Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Publisher Summary:
Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Columbus, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjërring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. 

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer for a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of night, they'll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve. 


I am not generally a fan of the horror genre, but I'll tell you what I am a fan of: subverting and satirizing genres I don't like. Horrorstör does just that. It is a traditional horror novel in plot, but the setting of a contemporary IKEA-esque furniture store along with the entire exposition that takes jabs at its corporate culture is anything but traditional. Another aspect of the story that subverts that traditional horror genre is, spoiler alert (highlight the white space if you want to read the spoiler): the black guy in the story doesn't die!

What people will most likely notice in terms of Horrorstör's uniqueness and subverting of the horror genre is its packaging. Designed to look like a furniture store catalog, right down to the chapter titles named for pieces of Orsk furniture that sound very similar to the names of items you would find in an IKEA catalog, you can't help but notice Horrorstör on a bookstore or library bookshelf.

Once the story got to the action of the horror tale, however, I wasn't so interested because as I said, I'm generally not a fan of the horror genre. But all that led up to the scary stuff was really fun and original and I applaud Grady Hendrix for his ingenuity. It takes something completely new and "never before seen" for me to sit up and take notice of a book from a genre I normally care nothing about. Horrorstör did that in spades.

Check out the book trailer:



Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Expected Publication: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Quirk Books
Pages: 240
Genre: Horror
Audience: Adult/Young Adult
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.   

Author Interview: Lenore Appelhans

Lenore Appelhans's second book, CHASING BEFORE, is out in stores today. It is the sequel to her amazing debut novel, THE MEMORY OF AFTER.

I interviewed Lenore prior to her first book coming out (originally titled Level 2) so I thought it was only appropriate to catch up with her now that book two is out in stores.

About Chasing Before:

“I’m a ticking time bomb. And one day soon everything is going to explode.”

Felicia and Neil have arrived in Level 3 and are supposed to prepare for their divine vocations.

But during Felicia and Neil's training period, a series of explosions rips through Level 3. Tension is high, and casualties are mounting. A rift forms between the pair, one that grows wider when Felicia receives memories from the Morati. The memories cast doubt on the people she loves the most, but Felicia can't stop her curiosity. She has to know the truth about her life – even if it means putting at risk everything she’s worked for in her death.


Foodie Bibliophile: For readers who might not know the story, can you explain the reason for the title change of your first novel?

Lenore Appelhans: My understanding is that the “2” in LEVEL 2 made people think that it was a

sequel and that the first book must be called LEVEL 1. S&S decided a new title, without a number, would work better for the paperback. THE MEMORY OF AFTER was a title that both the publisher and I came up independently, so great minds!


FB: How did THE MEMORY OF AFTER morph and change once you knew you would be writing a sequel?

LA: I knew very early that there would be two books. In my original outline of LEVEL 2, there were a bunch of twists at the end, and my editor suggested moving some of those revelations to book 2. One of the big twists sets up the plot of CHASING BEFORE, so it was really pretty perfect!


FB: You share your playlists and favorite artists with readers. How does music influence your writing?

LA: Pieces of music, much like specific scents, have the power to jumpstart your memory and take you back to special moments in your life. When I’m working on a book, I’ll often put my iTunes on shuffle or listen to random stuff on Spotify. Sometimes a lyric or a certain atmosphere will catch my ear that I think works for a scene or a character and I’ll put it on the playlist. Then, before I work on that scene or a scene with that character, I’ll listen to the song or songs to get me in the right frame of mind for that writing session. 

 
FB: Around the time edits were due for CHASING BEFORE, you became life-threateningly ill and spent weeks in the hospital. How did the fact that you have written two books set in an imagined afterlife put that experience in perspective for you?

LA: I didn’t know until after I was already out of danger just how close to death I had been (minutes to hours apparently). It certainly struck me as freaky that I have afterlife books. And this is morbid, but I actually said to my husband, “well, if I had died, then my publicist could have spun that into a good story to sell the books.”

