Friday Feature: Obscure(-ish) Favorites

Lately I've been thinking about some of my favorite books that don't get enough lip-service, so I've decided to showcase a few here. They cover a variety of different genres and subjects so I hope you find something that appeals to you.

Fiction

Who: Jacqueline Woodson

What: Maizon at Blue Hill

Maizon takes the biggest step in her life when she accepts a scholarship to boarding school and says good-bye to her grandmother and her best friend, Margaret. Blue Hill is beautiful, and challenging-but there are only five black students, and the other four are from wealthy families. Does Maizon belong at Blue Hill after all?

When: Originally published in 1992, the latest version was released in 2002

Why: I absolutely loved this novel when I was a child. I remember re-reading it and simply just loving to look at the cover. Th illustration was of a girl like me - black - and back then it was even more rare to see a face like that on a children's book cover. I could relate with Maizon and the color issues that she faced. I attended various schools, some more diverse than other and almost all of them private. Maizon was like a friend and I still love her.


Who: Ellen Shanman

What: Right Before Your Eyes

Outspoken playwright Liza Weiler left Yale with everything she thought she needed to make her mark on the New York stage. So why, nearly a decade later, is she still waiting for her “real” life to finally begin? But like any great drama, Liza’s life only needs one good twist. And that’s what happens when she turns her ankle on the way out of a downtown nightspot and falls into the arms of a suspiciously gallant Wall Street prince and a practically perfect ER doc. Suddenly Liza not only has a couple of men in her life, but her play has fallen into the hands of a über-hip theater director. Now Liza’s about to discover how much mess she can make of a seemingly good thing…and how terrifying, slightly tragic, and utterly hilarious a little success can be.

When: Released May 1, 2007

Why: It's chick lit that manages to be both thoughtful and youthful. The heroine, Liza was at a point in her life where she was unsure of herself and her goals - something I could very much relate to when I read it. Her wit was amazing yet it still left room for the serious stuff.

Who: Rob Thomas

What: Slave Day and Rats Saw God

Slave Day synopsis:

When the high school auctions off students and faculty as slaves during a fundraiser, Keene Davenport declares the event racist and unsuccessfully calls for a boycott before deciding to buy the class president and teach everyone a lesson.

Rats Saw God synopsis

For Steve York, life was good. He had a 4.0 GPA, friends he could trust, and a girl he loved. Now he spends his days smoked out, not so much living as simply existing.

But his herbal endeavors -- and personal demons -- have lead to a severe lack of motivation. Steve's flunking out, but if he writes a one-hundred-page paper, he can graduate.

Steve realizes he must write what he knows. And through telling the story of how he got to where he is, he discovers exactly where he wants to be....

When: They were published in 1997 and 1997 respectively

Why: I had never read any young adult novels like them as a teen. I thought they were the coolest and most thought provoking young adult books ever when I read them. The humor was unique and they were filled with special characters.

Who: Robin Kaye

What: Romeo, Romeo (Domestic Gods, #1)

Rosalie Ronaldi doesn't have a domestic bone in her body ...

All she cares about is her career, so she survives on take-out and dirty martinis, keeps her shoes under the dining room table, her bras on the shower curtain rod, and her clothes on the couch ...

Nick Romeo is every woman's fantasy - tall, dark, handsome, rich, really good in bed, AND he loves to cook and clean ...

He says he wants an independent woman, but when he meets Rosalie, all he wants to do is take care of her. Before too long, he's cleaned up her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog ...

So what's the problem? Just a little matter of mistaken identity, corporate theft, a hidden past in juvenile detention and one big nosy Italian family too close for comfort ...

When: Released November 2008

Why: I loved the close-knit Italian families in this novel and, of course, the romance between the hero and heroine. It all made for a read that was hilarious, sexy and very sweet. One of the better contemporary romances that I've read.

Who: Laura Wiess

What: How It Ends

All Hanna's wanted since sophomore year is Seth. She's gone out with other guys, even gained a rep for being a flirt, all the while hoping cool, guitar-playing Seth will choose her. Then she gets him -- but their relationship is hurtful, stormy and critical, not at all what Hanna thinks a perfect love should be. Bewildered by Seth's treatment of her and in need of understanding, Hanna decides to fulfill her school's community service requirement by spending time with Helen, her terminally ill neighbor, who she's turned to for comfort and wisdom throughout her life. But illness has changed Helen into someone Hanna hardly knows, and her home is not the refuge it once was. Feeling more alone than ever, Hanna gets drawn into an audiobook the older woman is listening to, a fierce, unsettling love story of passion, sacrifice, and devotion. Hanna's fascinated by the idea that such all-encompassing love can truly exist, and without her even realizing it, the story begins to change her.

