Books for the Holidays

    Hello all!  I hope everyone had a successful and satisfying Thanksgiving with your families:)  I wasn't going to do a blog today just because of the holiday and the fact that I've been gone all day, but I decided when I got home that I wanted to write about some books I saw at Barnes and Noble yesterday while shopping with my sister.  This isn't a review of sorts, rather a suggestion post regarding new releases or options based on particular interests in reading genres.  Literally speaking, I think these are pretty swell choices for gifts or just leisurely reading over the holidays.

    Amy Tan's The Valley of Amazement is first on my list, being that I'm a fan of her work, including The Joy Luck Club.  Tan's typical theme generates around Asian-American conflicts with a mixture of mother-daughter struggles and other relationship turmoils.  This new book is no exception; focusing on the courtesan life of an Asian-American immigrant, from past to present, Tan brings to life the tainted truth of naivety and innocence with her characters and true-to-life detail and scenery.  I would read this book solely because of the author's reputation, but also because the story, like her previous works, dwell on the conflicts of minority groups, which have always intrigued me.  To read a great review of this book by NPR, click here.

    Another book I've been interested in reading is The Book Thief.  I recently saw the trailer for the movie version, and I nearly died.  It looked so great!  But I realized that I hadn't read the book in years and would be completely lost if I saw the movie first, so I decided it would be a great idea to re-read the book.  Narrated by Death, the story of Liesel unfolds in front of us as she tackles hardships ranging from death to fear to imprisonment fighting through Nazi Germany during World War II.  I am absolutely obsessed with the history of this time period and enjoy this genre of creative non-fiction, (however horrible the actual history may have been).  Considering the movie looks amazing, the book would be a great gift for someone looking to see it.

    For those teen-novelists out there, (or middle schoolers), I have the perfect series for you!  Including her Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series, Louise Rennison has never disappointed me in the laughter department.  Thus, when I came across her new series, starting with Withering Tights, I got a little excited.  Where Confessions focuses on the preteen life of Georgia Nicolson, Withering Tights focuses on Georgia's cousin Tallulah while she attends a performing arts college for the summer in northern England.  This is a comedy preteen series from the UK, so it evolves to a different kind of funny that only the Brits have mastered at this point.  I've found this author hilarious for a number of years so far, and expect nothing different from her new series.  If you want to learn more about Georgia Nicolson, click here.

    Last recommendation is another book-to-movie fandango, (see what I did there?...), called Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, a seemingly horrific story about dead children.  A 16-year-old boy named Jacob gets sent to this children's home after a family tragedy and has to cope with not only his own troubles, but the terrors lurking within the walls.  Even though I cannot watch scary movies, (it's a physical impossibility), I've found that I can read scary books, so I wouldn't mind reading it.  Although it didn't get great reviews on Goodreads, I would still at least give it a shot.  The less scary the better, in my opinion.  The fact that this is going to be a movie is another incentive to read it.
    I know this wasn't a typical Thursday post, but I didn't want to load people with knowledge on a day devoted to spending time with families, so I made it easy and holiday-related.  If you are interested in any of the books above or want to suggest your own literary picks for holiday gifting, let me know in the comments.  If you want to keep track of your reading lists, need book suggestions or want to expand your literary knowledge, check out Goodreads and sign up to get unlimited access to book reviews, ratings and new releases.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.