Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Best Books of the Year

Can you believe it's already mid-November? Thanksgiving's just around the corner, and Christmas is just around the corner from that, and then New Year's arrives in a flash...and then 2012 is over. Was it as busy a year for you as it was for me? Did you get a chance to do everything that you wanted to do? I doubt it. Most of us live in an increasingly fast-paced life of have-to's and should-do's, a life that doesn't afford the downtime to tackle the mounting list of things we'd actually like to do. And if that's any indication of a pattern, 2013 will go by even faster.

So take some time off this holiday season to stop and enjoy the finer things in life. Like reading. Even if fiction isn't your gig, there's gotta be something out there that could change your life, some beautiful book with crisp white pages just waiting for you to crinkle them. Maybe this year was too busy to even gather up a reading wish lis?. No problem; Publisher's Weekly has done the work for you. Check out their Best Books of 2012 for some great ideas.

Whatever you pick, even if it's not reading, make sure to do something slow this season, something that will let you take a break from the hubbub. Unfortunately most of us don't get to hibernate all winter to preserve energy for the coming year, but we still need the holiday season to store up fat--especially mental and psychological fat. Fatten up your brain this holiday season with a great book.

TJ

Friday, November 9, 2012

YA for A's

Young adult fiction isn't just for young adults anymore. Sure, maybe in my YA days it was. The lone and depressingly skinny YA bookshelf in the big-box chains barely held enough books to keep my voracious appetite occupied for a single summer. These days, young adult fiction is everywhere. Airports. Grocery stores. Everywhere that before you could only find formulaic mysteries and generic romance mass-markets. Today, the YA section in most bookstores rivals the general fiction section in both size and scope. And not all YA books are juvenile, in these increasingly-liberal days.

If you're past the age of 21 and haven't jumped on the Twilight or Hunger Games or insert any other YA phenomenon here bandwagon yet, maybe you just haven't found the right gateway book. Try this list for starters: 11 YA Novels Every Adult Should Read. It's got a good mix of modern and classic YA fiction, all of which will be worth your time and deal with issues far beyond the standard girl-meets-vampire. Inside these pages you'll read about real issues that used to be the sole terrain of jaded, overstressed adults, but now has trickled down to the younger generations. Good or bad societal sign? You be the judge. Either way, you're in for some entertaining reading.

Are there any other books you'd add to this list?

TJ