The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square takes place in a small South Carolina town, the sort of place that breeds characters, complications, and captivating relationships. If the town isn't enough to make you keep reading until dinner singes, you'll also meet restless wanderer/entepeneur John Dodge, a man who likes to stay on the move, and local shopkeeper Julia Darrow, who isn't going anywhere. As John comes to town (temporarily) to revive a dwindling business, he tries to figure out the mystery of Julia, a woman who works in her pajamas (as do all of her employees. If only they were hiring!) And that's when . . . well, let's just say at this point in the story, you'd better turn off the stove and order pizza delivery.Authors are often called "master storytellers" and "unique voices" but that's almost become the standard hype cliche. Which is a shame, because Rosina Lippi is the real thing -- a voice that is unique, and a storyteller who is a master. I can't compare her to anyone because there is no one like her. Reading Pajama Girls, practically every line shouts this.
But as always, you don't have to take my word for it. In comments to this post, name a book or an author you enjoy and want people to read (or if you can't think of one, just throw your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Saturday, April 25, 2009. I will draw ten names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned trade paperback copy of The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
Sounds like a fabulous book.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Oh, and also Sheri Tepper's Grass. I love them both.
Oh this one sounds really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe most surprising storyteller I found in the past twelve months was Megan Hart and her book BROKEN.
That's the book I want people to read.
I'm reading the newest Ann Aguirre, Blue Diablo and I am loving it so hard I am actively looking for people to give and recommend it to. The woman can WRITE.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Margaret Atwood also, but my favorite is The Handmaid's Tale followed by Taps for Private Tussie by Jessie Stuart.
ReplyDeleteI loved Emily Gee's first novel, Thief With No Shadow
ReplyDeleteOoh it sounds like a lovely book. Hmm I love many many books, but the book that has had to most impact on me is probably:
ReplyDeleteVillete by Charlotte Bronte
It's not as well-known as Jane Eyre but I think it's her best novel, She creates the most AMAZING, deliciously flawed, and complex characters. I cried for three days straight while reading the book, and was dehyydrated for the longest time afterwards.
Me me me. Cant think of any book to recommend at the moment. Having a drought of good fiction at the moment. Sounds a good read. shall keep my eye out.
ReplyDeleteI loved Kate Atkinson's 'Human Croquet'
ReplyDeleteDeborah Challinor, a fabulous New Zealander writer of historical New Zealand fiction.
ReplyDeleteI love Annette Blair
ReplyDeleteAnd Katie MacAlister. Two I highly recommend.
I love Deanna Raybourn! She has written three historical mysteries and I have loved every one. I think she is a gem and would love for more people to discover her.
ReplyDeleteInto the Forest by Jean Hegland. Just read it. You won't be sorry.
ReplyDeleteplease toss my name in the hat.
ReplyDeleteIf you like mysteries/psychological thrillers, then give Sheldon Rusch a try. He has 3 books published in the US, and they're great reads.
ReplyDeleteRight now the only book I can think of is really a series, and it's middle grade - Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. The story and the characters captured me at the first book, and I've inhaled the rest. Heh, and I don't even have a middle grade reader in the house. Something about the cover coaxed me to buy it, and I'm not sorry I did.
ReplyDeleteI say this every time, but Orson Scott Card. I have his collection of short stories called Maps in the Mirror and the entire Ender series including the Shadow books, and they are all amazing. He is such a diverse author, too, as can be evidenced by his short stories. Definitely worth the read!
ReplyDeleteI love the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's captivating and a great tear jerker til the end.
ReplyDeleteDara Horn--such a great author! Beautiful writing. I think regardless of the outcome of this contest I'm going to have to pick this one up..
ReplyDeletePBW,
ReplyDeleteI have two suggestions, both books I loved and feel deserve more publicity.
1. Patricia Wood's Lottery, a wonderful literary novel studying human nature through the eyes of a middle-aged mentally challenged man named Perry when he wins a millions dollars in the state lottery. The wary will think, "Oh, no! Not another sappy, maudlin book about tragedy and rising above!" but I'm not much of a 'literary' novel myself, finding them sort an exercise in how to be miserable, usually. But Perry's viewpoint is such . . . well, you just have to read to see what I mean.
http://www.amazon.com/Lottery-Patricia-Wood/dp/0425222209/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240486591&sr=8-1
2. Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest, something of a Marion Zimmer Bradley world in which Sorcha, the youngest and only female sibling in her family must accomplish a physically horrific task over several years to restore her cursed brothers to humanity. The story is told with a quiet, beautiful voice, that while-tranquil and determined-still resonates with a reader's own experiences with the internal struggle of "What I want" versus "What those I love need of me". Read it; you'll enjoy it and experience plenty of other emotions as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Forest-Sevenwaters-Trilogy-Book/dp/0765343436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240487144&sr=1-1
Amethyst Adams
I just finished Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy and loved it.
