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Interview with Gabe Hudson, author of ‘Gork, The Teenage Dragon’

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Watch our author video interview, “15 minutes with… Gabe Hudson,” now! Here, we talk about his debut novel, Gork, The Teenage Dragon, staying in the science fiction genre and where the world of Gork is going next! You don’t want to miss this interview brought to you by NetGalley, Meryl Moss Media and BookTrib.com. Gork isn’t like the other dragons at WarWings Military Academy. He has a gigantic heart, two-inch horns, and an occasional problem with fainting. His nickname is Weak Sauce and his Will to Power ranking is Snacklicious—the lowest in his class. But he is determined not to let any of this hold him back as he embarks on the most important mission of his life: tonight, on the eve of…

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J. Courtney Sullivan’s ‘Saints for All Occasions’ Explores Family Secrets

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saints for all occasions review

Read on for a review of J. Courtney Sullivan’s Saints for All Occasions, by Jane Green, author of The Sunshine Sisters. Nora and Theresa Flynn are 21 and 17 when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she’s shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn’t sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa ends up pregnant, Nora is forced to come up with a plan—a decision with repercussions they are both far too young to understand. Fifty years later, Nora is the matriarch of a…

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Review: The Weird Greatness of Nathan Hill’s “The Nix”

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A lot of people have called Nathan Hill’s debut novel, The Nix (Knopf, August 30, 2016), one of the best of the year. They’re absolutely right. This willfully sprawling, imperfectly ambitious novel contains so many shades of other books that I love that, upon reflection, it’s startling to consider the unique sort of excellence Hill has been able to achieve. To inadequately sum up a massive, 620 page novel, the story follows the relationship between an aloof son and his estranged mother. Samuel Andresen-Anderson, a 30-something college English professor obsessed with “World of Elfscape,” starts researching the life of his mother, Faye, after she gets caught on camera throwing rocks at a horrible politician. She had abandoned him without warning…

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TED Talk: Safwat Saleem Urges You to Find Your Voice — Plus, a Helpful Book List

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Finding a voice to fit your identity is never easy. However, artist, designer and animator Safwat Saleem, had a particularly difficult time, struggling with anxiety about his childhood stutter. In this thought-provoking, heartfelt and adorably animated talk from TED 2016, Saleem describes how he overcame his struggle to incorporate his voice into his artwork, not only through childhood, but in the face of rude YouTube commenters who ridiculed his Pakistani accent as an adult. Instead of letting ill-mannered commenters keep him from using his own voice in his work, Saleem rather unpacks the reasons behind those comments: differing definitions of “normality” that lead to preconceived notions. Saleem resolves to use his art to challenge those preconceived notions, which is about…

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#Thrillerfest16 is Happening Now! Thrillers that Get Our Pulse Racing

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It’s that time of year again: Thrillerfest ’16 is here and in full swing! Let’s be honest, if there’s one thing keeping most of us up at night it’s a scary movie or book. There’s just something about that thrill that really gets our heart racing. So, of course, it only seems fitting that not only do we fall for a great thriller book, but in turn, we fall for the author of that book, too. Most of readers have a preference when it comes to any author in general. There are some people who read more of one author than another, some authors you may just be discovering, and some that you’re just so completely obsessed with, you’re on the edge of your seat until…

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Inspirational Presentations: Celebrating 10 Years of TED Talks with a Reading List!

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On June 27, 2006, the first six TED videos were posted to TED.com. Ten years of great ideas, inspirational talks and mind-bending presentations are definitely worth celebrating. In the spirit of celebrating, here’s a reading list from some of our favorite TED speakers! Think of it as recommended reading for your every element of your various TED Talk bingeing. For Life Advice: Find a Way, Diana Nyad (Knopf, 2015) One of the best things about TED Talks is their ability to inspire. One of the most inspirational trailblazers to ever take the TED stage is Diana Nyad, the long-distance swimmer who finally achieved her goal, a 100 mile swim from Cuba to Florida, at the age of 64. Her startling story…

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Rich and Pretty: A Socialite’s Summer Reading List

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Once summer rolls around all I daydream about is strolling down the bustling Manhattan streets in my favorite summer dress, with the perfect pair of wedges and a bright clutch to finish off the perfect ensemble. Once I have the look, then I obviously need somewhere to show it off! In my daydream I’m making stops at trendy rooftop bars, picking between the tropical 230 Fifth next to the Empire State Building or Hotel Chantelle down on the Lower East Side. Hey, I may have read too many Gossip Girl books in my life, but a girl can dream! Truthfully though, the array of rooftop bars is unlimited in the Big Apple and trying to find the time to hit them all can be a bit overwhelming. So for every daydreamer out there…