Having a near death experience certainly put so much in perspective for me. I don’t worry as much anymore. I’ve been through the fire, and emerged fearless in a way. I think Felicia goes through a similar transformation in the series.


FB: What's next for you?

LA: I just started my first semester of the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It has been a transformative experience so far and I am looking forward to digging deeper than I ever thought I could go. I am working on a contemporary YA with a possible magical realism element and am in the process of really getting to know the main character.


Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today Lenore! I wish you much success with your second book!

Read my review of CHASING BEFORE

Buy the books in The Memory Chronicles series:

If you buy these books or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

It's Monday! What are you reading? 8-25-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.


Well we're off and running! Last week was the first week of the new school year and so far  everything is great. I wrote about my week over on my teaching blog.


On this blog, I also wrote about two awesome events that happened at Nicola's Books last week:
90 Second Reads with Gae Polisner, Bethany Neal, Lara Zielin, and Carrie Harris
Kathleen Flinn talks about her new book, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good


Last week I reviewed:

After the End by Amy Plum


Since I've been so busy with the start of the school year, the only thing I finished reading last week was:

Flight School by Lita Judge
What a delightful story about a little penguin who feels in his soul that he's meant to fly. The illustrations in this book are something special. I'm putting this on my Caldecott short list. 


Currently reading:

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Star Wars: Jedi Academy, Return of the Padawan by Jeffrey Brown 


Still reading with my ears:

Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Audiobook review: After the End by Amy Plum

Juneau Newhaven has lived her entire life in the Alaskan wilderness believing that thirty years earlier, the world had been decimated by World War III. Her clan are the only people she has ever encountered in her short life.

One day Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that her clan has been kidnapped and they had been lying to her all along. World War III never happened and civilization not only exists, but is thriving. Now Juneau must figure out what in her life has been true and what has been a lie. But in the meantime, she must also figure out how to navigate a world she has never encountered, while also dealing with a new truth: someone is after her and she doesn't know why.

Told in alternating chapters of dual narration, both from the main protagonist Juneau and also Miles Blackwell, the boy who locates Juneau and says he'll help find her clan, but he really plans on taking her back home to his father, the man who is looking for her, for what reason she has no idea. 

Strange premise, but an engaging read. I enjoyed the writing and the storyline a great deal. I especially enjoyed Emily Rankin and Graham Hamilton's narration of the audio. Both brought the characters of Juneau and Miles to life. Here's what I didn't like, however:  I still get really irritated with the trend in YA lit today that series books can't stand on their own and there has to be a "to be continued..." Cliffhanger endings are one thing, and I don't mind them as long as most of the conflict that has been building in the novel has been somewhat resolved, but to leave something completely unresolved just to pick it back up in the next book really bothers me.

Despite being perturbed by the ending, I am still interested to see how book two plays out and look forward to reading it or listening to it when it comes out. 


After the End by Amy Plum
Audiobook Narrators: Emily Rankin and Graham Hamilton
Published: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen/Harper Audio
Pages: 336
Audiobook Length: 8 hours, 47 minutes
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Magical Realism 
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Audiobook provided by publisher


If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.   

Book event: Kathleen Flinn talks about Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good at Nicola's Books

Kathleen Flinn is the bestselling author of The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry as well as The Kitchen Counter Cooking School. This week her newest memoir, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family, hit shelves. Since Flinn is from Michigan, she did an event at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor on Wednesday and regaled attendees with stories from her life as a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris as well as her family history and how her love of food and storytelling came about.

What I loved so deeply about Flinn's newest memoir, is that it really speaks to this idea of food being a catalyst for storytelling. I envision using this book as a mentor text with my students to get them thinking about telling their own family stories. They could bring in a family recipe and not just talk about the dish, but also the story behind it, because truly, all family recipes have a story. And each chapter of this book is Flinn doing just that: taking family recipe and sharing its story with great panache, love, and humor. If I can transfer that love and humor somehow to my students' writing, I envision a classroom full of students with open hearts and watering mouths. 

