Saturday, June 4, 2011

Blogger Event at Porter Square Books

Last night's blogger event at Porter Square Books in Cambridge went really, really well! First I want to thank the store and Josh for arranging it, and gathering such a great group of bloggers. I was honored to sit with Ann Kingman of Books on the Nightstand and Melanie Yarborough of The Things They Read; missing for various reasons but present in spirit were Kevin of Boston Book Bums and Jason of Three Guys One Book; we missed you!! And I want to give another big thanks to everyone who came out- we had a packed audience- and especially to my readers and friends who were there (and even to those of you who wished you could be). You know who you are!

So what did folks recommend?

My picks were
  • The Invisible Bridge, by Julie Orringer, a wonderful epic love story about Europe, especially France and Hungary, during World War 2;
  • Asta in the Wings, by Jan Elizabeth Watson, a beautiful novel about the wonder of childhood and more a literary take on the ground covered in Emma Donoghue's much-more-lauded Room, and
  • Heliopolis, a fab literary page turner by James Scudamore about the city of Sao Paolo and the people who live there.
An audience member asked us for one book that we would want anybody to read, regardless of genre preference and my answer to that question was clear- the extraordinary My Father's Paradise, by Ariel Sabar.

I'll be honest- I didn't get notes on the other speakers' picks (or take any pictures- how lame am I?). But I'm sure if you visit their wonderful blogs you can find out!

5 comments:

Suzanne said...

It sounds like a great event -- would have loved to attend if I lived closer.

Zibilee said...

Yay! So glad to hear that everything went so smoothly! I also think that your choice of My Father's Paradise was a wonderful one. That book was one of the top books I have ever blogged about.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful event.

Kathleen said...

Sounds like a fun gathering!

Unknown said...

I have heard you rave about my Father's Paradise before. I definatley have to pick this one up. I have had it for a few years on my tbr. But, other books keep taking precidence. I have read a few books by Alice Hoffman. She is a great writer. I do want to read this one especially since it is a Jewish theme.