Friday Finds (July 11)

To join the fun, click on the icon.

I'm back with another pile of Friday Finds. I actually had so many books to share with you this week I had to cut some out! Wild. So let's get to it, shall we?

 

33 Men is the story of the 2010 rescue of 33 Chilean minors, trapped for 69 days in a collapsed mine.

 

Continuing in the high drama vein, Flight 232 tells the story of an airplane going down over Sioux City, and 184 of the 296 passengers surviving.

 

I've owned Bill Bryson's At Home for awhile now. This week it was finally added to my "To Read" shelf.

 

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon All Four Stars (perhaps a Goodreads e-newsletter?). It's a middle-grade book about a precocious little girl (the best kind) who wants to be a chef, but after a blowtorch-crème-brulee attempt that goes awry, she's banned from the kitchen by her parents. But soon she becomes a restaurant critic--though no one knows she's a little girl. Adorable, no?

 

I'm always on the lookout for fiction that appeals to my picky tastes. Girl in Translation looks like something right up my alley. It's about growing up Chinese-American. I assume it's autobiographical.

 

Over the July 4th weekend, my husband and I took in two movies. Both of them showed a preview for the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey starring Helen Mirren. It's based on a novel about an Indian family that opens a restaurant across the street from a fancy-pants French restaurant. I'm all in!

(The movie is out Aug. 8.)

 

And now for some memoirs.

 

Bento Box in the Heartland is about growing up Japanese in Ohio. It focuses mainly on cooking authentic Japanese meals, though ingredients are scarce.

 

Andi at Estella's Revenge is currently reading Handling the Truth. I love memoirs, and I love books about writing, so this sounds fabulous to me.

 

Confession: I've had a crush on Jay Leno since about 1997 when I'd come home from my summer job as a carhop and watch The Tonight Show while I counted my tips. I'm a Leno girl all the way. So this book that dishes on Jay and his guests is high on my To Read list. (It was released yesterday.)

 

And now for a couple nonfiction books that deal with authors.

 

Bookmammal recently wrote about My Salinger Year. It sounds like a wonderful memoir about coming of age and books.

 

The Mockingbird Next Door is a biography about the reclusive Harper Lee, author of the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird. Mills was given rare access by the author. This will be released July 15.

 

Honestly, this one has been on my To Buy list for months. I love the Young House Love website, and I'm a home decorating junkie. But I'm not a DIY-er. I want to buy the book to support their work. If you haven't seen their website, you're in for a treat. They're a young couple (with two young kids and a Chihuahua named Burger); their work is professional, and their posts are often hilarious. They have a new book coming out next year.

 

 

 Whew, quite a pile! So, what new book is burning you down this week?