Author, chef, and maker of balloon animals, Kathleen Flinn shares a lovely, intimate evening at Nicola's Books

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn
Published: August 18, 2014
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 267
Genre: Memoir
Audience: Adults
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher

90 Second Reads at Nicola's Books

On Tuesday evening, I attended an awesome YA author event at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor. Gae Polisner, author of The Summer of Letting Go and The Pull of Gravity, was visiting Michigan for a sports event her son was participating in, and so she reached out to Nicola's to do a group author event that she calls 90 Second Reads.

The way 90 Second Reads came about stems from an experience when Gae was invited to attend an event with a group of authors and was asked to prepare a 4-minute reading. Her reading lasted the obligatory 4 minutes, but the other authors went way beyond the 4-minute mark, which got her thinking, "Do people really want to listen to an author read out of context for ten minutes?" Thus 90 Second Reads was born. The 90 seconds are timed by an audience participant and if the author goes over their allotted 90 seconds, they receive a ding with a bell until they stop.

The brave souls who participated along with Gae were Beth Neal, Carrie Harris, and Lara Zielin. It was a fun, interactive evening, and best of all, a group of Nerdy Book Club friends were lucky enough to hang out with Gae and Carrie afterwards.

The 90-Second Reads crew: Lara Zielin, Beth Neal, Gae Polisner, and Carrie Harris

Carrie Harris gives me the best signed book in my collection, an homage to my famous maple bacon ice cream

The Nerdy Book Club crew: Sarah Andersen, me, Jessica Crawford, Gae Polisner, and Brian Wyzlic - I find the pig mural in the background quite amusing (photo credit: Gae Polisner)

Carrie Harris and Gae Polisner (Photo credit: Gae Polisner)

It's Monday! What are you reading? 8-18-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

Today is my first day back in the classroom -- with students! Wish me luck!


Last week I reviewed:

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin


I finished reading:

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn 
I'm looking forward to using this book as a mentor text to get students telling family stories that revolve around food. Flinn is also coming to Ann Arbor on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to hearing more about her life in the kitchen. 


I finished reading with my ears:

Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder
A book that all kids who are going through a parents' divorce will identify with. The main character's wishes manifest themselves through a magical bread box, which she soon realizes is just a crutch that causes more problems than it solves.


My favorite picture book last week was:

Tadpole's Promise by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
Oh my gosh! The ending broke my heart. I so wasn't expecting that. Definitely a discussion-worthy book to share with students. 


Currently reading:
 
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horror novel or IKEA catalog rip-off? You decide. I love the eclectic collection of books Quirk has in their arsenal.


Currently reading with my ears:

Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman 


Last week on my teaching blog: 
New beginnings: A look into my past, present, and future 

Blog Tour: The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin

Gone Too Soon

Your life was a noisy aberration.
You lived inside a cacophony
of your own burdens --
a genius stifled by demons.

Your art spoke for itself
and yet it also didn't
as you resorted to stunts
and attention-grabbing headlines
to give your work
meaning and purpose.

You were an open book,
affixing your heart directly to
your sleeve.
and yet no one ever got to know
the real you.

Now you are gone --
a sad reminder to us all
that genius
often comes at a price
and that perhaps this
tragic end
was just your final
artistic flourish.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin is a book I will be thinking about for a long time. I was lucky enough to get the chance to read an e-galley prior to its publication date, but this really is a book you will want to own a physical copy of. The documentary-style of the narrative, along with the photographs and artwork make Addison Stone a book you will want to pick up, hold, and thumb through.

What is so memorable about Adele Griffin's newest book is how, despite the fact that Addison Stone is dead by the time the reader gets to know her, we are able to really feel her presence in the story, via the accounts of the people who knew her. This novel is an attempt to make sense of Addison's untimely demise by interviewing all the people close to her. While the book is somewhat of a mystery, it feels more like a recounting of her life rather than an attempt to solve whether her death involved foul play.

