Bethanne's Blog

For many of us in the Western world, September is month that spells a return to school and work after summer weeks of sun and holiday. Sobering, yes -- but just like the morning after New Year's Eve, this sort of wake-up call often involves new resolve. 

Why not resolve, this autumn, to read just a little bit more than you did last year? We've got quite a panoply of titles for you this month, from the much-vaunted novel "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen to a lesser known but well praised nonfiction read called "The Tiger" by John Vaillant. 

"What more important story is there than people killing other people in the name of religion?"

When Kenneth C. Davis, author of the celebrated "Don't Know Much" books (including "Don't Know Much About History," the 20th-anniversary volume of which will be released later this year), says this during our interview, he isn't talking about any of the occasions that might normally come to mind when you hear "people killing other people in the name of religion." He's talking about the massacre of French Huguenot (Protestant) sailors by a Spanish military commander that took place in Florida 40 years before the Mayflower and its Puritan passengers ever reached American soil. 

Traditionally, August is publishing's sleepiest month, the doldrums in which nothing gets done and everyone is off in the Hamptons and there's nothing good to read.

Not so in 2010! I had a really tough time narrowing down this month's pile of galleys to these 10 books. While I certainly wouldn't have wound up with a Top 100, I could certainly have had a Top 25 list.

However, that would miss the point of creating this list, which is to select the strongest collection of books for our demographic. We don't want all of the books to be the same, yet we want each one to be among the best of its kind. That's why I'm listing them alphabetically by author name; this is not a ranking. It's a collection of books that are excellent.

Have you ever heard of the Norton grape?

If you haven't, you're not alone. Until I cracked open Todd Kliman's "The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine," (Clarkson Potter) I never knew that there was a native American wine grape. I knew about Concord grapes, but they are much better suited to jam than wine. When I realized that Kliman was going to describe a wine grape I'd never encountered, I was thrilled, and looked forward to his book about that grape.

However, "The Wild Vine" turned out to be about far more than a grape, a vine, or a wine. It's a story about things hidden and transformed, about connections missed and made, and about the indomitable, ineffable American spirit. Stories like this one don't come along for writers every day. Kliman is a fortunate journalist!

Greetings, patient readers. We've been offline for a couple of weeks -- but I want to assure you it's because we've got all kinds of new plans for this site, and we've been working very hard to put them into place. We're looking forward to sharing them all with you soon!

Today I can give you one peek behind the curtain -- an important part of our new content will be our monthly Top 10 Reads list, and below are July's Top Ten Reads. These are the best new books of the month -- the ones you'll want to pick up when wondering "what to read." Feel free to agree, disagree, or comment on these choices below.

It's time for us to air out the cupboards here at The WETA Book Studio -- we must give away some books in order to make room for new ones to arrive!

If you like light romantic comedy, "Lovesick" by Alex Wellen -- the tale of a man who's got the girl but can't pop the question -- is for you. Prefer something deep with a narrative conceit? Try "The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-Six" by Jonathon Keats. However, if what you really want is a chilling spy story, "The Arms Maker of Berlin" by Dan Fesperman fits the bill.

Wait! You don't have to choose...if you are one of the ten lucky winners of this week's giveaway, you'll get copies of all three books. Just respond in the Comments section to the following question:

Which book or books are you planning to get to this summer?

In "Rules for My Unborn Son," Walker Lamond shares as much wisdom as one man can -- while in "The Council of Dads," Bruce Feiler attempts to gather several men who will share their wisdom with his twin daughters in the event of his demise (good news: Feiler is now cancer free and about to celebrate Father's Day with his wife and girls). Both books are fantastic gift choices for the dad in your life!

We'll give away 10 two-book bundles to 10 readers who respond to the following question in our Comments:

What's the wisest thing your father shared with you?

I love literary fiction.

There. I said it. I will no longer be ashamed! I love fiction that explores questions without necessarily giving answers, that eschews happy endings for meaningful ones, and allows characters to transcend archetypal roles. 

Sonya Chung believes in literary fiction, too -- and it's what she writes. Her first novel, "Long for This World," hits another things that I love, however:

I love fiction about other places in the world. 

Is it because my parents had stacks of National Geographic magazines in the basement? Maybe it's due to my love of actual travel, which my parents also supported. 

Chung has written a book that shows Korea and Koreans in a natural light. I so enjoyed speaking with her about "Long for this World," and I hope you will enjoy watching us, too.

In some stories, place almost becomes a character -- so it is with Wendy Webb's novel "The Tale of Halcyon Crane." The fictional spot of Grand Island, Michigan has so much character I almost wanted to pick up and visit. Good thing Grand Island is based on the real-life Mackinac Island, where locals really do forbid automobiles and sweeping porches and verandas aren't just house details, but part of the lifestyle.

Webb has cleverly chosen to contrast the sweetness and light of old-fashioned island life with some very dark happenings and motivations. Hallie James travels back to her deceased mother's house and discovers nobody in her family was who she thought they were, and there are quite a few family members whose legacies will come to haunt her both literally and figuratively.