Justin Beiber Pens Memoir

File this one under “GOOD GRIEF.”

People Magazine is reporting that 16-year-old Justin Beiber’s cover art for his upcoming memoir is out.  The book is called First Step 2 Forever: My Story and will hit book stores in October.

There’s even a little flirty note on the cover that reads “Lots of exclusive photos just for you.  Love Justin xxx.”

Does this 16-year-old have enough life experiences to fill a book?

The House Of Tomorrow

In The House of Tomorrow by Peter Boganni, Sebastian Pendergrass is less than social.  He’s home schooled and lives with his kooky grandmother in a dome.  And when Sebastian’s grandmother has a stroke, circumstance leads Peter to a new form of music: punk rock.

Nothing about this story is glamorous.  In fact, every character has a nasty flaw.  Just like real life, the teen boys swear, the mothers have secrets, the grandmothers are eccentric and the teen girls are awkward around boys.

Like most novels I enjoy, The House of Tomorrow does contain profanity and references to sex.  It has a Catcher In The Rye or Chuck Palahniuk feel to the pacing and sex/drugs/rock & roll references.

Quirky and dirty, just how I remember my teenage years.

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam (March 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399156097
• ISBN-13: 978-0399156090

Where The Wild Things Are by Dave Eggers

I was hesitant to pick up Where The Wild Things Are by Dave Eggers because I’m so in love with Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.  I was afraid that Eggers was going to ruin the beloved chidren’s book.

It was hard to think that any author – even Eggers – could capture that whimsy that accompanies the original picture book.  Maybe Eggers could get the whimsy, but could he also get the message of how powerless youth are, and how liberating their fantasies can be?

In short, yes he could.

Dave Eggers co-wrote the movie version with Spike Jonze, and then he penned this novel based on their screenplay.

The original Where The Wild Things Are is just a dozen pages with no more than 250 words.  Super short.  The longer Eggers version still has a wild boy named Max, and he still bites his mother and is told he’s too wild and is sent to his room.

Max still finds himself on an island with the Wild Things.

But there are differences too.  We see much more of Max’s home life in the Eggers version.  We learn that Max has an older sister that’s too cool for the baby games that Max wants to play.

One of my favorite differences is that Eggers pulls out a lot of the kid-with-behavioral-issues and puts them front and center.  Max isn’t just a wild boy…he’s got some serious fucking issues.  Perhaps he’s bipolar.

On the island of wild things, Max is king and he still leads the wild rumpus.  And in the Eggers version each of the wild things have their own distinct voice and personality.

Think of this book as it’s own thing…not just a quick adaptation.  I wouldn’t call this book brilliant, but for those young adults moving on to full novels, or just those adults out there that enjoy “kidslit” (or a flashback to the Sendak of their youth), this is a good read.

Just a longer version of that picture book you loved.

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (March 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307475468

Facts & Figures 2009

Publisher’s Weekly just (re)released the best-selling books from 2009.  Here’s is the list of the top 30 best-selling Adult Fiction novels from last year.

In the comments tell me how many of these titles you read.

1. The Lost Symbol: A Novel. Dan Brown. Doubleday (5,543,643).
2. The Associate: A Novel. John Grisham. Doubleday.
3. The Help. Kathryn Stockett. Putnam/Amy Einhorn (1,104,617).
4. I, Alex Cross. James Patterson. Little, Brown (1,040,976).
5. The Last Song. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central (1,032,829).
6. Ford Country. John Grisham. Doubleday.
7. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen. Janet Evanovich. St. Martin’s (977,178).
8. The Host: A Novel. Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown (912,165).
9. Under the Dome. Stephen King. Scribner
10. Pirate Latitudes. Michael Crichton. Harper (855,638).
11. Scarpetta. Patricia Cornwell. Putnam (800,000).
12. U Is for Undertow. Sue Grafton. Putnam (706,154).
13. The Scarpetta Factor. Patricia Cornwell. Putnam (705,000).
14. Shadowland. Alyson Noel. St. Martin’s (609,355).
15. The 8th Confession. James Patterson. Little, Brown (606,097).
16. Arctic Drift. Clive Cussler with Dirk Cussler. Putnam (588,247).
17. South of Broad: A Novel. Pat Conroy. Doubleday (565,156).
18. Run for Your Life. James Patterson. Little, Brown (557,356).
19.True Blue. David Baldacci. Grand Central. (555,296).
20. Swimsuit. James Patterson. Little, Brown (553,138).
21. Pursuit of Honor: A Novel. Vince Flynn. Atria.
22. Alex Cross’s Trial. James Patterson. Little, Brown (517,171).
23. Black Hills. Nora Roberts. Putnam (502,000).
24. Breathless: A Novel. Dean Koontz. Bantam (500,964).
25. Dead and Gone: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel. Charlaine Harris. Ace (500,135).
26. Southern Lights: A Novel. Danielle Steel. Delacorte (497,140).
27. First Family. David Baldacci. Grand Central 447,484).
28. The Gathering Storm: Book 12 of the Wheel of Time. Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Tor (437, 474).
29. The Wrecker. Clive Cussler. Putnam (387,309).
30. Just Take My Heart. Mary Higgins Clark. S&S.

