Contemporary Literature Sitemap - Page 4 2013-05-24
Wordless Wednesdays
from On Reading by André Kertész
Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes is an incredible thinker and an incredible author. In Nothing to Be Frightened Of he weaves his personal experience and the experience of French
The Best American Sports Writing 2008
Not merely about sports, the sports journalism essays in The Best American Sports Writing 2008 are about the sports figures they catalogue, people with their
Laura Bush's Book Deal
Scribner announced this week that it will be publishing first lady Laura Bush's memoirs, following a tradition that has included memoirs from Hillary Clinton,
Sloane Crosley on the Penguin Podcast
This week, the Penguin Podcast features Sloane Crosley, author of I Was Told There'd be Cake. Crosley talks about her writing habits, how she came to write her
Songs For the Butcher's Daughter: NPR Interview
I just heard this great NPR interview with Peter Manseau about his first novel, Songs for the Butcher's Daughter. Manseau is known for Vows, a memoir of having
Family Planning by Karan Mahajan
As this comic tour de force says, A family of thirteen in modern-day India was a disaster, a game of marbles that had lost its marbles ... a pack of wolves
2009 Tournament of Books Titles Named Early
The Morning News officially announced the contenders this week for the fifth annual Tournament of Books. Sponsored by Powells.com, the Tournament of Books
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008
The Best American Nonrequired Reading features fiction, nonfiction, journalism, comics, and humor, and is doubtlessly the most eclectic of Houghton Mifflin's
The Nation Guide to the Nation
Released just in time for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, The Nation Guide to the Nation might be the best book to help the new president's
Elizabeth Alexander's Inaugural Poem
Barack Obama's inaugural address was followed immediately by Elizabeth Alexander's stirring inaugural poem, Praise Song for the Day: Praise song for the
The Story Prize Finalists
The Story Prize is a $20,000 literary prize which annually honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction, written in English and first
Testimony by Anita Shreve
Testimony opens with a shocking description of child pornography that may leave Anita Shreve's regular audience gasping for air, and perhaps even reaching for
Couch by Benjamin Parzybok
A freak flood puts a trio of slacker roommates on the Portland, Oregon streets with their ungainly orange couch. When the couch proves to be magic, furniture
National Book Critic Circle Awards Finalists 2009
Finalists for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced this past weekend. The five finalists in each category are: Fiction: Roberto
R.I.P. John Updike
John Updike died today of lung cancer, according to a statement from his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. The author of more than 60 books and winner of numerous
Wordless Wednesdays: Send Your Photos!
Submit your own book or reading-related photos for posting here on Wordless Wednesdays. by following these instructions.
Book World Shifts to Online
The big news on everyone's tongue this week has been the unfortunate decision by the Washington Post to shutter its stand-alone book review section, Book World.
Adam Gopnik's Postscript for John Updike
The New Yorker's anniversary issue (on newstands today) recognizes John Updike by including numerous selections from his work, much of which was originally
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
September 1918. World War I is winding down, and some people, blacks especially, are about to lose their jobs to the “more deserving” soldiers. The Great
Wordless Wednesday
[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
The Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes
The Domino Men is an indirect sequel to and superior to Barnes' The Somnambulist. In that novel the Directorate was fighting sleepers put into place by the
Wordless Wednesday: Valentine's Day Edition
Photo Credit: Ecco
Audible.com 99¢ Menu
Audible.com is running a fun February short story special. In honor of the short month (yes, a very thin excuse for a promotion), they are offering up four
The Messenger by Jan Burke
The Messenger is a suspenseful tale of spirits and souls. From page one, we know we're in for something otherworldly. A salvage diver hears a disembodied
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008
The Best American Series is known to corral some of the year's most exciting writing into a single volume full of rich voices and unique style. The Best
Demons in the Spring by Joe Meno
Joe Meno's characters are dying. Or else they're heartbroken, or they're lonely, or dangerously disturbed. This is perhaps an overgeneralization, but Demons in
Jeff Bezos, Kindle 2 on The Daily Show
Jeff Bezos was on The Daily Show Monday touting the merits of the new Kindle 2 which, the founder of Amazon.com explains, include the availability of 240,000
Wordless Wednesday: Book Rainbow
Submitted by Sparkwatson via Twitter[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Netherland Takes PEN/Faulkner Award
Joseph O'Neill's Netherland was awarded the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction, a $15,000 literary prize. Netherland is a tale narrated by a Dutch banker about
The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008
The defining characteristic of The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008 is that its poems and essays are both personal and universal. This book includes essays
Tobias Wolff Wins Story Prize
Tobias Wolff, widely known as a prolific short-story writer and the author of the memoir This Boy's Life, won The Story Prize for his collection, Our Story
The Best American Short Stories 2008
Edited by Salman Rushdie, The Best American Short Stories 2008 will provoke, amuse, stun and mystify readers as they carom from story to story, traveling from
A Working Writer's Daily Planner
Small Beer Press is releasing A Working Writer's Daily Planner 2010 in August - as if writers weren't easily distracted enough. According to the web site, the
Wordless Wednesday
Submitted by Lucia De Giovanni[ Send your own book or reading themed photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Audrey Niffenegger is Back
Today is a good day. I just found out that Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, just sold the manuscript for Her Fearful Symmetry, her
Lowboy by John Wray
John Wray's novel Lowboy is about a schizophrenic teenager who has stopped taking his medication and escaped the asylum into the New York subway. The novel
What the Irish Do Best
Literary awards, of course! (What did you think I was going to say?) The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the world's largest literary prize,
Chris Anderson's Freeconomics
On the final day of the SXSW conference, Wired magazine's editor in chief Chris Anderson told Guy Kawasaki that on July 6 his new book on freeconomics,
Sherlock Holmes in America
Why has Sherlock Holmes captured the imagination of readers for more than one hundred years? Why, long after the death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, have writers
Wordless Wednesday
by Moriza via Flickr.com[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Publisher Twitters Entire Catalog
Vermont publishing house, The Countryman Press, is using Twitter (countrymanpress) to disseminate the titles from their entire Fall catalog - one book at a
The Best American Series 2008: Revisited
Each year, The Best American Series editors handpick the previous year's finest writing in short stories, comics, mysteries, essays, travel, science and nature,
National Poetry Month
Created by The Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries,
Get Your Poetry Ringtone
Right, because that's what we've all been waiting for isn't it? The inevitable fusion of mobile connectivity and poetry. And it's here! In truth, while I've
Old Pond | Frog Jumps In | Splash!