ReplyDeleteI really loved "The Oath" by Frank Peretti. If I need to laugh, I reach for Jennifer Cruisie.
ReplyDeleteHey, I get to work in my pajamas!
ReplyDeleteAs for book recommendations, I've always adored Dean Koontz's "Lightning."
I am in the middle of the Argeneau series from Lynsay Sands. I find them interesting and think its funny how the mother keeps setting up her children.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed Deborah Raliegh's historicals and love the new paranormals sh'e writing under the name Alexandra Ivy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteNow for a favorite of mine. Hmm...so many I've enjoyed. One I read and liked recently was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Please put my name in the hat also. Thanks!
I think Tricia Sullivan's books Sound Mind and Double Vision deserve to be more widely read.
ReplyDeleteThey're SF and they're not easy books; they're a challenge! Imaginative, original, mind-altering.
I adore anything by Sarah Addison Allen. Fell in love with Garden Spells and wasn't disappointed with
ReplyDeleteThe Sugar Queen (nearly forgot to feed the furbots that evening).
Will definitely add Pajama Girls to my buy list today. It sounds much too good to pass up. Yay! Maybe another for my keeper shelf. :D
This book sounds fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI'd like more people to read Lori Armstrong's Julie Collins mysteries. Julie is a really unique character and her and Tony together - rawr.
I'd also like for more people to pick up Mark del Franco's Grey books. He's got some great characterization and world building going on there.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen or Pinkerton's Secret by Eric Lerner.
ReplyDeleteI would love for more people to read Joshilyn Jackson. Her books are fantastic and her blog hilarious.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a deal to me!
ReplyDeleteI adore Oscar & Lucinda, by Peter Carey. The movie was good but doesn't really do it justice (as per usual.) I fell in love with both main characters, and it's one of the stories that inspires me to create my own worlds and my own characters to love.
I really love Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen and her latest The Sugar Queen is very good.
ReplyDeleteI've fallen in love with Linnea Sinclair's science fiction. She rocks!!!!
ReplyDeleteRifles for Watie by Harold Keith.
ReplyDeleteIt is a YA, but my 5th grade History teacher read it to us and I've read it every year to every other year since. I love this book. (its been 15 yrs since I've been in 5th grade.)
As far as storytelling goes, Joey W. Hill and Denise Rossetti do it for me everytime.
ReplyDeleteIsabelle Allende. All of her stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this lovely giveaway. Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh is a novel that was memorable.
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and I really enjoyed it. I usually avoid 'book club' books but this one surprised me.
ReplyDeletePlease read Sharon Shinn! When I read her Archangel books, I thought it couldn't get any better until she started her Twelve Houses series. She is one of the authors I pick up when I hit a rough patch in my own writing.
ReplyDelete--SueBE
I've got two authors to recommend, Charles de Lint (urban fantasy). He's a wonderful, wonderful storyteller.
ReplyDeleteand Laurie R. King, especially the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. The latest one, The Language of Bees, will be released tomorrow.
City of Thieves by David Benioff... heartbreaking and oh, so good.
ReplyDeleteThe Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
And I just finished The Kite Runner. Still haven't recovered, but I recommend everyone read it. Amazing.
Cheers,
Kate
An unforgettable novel that captivated me was The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. I enjoy family sagas that are emotional.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to depart from my typical response and suggest Zenna Henderson's "InGathering" - it's a collection of short stories that are sweet, fanciful and 1970s Science/Speculative Fiction. Think Robert Heinlein, only female and full of hope.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine had been telling to read The Stephanie Plum series forever, finally started to read them and I always look forward to the next one. Can't believe I took so long to get into them.
ReplyDeleteAny Bitter thing by Monica Wood. Heartfelt and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Huston - I read his books last year and his writing blew me away. He writes thrillers and horros.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, I think I'm going to go with recommending Lois McMaster Bujold. There's something for everyone in her books: adventure, romance, political intrigue, awesome characters, thoughtful themes, terrific dialogue, interesting worldbuilding, the list goes on!
ReplyDeleteI've been hyping Robert Charles Wilson, and especially SPIN, for the past year or so. He's a SF writer, so it's not too surprising to me when non-SF readers haven't heard of him, but I am a bit shocked by the number of people I come across who read extensively within the genre but don't know his work. He's fantastic and does a great job of balancing the hardcore science elements with a very beautiful human story.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful book.
ReplyDeleteLately I've really been talking up Katherine Center's book Everyone Is Beautiful. It is fantastic.
I have to recommend anything by Sarah Zettel, esp her Camelot series. It's annoying that the 4th book of it won't be published in the US.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman, a long-time favorite author of mine. His rich language makes his stories sound as if someone's telling them to you. I also enjoy anything by J. Gregory Keyes (aka Greg Keyes) as his metaphors make me swoon. ("The Waterborn," "Newton's Cannon," et cetera.)
