Book Review: The Land of Stories, by Chris Colfer

"Courage is one thing that no one can ever take away from you."

First off, I should probably admit that I'm a bit of a Gleek--even though I readily admit that Glee is something of  rollercoaster in terms of quality--and Kurt Hummel is my favorite character. So I'm a Chris Colfer fan, and when I met him at BEA I kind of had a fanboy meltdown inside. True story, if one that I'm not necessarily proud of.

One thing I've always noticed in interviews is that Colfer seems to be a very intelligent, well-spoken guy. I was very curious about how he would turn out as a writer. Having finished his fiction debut (aimed at the independent

BEA 2012 Wrap-Up

In which I Gleek out, work a booth, and inadvertently become a guidance counselor

Well, Book Expo America, the Superbowl for nerds, has come and gone again. This year, there was a new little social experiment held when the doors were opened to the public for the Expo's final day (to a limited extent). It was a monumental shift in the structure of the event, which has traditionally been strictly an opportunity for publishers to hobnob with booksellers and other people within the industry. More on that later.

Sadly, I couldn't attend the event I really, really wanted to see: Junot Diaz at Wednesday's author breakfast, followed by a signing for his forthcoming story collection This is How You Lose Her. Seriously, it hurts that I had to be in the office while this was going on. I'm not even going to speak of the fact that I missed the opportunity to snag an ARC of it. That might

Book Review: The Newlyweds, by Nell Freudenberger

"It was possible to change your own destiny, but you had to be vigilant and you could never look back."

In this novel, billed as an examination of the complexities of modern love and marriage, Amina Mazid, a Bangladeshi woman, moves to Rochester, NY to get married to George Stillman, the American businessman she met online. Adjusting to life in her new home (and country) acts as a catalyst for Amina to examine her life choices and the meaning of home.

The Newlyweds is a charming, breezy read that is more intelligent than it may appear to be on its surface. To call it a romantic comedy might sell a lot of copies, but it would do a disservice to what a clever, carefully constructed story it is. It's actually more in the vein of a