Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Shortest Way Home
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 14-Dec
WEBSITE: http://www.miriamparker.com/
CITY: Brooklyn
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2018100166
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2018100166
HEADING: Parker, Miriam (Miriam Rebecca)
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370 __ |c United States |e Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) |2 naf
372 __ |a Book industries and trade |a Authorship |2 lcsh
374 __ |a Publishers and publishing |a Authors |2 lcsh
375 __ |a Females |2 lcdgt
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400 1_ |a Parker, Miriam
670 __ |a Parker, Miriam. The shortest way home, 2018: |b title page (Miriam Parker) title page verso (Miriam Parker, full name is Miriam Rebecca Parker)
670 __ |a miriamparker.com, viewed July 27, 2018: |b (Miriam Parker, worked in book publishing for more than seventeen years and is currently the associate publisher of Ecco, she lives in Brooklyn)
PERSONAL
Born December 14.
EDUCATION:Columbia University, B.A.; University of North Carolina, Wilmington, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Book publisher. Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY, marketing director. 2000-15; Ecco, New York, associate publisher, 2015–.
WRITINGS
Contributor of fiction to literary publications, including The Florida Review and Fourteen Hills.
SIDELIGHTS
Author and publisher Miriam Parker has worked in book publishing for more than seventeen years and writes contemporary fiction. She was marketing director at Little, Brown and Company for fifteen years and managed long-term relationships and ongoing year-round campaigns for such authors as James Patterson, Michael Connelly, David Sedaris, and J.K. Rowling. In 2015, Parker joined HarperCollins’s Ecco imprint as associate publisher, and was the creative force behind promotion of Mulholland Books and Lee Boudreaux’s launch of her eponymous imprint. With an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of North Carolina, Parker has published fiction in various outlets including The Florida Review and Fourteen Hills. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
In 2018, Parker published her debut book, The Shortest Way Home, named a Best Book of 2018 by Real Simple and Redbook. Focusing on the theme of belonging, the novel follows Hannah Greene, based in bustling New York City, who at thirty is on track for a perfect life. She’s finishing up graduate school, has a long-time boyfriend Ethan whom she plans to marry, and has a job lined up at prestigious Goldman Sachs. On a romantic weekend trip to Sonoma, she encounters Bellosguardo, a small failing winery, and offers her experience in marketing to help it get back on its feet. Surprised by her attraction to the quiet life away from the frantic city, she decides to disrupt her life plans and settle down to work for the winery. She takes time to reexamine her life, especially in light of her emotionally traumatic childhood. New friends at the winery and the community, including handsome William, son of the winery owners, convince her to stay. William’s parents are also at a crossroads; his mother Linda is decided whether to stay with his father Everett or take up with her first love, Jackson, a musician.
The book is partially based on Parker’s own experience deciding to stay in Sonoma wine country or move back to New York (she returned to New York). Parker told Katie Noah Gibson in an interview online at Shelf Awareness: “Telling a story of people who are at different stages in their lives, trying to figure out what they want, felt really important to me.” She added: “Everyone in this book is looking for their own perfect happiness, or the home they dreamt of. They all find some peace by the end.”
The refreshing and rewarding story “becomes less about being happy with a particular guy than about finding happiness by following one’s heart,” noted a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. This is a romance and a story about a young woman “figuring out the difference between what she wants to do with her life and what others want,” noted Laurie Hertzel in Minneapolis Star Tribune. Online at Shelf Awareness, Katie Noah Gibson commented: “Packed with good books, California sunshine and glass after glass of local wine, Parker’s debut is a sweet, funny, charming novel of a woman daring to upend expectations (her own and everyone else’s) to make her own way. Readers will toast Hannah’s roundabout journey.”
A Kirkus Reviews critic lamented that the first three sentences of the book lay out much of the plot leading the reader to expect that everything will work out fine. The critic revealed that there is too much description of clothes and makeup, and “There is never the slightest danger of everything not working out perfectly, and these people are nowhere near interesting enough to have a whole book written about them.” However, according to Lynnanne Pearson in Booklist, while Hannah can be unsympathetic at times with her selfish decisions, “the eclectic cast of characters rounds her out.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August 1, 2018, Lynnanne Pearson, review of The Shortest Way Home, p. 28.
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2018, review of The Shortest Way Home.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 31, 2018, Laurie Hertzel, review of The Shortest Way Home.
Publishers Weekly, May 14, 2018, review of The Shortest Way Home, p. 34.
ONLINE
Shelf Awareness, http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ (April 9, 2018), Katie Noah Gibson, author interview, review of The Shortest Way Home.
Miriam Parker has worked in book publishing for more than seventeen years and is currently the associate publisher of Ecco. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UNC Wilmington and a BA in English from Columbia University. Her short stories have been published in The Florida Review and Fourteen Hills. She lives in Brooklyn with her spaniel, Leopold Bloom. The Shortest Way Home is her first novel.
