’t come home last night. Miss Julia has already called every hospital in the county, and none of them have seen the attractive bottle-blonde. Hazel Marie’s son Little Lloyd doesn’t know his mother is missing, and Miss Julia doesn’t know what she’s going to tell him; he’s already lost one parent and is a sensitive child to boot. Finally … Continue reading →