Gone ‘Till November by Wallace Stroby

I recently had a one-night stand.

I’ve been down-and-out.  Looking through the new releases and best sellers, it’s been really hard trying to find something new and current to read and review for iEATbooks.  It seems that there are plenty of serial killer books and vampire novels out there.  Many of the best sellers are throw-away-novels that you’ll forget an hour or two after reading them.

Then I came across Wallace Stroby’s Gone ‘Till November, a recently published crime novel.  Crime novel?  I know.  Crime novels are the champion throw-aways.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book had memorable and believable characters who are facing real-life dangers.

I sat down on Friday afternoon with Gone ‘Till November and was done by Saturday morning breakfast.

Stroby has written to other novels, The Barbed-Wire Kiss and The Heartbreak Lounge.  Each of these two books feature a former New Jersey State Trooper.

In Gone ‘Till November, Stroby introduces a new protagonist – Florida sheriff deputy Sara Cross.  Cross is a single mom to a 6-year-old with leukemia.

Sara’s ex-boyfriend, also a sheriff deputy, kills a young black man from New Jersey on a deserted country road.  The shooting appears to be warranted…the guy had a truck full of guns and a gun in his hand.  But Sara suspects that the entire story isn’t being told.

The dead guy is a college student that accepted an assignment from a drug dealer in Neward named Mikey-Mike.  All he has to do is drive to Florida with $350,000 and hand it over to a local supplier.  But after his shooting, the money is missing.

Mikey-Mike sends one of his thugs – an older guy named Morgan.  Stroby does a great job of thoroughly developing Morgan’s character.  He drives an aged Monte Carlo, listens to Sam Cooke, and has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Being a hired goon doesn’t come with a health plan, so Morgan has no insurance to help him beat cancer.  He plans to retrieve and steal the money to get the treatment he needs.

Gone Till November is a quick-paced and totally captivating read that will grab you fast and not let go.

Full of deception and compelling characters.  Buy this book today.

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition, First Edition edition (January 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312560249

Would you pay more for a signed copy?

How about $500,000?

According to the New York Times, a rare copy of Jane Austin’s Emma signed by the author sold for more than $500,000.  It was published in 1816 and was one of the 12 copies the publisher gave to Austen to give to friends or family.

All joking aside, would you pay an extra $10 for a book if the author signed the inside cover?

Chow Hound by Eve Adamson

Perhaps this is an odd book to review here.  I believe that this is the first non-fiction book review  posted on iEATbooks.  Oh well.

Last Christmas I received Chow Hound: Wholesome Home Cooking for Your Doggie by Eve Andamson.  Last Saturday morning I cracked it open for the first time and put together a little something for the dogs.

Before you get to the recipes, there’s some good information on why you should bake for your dog, the basics of cooking for your pets, and a list of foods you should never feed a dog.

Did you know that dogs shouldn’t eat:

• Alcoholic beverages (duh)
• Avocado
• Chocolate (especially baking chocolate)
• Coffee (the caffeine can be deadly)
• Fruit seeds and pits (especially from apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, or apricots)
• Garlic (fresh)
• Grapes and raisins
• Mushrooms
• Nutmeg (don’t be tempted to add it to your baked goods!)
• Nuts (especially walnuts and macadamias)
• Onions
• Sugarless gum or candy (the artificial sweetener xylitol is the culprit)
• Tea
• Tomatoes
• Uncooked dough

I do wish this book had more small dry treat recipes.  It has many recipes for bigger treats…muffins, pies, breads, cookies, etc.

I decided to make one called Here Kitty, Kitty Tuna Pie. I picked this recipe simply because I had all the ingredients in the house.  I’m going to share the recipe and process with you here.

Start by pulling together all the ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 cans of tuna
• 2 tablespoons of dried parsley
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Coat a 9-inch pie plate with olive oil.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs and the chicken broth.

Throw in the tuna.  If you’re using chunky (like I did), I’d suggest you break it up with a fork.

Mix in the parsley.

If you’re doing it right, your dogs will be drooling at your feet.