To contact her, email miriam @ miriamparker.com.
Agent contact: Allison Hunter at Janklow & Nesbit
Publicity contact: Jamie Knapp at Dutton
Follow Miriam on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Official photo. Credit: Shannon Carpenter
Miriam Parker to Join Ecco
Nov 04, 2015
Miriam Parker has been named associate publisher at HarperCollins's Ecco imprint, and will start her new job on November 16. Parker is joining Ecco after 15 years with Little, Brown and Company, where she is currently marketing director.
At Little, Brown, Parker worked on campaigns for books such as The Goldfinch, I Am Malala, Life After Life, and Factory Man, among many more. She also has vast experience managing long term relationships and ongoing year-round campaigns for authors like James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Elin Hilderbrand, David Sedaris and J.K. Rowling. In addition, Miriam was the creative force behind the launch of Mulholland Books and has been working with Lee Boudreaux on the launch of her eponymous imprint over the course of this past year.
Monday, April 9, 2018: Maximum Shelf: The Shortest Way Home
Dutton Books: The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
Dutton Books: The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
Dutton Books: The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
The Shortest Way Home
by Miriam Parker
Hannah Greene has her life all planned out--or thinks she does. She's landed a dream job right out of business school, and is envisioning a high-powered New York City future with her boyfriend, Ethan. But a weekend trip to Sonoma County right before graduation changes everything. When Hannah falls in love with Bellosguardo, a small local winery, she talks her way into a marketing job there, giving up her hard-won position at Goldman Sachs and the plans she and Ethan have laid. Despite the winery's appeal, Hannah's 180-degree turn isn't without its stomach-flipping bumps and surprising curves. Miriam Parker's debut novel, The Shortest Way Home, follows Hannah's journey as she struggles to navigate her new path despite the weight of everyone else's expectations (and her own).
Parker paints her setting perfectly: the neat rows of vines, with rosebushes planted at the ends; the spacious tasting room with a high-beamed ceiling; the winery's resident dog, Tannin; and Felipe, a friendly Chilean sommelier. But although the setting is paradise, Bellosguardo's future may be in jeopardy. The owners, a married couple, have hit a rough patch in their relationship and their business, and their only son, William, is moving to New York to pursue his filmmaking dreams.
Gradually, Hannah settles into her new life, making friends with the taciturn winery owner, Everett; his wife and co-owner, Linda, who handles distribution and ordering; and several local personalities, including Celeste, a blonde whirlwind who becomes Hannah's source of local gossip and connections. Long days at the winery, putting her freshly minted business degree to work, are punctuated by wine tastings, trips with Linda to visit clients (and attempts to increase their orders) and plans for a big party at the winery, complete with local musicians and plenty of Bellosguardo's best bottles.
Meanwhile, Hannah struggles to sort out her feelings for Ethan and decide whether she really wants the future they had dreamed of together. She also wonders what her family back in Iowa--her widowed mother, her happily married brother and his children--are making of her out-of-the-blue decision. While Hannah has always longed for a more exciting life than her mother had, she worries that she's disappointing her family by making choices so different from theirs.
Parker tells her story in Hannah's voice, sharing both her protagonist's delight at the beauty of Sonoma County (and her picture-perfect cottage on the vineyard's grounds), and her anxiety over having made a rash decision that could upend her life. While she doesn't regret giving up the Goldman job, and is increasingly convinced that Ethan wasn't the right guy for her, Hannah second-guesses her new career path at every turn. Can she make a success of the winery? Will this new place, far from everything she knows, eventually become home? And can she navigate the tricky web of relationships at Bellosguardo, especially the chilly dynamic between Linda and Everett?
Parker's characters are flawed but likable, especially Hannah, whose zeal for her newfound career threatens to overwhelm her colleagues at times. But with a combination of luck, enthusiasm and marketing savvy, she pulls off a successful party and begins to take the winery's production and visibility up a notch. Meanwhile, she knows she can't hide from the consequences of her decision forever. Whether it's finally sorting things out with Ethan or calling her mother (bracing for disappointment in both cases), Hannah must find the courage to own the twisty, unconventional path she has chosen for herself. While it's tempting to dive straight into a new relationship, she also knows she needs to figure some things out for herself before she can give her full attention to another person.
Hannah isn’t the only one struggling with life and love. Linda is dealing with long-held resentments toward her husband, both professional and personal. Felipe misses his family back in Chile, though he enjoys his work with the vines. William tries to make a go of writing and shooting films in New York, but feels drawn back to his family's winery (and, increasingly, to Hannah). Even Everett, a man not given to dealing with his emotions, must face up to some new realities in his work and his marriage. Each of the main characters is on his or her own meandering, entirely relatable journey, perfectly evoking the James Joyce lines that inspired the book's title: "Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home."