Until the day when the story becomes all too real...and Hanna's world is spun off its axis by its shattering, irrevocable conclusion.

When: It came out August 4, 2009

Why: Seriously, one of the best YA novels that I've ever read. Why weren't bloggers screaming from the rooftops when this came out? My review hailed it's praises but I don't recall much hype around it besides the blog tour that I participated in.

Who: Tanuja Desai Hidier

What: Born Confused

Dimple doesn't know what to think. Her parents are from India, and she's spent years rebelling against their customs. Now everything from India is suddenly hip - even her best friend Gwyn has a bindi dot as an accessory. To make matters worse, Dimple's parents are trying to set her up with a "suitable boy." Their first meeting is a disaster - the boy is way too soft-spoken. But then she bumps into the boy again at a club - where he is the DJ. Suddenly, the "suitable" boy is actually suitable - because of his sheer unsuitability. Dimple is about to find out - in a comedic way - about balancing her culture with her confusion.

When: Hit shelves on October 2002

Why: My first look into the like of an Indian-American teen. Her struggles her ranged from the universal to the unique. Dealing with immigrant parents, a foreign culture and general teen issues. I found a lot in Dimple that I could relate to as a fellow teen and a lot that opened my eyes about the lives that other kids led.

Non-Fiction

Who: Thames and Hudson

What: The Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers ed. Georgina O'Hara Callan

"A fashion bible."—Vogue. "Invaluable."—The World of Interiors

This indispensable guide to fashion provides in more than 1200 entries detailed information on the life and work of every important designer from 1840 to the present day, including not only couturiers but also shoe, hat, and knitwear specialists, costume designers, jewelers, and hairdressers. It covers the fashion media, photographers and illustrators, influential art movements, fashion terms, garment and accessory styles, technical processes, and every kind of fabric, as well as personalities who have influenced fashion or promoted a style.

The revised and expanded edition features fifty new entries and corrections and updates throughout. It is an essential sourcebook for designers, students, collectors, and enthusiasts. 400 illustrations, 85 in color.

When: The edition that I have was published in 1998, but I plan on getting the updated 2008 version ASAP

Why: Because I'm a fashion junkie and this is fashion crack. Everything you need to know about fashion history and design basics. I couldn't be more thankful for the fashion elective that I took the summer after my junior year in undergrad. If you think you know fashion, check again.

Who: Jenna Jameson and Neil Strauss

What: How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale

When the stewardess brought me off the plane in a wheelchair, I lowered my head. I was too scared to even look at my father. I didn't want to see the disappointment and horror on his face. All that hate I had accumulated for him over the years, all the resentment against him for not understanding what I was going through, just released with the tears.

"So, where are your parents?" the stewardess asked me after a few minutes. "I can't wait here with you much longer."

I looked up and wiped my eyes. My father was standing ten feet away. He didn't even recognize me.

In the underbelly of Las Vegas, a cesspool of warring biker gangs and seedy strip clubs transformed the gawky, brace-faced Jenna Massoli into the bombshell Jenna Jameson. Today, Jenna Jameson is the biggest star in the history of adult movies, consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful women alive. But behind the glamour and the meteoric rise to fame was a path paved with tragedy and heartbreak. As a teenager drawn into a chaotic world ruled by rape, abuse, and murder, Jenna plunged into a downward spiral of addiction, even as she became one of the most photographed women in adult magazines.

Determined to overcome this past, Jenna rebounded in the adult-film business, where she encountered sadistic directors, experienced lovers of both sexes, amorous celebrities (from Howard Stern to Marilyn Manson to Tommy Lee), bitter rival starlets, and finally, glory, as she went on to become the biggest porn star the world has ever seen. But her struggle for happiness did not end when the accolades began. For years she wrestled with her resentment at her estranged father, the loneliness of growing up from the age of two without a mother, and her enduring childhood desire to find a man who could give her the security and love she never had.

Her unforgettable memoir is many things at once: a shocking sexual history, an insider's guide to the secret workings of the billion-dollar adult-film industry, and a gripping thriller that probes deep into Jenna's dark past. An unparalleled exploration of sexual freedom, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star ventures far beyond the flesh, into the heart-shredding tragedies and adrenaline-pumping triumphs of a woman who has already lived a hundred lifetimes. Always witty and humorous even as she faces the demons of her past, Jenna offers hilarious anecdotes about one of the most controversial businesses in history, and shares outrageous advice, including her ten commandments of dating and sex, how to become a "suitcase pimp," and how to make it in the business as a female (or a male).

