In a beautiful, untamed wilderness in a small town in British Columbia, at the break of the spirited 1970s, Maggie and Jenny Dillon call an unfinished cabin home. Their quiet, kind-hearted father Patrick and their adventurous mother Irene manage a life at once unconventional, but full of love and contentment. Maggie, a child in the grip of constant worry, is at her father’s side with every possible moment. The pair’s greatest happiness is found in nature as Patrick teaches Maggie how to build shelters and survive off the land. But their world is shaken when tragedy strikes and Patrick is killed in an accident, leaving a ten year-old Maggie, her mother and sister to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

When Maggie and Jenny, two sisters only a year apart in age but worlds apart in spirit, finally start to make sense of the turn their lives have taken they find their worlds rocked again when their mother leaves them with a childless couple the girls have never met before. Irene intends to find work and come back for her girls, but what felt to Maggie as an abrupt departure soon takes the shape of abandonment. Years go by without word from their mother, and life’s struggles soon strike their new, uncharted home as the girls grow into adolescence. When Jenny finds herself facing a situation that will change her life forever, Maggie takes it upon herself to go after their mother and bring her back. At fifteen, Maggie has only the skills her father left her with and the help of a few friends she can count on to survive – Vern, an Indian boy her age, and his kindly uncle Leslie. She calls on the women who had befriended her mother, and from them she begins to unravel the fabric of Irene's life, discovering mysteries she had never expected.

In Shelter Frances Greenslade offers a complex, achingly poignant creation that delves into the relationship of mothers and daughters, sisters, and womankind alike with a subtle grace and an honesty that fluctuates between the sentimental and unsentimental. There were three elements of Shelter that struck me the greatest: Greenslade's characters, story and scenes. Her characters, from Maggie and Jenny to the scattering of women throughout the novel, stand boldly off the page and reach into the heart of the reader without fear. They represent both strength and weakness, and the journey of women learning through life’s trials how to govern each trait. The story, too, seemingly leaps out of the book, and reaches out to pull us deeper in with it. It’s a tale as determined and untouched by limitation as the resourceful, passionate Maggie who narrates it. And, lastly, the countless scenes of a melancholic, wild Canadian world consumes the reader in a sense of finality so strong that you know, from the first, that you’ll be taken away by this book – and maybe even changed. Greenslade's appreciation for nature shines through in her depictions of unchecked waters, towering mountains, the flora, fauna and the sheer emotion to be found within it. The backdrop amplifies the other strong elements of the book and sets the scene for an unforgettable debut novel from a clear and deserving talent in the world of writing.

Shelter is a haunting tale of love, loss, hope and courage. It's an exquisitely crafted book, and a must-read. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to discover a new world, new characters and new concepts through truly moving literature. It's rare that a book engages me in the way Shelter did; this is a book that warms your heart, shocks you and moves you into a distance that allows for a unique glimpse at the human connection born of a mother and daughter.

Shelter has been previously published in Canada, but it will be releases in the United States for the first time on May 15th by Free Press. You can pre-order it at the links below.

Title: Shelter: A Novel Author: Frances Greenslade Genre: Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction Publisher: Free Press Format: Paperback (ARC) Release date: May 15, 2012 Source: Free Press (C/O) Buy the book:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BetterWorldBooksConnect with the author:Website | Blog | Facebook

I snapped this book up after reading Carolann's review of it on her blog, Wonderpug Graphics & Co. You can read her thoughts on it here, and I really suggest doing so. I can't recall the last time I purchased a book after reading one review of it, but Carolann's enthusiasm and the way she captured the essence of the book while leaving a bit of mystery to the plot hit all the right notes.

Rules of Civility is the story of Katey Kontent, a spirited young woman endeavoring to live a full life in Manhattan during the fizzy Jazz Age. Through the pages of the book Katey takes us on an honest, somewhat deadpan tour of the whirlwind year that was 1938: from New Year's to New Year's and with little time for rest in between, we see her glide from a boarding house to the upper reaches of Manhattan's high society, with all of the loves and losses along the way. The city comes alive through the bold protagonist and the other characters illustrated, particularly her roommate and best friend, audacious Eve Ross, and the man who changes both of their lives, the enigmatic Tinker Grey. The connection between Katey and Tinker is instantaneous, but their story is as cryptic as real life.