Packed with good books, California sunshine and glass after glass of local wine, Parker's debut is a sweet, funny, charming novel of a woman daring to upend expectations (her own and everyone else's) to make her own way. Readers will toast Hannah's roundabout journey and perhaps be inspired to take a detour or two of their own. --Katie Noah Gibson
Dutton, $26, hardcover, 320p., 9781524741860, July 31, 2018
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Dutton Books: The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
Miriam Parker: Taking the Long Way Home
photo: Shannon Carpenter
Miriam Parker is the associate publisher of Ecco. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UNC Wilmington and a BA in English from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her spaniel, Leopold Bloom. The Shortest Way Home (Dutton, July 31) is her first novel.
Tell us about the inspiration for The Shortest Way Home.
In a lot of ways, this book is a dream for me. I love reading, I love wine, I love travel. This was a book I wrote in the mornings, on vacation and on the weekends away from my job. I decided I was going to take all the things I loved and write a book about them.
Are you a wine enthusiast? Have you spent time in Sonoma, where the book is set?
I've always loved wine. I love California, and I've been to Sonoma a number of times. The first time was when I was finishing graduate school and at a crossroads in my life. I had considered "quitting my life" and moving to California. I stayed in downtown Sonoma, found a winery and joined their wine club. I didn't stay there: I ended up coming back to New York and working in publishing. But the winery had lodged in my brain, and I kept mentally going back there. It's sort of the path not taken.
Did you go back to Sonoma once you started writing the book?
Yes! On that first trip, I wasn't thinking about writing a book set there. I was traveling and having a good time. But I did go back, and I took my dog and stayed in northern Sonoma County. In the mornings I would write, and in the afternoons I would drive around with the dog and interview people at wineries. I highly recommend going on vacation with your dog!
I loved talking to people at the wineries. You learn the most amazing little details! For example: I learned that wineries plant roses at the end of their rows, because they're much more sensitive than vines. If there's any disease or blight around, the roses will show it before the vines, which gives the vineyard owner a heads up.
I also loved learning about terroir. Grapes take on the flavor of what's planted in the ground around them, so if there's rosemary, for example, they might have a hint of that. But they also take on the flavor of what was planted in the ground before they were: vegetables or other herbs. I thought it was fascinating that grapes take on both the history and the current flavor of the land.
The story includes references to many other books. Your day job is in publishing--do you think that affected the main character and storyline?
I hope that flavor of my life does come through. I am first and foremost a reader, and a lover of books and authors. So having a main character who loves to read, who was inspired by a librarian to figure out her life, was important for me. I wanted to pepper the story with books I love. But writing it was also an escape from my publishing job, because it's a totally different mindset: creating a book as opposed to publishing a book. They are complementary, but they use two different parts of your brain.
The Shortest Way Home is mainly Hannah's story, but several other characters are also on their own journeys to figuring out what they really want.
Telling a story of people who are at different stages in their lives, trying to figure out what they want, felt really important to me. I spent a lot of my 20s being disappointed that life wasn't lining up like it was "supposed to." I was making mistakes, trying things, and everything didn't feel like the story I'd seen in the movies or been taught to expect. And then I got into my 30s and realized that things don't always line up: you have to give them space to happen. I think if I could have told my 21-year-old or even my 30-year-old self that, I would have appreciated it.
Several of the characters--not just Hannah--make mistakes along the way.
Yes. A lot of the characters are not doing the right thing at all times. But everyone is trying their best. You have to think of people as fully human. No one is fully a villain or fully a hero. Everyone in this book is looking for their own perfect happiness, or the home they dreamt of. They all find some peace by the end.
Part of finding a home can be the people, and Hannah definitely finds her people at the winery.
Hannah's relationship with the winery people--the owners, the sommelier, several locals--is sort of a family she chooses. I think knowing a group of people with different ages and life histories makes life so much richer.
That also feeds into Hannah’s relationship with her family of origin, especially her mother.
She struggles with it, but yes, she has to accept her mom for who she is and also accept herself. That's the journey of everyone in this book: accepting themselves for who they are, instead of who they thought they were. For Hannah, choosing herself over anyone else--her family, or a romantic partner--is really important. You have to know yourself before you can really be good with someone else.
Parker and Leo.
Tell us about the title--The Shortest Way Home is drawn from a quote by James Joyce?
The working title was The Tasting Room, which felt a bit too reductive, even though that's where it starts. But then I was listening to NPR and heard a band that had named an album after a James Joyce quote. I thought, "I’m jealous!" I've always loved Joyce: Ulysses has meant a lot to me, and my dog is named Leopold Bloom. And when I came across this quote, I thought: Yes. That's what this book is. Hannah takes the long way around to find her home.
As a marketer and publisher, you spend your days among books. How does it feel to be on the other side, as a debut author?
It's terrifying! I understand the anxieties that authors express much more intimately now. Having your book go out into the world, having people you know read it... it's scary! When it started popping up in people's mailboxes, I felt a lot of anxiety.