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Heat Index: 5 Hot New Books that Use Food and Drinks as Supporting Characters

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There’s nothing like food and drinks to bring a group of people together, whether it’s a special occasion, a holiday or good ol’ fashion picnic, at the heart of it all is the food we eat and the cocktails we drink. So it makes sense that the incorporation of food and drinks in the thing we love most, books, would be a must. Not only do the characters in these stories rely on food to get them through their day, but the delicious cocktails and fine cuisine take on a life all its own within the pages of these five hot new books and ultimately become the supporting characters in each novel. Sweetbitter: A Novel, Stephanie Danler (Knopf, May 24, 2016) “Gorgeous,…

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A Reading List for Every Singleton Out There

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It stinks to be singled out, but it certainly doesn’t stink to be single. If you want some distraction from your crippling loneliness — erm, we mean independence, check out the six books we picked below! Matt’s Picks: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, Allie Brosh (Touchstone Books, 2013) I had an awkward childhood, but who didn’t? I’m also a 20-something college grad who doesn’t have a clue. Allie Brosh’s book features her favorite stories from the cult blog of the same name accompanied with silly Microsoft Paint drawings that are the epitome of derp. She recounts hilarious anecdotes from her youth and throughout her 20s. I can relate. So much so that…

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Smart Reads: 6 Memoirs That Examine the Author’s Own History

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We love history here at BookTrib, which is why we featured 5 Fascinating Books that Shed a Fresh Light on History in February. But when we sat down to plan our Women’s History Month Smart Reads, we decided to take a slightly different angle. We wanted to feature women who are telling contemporary stories about their own lives. So here are six memoirs that explore family dynamics, grief and loss, redemption, reinvention, violence and peace, and that enduring thing called love. Red Eggs and Good Luck: A Memoir by Angela Lam (She Writes Press; October 6, 2015) “Red Eggs and Good Luck is the kind of honest, beautifully written memoir that will have you staying up way too late turning…

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Beneath the Canvas: 3 Books That Reveal What the Artist Meant

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There’s a kind of magic in a piece of art in that it contains more than what meets the eye. For this week’s selection, Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA, founded in 1894 and the oldest and largest indie bookstore west of the Mississippi, has chosen to peer behind the canvas and reveal the deeper meanings in works of art. Our curator this week is book buyer Sherri Gallentine who has three gems you might want to add to your holiday wish list. The Master of the Prado by Javier Sierra (Atria Books; November 17, 2015) “Sierra’s unusual fictionalized memoir begins in 1990 when Sierra encounters a man in Madrid’s Prado Museum, whom he refers to as ‘The Master of the…

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Everyday Heroes: 3 Novels about the Road to Redemption

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When facing life’s biggest challenges, even ordinary folk can become heroes. Events coordinator Sam Kaas of Village Books in Bellingham, Washington chose this week’s theme; “Three Tales of Messy Redemption and Defiant Perseverance.” He was influenced by the great Northwest writer Brian Doyle (Mink River, The Plover), who says that his books are about “ordinary, strange, flawed people who stare into the face of terrifying darkness, join hands, and march forward.” City On Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg (Knopf, October 13, 2015) “A massive, gritty, and ultimately triumphant novel, City On Fire follows an ensemble cast—artists, writers, journalists, cops, punks, kids—through six tumultuous months in New York City, from New Year’s Eve, 1976 to the devastating, city-wide blackout of July 13…

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Memoir: How Diana Nyad Swam from Cuba to Florida and into a World Record at 64

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As you’ve probably heard, the United States and Cuba have been working on normalizing relations after generations of a diplomatic stand-off that has been at best, frosty, and at worst, nearly deadly. But in 2013—two years before the announcement that the U.S. would again open an embassy in Havana—a remarkable feat of athletic prowess and personal determination connected the two countries. That was when Diana Nyad became the first person in history to make the 110-mile swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida. Nyad made the 54-hour swim through shark- and jellyfish-infested waters without the protection of a cage. Perhaps most impressively, though, she did it at age 64. And when she emerged exhausted from the Atlantic Ocean at the…

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Dancing towards unattainable perfection in Maggie Shipstead’s ASTONISH ME

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A former dance teacher once told me that the essence of ballet can be encapsulated in one word: up. Modern dancers, with their shoulder rolls and deep, sweeping lunges, stay close to the floor, while ballet dancers are in a constant battle with gravity: chins high, necks elongated, muscles constantly tugging on bones to lift arms and legs up, up, up. There is even a word—ballon—for when a ballet dancer appears to hover in the air longer than is physically possible, a pertinent symbol of what dancers spend the entirety of their careers slaving over: the appearance of effortlessness in the face of utmost control, a virtually unobtainable illusion. With this in mind, it’s understandable that most of the dancers…

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