Pour the mixture into the pie plate and sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top.

Bake the pie for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are set and the bread crumbs turn golden brown.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or sealed in an airtight container for up to 1 month in the freezer.

Is baking for your dog a little obsessive? Absolutely not.

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sterling Innovation; 1 edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140275566X

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

I’m a Roald Dahl fan, and with the recent success of the Fantastic Mr. Fox movie, I thought I should pick up this book and give it a go.

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl is about a fox that steals food for himself and his family from three farmers: chickens from Boggis, ducks and geese from Bunce, and turkeys from Bean.

All three farmers were mean and nasty.  And their joint hatred for the thieving Mr. Fox makes them join forces to kill him.

They hang out and wait for the fox to emerge.  Then they begin digging with shovels and eventually turn to machines.

In a bind, Mr. Fox comes up with a brilliant idea…

Roald Dahl is a classic 20th Century Kids Lit author.  In between his big works, he has a bunch of little gems that I’m slowly finding.  Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of those.  There’s nothing too deep about this book, but it’s a great read-aloud book to use with children.

If you’re reading this with a kid, ask him why it’s bad for the farmers to kill the fox…but it’s okay for the fox to kill and eat the chickens.

The three stooges versus a loveable Peter-The-Rabbit-Like character.

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142410349

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

The idea behind Nick Hornby’s sixth novel, Juliet, Naked,  seems pretty enticing.  In a British seaside town named Gooleness, Annie and Duncan have been together for 15 dreadful years in a relationship that is lifeless and dull..due mostly to a third person.

Duncan is obsessed with an 80s singer-songwriter named Tucker Crowe.  Crowe had a “legendary break-up album” in 1986 called Juliet and then he disappeared.  Never made another recording.  Never appeared in public again.  And this only intensified the obsessiveness of his mostly male, fortysomething fan base.

Duncan runs a website for “Crowologists” and receives an advanced copy of Juliet, Naked – a CD of “solo acoustic demos of the Juliet album.  Duncan is in heaven.  He quickly pounds out an overly positive review on his website.  Meanwhile, Annie, sees Juliet, Naked for what it is.  “Juliet but without all the good bits.”

Annie gets frustrated by Duncan’s unquestioning worship – and she’s becoming increasingly aware that she has wasted the last 15 years of her life on this man – she decides to post her own negative review.  Annie’s post gets some good feedback, including a shocking email from Mr. Tucker Crowe.  The Tucker Crowe.

This novel really reads as if it’s made for the movies.  But only those who read it will get the full-story.  Hornby does a great job of describing the settling that people do with mates that aren’t a perfect fit.  He says it is “sheer stubbornness” that makes humans begin to “affix themselves to another” even when they don’t fit.

At the end of this novel, you think, “What will become of these people?”  Hornby doesn’t give their fates away.  For some, this might be a disappointment.  For others, it mirrors life.

Read this book now before it becomes a movie.

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (December 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141020644

Rockstar’s Rainbow by Kevin Glavin

A reporter for The Interloper – a sensational Enquirer-like tabloid – was thrown out of a plane over Los Angeles coincidentally close to the time he was completing a book about the personal life of legendary rock star Rook Heisenberg.

Luckily, according to the forward, the novel-in-progress was saved and published.

Rock star’s Rainbow by Kevin Glavin is a more prolific novel than I thought it would be when first picking it up.  The book begins with the story of a depressed rock icon that has a new girl every night (sometimes more than one), and he’s growing tired of the superficial nature of his sex life.  After tracking his high school sweetheart to Amsterdam, he makes an impulse decision and flies there to meet with her.

Once in Amsterdam Rook the Rock star learns that his old girlfriend is not only a prostitute in a high-class brothel, but is also the mother of his child.  A child that has been shipped to India by the brothel owner.

It’s almost as if Glavin had three book ideas, and smashed them all into one.  I could have easily read and enjoyed a book about a depressed rock star that rekindles things with his high school sweetheart.  I would have also enjoyed a book about a man who finds out he has a daughter that has been sold by a brothel owner.  And I can also see a book being made of the rat-race from Amsterdam to India to Amsterdam that takes place in the last 150 pages of Rock star’s Rainbow.  But when it’s all squished together, it’s tough to savor the distinct flavor of each of these stories.

This book is long – 500 pages – but the ending still felt rushed and contrived.  There was a lot of story that Glavin had to end, and he quickly created surprises to help tie up some of the complicated plot lines.  Parts of this book are unbelievable and absurd, but it was still a good read.

Three pretty good books smooshed together into one mediocre book.

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Kevin Glavin Publishing (December 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982546629