It's so hard to see your own work for what it is as a writer. I think I'm a pretty typical author: I'm trying to keep my publishing knowledge out of the process and do this as a debut author. I'm not sure my editor would agree, but I'm really trying to learn and enjoy the process.
The most important question: What kind of wine pairs well with The Shortest Way Home?
I think it pairs perfectly with a glass of sparkling rosé on the back patio! Ideally with a nice herbed goat cheese and rosemary crackers. --Katie Noah Gibson
Three celebrations for every complaint.
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WHAT TO READ WHEN YOU’RE AT THE BAR
BY MIRIAM PARKER
July 20th, 2018
My debut novel The Shortest Way Home (forthcoming from Dutton on July 31) is about a young woman, Hannah Greene, who thinks she has it all figured out—a soon-to-be fiancé, an MBA, a fancy job at a New York City finance company. It’s all on track until she walks into a Sonoma winery and decides to throw it all away for a life filled with wine and love (and dogs).
Of course I had to do a lot of research for this book, much of which involved me hanging out in bars asking people questions about wine. Since I can’t bring my dog to bars with me, I usually bring a book. Here are a few recommendations for books you can bring to the bar with you this summer!
***
Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
A novel set almost entirely in Manhattan bars and parties (there are also some fabulous apartments). About an obsessive friendship gone very wrong. Surprising at every turn.
When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri
A sexy romance, set in the lesbian bars of New York City. When Katie is dumped by her fiancé, she’s in a tailspin until she meets Cassid,y who is her match in every way. But will Katie allow herself to fall for a woman? Sure to spark conversation with all genders and sexual orientations.
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
A book about finding love even when you feel like a misfit. Filled with text messages and memes, but also brimming with heart, this book is a million times better than a Tinder date.
Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin’s main character John Rebus spends so much time at the Oxford Bar in Edinburgh that there’s an original brew there called Rebus. Even Dogs in the Wild is a great place to start if you haven’t read Rankin, as it features both of his series’ characters—Rebus and Malcolm Fox. This is a great read for detective fans.
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
A memoir by a man who grew up surrounded by alcohol—his dad owned a bar on Long Island. An affecting book that might make you want to go home before having that last drink.
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
An incredible book set in the restaurant world of New York City. Tess starts working at one of the top restaurants in New York, only to find that the restaurant life is all-encompassing in ways beyond her imagination. As the story unfolds, she learns about wine, but also about love and life.
Tangerine by Christine Mangan
A key scene in this book is set in a bar in Tangiers, frequented by Paul Bowles. This is another book about obsessive friendship, set in 1950s Morocco. You won’t be able to put it down.
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
This is a book about identity and about how it is processed from the inside out. It’s the kind of book that inspires deep conversations in bars: How does your mind work? How do substances affect it? Bring this one to your favorite watering hole and watch the beautiful two-headed snake on its cover generate conversation—or shut down any unwanted advances.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Alcohol plays a key role in the plot of this book about a woman who observes the perfect couple each night during her daily train ride. Until one day, everything changes.
Barfly by Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski was the ultimate barfly, so this is essential bar reading.
My Struggle: Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgaard
I always say that if you are a woman who wants men to talk to you in bars, this is the book you should open. If you are a man who wants women to get into fights with you at bars, just bring this along.
The Ex by Alafair Burke
If you’re feeling heartbroken, read The Ex in a bar and you’re sure to find someone new to love. Or kill. Whatever your fancy.
And to close out this wonderful list, we just had to include Miriam’s debut novel, The Shortest Way Home, available July 31 from Dutton! – Ed.
The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
Hannah is finally about to have everything she ever wanted. With a high-paying job, a Manhattan apartment, and a boyfriend about to propose, all she and Ethan have to do is make it through the last couple of weeks of grad school—but a trip to Sonoma makes Hannah rethink everything.
August 3, 2018
Miriam Parker's Playlist for Her Novel "The Shortest Way Home"
The Shortest Way Home
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.
Miriam Parker's novel The Shortest Way Home is a funny and charming debut.
Library Journal wrote of the book:
"This debut novel about a young woman following her heart and creating her happiness is engaging and fun. Parker takes her place next to similar writers such as Laura Dave and Jane Green."
In her own words, here is Miriam Parker's Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel The Shortest Way Home:
My debut novel The Shortest Way Home is about a woman who gives up a “perfect” life for the life she truly wants. She’s about to move to New York to work in finance, get engaged and live in a fancy TriBeCa apartment. But at the last minute, she quits it all—the job, the boyfriend, the signing bonus for the chance to work at a failing family winery in Sonoma. Publishing a novel has been a lifelong dream of mine, so this playlist is going to be a combination of music that inspired me when I was writing (or just to get down to work), as well as some songs that inspire my characters. Maybe because I’m such a devoted reader, I love songs that tell a story, so a lot of the songs on this playlist are more like narratives than like songs.