The allure of Rules of Civility for me was the combination of the author's engaging prose – at once frank and poetically elusive – along with his way of applying it into the narrative of his Katey, who felt like a spitfire brought from the screen of Hollywood's Golden Age; Jean Harlow in an undiscovered pre-code film. Katey is at times abruptly direct, waltzing occasionally into crude territory and without a hint of apology, but her brass makes her all the more enchanting. Mr. Towles didn't overdo it on the task of refining her, making her feel very accurate to her situation, and yet she exuded her own brand of class. That aptly describes her life between the pages of the novel, as well, I think.

While this was the debut novel from Mr. Towles, I certainly hope the literary world will be seeing more of his unique touch. Rules of Civility has been compared to The Great Gatsby – can you imagine: likened to Fitzgerald on your debut! – and I certainly feel the resemblance. With the weight of his prose and the way he passes over chances to explain his story without, it would seem, a second thought, he calls to mind Fitzgerald in a very significant way, while creating characters that are all his own. It's no doubt the story will stay with me long after I've placed the book back on my shelves. I think I learned a lot from Mr. Towles, from brazen Eve, from blue-eyed Tinker and especially from brash, Jean Harlow-esque Katey Kontent.

Title: Rules of Civility Author: Amor Towles Genre: Literary fiction, period drama Publisher: Viking Press Format: Hardcover Release date: July 26, 2011 Source: Personal library Buy the book:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BetterWorldBooksConnect with the author:Website | Facebook

In 2003 journalist Annia Ciezadlo accompanied her Lebanese husband, Mohamad, to Baghdad where he was sent to report for an American newspaper. They went first to Beirut where they met Mohamad's family, then back to New York where they were civilly married, and eventually on to Iraq: the honeymoon. Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love and War is Ciezadlo's spectacular account of her journey into a country at war, of the people she met along the way, and of the food that brought them all together. Early in the pages of the book Ciezadlo writes, "The truth is I was never all that interested in the Middle East". It’s a simple observation that draws you into her story with the understanding that you – and anyone else – is welcome in reading, that you have every right to venture into the pages. It also illustrates the honesty with which she approaches the topic, and all the smaller topics within the book. It’s her non-political approach that makes Day of Honey a reading experience everyone will likely be affected by; and she cultivates her ability to guide us through the topic by speaking languages that we all understand: family, friendship, and food.

Through her writing Ciezadlo obliterates the boundaries set by politics and religion, drawing us into an acquaintance with the civilian characters of a Middle East most people may have never seen from its place underneath the veil of an entire world’s prejudices and policies. She eliminates the cultural divide, yet illustrates cultural differences, endearing them to the reader as she gently and purposefully opens our eyes to what life during the Iraq War was like. Through Ciezadlo's narrative we all experience the blissful disconnect of the nomadic perspective that allows us an unobstructed view of the world and its vast societies. Who would’ve thought that disconnect would cause connection. As I read Day of Honey I felt like I had been given the opportunity to go back in time and meet people my life - or rather, Annia's life, and by effect my own - would’ve been much less colorful without. The bookworm-slash-artist-slash-poet Abu Rifaat, the affectionate young Roaa with big dreams of a simple life for herself and women everywhere, the determined and empowering Dr. Salama; then from Baghdad to Beruit where we're in the company of the sardonic Umm Hussane, Annia's spirited and sarcastic mother-in-law. The list builds longer still as Ciezadlo documents the many natural eccentricities of the people she meets, befriends and always – always – shares a meal with. She also includes, in the back of the book, some of her favorite Middle Eastern recipes which, after reading her raptures about them throughout her narration, I'm curious to try.

Reading Day of Honey brings about an inner sense of transformation. I think it's an effect of the enlightenment that comes with everything Ciezadlo feeds into the pages of the book; whether it's the vast histories of Iraq and Lebanon, the insights into their historical legends, or the magnitude and depth of the ideas, dreams and aspirations of Baghdad and Beruit's societies. Or it's the simple idea of a street in Baghdad that's almost entirely devoted to booksellers and cafés; or, finally, absolutely, tremendously...the food. It all culminates into a host of feelings that settle under the umbrella of one: understanding.

