We have a Riffle

Cliffside Park has joined Riffle.  Pretty book covers and reading lists.

New reading suggestions up at our Riffle.

Cliffside Park Reads

Book discussion groups are thriving in Cliffside Park. Several meet around town and Winston Towers as well as in the library (which has been meeting for about 15 or so years!)

If you are curious about what Cliffside Park has been reading, or looking for a book suggestion, try the compiled list and may the books find you.

Cliffside Park Reads

Booklist to warm you

scorching summer reads

Hot, hotter, hottest. Don’t wait for the summer to find your scorching romance.

Monday Mix

The Costa Book Awards have announced their shortlist. The 2 categories I’m interested in have some great choices. I’m rooting for Maggie O’Farrell for novel and the poetry people are all new to me so I’ll be checking them out soon.

2013 Costa Novel Award shortlist

• Kate Atkinson for Life After Life (Doubleday)
• Bernardine Bishop for Unexpected Lessons in Love (John Murray)
• Maggie O’Farrell for Instructions for a Heatwave (Tinder Press)
• Evie Wyld for All the Birds, Singing (Jonathan Cape)

2013 Costa Poetry Award shortlist

• Clive James for Dante, The Divine Comedy (Picador)
• Helen Mort for Division Street (Chatto & Windus)
• Robin Robertson for Hill of Doors (Picador)
• Michael Symmons Roberts for Drysalter (Jonathan Cape)

Barnes & Noble have a list of books for people who love Malcolm Gladwell. It’s on their blog.

 

 

Yum!

Just in time for the holidays, Flavorwire has posted a list of 50 Essential Novels for Foodies.  Books and food, books about food. Two great things together. Perusing the list I’ve read 10 and there are about 10 more that I’m adding to my TBR pile and I can’t think of a better time to start reading about food.

Check the list, see if something grabs your eye (or stomach!) and let me know if you can think of others not on the list.

Worldly Wednesday

I recently read Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah. It’s not quite a travel book but close. It’s about Shah’s moving into and fixing up a house in Casablanca and all the trials and tribulations that occur.  Along with the whole house fixing up are the issues of moving to a new country and adjusting to the customs, trying to figure out exactly who to call for this that and the other thing.  Who to listen to when the house servants (who came with the house unbeknownst to Shah) insist there are jinns in the house and there needs to be an exorcism.  

All in all it was a fun read, interesting and descriptive, my big question is what was his wife doing all this time. He barely mentions her except in passing when she offers support but otherwise I’ve no clue to what she thought about this whole experience.

As a good book does it gets you interested in the topic and send you looking for more, in this case books that take place in Casablanca  and area (I wasn’t as interested in the actual house fixing up parts).

Brief list of books I’ll be hopefully checking out sometime soon:

Living in Morocco: Design from Casablanca to Marrakesh by Lisl Dennis
Secret Son by Laila Lalami
Last Friend by Tahar ben Jelloun
Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
In Morocco by Edith Wharton
A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi

And Shah continues his story in  In Arabian Nights.

 

Books 2012

Euro Crime has listed their favorite books of 2012.

Andrea Camilleri – The Potter’s Field  tr. Stephen Sartarelli

K O Dahl – Lethal Investments tr. Don Bartlett

Andrea Gillies – The White Lie

Antonio Hill – The Summer of Dead Toys tr. Laura McGoughlin

Mons Kallentoft – Midwinter Sacrifice tr. Neil Smith

Deon Meyer – 7 Days tr K L Seegers

Jo Nesbo – Phantom tr. Don Bartlett

Johan Theorin – The Quarry tr.  Marlaine Delargy

Have to say, I haven’t gotten to any of these yet. So behind on reading Everything!

Monday Mix

Crime Fiction Lover has a list of top 5 books of 2012.

New Yorker has a list of Best of 2012 books.

The Man Asian Literary Award Longlist has been posted.
AFI 10 best films of the year.