I’m Writing a Novel by Father John Misty
I’ve been writing novels for about ten years and this is my first one that will actually be published—there’s three really bad ones in the depths of my computer that hopefully nobody will ever lay eyes on. But this song always makes me laugh, especially the line “I’m writing a novel because it’s never been done before.” There’s something so self-conscious about being a writer, especially one that’s been struggling for so long to put a book together. You wonder why you’re doing such a hard thing when you could just be drinking wine or watching television (or both!). And yet, for some reason, you soldier on. Publishing a book is totally worth it, but for many years it didn’t seem likely at all. And this song really captures that.
Moog Island by Morcheeba
This is the first song I ever remember listening to while writing, it was in about 2003 and I was living in a dirty studio apartment in the East Village (it was dirty because I still didn’t really know how to clean my apartment). I remember a hot summer day, the lights off, sitting on a cool spot on the floor with an oversized laptop, working on a story. The song is moody and quiet, but builds to a crescendo. The only lyrics I can actually cite from the song are “I’m a trigger hippie.” Not sure what a trigger hippie is, but this song is one that whenever I hear it, it makes me want to write. And that’s a good thing.
The Greatest by Cat Power
Another song that makes me want to write. Something about Cat Power, the album that has “The Greatest” on it and also her album of covers Jukebox. They soothe my soul and get words flowing out of my fingers. It’s also a song about disappointment: “Once I wanted to be the greatest…And then came the rush of the flood.” And there’s something about writing a book that you have to both want to be “The Greatest,” but also know that every step of the way, you’re failing.
Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson
One thing that I share with my main character Hannah is a “Lady Power Playlist” and one of the anchor songs of this is an old Kelly Clarkson song. It’s a song about a tough lady who falls in love. She has all her walls and defenses up and then love kind of sneaks up on her and changes her life.
Daddy Lessons by Beyonce
This is a song that my iPhone tells me I’ve listened to more in the last year than probably any other. It leads off my running mix and always gets me going. It’s a song about a father telling his daughter to be strong and to beware of guys like him. My main character Hannah is looking for a new family throughout the novel and this song feels relevant to her.
Iowa by Dar Williams
My main character Hannah is from Iowa. I’ve honestly never been there, but I have listened to this song as research. One thing that Hannah has to deal with in the book is realizing that her problems are no longer her parents’ fault. That she’s old enough for her problems to be her own fault. The song is a kind of mournful look at a homeland. And Hannah definitely feels mournful about her past. It’s also a song about love and pushing the limits. Which is really what my book is about.
California Dreamin’ by the Mamas and the Papas
My book is, at it’s core, a dream. It’s my little escape from my 9-5 New York life. Writing it, I got to spend a few moments in California every day. I loved the moments of escape that writing this book gave me (and I hope that the reader feels too!) This song kind of sums it all up “All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey…I’d be safe and warm if I was in LA.”
California by Joni Mitchell
One more shoutout to great songs about California. This is a song that haunts you, it’s constantly in your head. Talk about a song full of stories, this one has a story in each stanza—she’s all over the world, Paris, Greece, Spain. But in her heart, she wants to go home to California, the only place that accepts her as herself.
Sweet Pea by Amos Lee
I always say that this song is my theme song with my dog Leopold Bloom. For many years, my dog was the only reason that I kept on coming home. It’s a song about love and devotion and finding your home. A book theme, but also a theme in life. And that is the thing about a dog, you have to keep on coming home for them. And isn’t it worth every minute?
Jeru by Miles Davis
There’s a smooth roll to this song—the saxophones and the trumpets. It’s high energy, but it calms your brain at the same time. I often listen to jazz when I write, but I like it to be jazz that I know. Birth of the Cool was the first jazz album that I ever listened to, probably at age 18 and it’s one that I return to time and again. Sort of like a great bottle of wine or a really engaging book.
Miriam Parker and The Shortest Way Home links:
the author's website
BookPage review
Minneapolis Star Tribune review
Publishers Weekly review
also at Largehearted Boy:
Support the Largehearted Boy website
Book Notes (2015 - ) (authors create music playlists for their book)
Book Notes (2012 - 2014) (authors create music playlists for their book)
Book Notes (2005 - 2011) (authors create music playlists for their book)
my 11 favorite Book Notes playlist essays
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (weekly comics highlights)
guest book reviews
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week (recommended new books, magazines, and comics)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Short Cuts (writers pair a song with their short story or essay)
Shorties (daily music, literature, and pop culture links)
Soundtracked (composers and directors discuss their film's soundtracks)
weekly music release lists
Print Marked Items
The Shortest Way Home
Lynnanne Pearson
Booklist.
114.22 (Aug. 1, 2018): p28.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Shortest Way Home.
By Miriam Parker.
Aug. 2018. 320p. Dutton, $26 (9781524741860).
