Indie Lit Awards- Nominations Open September 1st

It is hard to imagine that we are heading into the last 4 months of 2011 but here we are on September 1st! It is time to start thinking about the best books for the year.   The Indie Lit Awards are open for nominations starting today September 1st - nominations close December 31st.   Stop by today and nominate your favorites so far this year! 

What are the Indie Lit Awards?
Independent Literary Awards are given to books that have been recommended and voted on by independent literary bloggers. Nominations are open to all readers, and are then voted upon by a panel of bloggers who are proficient in the genre they represent. Each panel is led by a Director who oversees the integrity of the process.

This year I am a voting member for the Biography/Memoir and am excited vote for books in one of my favorite genres.  So far, 2011 has been a great year for the genre - here is a sampling:

Devotion: A Memoir (P.S.) by Dani Shapiro - I read and reviewed this earlier this year and immediately bought copies to give to friends.  This book touched me in unexpected ways. (My review is here)







Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan:  After the debacle of Greg Mortenson and his Three Cups of Tea , I am a bit wary of another story of a traveler moved to good deeds while visiting the Third World but I am an optimist at heart and intend to believe the best and hope not to be proven otherwise!





The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: The story of an unlikely entrepreneur in Afghanistan who becomes a heroine to her family and community.






  Bossypants by Tina Fey: Smart. Humor. Need I say more?








My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store by Ben Ryder Howe: Bookchickdi's review of this one for the Immigrant Stories Challenge piqued my interest







The Arrogant Years: One Girl's Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn by Lucette Lagnado: Another immigrant story - this one was recently featured by fellow ILA voting member for the biography/memoir genre, Candace from Beth Fish Reads






This is just a small sample of the excellent biographies and memoirs published in 2011 - let me know about your favorites in the comments.  Better yet, go to the Independent Literary Awards site and nominate your favorites (you don't need to be a blogger to nominate!)  Biography and memoir not your thing?  Check out the other ILA categories including Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, GLBTQ, Mystery and Speculative Fiction. 

Review: You Don't Sweat Much For a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark

You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl: Observations on Life from the Shallow End of the Pool by Celia Rivenbark is a humorous collection of essays by the sassy Southern comedian.  With her irreverent humor, Rivenbark comments on all aspects of pop culture and current events and really says what many of us think.  As she muses about the challenge of tweeting her thoughts in only 140 characters ("Twitter Woes: I've Got Plenty of Characters, Just No Character") or the paucity of quality in reality TV ("Loonies Litter Landscape of (snicker) The Learning Channel"), she puts words (albeit much funnier ones than I would string together) to the observations we all make about politics, entertainment and the human condition. 

My Thoughts

I literally laughed out loud while reading this book - this drew some interesting looks on the plane and by the pool! Despite being in public places, I could not contain myself - Rivenbark's pithy commentary is spot on and the spin her snarky humor puts on daily occurences just made me laugh.  In addition to doling out witty commentary on others, Rivenbark also includes some self-deprecating humor.  My favorite example of this is when she describes asking David Sedaris to "blurb" her new book - she is pretty thoroughly rejected by Sedaris.  When someone can be so withering in their humorous criticism of others, it is good to see them share their own foibles and vulernerabilities  - it softens the edge of their snarky humor.  Rivenbark's ability to do this kept her book from just being a collection of stories with laughs at other's expense and the book is all the better for it.

If you like Sedaris (he may not agree) or Dave Barry, this collection by Rivenbark may be for you.  It makes for great light reading and its essay format means you can easily pick it up between other books or projects.   I can also recommend Rivenbark's last book You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the Morning (sage advice, no?) if you are want more from this author after finishing "You Don't Sweat Much . . . "  (review here).  

Thank you to Tanya Farrell of Wunderkind PR for the review copy of this book

Mailbox Monday: August 8, 2011

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted by Staci of Life in the Thumb this month.  It has been some time since I posted a Mailbox Monday so there is quite a bit to report:


The Orphan Sister by Gwendolen Gross was a win from Chick Lit Is Not Dead

Where's My Wand?: One Boy's Magical Triumph over Alienation and Shag Carpeting by Eric Poole came for review from Anna at FSB Associates.   I love this title!

Life After Yes: A Novel by Aidan Donnelley Rowley was a bookstore purchase

The Miracle of Grace by Kate Kerrigan was sent by the author.  I recently read and reviewed the author's Ellis Island.  The book is published in the UK but not yet in the US.

Red-Robed Priestess: A Novel (The Maeve Chronicles) by Elizabeth Cunningham came unsolicited from Meryl Zegarek



You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl: Observations on Life from the Shallow End of the Pool by Celia Rivenbark came from Tanya at Wunderkind PR - I started this last week on a plane and literally laughed all the way home!

Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry also arrived from Tanya at Wunderkind PR

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert was a win from Cassandra at Indie Reader Houston


What arrived in your mailbox this week?