The best airplane book ever

I'm getting ready to leave on a business trip, and much of my brainpower lately has been devoted to "mental packing": checklists of what I need to bring for meetings, clothes that will pack well without wrinkling, and whether it's worth bringing the allowed 3 oz. of liquid in my carry-on bag.

But one of the most important decisions: what book to read on the plane.

As I sort through the pile of manuscripts near my desk (books that will be published in the fall), I can't quite make a decision yet. But I am reminded of what is probably my favorite book to recommend for airplane reading: The Ruins, by Scott Smith.

The Ruins is a book that will make you forget about the snoring passenger next to you, the kid behind you kicking the back of your seat, and that funny noise you hear coming from the fuselage. You'll hope that Air Traffic Control directs the pilot to circle the airport a few times, so that you can keep reading a bit longer. You'll happily let the throngs stand in the aisle while waiting to deplane, while you sit turning the pages.

OK, maybe I'm exaggering just a bit. You know you're going to be in the aisle with the rest of them. But this story of a Mexican vacation gone horribly wrong will keep you turning the pages through most of your flight. I think of this book as Steven King meets Ian McEwan's The Comfort of Strangers.

And now it's going to be a movie, opening April 4th. I saw the trailer last night. The movie seems like it will be straight "horror," though I think the book appeals even to people who don't normally read horror. Believe it or not, I think of The Ruins as a "fun" read. But maybe that's just my warped sensibilities.

There's a movie tie-in edition of the book, too, if you want that movie experience to carry over to your reading.

Whichever cover treatment you prefer, I think you should read the book first. Even if you're not about to board an airplane.
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. They also link to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

The Ruins by Scott Smith

Vintage Trade Paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-307-39027-1

Vintage Mass Market Paperback, $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-307-27828-9

Movie tie-in edition, Vintage Mass Market Paperback, $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-307-38971-8

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

Episode 1 of our new podcast!

Michael and I have been planning this podcast for months, but just now made the time to actually get it up and running. As you listen, it will quickly become clear that we are not professionals (not even close), so please be kind. I'm certain that we'll get better at this as we record more episodes.

In this episode, we discuss the concept of "comfort reading," what
we think about re-reading books, and Michael finds reading material suitable for a new "holiday" called 'Pi Day.'

It will probably take a few weeks for the podcast to make it into iTunes and other podcatchers, so for now, you can listen here or download it manually.

You can listen by using the player below. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode.

If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen.

Books on the Nightstand, Episode 1 (13:31)

Further information on things discussed in Episode 1:
NPR Books Podcast
Reading Across Rhode Island

We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. They also link to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

Books mentioned:
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

A Familiar Feeling

As often as I do it, I really hate saying one book reminds me of another. Or using the dreaded "it's like x-meets-y."We all know there are only so many plots out there, so it's hard for a book NOT to be familiar, but sometimes the feeling a book gives you can ring a bell.

One such book for me was Gardens of Water by Alan Drew. The novel takes place in small town in Turkey, just after the earthquake of 1999. The book that I kept thinking about was The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. Here's what I think they have in common:

• Quality of Writing
• Clash of Cultures
• Sense of impending doom

Another thing that impressed me about this book is that it is the author's first. There's a level of writing here that you don't often see until someone has been honing their craft for a long time.

And, for all of you who have been wondering, like me, when Andre Dubus III would write another novel, I have good news. I recently found out that his new book, The Garden of Last Days, is coming out in June. I can't wait!

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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. They also link to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

Gardens of Water by Alan Drew, Random House Hardcover, $25.00

ISBN: 978-1-4000-6687-2

The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, Vintage Trade Paperback, $14.95

ISBN: 978-0-375-72734-4

The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III, W.W. Norton Hardcover, $24.95

ISBN: 978-0-393-04165-1

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

Ireland in mind

In this part of New England, it's impossible to avoid St. Patrick's Day madness. Parades and green beer seem to be at the center of most celebrations. It's the day, they say, when everyone's a little bit Irish. I try to resist both the commercial hype and the overly-romanticized "ye olde sod" stuff. Still, I've visited Ireland several times, and once March hits, I want to put a peat brick in the fireplace (bad idea) and read a book that has an Irish setting.

Readers more literary than I will gravitate to Yeats and Joyce. Me, I like the bleak and the quirky. Here are two of my favorites:


Peter Behrens has written a sweeping historical saga that takes us from the famine days in Ireland, to England, and then on to Canada. It's the story of Fergus, who at the age of eight loses his home and family and must make his way in the world alone. It's a little bit Dickens, and very reminiscent of one of my favorite novels, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston. It's not a quick read, but you'll want to savor every sentence along the way.




Three Bags Full is one of the most original books I've read lately. I resisted this, I admit, thinking that it would be overly sweet and charming. It is, after all, about sheep who solve a mystery. But Leonie Swan has managed to pull it off brilliantly. She manages to balance the cutesy (a detective ewe named Miss Maple), with the witty (the black sheep named Othello). As the sheep investigate the murder of their shepherd, they entertain us with pointed observations about the humans that surround them. (Yes, they "talk", but only amongst themselves). It's a fun, quirky read that's also very well written.

Need an appropriate-themed snack while you read? Here's a recipe for the brave:
Guinness Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate-Honey Sauce
No, I haven't tried it, but this year I just might.

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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. They also link to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:

The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens, Random House Trade Paperback, $13.95
ISBN: 978-0-8129-7800-1

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston, Anchor Trade Paperback, $15.95
ISBN: 978-0-385-49543-1

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swan, Doubleday/Flying Dolphin Press Hardcover, $22.95
ISBN: 978-0-385-52111-6

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

What's it all about?

Once upon a time, someone had a crazy idea and the power of persuasion, and thus, a blog was born. It was months in the making, and was the subject of endless phone calls and emails back and forth between the creators. Eventually, they just decided to "push the button".

As you will see from reading their final email exchange, the creators of this blog still haven't figured it out. They have no idea what they are doing. They just hope it will be fun and informative.

And they promise to never again write about themselves in the third person.

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Ann: So Michael, why the heck are we starting a blog when we don't even have time to clean off our desks?

Michael: Because talking about books and doing a blog are more fun than cleaning off our desks!

Ann: True. Though honestly, I find talking about books easier than writing about books most days.

Michael: I guess we'd better just dive in with both feet and not look back! We've both been working in books for a long time, so we should never run out of topics... Books we've liked. Books we've hated. Books with lots to talk about. Nice jackets. The crazy industry of publishing. The noble vocation of bookselling. Why we keep doing it day after day (and why it NEVER gets boring!). and on and on...

Ann: Oh, my days are too short spend time even thinking about books I've hated. There are way too many great books out there that I want people to discover. Plus, I'm not a critic. Even though I've been working in publishing for more years than I want to admit publicly, I still tend to approach my reading as the average reader. At least, I try to do that.

I love to talk to my friends about books I've enjoyed, or that I think they will like. They don't read reviews. They just want me to tell them about the next book they should read. Sadly, they don't let me prattle on nearly often enough, so now I have to find a new audience.

Michael: Agreed. I've never been good at expressing why I DON'T like a book. And every time I try to read a review, I get lost. Either reviewers are way smarter than I am, or they're very nitpicky.

Ann: OK, so I think we can agree on Rule #1: No "reviews". Just honest recommendations.

Oh, I have another one: No using the word "unputdownable."

Michael: I will agree to ban "unputdownable!"

I can't think of any other hard-and-fast rules. It's going to evolve and change, whether we want it to or not!

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So there you have it. They We have no idea what we are doing -- but you're welcome to join us as we figure it out.