Hannah Greene, 30, finally has her life figured out. She is about to graduate from business school, has a
steady, long-term boyfriend, Ethan, and a prestigious new job at Goldman Sachs. But when she and Ethan
take a road trip to wine country, the thought of going back to the urban jungle of NYC pales in comparison
to the fresh air and wine of Sonoma. Luckily, one of the wineries, Bellosguardo, can use someone with
Hannah's business skills. She makes an impulsive decision to stay and quickly makes herself invaluable to
Bellosguardo's owners as the business starts to turn around. She also begins to evaluate her life choices.
Scarred from her father dying young and her mother withdrawing from the world, Hannah deals with
emotional upheaval by avoiding it and blindly moving forward. Her time in Sonoma causes her to slow
down and reexamine her life. While Hannah can be unsympathetic at times with her selfish decisions, the
eclectic cast of characters rounds her out. Perfect to read with a glass of wine and some good cheese.--
Lynnanne Pearson
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Pearson, Lynnanne. "The Shortest Way Home." Booklist, 1 Aug. 2018, p. 28. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A550613130/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7fa61a7a.
Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A550613130
Parker, Miriam: THE SHORTEST WAY
HOME
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Parker, Miriam THE SHORTEST WAY HOME Dutton (Adult Fiction) $26.00 7, 31 ISBN: 978-1-5247-
4186-0
After graduating from business school at UC Berkeley, a bright young woman on her way to a job in
Manhattan finance takes a major detour at a Sonoma winery.
"I would never have predicted that a winery could change my life. But when I walked into the empty tasting
room at Bellosguardo on the first weekend in May of my thirtieth year, a feeling came over me. The kind
you get when you taste a new food for the first time and you know it will be your favorite, or when you see
a guy across the bookstore and you know he'll be your new boyfriend." Some readers will feel immediate
concern upon reading the first three sentences of publishing exec Parker's debut, regardless of whether they
are familiar with the kind of serendipitous premonition narrator Hannah Greene has just described. The
problem is, that's an awful lot of plot to give away in the first few sentences of a novel. The only hope at this
point is that ensuing events are going to prove Hannah totally mistaken. Because if we already know that
she's about to change the whole course of her life and that it's all going to work out brilliantly...that's a
problem. Unfortunately, nothing that threatens to put any kind of serious crimp in her unfolding success and
happiness will be allowed to interfere. The predictability of the storyline might have been offset if the
Sonoma setting provided a showcase for serious wine and food writing. But this book has more to teach
about the uses of social media for marketing than it does anything else. There's also quite a lot of focus on
details of not-very-interesting clothes and makeup. When she bursts in on her boss getting dressed for a
party, Hannah finds her in a slip and kitten heels. " 'You look great so far,' I said. She did. The slip was
slimming and she'd already put on makeup. It looked like she knew how to contour." There is never the
slightest danger of everything not working out perfectly, and these people are nowhere near interesting
enough to have a whole book written about them.
Sweet and safe.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Parker, Miriam: THE SHORTEST WAY HOME." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A540723458/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6bd867d0.
Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A540723458
The Shortest Way Home
Publishers Weekly.
265.20 (May 14, 2018): p34.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Shortest Way Home
Miriam Parker. Dutton, $26 (320p) ISBN 9781-5247-4186-0
Parker's rewarding debut concerns 30-year-old Hannah Greene's decision to quit the plum finance job she
had lined up after business school in order to stay in Sonoma and work at a winery where she feels at home.
Hannah and Ethan Katz, her boyfriend of two years, are about to graduate with business degrees from Haas
School and move back to New York together when they come across Bellosguardo, an old winery, where
Hannah immediately clicks with the owners' son, William. Impulsive Hannah decides to offer her marketing
skills to William's mother, Linda, in order to turn around the winery's fortunes. William is about to move to
New York himself in order to pursue his dream of making movies, but he acknowledges the spark he feels
with Hannah. Parker's characters have all experienced the burden of balancing what they want with
expectations: Linda's marriage with William's dad, Everett, turns out to have been one of convenience.
Linda's heart is still with her high school boyfriend, Jackson, a musician who reappears in Linda's life now
and again. Linda considers leaving Everett when he has a heart attack, which brings William back to
Sonoma and leaves Hannah poring over which man she belongs with. Parker's story becomes less about
being happy with a particular guy than about finding happiness by following one's heart. The refreshing
ending is the perfect capper to this accomplished debut. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Shortest Way Home." Publishers Weekly, 14 May 2018, p. 34. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A539387396/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=30db3c0c.
Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A539387396
Review: 'The Shortest Way Home' by Miriam Parker By: Hertzel, Laurie, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), Jul 31, 2018
By Laurie Hertzel
"The Shortest Way Home" by Miriam Parker; Dutton (313 pages, $26)
If Miriam Parker's debut novel were a wine, it would be a super-fizzy Champagne rather than a serious, heavy port. OK, that analogy might not work because I know nothing about wine, but Parker does, and her knowledge is splashed liberally through this romantic novel.
