The Sunday Salon... "Books with Buzz"

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake...

This Sunday Salon I'm back with Books with Buzz! Since tuesday I've been Under The Dome with Stephen King, and am happy to say that I'm really enjoying it! I haven't read King for a very long time, but Under The Dome sounded like a great story- a whole town suddenly isolated by an invisible dome... how this effects the people (and animals) around the town and how chaos has a funny way of building up like a smoldering fire is all part of the plot. It's a brick of a book-almost 1100 pages, so even though I can't seem to put it down I think you'll have to waita couple of weeks for a review. But keep your eyes out for that review... In the meantime, let's take a look at a few books that haven't gotten mega press releases and that we should take a look at...

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington... In the plague-wracked and devil-haunted darkness of Medieval Europe, an elite few enjoy opulent lives while the majority eke out a miserable existence in abject poverty. Hungry creatures stalk the deep woods and desolate mountains, and both sea and sky teem with unspeakable horrors. For those ill-fated masses not born into wealth, life is but a vicious trial to be endured before the end of days. Hegel and Manfried Grossbart couldn't

give a toss. Being of low birth means little, after all, when the riches of the mighty wait just inside the next crypt. The grave-robbing twins know enough about crusading to realise that if one is to make a living from the dead, what better destination than the fabled tomb-cities of Egypt? But the Brothers Grossbart are about to discover that all legends have their truths, and worse fates than death await those who would take the red road of villainy ... This book will be available in stores this coming tuesday, Nov.16th. I've read a lot of positive chatter about this book from those lucky people who got a copy before its official release. Although I also have read that there is some graphic violence (hey it's the middle ages...) and some strong language, especially felt at the beginning while you're getting use to the story. The writing is suppose to be wonderful & clever- capturing the essence of those plague filled times- and the violence begins to takes a back seat to the story. I love the middle ages and I'm going to definitely take a serious look at this book for the TBR pile. This Book is Kindle Ready!

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan... one of the first young adult novels centered around the terror attacks of 9/11. On that fateful day, three teens lives are changed forever. As each gets to know the other, their moments become intertwined with each other’s in a way that leads to new understandings, new friendships, and new levels of awareness for the world around them and the people close by, both emotionally and physically. Gripping, moving, and utterly realistic, Love is the Higher Law manages to bring the events surrounding this catastrophic date to a heartbreakingly human level. And yet Levithan leaves readers with a feeling of hope and redemption, as his characters slowly learn to move forward with their lives, despite being changed forever. Katherine from Bunch of Grapes, tells us why this book is different from other 9/11 books, "we’re watching teenagers and because they are teens, they are crazy, pendulum-swinging, emotional roller coasters. They are in turn angry, idealistic, scared, tragic, uncomfortable, joyous, you name it… Every emotion is confused, raw and to the nth degree. They place drastic importance on their first date after 9/11, their first concert after 9/11. In most adult novels, they would get toned down, but because they are teens, it is allowed here. And this is the secret… we were all like that in those weeks, no matter our ages." This book has gotten lots of positive buzz and it's going in my TBR pile... This book is Kindle Ready!

Louisa May Alcott, The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen... Harriet Reisen writes in her book, "the real Louisa was just as intelligent, hot-tempered, rebellious and ambitious as her fictional counterpart. But the true story of Alcott’s life is both more tragic and more triumphant than anything she cooked up for her favorite little woman." Marion Elisabeth Rodgers of The Washington Times calls Harriet Reisen "a master storyteller" and about The Woman Behind LW she says, "Chapters are never formulaic. With compassion and insight, she propels readers on to the next adventure, sacrifice, tragedy and triumph.” Biographies can be dry sometimes, facts & dates with little life, but Harriet Reisen's book sounds like a refreshing read, and there's a lot of great talk about it! As a little girl who loved Little Women, I am looking forward to reading about the woman who created a story so rich in character that it's still a wonderful read 140 years after being first published! Have you read Little Women? You can get a Kindle version of Little Women for $1.59 HERE, or an ePub, mobipocket/Kindle or PDF version of the Gutenberg project book Free from Feedbooks HERE. (Wish this was Kindle Ready, but it's not!)

That about does it for this weeks Sunday Salon and Books with Buzz. Hope you found something interesting to crack the spine! What are YOU reading this week? What books did you find interesting as you were wondering the bookstore or library? Share your finds here!

Happy reading... Suzanne