Author Archives: Joanna Buffum
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” – Kvothe, The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel is quickly gaining ranks among the likes of Game of Thrones and has earned […]
Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich
The debut novel from Asbury Park author Stephanie Evanovich, Big Girl Panties, is a romantic comedy about a plus-size wallflower who suddenly finds herself among the beautiful and famous. Holly Brennan, an insecure, frizzy-haired redhead, can only fantasize about dating a sculpted hunk like Logan Montgomery, the prominent personal trainer to pro athletes who is […]
The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson
“I wondered if the only difference between a psychopath in prison and a psychopath on Wall Street is a rich, stable family.” – Jon Ronson Jon Ronson describes himself as someone who writes “funny stories about unfunny things,” which is certainly true of The Psychopath Test. Part investigative journalist and part humorist, he finds himself […]
The Turncoat by Donna Thorland
The debut novel by Donna Thorland is a sinful page-turner and impressive first installment of a planned trilogy called Renegades of the Revolution. The Turncoat follows a group of female spies during the American Revolution who operate in rural New Jersey and British-occupied Philadelphia by seducing unsuspecting Redcoat officers. Beautiful and cunning, the women relay Loyalist […]
Garden State Authors
Reviews originally appeared in New Jersey Monthly Magazine. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman First-time author Jenny Milchman, a Montclair native now living in Morristown, sets Cover of Snow (Ballantine Books) in a cryptically named small town in upstate New York. Fictional Wedeskyull has one streetlight, an eight-month winter and plenty of secrets. When Nora Hamilton discovers […]
Interview with George R.R. Martin
This interview was conducted for the April 2013 issue of New Jersey Monthly Magazine and appeared originally on njmonthly.com. Read the print-edition article here. HBO’s medieval fantasy series Game of Thrones is based off Bayonne bred author George R.R. Martin’s seven-part book series called A Song of Ice and Fire. New Jersey Monthly writers Joanna […]
Peter Jackson’s Embellished Version of the Hobbit
“Every good story deserves to be embellished.” – Gandalf to Bilbo, An Unexpected Journey It’s pretty remarkable that the short children’s story The Hobbit has been stretched into three blockbuster movies, considering that the 1,000 page Lord of the Rings trilogy was also made into three blockbuster movies. Some (or most) have speculated it was […]
Tales of Dunk and Egg by George R.R. Martin
“A hedge knight must hold tight to his pride. Without it, he was no more than a sellsword.” – The Hedge Knight George R. R. Martin has published three novellas (with the fourth due in May 2013 and many more rumored to come) as prequels to the Song of Ice and Fire series, and begin […]
Literary Costume Ideas for Halloween
Not sure what to be for Halloween this year? Instead of riding pop culture trends, try representing your favorite literary character! See if any of the following suggestions inspire you to create a costume from your wardrobe. Tweet us your costumes with the hashtag #literarycostumes 1. A Reveur from The Night Circus A “reveur” in […]
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
“A howling singer on the radio strummed a song about how everything that dies someday comes back.” – Cloud Atlas, The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish Cloud Atlas is unlike any other piece of literature, classic or modern. The novel is broken into six stories that take place in different eras and locations, and progress in […]
A Feast of Ice and Fire by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer
“Later came sweetbreads and pigeon pie and baked apples fragrant with cinnamon and lemon cakes frosted in sugar, but by then Sansa was so stuffed that she could not manage more than two little lemon cakes, as much as she loved them.” – A Game of Thrones Food is one of the most memorable aspects […]
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
“You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque de Reves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus. You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.” – The Night Circus Much like how Diagon Alley and Hogwarts were so inviting […]
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
“Animals in the wild lead lives of compulsion and necessity within an unforgiving social hierarchy in an environment where the supply of fear is high and the supply of food is low and where the territory must be constantly defended and parasites forever endured.” – Life of Pi Life of Pi is an odd sort […]
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
“Now the world poured through her, wasted, down the drain. A woman is a hole, Alexandra had once read in the memoirs of a prostitute. In truth it felt less like being a hole than a sponge, a heavy squishy thing on this bed soaking out of the air all the futility and misery there […]
Banksy: Wall and Piece
“Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at the bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons […]
Sea of Shelves 