A little extra info...

http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/engl/index.html

"To date, Coelho has sold a total of 85 million copies and, according to the magazine Publishing Trends; he was the most sold author in the world in 2003 with his book Eleven Minutes – even though at the time it hadn’t been released in the United States, Japan or 10 other countries!

Also according to Publishing Trends, The Alchemist was to be found in the 6th place of world sales in 2003. Eleven Minutes topped all lists in the world, except for England, where it was in second place. The Zahir, published in 2005, was in third place of bestsellers according to Publishing Trends, after Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

The Alchemist was one of the most important literary phenomena of the 20th century. It reaches the first place in bestselling lists in 18 countries, and so far has sold 30 million copies.

The book has been praised by different personalities ranging from the Nobel Prize Kenzaburo Oe to the singer Madonna, who considers it one of her favourite books. It has equally inspired many projects – such as a musical in Japan, theatre plays in France, Belgium, USA, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland. It is also the theme of two symphonies (Italy and USA) and had its text illustrated by the famous French artist Moebius (author of the sceneries for he Fifth Element and Alien).

His work has been translated in 65 languages and edited in more than 150 countries."

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Ok, so my Grandmother made off with this one immediately, before I could make a post on it. Basically, it's set in medival England and centers around several key characters and the building of a cathedral and all of the challenges the town and people face along the way with the church and with each other.

Oh, and by the way...it's epic. I'm not usually a page-counter but over 900! Which made for a nice long juicy read! I couldn't put it down...I think what I liked most is that it followed the characters through their lives -from young to old- not many books do that and stay interesting the whole time. It has definetly made me a fan and I'm going to try to go pick up something else by him at the public library to see what his other stuff is like.

Also, we have a Starbuck's competitor on the island...called Saxby's that I gave a whirl the other day. Mainly, b/c they are much closer to my house! ha! I tried a standard fav non-fat, no-whip, vanilla latte :) it was sweeter tasting than bucks...dunno if I can make the switch! Tho they may have the frozen catagory going for them...a ton of choices! Brownie, cookie, fruity, oh my!

My obsession with Paulo Coelho

His books have "sold more than 30 million copies in 120 countries and have been translated into 51 languages." I now understand why. I have read "The Alchemist," "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept," and "Veronika Decides to Die." I haven't been able to pass these along to others because I read them again and again. I scribble and highlight and ponder and cry and remember and dream... There is something in his story-telling that somehow makes you think he is talking directly to you. (I was convinced when I read "The Alchemist" that it was specifically written for actors/performers. I later realized that everyone thinks that of their own occupational dreams when they read it.) Of the three, that one is my favorite, but I have been deeply moved by each of them.
The very first line of "Veronika...Die" is, "On November 11, 1997, Veronika decided that the moment to kill herself had- at last!- arrived. She carefully cleaned the room that she rented in a convent, turned off the heat, brushed her teeth, and lay down."
Interest piqued yet??

New Releases Alert!

Well the most obvious is the new Harry Potter due out in July (I'll be arranging for my pre-ordered book to be delivered the day of later today!!)

And I just learned that due out in October is a sequel to the Ken Follett book Pillars of the Earth, which will be called World Without End. Click his name over there to go to his site and check it out! :)

Hysterical Romances a/k/a Historical Romances

So other than the obvious--escapism and sex--what are the merits of reading historical romances?

Question... think like an 12 year old

I fly home on my nephew's 12th birthday, and am curious what books you recommend giving to an athletic, introverted, incredibly smart young man. I want to get him the "Percy Jackson" trilogy- I have loved these books as much, if not better than the "Harry Potter's" (gasp! I know, its almost blasphemous to even write that...), but I don't know if he is too old, too cool for that? He is currently reading the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and is halfway through the "Potter's." He and I were both bored during the "Chronicles of Narnia..." See my dilema!!!
Any suggestions?

My last two reads...

Vinegar Hill: A Novel by A. Manette Ansay

An Oprah's Book Club book, set in the early 1970's, the novel follows Ellen Grier and her family back to Holly's Field, Wisconsin. Ellen dutifully follows her newly unemployed husband moving their family of four into the stifling, loveless house of her in-laws on Vinegar Hill. Her and her husband both find work, however he falls too easily into the routine of living back at home with his parents and has no ambition to find them a place of their own. His job takes him away from the house frequently for long periods leaving Ellen to deal with her verbally abusive in-laws and a house full of dark, un-spoken secrets. In the end Ellen must find the strength to endure, change, grow, and move-on.

I liked this novel well enough. I read it very quickly -- something about the story was gripping and yet it was almost depressing too. In the end you find out the strange family secret and Ellen decides to break out and take care of herself and her children, which was the main reason I kept reading. But it was also a haunting tale, well told.


Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Well, I didn't know I was reading so many Oprah Book Club books. This one is the current one that she is reading and is what is up on her webpage now.

Anyway, a brief low-down on the book...from the back cover: Middlesex tells the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides, and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of 1967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret, and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal.

This book was weirdly, wonderfully fascinating. A story about a pseudo-hermaphrodite, Cal actually has a medical condition called 5-alpha-reductase Deficiency, where genetically he is a boy, but appeared to be a girl until puberty hits. The story was well written, even though it goes back and forth between time periods, Eugenides does it smoothly. I could not put it down, it was told with feeling as if Eugenides lived Cal's story first-hand. It was also intriguing discussing Nature vs. Nurture; the scientific info appealed to my science streak.

Anyone read either of these? Thoughts? Comments? Want me to pass them on if you haven't read them? Let me know!

Cover photos courtesy of Amazon.com.

Some guidelines...

When you join, you may not be able to post right away. Someone will need to make you an admin. to post to the blog, otherwise you are considered a guest and I think can only make comment posts.


In the upper right corner you can click on 'Customize' to be taken to the editing area. From there you can add your own info to the blog. For instance, to add to the Recently Reading list click on the 'edit' button for that section and add your book to the list. Blogger is pretty user friendly, so feel free to play around.

Also, lets use the comments area to respond to what others have said and use the posting for new info/thoughts/ideas, etc.

Any other ideas?

All about books

I have to confess that I don't drink coffee, lattes, cappucino, or any other coffee-tasting products, but that won't keep me from voicing my opinion and thoughts about books!

Come play!!

Oh, this is going to be fun...
Bookworms unite!! I feel like I was just asked to be a part of a secret society of literary geniuses, only its my best friend in the world and her other nerdy reading friends like me, but still so very cool!!!!!
p.s. Since this is titled Lattes as well as Literature, wanted to comment on the new Starbucks Orange Dreamsicle Frappaccino (I don't know if that is its exact name...) it is amazing!! A little piece of heaven in a refreshing little cup.
And that's how I will begin this blogging adventure...
Best, Nat

Welcome!

Hello to all! This is a very rough format, but it's something to start with. I thought it might be fun to have a discussion area since many of us rotate and read the same books...just a place to throw out some thoughts about what you're reading.

I was inspired by Natalie's recent post about the book rotation and thought it might be a good idea. (With her permission, I may re-post part of it, for those of you who don't have a MySpace acct. to see.)

Anyway, ideas about the name of the group? Do you like Lattes & Literature? Thoughts on re-wording the description? Let me know! Let's get started!

~klw