Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: The Pre-BEA Edition

Stacked-Up Book Thoughts are my random notes about books I've read, movies I've watched, books I'm looking forward to, and events I hope to get to.

BEA: Of course, the biggest event in my near future is attending Book Expo America (BEA) in New York this coming week. I'm making a quick trip out of this year for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, that means I won't have time to see friends and relatives who live in the city and I'm worried that I'll even miss seeing some of you.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to learning about all the books and meeting up with publicists and authors. I plan to write several posts, so you'll be able to make your wish list grow as big as mine will. I'm also very excited to have the opportunity to be on a panel at the Audio Publishers Association Conference. The title of session will give you an idea of what we'll be talking about: "How to Build Relationships & Work with Reviewers to Secure Coverage." I can't wait to share ideas.

What I've Read or Am Reading: May was the slowest reading month I've had in . . . well, could it be ever? I managed to finish a few books here and there, some of which I've already written about. Here's an indication of how bad a reader I've become: The new Fables came out, arrived at my home, and has still not been opened! I'm hoping to read it today, if I get my laundry and packing finished (see BEA, above). Fables: Happily Ever After by Bill Willingham will focus on Fabletown and the split between sisters Snow White and Red Rose. Should be good. One of my favorite food writers has a new book coming out in June, and I've just barely stared it. Susan Herrmann Loomis's In a French Kitchen is all about how the French manage to put together lovely, fresh, nutritious daily meals and still find the time to do all the other things normal people have to deal with in the modern world. Put this on your list. Another book I've got going is Elijah Wald's Dylan Goes Electric (I'm not sure why, but I really don't love the title). Even the introduction had me thinking and reevaluating Dylan, Pete Seeger, Newport, and the whole folk scene of my youth. (Bonus: If you like Dave van Ronk, be sure to read Wald's Mayor of MacDougal Street.)

What I've Listened to or Am Listening to: I've gotten very little listening time in because I've been around family and friends a lot over the last weeks. This is a good thing, but it makes it a little difficult to put my earbuds in. Plus rainy days have kept me from my walks. Enough of the excuses already! David Joy's Where All Light Tends to Go (read by MacLeod Andrews) is a kind of gritty coming-of-age story set in North Carolina. The audio production was well done, but I'm still processing the novel itself--I'm not completely sure what I thought. Sarah McCoy's The Mapmaker's Children (read by Abby Craden, Cassandra Campbell, and Jane Jacobs) is about two women who spend time in the same house but in two very different historical periods. Despite living in different centuries, they share some of the same sorrows and troubles. Don't miss this one. I've just started Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop (read by Steve West, Emma Bering, and Cassandra Campbell). Oh how I love the bookstore on a barge, the references to both classic and modern literature, and the way Monsieur Perdu knows just what book will heal his customers. I can't wait to see where this story takes me.

Note on this week: I'm going light this week! Look for a photo on Wednesday and a Weekend Cooking post on Saturday. I'll be back to my regularly scheduled program next week, with lots of bookish talk from New York.