ReplyDeleteZenna Henderson - sometimes I think I'm the only one on the planet who's read her - thanks, Hannah!
ReplyDeleteAmethyst, have you read the other two in that series? I bought them and then lost the first one - the Trilogy Curse strikes again.
My pick (today) would be Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series.
I'm going to be a bit of a rebel here and mention nonfiction (which I don't read much of). My book club recently read Chelsea Handler's "My Horizontal Life." Hiiii-larious. Certainly a touch raunchy, as it's a chronicle of her one-night stands, but totally amusing. As summer rapidly approaches, I'd say an excellent beach read.
ReplyDeleteI have a number of favorites so I'm just going to throw my name in the hat, please.
ReplyDeleteCheryl S.
Listen to Neil Gaiman read one of his own works. It is downright down home amazing.
ReplyDeleteYou can see him read The Graveyard Book (Newbery Award Winner) here: http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx
There are plenty of authors I enjoy, but I can't think of any that I want everybody to read - I usually recommend specific things for specific people.
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn and everyone.
ReplyDeleteI suggest that everyone read Shakespeare. I LOVE SHAKESPEARE! To quote Dorothy Parker, "Shakespeare really is as good as everyone says it is." And the great thing about Shakespeare, it's easy to make friends with the millions of other people who have read it. You'll understand literature better, you'll understand humanity better, if you get familiar with Billy the Bard.
Shakespeare is permeated so strongly into our culture (and should be, I feel.) Knowing the plays adds a dimension to other things you read and see. Disney's "The Lion King" was based on the plot of Hamlet, for example. Knowing that and recognizing it adds a number of nuances of meaning to many lines.
If you don't want to read it, then why don't you watch it? Olivier and Branagh are two actors worth watching. Well, maybe not Branagh's Hamlet, lol. Hamlet has over 2,000 lines in the original and Branagh thought it was necessary to add even more. His Henry the V is superior even to Olivier's I feel. Kevin Kline has done a wonderful version of Midsummer Night's Dream, and I think that Anthony Hopkins was unforgettable in Titus Andronicus. There are more popular versions of Shakespeare's plays out there, why don't you give them a tr
Beverly Summers of electricgryphon.com
Please don't enter me in the drawing because I've already read THE PAJAMA GIRLS (and really enjoyed it), but I wanted to toot the horn for THE BOOK THIEF by Marcus Zusak. It's a beautiful, unforgettable book.
ReplyDeleteAnn Aguirre is mine right now. I am seriously addicted to her writing and I annot get enough of it.
ReplyDeleteTen,
ReplyDeleteYes and no. I've read the second in the trilogy, but have not been able to get my hands on the third. I'm having that trouble with Shanna Abe's Thief series, too (I kind of read everything).
But thank you for asking!
Amethyst
One for the money by Janet Evanovich. Its a witty mystery with laughs. I really enjoyed it and now I am on #8 of the series.
ReplyDeleteLauraine D
My favorite book of 2008 is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I read the ARC and then bought copies for my friends.
ReplyDeleteI'm intruiged already. I'd like to see the storytelling style of Rosina Lippi.
ReplyDeleteI'm recommending The Painted Man by Peter Brett to all fantasy fans (it's called The Warded Man in America). It's that rare thing in the fantasy world -- a fresh new idea. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteAt this rate I'm never going to get through all the book recommendations I've seen here LOL
ReplyDeleteI linked over to Jordan Summers from here and discovered Red. A futuristic paranormal romance that was dark, hopeful, and sexy all rolled into one. I can't wait for Scarlet and Crimson to come out.
So glad I followed your link!
Can't think of anything through the sinus pressure so I'm just throwing my name in the hat.
ReplyDeleteI'll recommend a YA book I really enjoy: "East," by Edith Pattou.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm working thru my tbr pile and can recommend anything by Kerrelyn Sparks and the House of Night books by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, but Kim Harrison and Patricia Briggs can really tell stories.
ReplyDeleteSounds captivating. Why are they all in pj's?
ReplyDeleteI want to find out...
Can't think of a book to recommend at this moment, but this book sounds like it would be something that would interest me. Please add my name to the hat.
ReplyDeleteGET THEE TO A BOOKSTORE AND READ Jennifer Ashley's newest book The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. It reminds me a lot of the wonderful historical from the late 80's full of vibrant characterization, amazing lyrical prose and flawed heroes. I couldn't put it down and I can honestly say that historical have been going downhill for a while. This book gives me hope that publishers and authors are actually listening to the readers of historical romance who have been saying for years that historicals just aren't what they used to be! Oh and please put my name in the hat!
ReplyDeleteRead Ann Marie MacDonald ~ Fall on your Knees and As the Crow Flies. Both excellent!
ReplyDelete