Featuring . . . Pamela Dorman Books

As you know I am a fan of Amy Einhorn Books, and have featured the books in the imprint every Friday since January 2010. In the coming months, I'll review all the titles and will keep you informed of new books as they become available. Don't forget that it's never too late to join the Amy Einhorn Books Perpetual Challenge.

Watch this space next Friday, when I will introduce you to another imprint that has caught my eye. Perhaps because I'm an industry professional (albeit freelance), I have always paid attention to imprints and the editors behind them. When I find an imprint that seems to fit my tastes, I get fired up to learn more and read more.

Yesterday when I posted my review, I realized that I had read through the complete first season of Pamela Dorman Books, an imprint of Viking/Penguin. I enjoyed all three books and and plan to read whatever Dorman publishes next.

Here are some quotes from my reviews (click on the links for the full review):

• "The Book of Fires grabs you from the very first paragraph."
• "Beth Hoffman created a heartbreakingly real world in her novel Saving CeeCee Honeycutt."
• "In The Solitude of Prime Numbers, Paolo Giordano explores the other worldliness of being different, the eeriness of having parents who don't know how to nurture, the meanness of teenagers, and the confusion of awaking sexuality. "

For me, Dorman is an editor to watch. She was the force behind some of my favorite books, including Secret Life of Bees, Bridget Jones's Diary (U.S. edition), and The Deep End of the Ocean. Here are the covers of up-coming Pamela Dorman titles:

Melissa Lynn Jones's Emily Hudson takes place around the time of the Civil War, Adrienne Mcdonnell's The Doctor and the Diva is set in the early 1900s, and Carey Wallace's The Blind Contessa's New Machine takes us to the early 1800s. All three feature strong women and two are based on true stories. Looks a great list for the historical fiction lover (that's me!).

Do you follow imprints? Have you even thought about them? If your answers are no and no, I hope that I can help make you more aware of imprints in general and more familiar with some of my favorites.

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Review: The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

By the time Alice and Mattia meet each other as teens, they are damaged goods, each having suffered a childhood trauma. They are alone, and in that aloneness they make a pair. As they reach young adulthood, their paths are unique yet constrained by parallel problems. When Mattia is offered a job across the continent, he and Alice find themselves once again facing the world alone.

In The Solitude of Prime Numbers, Paolo Giordano explores the other worldliness of being different, the eeriness of having parents who don't know how to nurture, the meanness of teenagers, and the confusion of awaking sexuality. When quite young, Mattia and Alice each made a single decision that led to a disastrous result. As a consequence, they seem to live in reaction to what others think and become swept away by circumstances, not truly making conscious choices and not fully engaging in relationships. Even their friendship was one they stumbled into, or perhaps were tricked into.

After Mattia moves away, they find themselves in limbo: neither disentangling themselves from each other nor weaving their lives with the threads of those around them. Are their dreams of each other based in reality, familiarity, possibility, or expectation? What would happen if they saw each other again?

Giordano, a physicist, uses two principal symbols throughout the book. First are the concepts of prime and twin prime numbers, which explain, or perhaps solidify, Mattia and Alice's lives and relationship. The math is not heavy handed but adds to the mood of the novel. As the book jacket reminds us, a prime number can be divided only by itself or by one, and that is exactly what happens to Mattia and Alice.

Another recurring symbol is water: as snow, as fog, as river, as ocean. Mattia and Alice each experience water in its many manifestations and come to know how it harms and heals, creates anxiety and soothes.

Despite the sometimes painful journey, the novel ends with hope.

Although I received a review copy of the book, I opted to listen to the audio edition, produced by Brilliance Audio and read by Luke Daniels. I did not have trouble listening to Daniels, but I am not sure he was right match for The Solitude of Prime Numbers. I cannot pinpoint what bothered me, but perhaps it was the lack of strong emotion at some of the more intense moments. Unless you have a high tolerance for audiobooks, I suggest reading this book in print.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers at an Indie

The Solitude of Prime Numbers at Powell's
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Published by Viking/Pamela Dorman Books, 2010
ISBN-13: 9780670021482
Challenges: Audiobook, New Author, Support Your Library, 100+
YTD: 46
Source: Review and borrowed (see review policy)
Rating: A-

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Wordless Wednesday 80

New York City Morning

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

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Monthly Wrap Up: May 2010

Total Books and Current Status

Since January 1, I've finished 48 books, and abandoned 3. In May, I posted 6 full reviews. I also posted 1 recipe. I am behind on 3 reviews. I am currently reading The Passage by Justin Cronin and listening to Private Life by Jane Smiley.

What Did I Read and Review?

Here's what I reviewed in May. Click on the link to see my review; the letter in parentheses is my rating.

Full Reviews

• A Place for Frogs by Melissa Stewart (B)
• The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (B+)
• Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (A)
• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (DNF)
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (B)
• The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden (B+)

Read / Not Yet Reviewed

• Charm City by Laura Lippman
  
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
  

My top reads for the month were Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Solitude of Prime Numbers. But that is not to say that I didn't love Shiver (a reread), Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Other Side of Dawn. I think I had a pretty good reading month, considering I lost an entire week to BEA.

Other Activities

• I was pleased to host Pennsylvania author Jeffrey A. Cohen as part of the Literary Road Trip project.
  
• I can't begin to thank Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader for her fabulous guest post on Shaun Tan, which helped me out when I was in New York for BEA.
• I attended Book Expo of America during the last week of May. See my write up of the Editor's Buzz and the author breakfasts.
• I announced that I'm a judge for the Nerds Heart YA tournament.
  

Challenge Update

• I finished my own What's in a Name Challenge (phew!)
  
• I finished the Young Adult Books Challenge

What's New, What's Coming Up?

I have at least one more BEA post to write up; I'd like to share some of the books I'm especially excited about.

I have also scheduled a couple of guest posts and Literary Road Trip entries. Plus I'm participating in a few book tours.

But most of all, I am looking forward to a relaxing June with lots of great reading ahead.

Talk to Me

Hope your reading month was fabulous. But before you click away, here are two things I'm always curious about:

• What was your favorite book in May?
• Are you caught up with your reviews?

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Today's Read: The End of Marking Time by C.J. West

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesdays. Here's how it works: Grab your current read; let the book fall open to a random page; and share 2 “teaser” sentences from that page. For more teasers, click on through to MizB's blog.

He felt safe in his home until that night. All people did. They had to. Otherwise they'd go nuts jumping at every noise and shadow. They knew there were criminals out there, but not in their houses, not while they were home. The poor guy wouldn't sleep for weeks. (p. 4)

—From The End of Marking Time by C.J. West (Source: Review copy, see review policy)

The End of Marking Time will launch next week. For more, come back on Friday for a great guest post by author C.J. West.

The End of Marking Time at an Indie

The End of Marking Time at Powell's
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