Genre Fiction

Allusion is a literary device where the writer makes a reference to another piece of literary work, be it the author, the title, a quote, or something else. I love literary allusion. I also love figuring out why authors and publishers choose a book’s title. See where I’m going with this?

A lot of books’ titles are literary allusion to a previously published book. Here are some examples where the first book’s title is an allusion to the second book or poem:

* As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner: The Odyssey by Homer

* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon: Silver Blaze by Arthur Conan Doyle

* For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway: Meditation XVII by John Donne

* In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck: Paradise Lost by John Milton

* I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar

* The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie: The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

* No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy: Sailing to Byzantium by William Butler Yeats

* Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham: Ethics by Baruch Spinoza

* Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: To a Mouse by Robert Burns

* The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham: Lift Not the Painted Veil Which Those Who Live by Percy Bysshe Shelley

* A Passage to India by E. M. Forster: Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Novelist and former academic legal writer Rosy Thornton is excited to share the April 20th release of her third book, Crossed Wires, by British publisher Headline.

Thornton describes Crossed Wires as “an old-fashioned fairy tale.” Likewise, she describes her fiction writing style in general as “contemporary fiction … you might call [it] romantic comedy with a hint of satire.”

It’s a tale of two parallel lives - Peter, a single dad, and Mina, a single mom - that begin to merge when he crashes his car into a tree and she is the call center employee that deals with his insurance claim.

“It’s a book about families and parenthood, about coincidences and duality,” says Thornton, “the things which separate us and the things which bring us together.”

Get your copy in ten days, and be sure to check back here for my thoughts after I finish the book.

Ask and you shall receive! I put out the word that I was interested in diving into some good classics. I asked my family and friends what books they would recommend and if they had any that I could borrow. And they responded, books in hand!

My mom dug around her house and rustled up five books, three of which she highly recommends to me: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte are her top suggestions. She also brought me copies of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

My roommate also thought of me when scoping out old books. She grabbed me a copy of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

April is National Poetry Month, as declared by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. Literaries around the country spend this month celebrating the impact that poems have had on our culture. To kick it off, I am throwing on my party hat and celebrating by sharing with you some of my favorite poets, in no particular order.

* Saul Williams lyrics grabbed me, but I was really hooked because the first time that I heard him perform was the first time that I heard of spoken word poetry.

* Jewel captured my interest with her music, but the poetry that she writes about being a teenage girl and living in Alaska blew me away.

* I am a fan of a lot of the classic poets - Whitman, Dickinson, Blake, Yeats, Eliot - but my favorite is easily Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

It’s time for your young ones to party it up and have a Spring Fling - Borders and Waldenbooks style.

The two book store chains, both of which are owned by Borders Group, will host “Spring Fling” parties for kids and their families April 11 at 2 p.m. in stores nationwide. Kids of all ages are invited to come decked out in their Easter finest to enjoy arts and crafts, storytime, singing and dancing, and a parade. During the events, Seattle’s Best Coffee cafes - located in most Borders superstores - will be offering free samples of beverages and baked goods including handmade soda, hot chocolate, and blackberry creme latte.

After the event, parents are encourage to upload any photos taken during the “Spring Fling” to Borders’ Facebook page.

Click on the invite image to find a store party near you.

Award-winning author Michael Crichton passed away on November 2, 2008, but that doesn’t mean his career is over just yet.

Two novels - an historical adventure story and a techno-thriller - from the best-selling writer were found on his computer after his death. According to his publisher, Harper Collins, the two books will be edited and published over the next year and a half.

Pirate Latitudes, the first of the two posthumously published novels, will be released in November 2009, one year after Crichton’s death. The story dives into the world of 17th-century piracy in Jamaica when it was a British colony fighting off Spanish control. There’s intricate navigation skills, raids, power battles, rich history, and, of course, treasure.

The second is only about one-third written, and is yet untitled. Harper Collins is currently searching for a co-author to finish the thriller (talk about a dream job for a up-and-coming writer!) that follows extreme science at its worst - Crichton’s specialty. The publisher is hoping for a fall 2010 release, pending finding the perfect writer.

Crichton’s agent, Lynn Nesbit, told the New York Times that there were “many, many electronic files” found on his computer, and that there may be more novels, but that they “haven’t begun to really go through it all” and don’t intend to profit from a posthumous Crichton franchise.

Next, published in 2006, was the last novel printed while Crichton was alive. He is also remembered for creating the TV series ER, and writing books including the Jurassic Park series, The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Disclosure, Timeline, State of Fear, and Prey.

Last night I hit the midway point of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth, and in my copy of the book there is a photograph collection in the middle. There are pictures of China in the 20s and 30s, a marketplace, and a lot about the personal life of Buck. And this was what has made me intrigued not only by her writing, but by this author’s other work, too.

She was born in 1892 in West Virginia, but as the daughter of a missionary, she was living in China before her first birthday. Her family eventually came back to the states for a year, but returned to China. Pearl left to go to college in the U.S., but once again returned to China and married a missionary, John Buck. Pearl also became a missionary herself. During her first marriage, Pearl had a child and adopted for the first time, while earning her Masters. Her marriage to John did not work, and she later remarried to Richard Walsh. And this is where my fascination enters.

Pearl established Welcome House, the first international, interracial adoption agency in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where her and Richard lived. Pearl was passionate about human rights and adoption. She took in countless mixed-race children, especially Asian-Americans, who were considered “unadoptable” at the time. Pearl went on to also establish other foundations to help children in need, including the Opportunity House and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.

“The purpose,” said Buck, “is to publicize and eliminate injustices and prejudices suffered by children, who, because of their birth, are not permitted to enjoy the educational, social, economic and civil privileges normally accorded to children.”

Today, Pearl S. Buck International continues to bring Pearl’s dreams to reality, and helps thousands of children worldwide. The house still runs out of the original Bucks County location, which hosts events and tours and just happens to be right down the road from where I live!

Harlequin, the romance novel company, is honoring six women by turning their inspirational true stories into heart-warming short stories collected in More Than Words, Volume 5. Each honoree started a not-for-profit organization that has been impacting her community. Harlequin presented each with a $10,000 prize, donated to her respective organization.

Best-selling authors Heather Graham, Candace Camp, Stephanie Bond, Brenda Jackson, and Tara Taylor Quinn contributed to writing the stories. The women being honored are:

* Joan Clayton and Ina Andre, founders of Windfall, a charity that collects and redistributes donated clothing. The two women are both now in their 70s and have also started Second Harvest, which does the same for food.
* Johanna Kandel started The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness.
* Erin Puck founded Toys.Calm to provide toys to long-term patients at children’s hospitals.
* Sandra Ramos founded the North America’s first battered women’s shelter, Strengthen Our Sistersin 1970 and has kept it running strong ever since.
* Nancy Sander founded the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics to create a community for parents and kids battling severe asthma and allergies.

“Harlequin is a longtime supporter of women’s causes and we are proud to continue this tradition through the Harlequin More Than Words program,” says Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin. “Established in 2004 as our main philanthropic initiative, the More Than Words program remains dedicated to celebrating and rewarding women who make extraordinary contributions to their community.”

Proceeds from the book will be reinvested in the Harlequin More Than Words program.