Vampires...everywhere!

Ok, I admit that I read all of the Twilight series in one week and saw the movie already (is Edward Cullen hot or what?). Well, there's a new, literary vampire in town and it's Jacques Chessex's The Vampire of Ropaz (Bitter Lemon Press, 2008). Chessex, one of the most important living authors in Switzerland and winner of the Goncourt Prize, bases this extraordinary book on a true story that occurred in in the Jura Mountains in 1903.

While the story could be considered a crime novel, the reality is that the book is much more of a moral tale that focuses on a community's fear of the unknown and strange. A beautifully and sparsely written book (less than 110 pages), this is a story that will leave you with more questions than answers - who has committed the horrendous crimes outlined in the novel? Is the accused truly criminal or simply a product of a life filled with abuse at the hands of others? Chessex is a first class writer who turns the notion of the vampire on its head...and there is no Bella or Edward involved.

Kelly Epperson's Columns Don't Stink!

In her regular columns, author Kelly Epperson tells the truth about life's imperfections and the dirt that we sometimes have to wash down the drain. Finally, her readers (and those of us who don't get the opportunity to read her weekly) can read all of her funny, honest and heartfelt columns in her work, When Life Stinks It's Time to Wash the Gym Clothes (Rockford Writer's Guild, 2008). A great holiday present for the person in your life who looks at things with a bit of humor and wit!

Gift Idea Number Two

Amy Sedaris rocks...and cooks! In her bestselling cookbook and comic masterpiece, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (Grand Central Publishing, 2008), Sedaris gives us all some great "Southern" tips for throwing a great party with some yummy food. Your foodie will love it!

Some Ideas for Holiday Gifts

Holiday season is just around the corner, so it's time for Literature Chick's picks for great holiday gifts for those important folks in your family.

Wouldn't we all love to look ten pounds lighter, ten years younger and ten times better? Pick up a copy of Charla Krupp's How Not to Look Old (Springboard, 2008) for the women in your life who need some helpful tips (or should we say hints?).

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters

You can't help falling in love with the crazy, gifted Gabaldon Sisters. After their beloved Pueblo Indian caretaker, Fermina, dies, the four sisters are left with special gifts. Slowly, and with remarkable ease, these gifts (abilities, really) show themselves - healing hands, ability to make others laugh, skill in telling stories and power to curse others. Ultimately, it is not the skills that Fermina has left behind but something much more personal and intimate...a truth that will help the girls define family and love.

To Hell and Back

In this heartbreaking memoir, Samira Bellil relates the world of an immigrant living in the surburban ghettos outside of Paris. Leaving no stone or fact unturned, Bellil tells a tale of male dominance, an imposed code of silence where no woman discusses their abuse and a world of terror and imprisonment. Gang-raped at a young age by a group of young men outside the housing project, Bellil lives a life on the streets after being thrown out by her Algerian father. With difficulty, she ultimately faces her rapists and turns her life around. An astonishing story of immigrant life in France today, this book leaves a lasting impression.

Defenders of the Heart

In their first book, Defenders of the Heart: Managing the Habits and Attitudes That Block You from a Richer, More Satisfying Life (Hay House, November 4, 2008), psychotherapists and authors Marilyn Kagan, LCSW, and Neil Einbund, Ph.D., tackle the ten most common defense mechanisms and offer advice on how to protect your heart and lead a richer and more satisfying life.

In this transformative book, Kagan and Einbund, well-known therapists in the Los Angeles area, help readers discover the frequent habits and attitudes (denial, procrastination, passive-aggressive, projection, rationalization, intellectualization, humor, displacement, sublimation, and altruism) that are used to guard our hearts against being hurt. Over time, these mechanisms, which the authors have coined “Defenders of the Heart,” can become habitual and overly entrenched. In one way or another, they are at the base of nearly all of our bouts with dissatisfaction and depression. Defenders of the Heart delivers a strong basic understanding of these ten defenders, and shows how to recognize which ones are sabotaging your life, and offers a comprehensive tool set to break free of their life-limiting powers.

Each chapter is devoted to a specific Defender and opens with a clear definition, what the authors label as a “DEFENDAPEDIA,” followed with a succinct explanation that demystifies the clinical terminology. Included are numerous examples of the personal struggles and victories of a variety of people that illustrate these points. Kagan and Einbund write about the process that they usually follow when patients come to them for therapy. In their clinical work with patients, they help them to the events and interactions that might have triggered a specific Defender.

Kagan and Einbund devote an entire chapter to the personal stories of celebrities (Ryan Seacrest, Wendi Jo Sperber, Patrick Dempsey) who went through their own Defender trials and tribulations. These narratives are in their own words, which Kagan and Einbund label as "Talk Stories," after the Hawaiian tradition of oral story-telling. Here, readers will learn how these celebrities reached into themselves to make peace with their own Defenders and transform their specific habits and attitudes into a resource that worked for them rather than against them.
The book also includes a bibliography and recommended resources for readers who want further information. Visit http://www.defendersoftheheart.com/ for more information