I have been in somewhat of a reading funk for a while, but Griffin's fresh, innovative approach to a young adult novel woke me right up out of that funk. The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone will undoubtedly be going on my list of favorite books of 2014. 


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin
Published: August 12, 2014
Publisher: Soho Press
Pages: 256
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Mystery
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: E-galley provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.   

It's Monday! What are you reading? 8-11-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

OMG I start back to school next week. I am so not prepared.


Last week I finished reading:

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin
So good! And so unusual. This docu-novel is about an up and coming artist who experiences a mysterious and untimely death. With that description it sounds like it will be a mystery, but it's really just exploring the life of a complicated character known as Addison Stone. 


I finished THREE audiobooks last week!

The One by Kiera Cass
Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord


Still reading:

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn
Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom by Katie Wood Ray 

My Culinary Achilles Heel

I am a sucker for a runny egg yolk. Not only do I love over-easy eggs for breakfast, but there aren't many savory main dishes that can't be improved by the inclusion of a runny egg. Salads, burgers, pizza... you name it. If a dish includes fried or poached egg on top, I'm most likely ordering it.

There's just something so sensual about taking a perfectly cooked egg, poking it with your fork or knife, and watching that golden liquid ooze out onto your plate.

It's the same kind of pleasure one gets from taking that first crack at the sugared crust of creme brulee.

What kinds of things are you a sucker for on a restaurant menu?

It's Monday! What are you reading? 8-4-14

Originally hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers also host a kidlit version of It's Monday! What are You Reading?

My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.

Holy cow! How is it August already? I start teaching again in two weeks! :O Guess I've gotta get busy reading these last two weeks of freedom, huh?


Last week I reviewed:

Noggin by John Corey Whaley
Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman, illustrated by Ty Templeton


I finished reading:

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Beautiful art and somewhat intriguing storyline, but it felt like the story was missing a thread to tie it all together. I just didn't quite connect with it the way I was hoping to. Nevertheless, it was a quick read and worth the short time it took to finish it. And of course, I'm looking forward to the #yalit101 Twitter chat about this book on August 26th at 8 PM ET. 

Picture books I really enjoyed:


Gravity by Jason Chin
Sparse but wonderful nonfiction text with stunning illustrations. Could see this one being a Geisel or even Caldecott contender. 

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Steve Jenkins
If the picture book illustrator is Steve Jenkins I will read it. His paper collage art is always so detailed and visually intriguing, as you wonder how he could possibly do such miraculous things with paper and some scissors. This nonfiction title by Jennifer Ward includes a pleasant and informational rhyming quatrain about a different bird and the type of nest it builds on a two-page spread, along with some added information about each bird on the facing page. 


I finished reading with my ears:

 
After the End by Amy Plum  
Strange premise, but an engaging read. I still get really irritated with the trend in YA lit today that series books can't stand on their own and there has to be a "to be continued..." Cliffhanger endings are one thing, and I don't mind them as long as most of the conflict that has been building in said novel has been somewhat resolved, but to leave something completely unresolved just to pick it back up in the next book really annoys me. 

The Elite by Kiera Cass  
Speaking of picking it back up in the next novel... While I can't call myself a fan of this series, I also can't stop listening to it either so I guess there's something to be said for that.  


Currently and still reading:


Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn 
I hope to have this book finished this week. Flinn will be visiting a local bookstore on August 20th so I want to make sure I have it at least finished before then. 

Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom by Katie Wood Ray 
Don't let the subtitle of this book fool you. No matter what grade level you teach, if you are a teacher of writing, this book is worthwhile.


Currently reading with my ears:

The One by Kiera Cass


Posts last week from my teaching blog:
Storify archives curation: July #nctechat and #titletalk 
My beef with "Word Crimes" 
Advocating for students should not mean silencing teachers