Book Buzz

• Oodles of books came out this week, so let me mention a few that interest me (and thus must surely interest you). Last week, I heard a good interview with Patrick Tracey on NPR about his new book Stalking Irish Madness. Speaking of NPR, The Good Thief has been sponsoring the station for weeks. Hannah Tinti’s novel about an orphan traveling through New England is finally available to read, so maybe the ads will magically disappear. New England must be a hot topic because Kathleen Kent’s The Heretic’s Daughter about the Salem witches also came out this week. Finally, Marilynne Robinson has a new book, Home. I read Housekeeping in college and didn’t love it, but I might be in the minority.
  

• I’ll keep my opinions about vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin to myself. However, if you want to read about her, you can check out Kaylene Johnson’s Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment on Its Ear. Then again, getting your hands on a copy might be difficult since not even Amazon has it in stock.

• I keep running into David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife everywhere I turn (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration). I likely won’t read the book, but The New York Times gives the fictional account of Brigham Young’s 19th wife, Ann Eliza, a positive review.

• I saw an ad this week for Bookmarks. I’ve never read it, but I am intrigued by a magazine all about books. Then again, I'd probably never get around to it since I have a hard enough time reading the book reviews in the newspaper.
  

• Thank goodness for dishonest people. Someone leaked a draft of Stephenie Meyer’s latest book, Midnight Sun, on the internet, and now Meyer claims she might not finish it. I haven’t read the draft, but considering how terrible the final product is, just imagine how hideous Meyer’s first-draft writing must be. Don’t feel too badly for her, though. She is directing a music video for Jack’s Mannequin. How being a crap writer qualifies Meyer to direct, I do not know.