Amazon's Sara Nelson chats about her favorite August books
Looking for a book to settle in with as you soak up the last of the summer sun? Each month, Amazon releases its list of the 10 books that its staff thinks are the best of the month. The August 2012 list includes everything from a nonfiction title about sleeping to a tale of poisonous cheerleaders.
鈥淲e get together about twice a month to ... yell at each other about what we liked and didn't like,鈥� Sara Nelson, editorial director of books and Kindle for Amazon.com, said of the process of selecting the top 10. We talked with Nelson about the August list and what鈥檚 caught her eye this month.
The spotlight book for August is 鈥淭he Light Between Oceans鈥� by M.L. Stedman, the author鈥檚 debut novel, and Nelson said she thinks it鈥檚 one to watch for the upcoming month.
鈥淲e're really crazy about that book,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 expect that that's going to be a big player.鈥�
鈥淭he Light Between Oceans鈥� tells the story of a man who works as a lighthouse keeper on a remote island where he lives with his wife, Isabel. The two have tried to have a baby but have encountered only miscarriages. Then, one day a boat arrives on the island carrying a dead man 鈥� and a living baby. Isabel persuades her husband that they should keep the child and raise it as their own. That decision, however, proves to have consequences the couple could not possibly have foreseen.
鈥淚t's this very atmospheric book,鈥� Nelson said of the novel.
Another standout in Nelson鈥檚 eyes is the novel 鈥淒are Me鈥� by Megan Abbott, who is the author of previous books 鈥淭he End of Everything鈥� and 鈥淨ueenpin,鈥� among other titles. 鈥淒are鈥� centers on cheerleaders in their senior year of high school who find their lives disrupted by a new coach.
鈥淭hey make the 'Mean Girls' movies look like Disney,鈥� Nelson said of 鈥淒are.鈥� 鈥淚t's a dark book鈥� I don't have a teenage daughter, but if I did, I'd lock her in the house.鈥�
Nelson said the book 鈥淭he Double Game,鈥� a thriller by Dan Fesperman, also caught her eye in the fiction category. Fesperman is the author of such titles as 鈥淭he Amateur Spy鈥� and 鈥淭he Warlord鈥檚 Son.鈥� In 鈥淭he Double Game,鈥� an ex-journalist receives a mysterious note urging him to look into the life of a spy he once knew. The plot of 鈥淭he Double Game鈥� references many classics of the thriller genre, said Nelson.
鈥淚t's a book for people who love books like 'The Shadow of the Wind鈥� [by Carlos Ruiz Zaf贸n],鈥� she said.
In addition, Nelson said she was pleasantly surprised by the book 鈥淲hen It Happens to You,鈥� a collection of connected stories by 鈥�80s star and Brat Pack member Molly Ringwald.
鈥淭his book is not a little ditty tossed off by a childhood actress,鈥� Nelson said of the book.
For readers looking for a title more based in real life, Nelson recommends the memoir 鈥淲inter Journal鈥� by writer Paul Auster, author of novels including 鈥淭he Invention of Solitude" and "Sunset Park." In 鈥淲inter Journal,鈥� Auster discusses his mother鈥檚 death and ruminates on what it's like to grow older.
鈥淸It鈥檚] intensely personal, very disturbingly personal in the sense that it's like he's talking to you,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淭here's a kind of joyful acceptance of life and aging.鈥�
(Check out a video of Auster recording the audio book below.)
She said the book 鈥淒ouble Cross,鈥� by 鈥淎gent Zigzag鈥� author Ben Macintyre, also appealed to her. 鈥淒ouble Cross" tells the story of the spies who made the D-Day invasion possible.
鈥淚t's one of those true life, war books that reads like a novel,鈥� Nelson said.