I'll leave off with a simple request: if you read only one book this year, make it Day of Honey. Then drop me a line and tell me everything you gained from it.

Title: Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love and War Author: Annia Ciezadlo Genre: Memoir {food, travel, Middle East, journalism, family, marriage} Publisher: Free Press Format: Paperback Release date: February 14, 2012 Source: Free Press (C/O) Buy the book:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BetterWorldBooksConnect with the author:

Paul Bowles (1910-1999) was famous as a composer and novelist (most notably for his very successful classic The Sheltering Sky), but he was also an expatriate with a vast appreciation for other cultures, scenes and societies. His unique perspective of life, his boldly honest examination of foreign cultures and his respectable appreciation for the natural landscapes of the world are all illustrated best and beautifully through his own words. I think, in some way, he knew that words would be the most accurate instrument with which to relay his feelings for the places he visited throughout his life; and so, he wrote.

He wrote often, and he wrote in passionate detail about every aspect of the world as seen through the wide-open eyes of a dedicated wanderer. In Travels, we are given the broadest look into his world through thirty-nine collected writings - from articles to essays and even book introductions - that tell, in his own words, of the experiences he had and the ideas he gathered throughout his vibrant traveling life. I was very excited when I was contacted with the opportunity to review this recently-published collection, undoubtedly the most comprehensive and extensive selection of his travel writings ever before available.

In Travels, Paul Bowles's writings - all penned between 1950 and 1993 - actively document his revelations and unique understandings of art, culture and the world through Ceylon, Spain, India, France and beyond, to North Africa, where his writings about Tangier give gleaming evidence to his passion for the place where he spent the rest of his life. He writes at length on the characters that seasoned his experiences, as well as the nature that arrested his consciousness; from the sky of the Sahara, "compared to which all other skies seem faint-hearted efforts" (Baptism of Solitude, 1953) to a peasant in Madeira about whom Bowles wrote, "There was a definite difference between this face and the kind of faces I was used to seeing. It was as if this one had been made by hand, the others mass-produced." (Madeira, 1960)

A particular favorite passage of mine can be found in Windows on the Past, written in 1955, wherein Bowles examines the European culture and its relevance to Americans. In it he tells us that, "Europe, if we approach it without preconceived ideas as to what constitutes its 'culture' - simply with a little humility and a little imagination - provides us with that lost childhood...whose evocation can be so instrumental in helping us to locate ourselves in time and space. It is the first step...in the direction of knowing what we are to ourselves and what we are in the world." Those lines were something of a revelation for me; I was completely captivated in not just his exquisite language, but the meaning of his words and the force with which I realized how deeply I related to them.

But when it comes to writing about Tangier, that's where Bowles seems most at home in these pages; about half of the writings in this volume surround the Moroccan city and there's always a certain animation behind his calm narrative when the subject is Tangier. You almost feel the way each other place paled a small bit in comparison to his beloved city, but he's not so biased as to deprive the other locales their due. Each offering he shares with the reader, every insight, bursts with knowledge, wit and a uniquely sardonic wisdom that's all his own. If you're a traveler, it's safe to say you'll find a kindred spirit in Bowles; and if you're not, prepare to be transported.

It also wouldn't be appropriate for me to forego mention of the way Bowles saw Paris, where he had moved to spontaneously and unceremoniously after dropping out of the University of Virginia, so I'll finish things off here with a passage from Paris! City of the Arts, 1953;

"For artists, would-be artists and those numberless people for whom association with art of some sort, and with those who practice it, is a necessity, Paris is much more than a splendid city of boulevards, cafés, shops, bright night spots, parks, museums and historical monuments. It is a complete continent in itself, every region of which must be explored on foot. [...] Infinite variety in a harmonious whole, the certainty of discovering something new and poignant each day – such things give the artist who lives in Paris a sense of satisfaction and spiritual well-being. I think it is they, rather than the more tangible benefits Paris provides, that make it the principal gathering place for artists from every part of the world."

Title: Travels: Collected Writings, 1950-1993 Author: Paul Bowles Genre: Memoir, travelogue Publisher: HarperCollins Format: Paperback Release date: August 23, 2011 Source: the publisher (C/O) Buy the book:Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BetterWorldBooks

Note: I originally published this content on The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower. It has been reproduced here for continuity of review-writing history.