Set in the wine country around Sonoma, "The Shortest Way Home" is told by Hannah, a young woman about to graduate from business school and head for a lucrative Goldman Sachs job in New York. But during a getaway weekend in wine country with her almost-fiance, Ethan, she visits a historic, down-on-its-heels winery and surprises everyone _ especially herself _ by impulsively giving up New York, putting Ethan on the back burner, and taking a marketing job at the winery.
Yes this is a romance, but it is also a novel about a young woman finding herself, figuring out the difference between what she wants to do with her life and what others want. While things unfold at a rather breakneck speed _ job offers within minutes, romances kindling with a few smoldering glances _ the gorgeous weather, the tempting wines, the handsome son of the vintner and, yes, the resident dog all make for a charming weekend read.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Review: The Shortest Way Home
I rarely review (or even read for that matter!) books months before their publication date; however, I had to read THE SHORTEST WAY HOME by Miriam Parker. This novel won't be available until August 2018, but I wanted to share my thoughts with everyone now! I read THE SHORTEST WAY HOME over the Christmas holidays (I actually saved it a few weeks so I'd have a special present!), and I absolutely treasured each and every page. This novel is delightful!
I should probably give you a little background on why I am so excited about this book. The author, Miriam Parker, was the first person who ever sent me a book to review on my blog... so needless to say, she holds a near and dear place in my heart. Throughout the past ten years, I've met with Miriam almost yearly (along with Kathy aka Bermudaonion) and we've talked books and life in general. I am so excited that she is realizing her dream of being a published author!
When Miriam announced that her book was being published by Dutton, I also learned that her editor was Maya Ziv. I also love Maya and many of the books she's edited over the past few years. (Small world because I really don't personally know many editors!) I guess what I'm trying to say is that I knew THE SHORTEST WAY HOME was going to be a treat because this duo is special -- so smart and so talented!
Before you judge me and think that I might be a bit biased about THE SHORTEST WAY HOME, I swear I had real concerns that I wouldn't love it. (And then what, right?) However, I shouldn't have worried, this novel was entertaining and had terrific characters. It was both funny and touching... and even better, it made me think. All in all, I'd say that it was exactly what I want from a book!
THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is in many ways a coming-of-age story, albeit the character is a woman who has just finished grad school and already has an amazing job in Manhattan. Hannah is finally living her dream... or at least what she thinks her dream should be. She has a great fiancé, a cool apartment, and a high-powered job that is the envy of her friends. But before she moves from California to New York, she and her boyfriend decide to take a quick vacation to Sonoma. And that's when Hannah's life takes a drastic (and unexpected) turn.
When Hannah visits a small winery, she immediately feels at home. The owners (and their very handsome son) have been running this family-owned business; and while they make amazing wine, they are struggling financially. It's apparent that they could use some help, and Hannah has some ideas that just might bring in more business. She can't explain why, but Hannah wants to work there for the summer... and that means turning down her job, giving up her apartment, and even staying behind without her fiancé. As unstable as her childhood was, Hannah, for the first time in her life, feels like she belongs.
As Hannah becomes more involved with the business of the winery, she also becomes more involved with the family who owns it (and especially the handsome son.) She loves her new cottage, her job and her new friends; and she is forced to question whether her life-long desire to live a past-paced, high-powered life in Manhattan is truly what will make her happy.
THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is such a terrific novel, and it definitely lived up to my expectations (and then some!) I loved that this novel was entertaining without being entirely predictable, and that it was so smart. The characters were complex and the story was very well written. But best of all, this novel was about life, love, and self-worth -- things that will resonate with all readers!
One of the reasons that I enjoyed this novel so much was that I immediately felt an affinity with Hannah. While I'm much older than Hannah, I could relate to her insecurities as well as her desire to prove her success (as well as her love of books); and I think most female readers will feel the same way. Fortunately for Hannah, she realized earlier on than I did that it's not necessarily the job or the apartment or even the money that brings happiness. It's being true to yourself!
Another aspect of this novel that was so much fun was the setting. The novel takes place in wine country, and I do love wine! I haven't made it to Sonoma yet (it's on my bucket list), and this novel made me even more desperate to visit. Miriam's descriptions of the wineries and vineyards, not to mention the deliciousness of the various wines, were sheer perfection. Just a warning for when you read this novel (and you seriously need to pre-order it now!), you might want to have a glass of your favorite vino ready!
I honestly am so excited for my friend and my fellow book lovers because THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is as special as a great glass of wine! Highly recommended!
Thanks to the author for providing a review copy of this novel.
Monday, April 9, 2018: Maximum Shelf: The Shortest Way Home
The Shortest Way Home
by Miriam Parker
Hannah Greene has her life all planned out--or thinks she does. She's landed a dream job right out of business school, and is envisioning a high-powered New York City future with her boyfriend, Ethan. But a weekend trip to Sonoma County right before graduation changes everything. When Hannah falls in love with Bellosguardo, a small local winery, she talks her way into a marketing job there, giving up her hard-won position at Goldman Sachs and the plans she and Ethan have laid. Despite the winery's appeal, Hannah's 180-degree turn isn't without its stomach-flipping bumps and surprising curves. Miriam Parker's debut novel, The Shortest Way Home, follows Hannah's journey as she struggles to navigate her new path despite the weight of everyone else's expectations (and her own).
