Working in a library, I try to read a wide variety of books – romance books, graphic novels, memoirs, young adult fiction, fantasy and popular non-fiction titles. But my one true love is contemporary literary fiction. A coworker once remarked to me that I didn’t like reading novels by authors who weren’t alive. Yep. Give me Jhumpa Lahiri over Jane Austen any day.
But I assume like a lot of readers I get stuck in a rut and go long periods of time without being excited about the fiction I am reading. This fall might be the answer to all my book desires. Four of my top ten favorite authors have new books coming out!
Michael Chabon wrote one of my all-time favorites and former One Book One Bloomington title, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. His newest, Telegraph Avenue is out this week. It tells the tale of a used record shop and the two friends who are co-owners. Spouses and children complicate the story as well as a mega-store moving in down the street. Set in Northern California in 2004, Chabon explores parenthood, family, music, and the American Dream.
When compact discs first came out they were proclaimed to be almost indestructible. I still remember watching the Today Show and being amazed as the new media storage for music was demonstrated. Part of the demonstration was taking a small hammer and hitting the CD disc with it. A wonder of wonders; the disc still played. Looking back on this event today I wonder if the disc would have played all the way through. The Idea that digital disc storage was indestructible has been more than a little overblown. Digital discs need the same care and sometimes greater care than the old vinyl recordings. I would like to share with you some guidelines for caring for your digital discs. " 
Every reader knows that once in a while, you come across a strange word, often from another language. This word may take hold of your imagination because it looks or sounds so weird, or you might be exposed to it over years and years in the most disconnected contexts, until you just have to look it up. Such is the word Bildungsroman. 
I’ve worked in libraries for years including a few in Texas, so it is a wonder that I’ve never read a western. Part of the problem then with reading your first book in a genre is that you lack the language to properly describe it or make comparisons. Now I wonder if I shall ever read another for the fear that the next one won’t hold up to