Add to this never-before-seen photographs from Jenna's private collection and others taken exclusively for this book, and the result is certain to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.

When: Released in 2004

Why: All autobiographies should be this entertaining.

Who: Nikki Giovanni

What: Love Poems

In a career that has spanned more than a quarter century, Nikki Giovanni has earned the reputation as one of America's most celebrated and contoversial writers.Now, she presents a stunning collection of love poems that includes more than twenty new works.

From the revolutionary "Seduction" to the tender new poem, "Just a Simple Declaration of Love," from the whimsical "I Wrote a Good Omelet" to the elegiac "All Eyez on U," written for Tupac Shakur, these poems embody the fearless passion and spirited wit for which Nikki Giovanni is beloved and revered.

Romantic, bold, and erotic, Love Poems expresses notions of love in ways that are delightfully unexpected. Articulating in sensuous verse what we know only instinctively, Nikki Giovanni once again confirms her place as one of our nations's most distinguished poets and powerful truth-tellers.

In a career that has spanned more than a quarter century, starting with her explosive early years in the Black Rights Movement, Nikki Giovanni has earned a reputation as one of America's most celebrated and controversial writers. Her mind-speaking work has made her a universal favorite and a number-one best-seller.The love poems-the revolutionary "Seduction," the whimsical "I Wrote a Good Omelet," and the tender "My House" to name just a few-are among the most beloved of all Nikki Giovanni's works. Now, Love Poems brings together these and other favorites with over twenty new poems. Romantic, bold, and erotic, Love Poems will once again confirm Nikki Giovanni's place among the country's most renowned poets and truth tellers.

When: Released in 1997

Why: Duh, it's Nikki Giovanni! 'Nuff said.

Who: Simon Doonan

What: Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You

Glamorous eccentrics are irresistible people. They are irreverent, occasionally impertinent, a tad mysterious, charming, often self-invented, good at applying eyeliner, and above all nonconformist. They are a fabulous confection of style, self-empowerment, and black patent sling backs. Everyone wants to be one, but how? Ubiquitous style guru Simon Doonan has the answer.
By no means a typical how-to manual, Eccentric Glamour is a mixture of cultural commentary and personal disclosure, generously seasoned with gushings of wildly dictatorial, provocative, and reckless style advice. Through cautionary tales and inspirational examples, Doonan shows how to develop your own brand of eccentric glamour -- by magnifying everything that is already unique and idiosyncratic about you.

In these comic essays, interspersed with one-on-one interviews with some of the world's most glamorous eccentrics (including Iman, Lucy Liu, Tilda Swinton, Malcolm Gladwell, and many more), Simon Doonan offers the women of America an alternative to the cheapness and tackiness that currently pass for personal style. Eccentric Glamour is intended as an antidote to the epidemic of slutty dressing and porno-chic that has taken over since the arrival of Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith (may she rest in peace). While the typical TV boobs 'n' Botox makeovers force every woman to look the same, the transformations this book strives to inspire are the very opposite. Dressing like a ho is not just bad taste but boring! In Simon Doonan's book, conformity is the only crime and dressing down the only faux pas.

Eccentric Glamour is every woman's birthright. SO SAY NO TO HO!...and yes to ECCENTRIC GLAMOUR!

When: Debuted April 2008

Why: Simon has a wicked sense of humor. If you've never read any of his articles or books, never seen him appear or speak anywhere, or if you don't even know who he is - fix that now! Even if you're not that into fashion, he's still entertaining.

Who: Sonia Sanchez

What: Like the Singing Coming Off the Drums

In the movie lovejones, in Vibe magazine, and in music by rapper D Knowledge, the love poems of Sonia Sanchez have put into words the passions of a generation.

Like the Singing Coming off the Drums offers a collection of dazzling new love poems from Sonia Sanchez. In haiku, tanka, and sensual blues, Sanchez writes as no one else can of the many forms love takes: burning, dreamy, dis appointed, and vulnerable. In three sections —"Naked in the Streets," "Shake Loose My Skin," and "In This Wet Season" —she takes us from the most intimate landscapes of passion to its public celebration in love poems dedicated to icons of our age, including Tupac Shakur and Ella Fitzgerald.

When: First published in 1998

Why: Because of this . . .

Poem #3

I gather up

each sound

you left behind

and stretch them

on our bed.

                 each nite

I breathe you

and become high.

Got any favorites that you think should be talked about more? Share them with me!

_______________________
Each synopsis is from Amazon.com


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