Parker paints her setting perfectly: the neat rows of vines, with rosebushes planted at the ends; the spacious tasting room with a high-beamed ceiling; the winery's resident dog, Tannin; and Felipe, a friendly Chilean sommelier. But although the setting is paradise, Bellosguardo's future may be in jeopardy. The owners, a married couple, have hit a rough patch in their relationship and their business, and their only son, William, is moving to New York to pursue his filmmaking dreams.
Gradually, Hannah settles into her new life, making friends with the taciturn winery owner, Everett; his wife and co-owner, Linda, who handles distribution and ordering; and several local personalities, including Celeste, a blonde whirlwind who becomes Hannah's source of local gossip and connections. Long days at the winery, putting her freshly minted business degree to work, are punctuated by wine tastings, trips with Linda to visit clients (and attempts to increase their orders) and plans for a big party at the winery, complete with local musicians and plenty of Bellosguardo's best bottles.
Meanwhile, Hannah struggles to sort out her feelings for Ethan and decide whether she really wants the future they had dreamed of together. She also wonders what her family back in Iowa--her widowed mother, her happily married brother and his children--are making of her out-of-the-blue decision. While Hannah has always longed for a more exciting life than her mother had, she worries that she's disappointing her family by making choices so different from theirs.
Parker tells her story in Hannah's voice, sharing both her protagonist's delight at the beauty of Sonoma County (and her picture-perfect cottage on the vineyard's grounds), and her anxiety over having made a rash decision that could upend her life. While she doesn't regret giving up the Goldman job, and is increasingly convinced that Ethan wasn't the right guy for her, Hannah second-guesses her new career path at every turn. Can she make a success of the winery? Will this new place, far from everything she knows, eventually become home? And can she navigate the tricky web of relationships at Bellosguardo, especially the chilly dynamic between Linda and Everett?
Parker's characters are flawed but likable, especially Hannah, whose zeal for her newfound career threatens to overwhelm her colleagues at times. But with a combination of luck, enthusiasm and marketing savvy, she pulls off a successful party and begins to take the winery's production and visibility up a notch. Meanwhile, she knows she can't hide from the consequences of her decision forever. Whether it's finally sorting things out with Ethan or calling her mother (bracing for disappointment in both cases), Hannah must find the courage to own the twisty, unconventional path she has chosen for herself. While it's tempting to dive straight into a new relationship, she also knows she needs to figure some things out for herself before she can give her full attention to another person.
Hannah isn’t the only one struggling with life and love. Linda is dealing with long-held resentments toward her husband, both professional and personal. Felipe misses his family back in Chile, though he enjoys his work with the vines. William tries to make a go of writing and shooting films in New York, but feels drawn back to his family's winery (and, increasingly, to Hannah). Even Everett, a man not given to dealing with his emotions, must face up to some new realities in his work and his marriage. Each of the main characters is on his or her own meandering, entirely relatable journey, perfectly evoking the James Joyce lines that inspired the book's title: "Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home."
Packed with good books, California sunshine and glass after glass of local wine, Parker's debut is a sweet, funny, charming novel of a woman daring to upend expectations (her own and everyone else's) to make her own way. Readers will toast Hannah's roundabout journey and perhaps be inspired to take a detour or two of their own. --Katie Noah Gibson
After graduating from a prestigious business school in Berkeley, California, Hannah Greene is on her way to becoming the proverbial peg in the ever-churning wheel of a coveted New York investment firm—albeit a rich peg, who also happens to be in a serious relationship with her handsome, smart and wealthy boyfriend, Ethan. In short, for a Midwesterner with a less-than-stable childhood, Hannah has built a life that is rather perfect.
But as they say, home is where the heart is, and for Hannah, even with perfection laid out before her in NYC with Ethan, there is something amiss. She realizes what that is during a relaxing and romantic weekend with Ethan at an Old World winery in Sonoma. The Bellosguardo winery, its friendly dog named Tannin and an even friendlier bartender are all so charming that Hannah agrees, almost instantly, to give up her lucrative future—and possibly her relationship with Ethan—in lieu of a questionable marketing position with the struggling winery. It’s a business she knows nothing about, with employers who seem to have questionable dreams and desires of their own. What could possibly go wrong?
BOOK REVIEWS
The Shortest Way Home
Miriam Parker
BookPage review by Chika Gujarathi
Web Exclusive – August 01, 2018
In The Shortest Way Home, Miriam Parker explores the persistent question of whether grass is truly greener on the other side, and whether following the heart will lead you where you belong. This is a story that wine lovers and big dreamers will devour.