It's been a lot of years since I memorized any poetry - I memorize telephone numbers, computer passwords, the names of my kids' friends' parents - but not
The Dakota Cipher by William Dietrich
In 1898 a Minnesota farmer of Norwegian descent found a stone covered in runes while clearing land. The translation indicated that eight Gotlanders and
Wordless Wednesday: Poem Henge
by Sister72 via Flickr.com[ Send your own reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Walter Mosley Interview
CNN has a brief interview with Walter Mosley who is launching a new mystery series with his new book, The Long Fall. The book is set in New York in the present
Amazon De-Ranking
Writer Mark Probst noticed Saturday when his book, The Filly, lost its ranking on Amazon.com. By Sunday, hundreds of gay and lesbian books were de-ranked by the
The Thoreau You Don’t Know
In The Thoreau You Don't Know, Robert Sullivan smashes our national myth, of Henry David Thoreau as hermit of the woods, the secular priest of solitude, the
T.C. Boyle, Richard Price Among Latest Arts Academy Inductees
On Monday the American Academy of Arts and Letters announced nine new inductees into its hallowed halls, including authors Richard Price (Clockers, Samaritan)
Wordless Wednesday: Literary Mood
by Petteri Sulonen via Flickr.com[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Teen Book Drop 2009
In support of Teen Literature Day, April 16, 2009, readergirlz, GuysLitWire, YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), and participating publishers
The Women by T.C. Boyle
T. C. Boyle reincarnates Frank Lloyd Wright in The Women, a richly imagined novel that tells the architect’s story through the lens of the women he loved.
Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare!
Author Jonathan Bate remembered your birthday and wrote you this book - Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare. Bate's book is an
Amazon Buys Stanza eReader
Interesting eReader news: Amazon.com, who recently introduced a Kindle iPhone application allowing iPhone users to read Kindle books without shelling out the
Out of My Skin by John Haskell
In Out of My Skin, John Haskell's narrator-protagonist moves to Los Angeles to write movie reviews and, in an act of self-transformation, ends up a Steve Martin
Wordless Wednesday: Reading Bird
by Foxypar4 via Flickr.com[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
It's Poem In Your Pocket Day!
April 30 closes down National Poetry Month with Poem in Your Pocket Day, and you, dear reader, are invited to join in the fun. Simply pick a favorite poem -
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
In his outstanding debut story collection, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, Wells Tower captures a variety of experience that is as far-ranging as it is
Book by President Obama's Mother to be Published
Duke University Press plans to publish an edited version of the anthropology dissertation completed by the President's mother, S. Ann Dunham, in 1992 at the
Wordless Wednesday: Chicago O'Hareport
[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Laila Lalami at B&N
Laila Lalami has been a novelist, short story writer, and translator. I got to know her from the blog she began shortly after 9/11, Moorish Girl, which she has
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
As one of the endorsements points out, Meg Wolitzer is a social observer of Tom Wolfe-ian status, and her writing style mimics his to a tee. The Ten-Year Nap
Sarah Palin to Publish Autobiogaphy
Photo by Joe Raedle Sarah Palin signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish a memoir of her personal and political life, from her Alaskan childhood and
When the White House is a'Rockin...
On Tuesday night, the East Room of the White House saw poets, playwrights, musicians, and actors read, play, and perform in what may be the first ever White
Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life
In Born to Be Good, Dacher Keltner marries Eastern notions of kindness and reverence with evolutionary science in order to get at the answer to three salient
mmm...Cool-er
It may look like a giant iPod Nano, but it’s actually Cool-er, the e-book reader that, at 5.6 oz. and $250, is poised to give Amazon's Kindle a run for its
Soft Spots: A Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Soft Spots is the firsthand account of one Marine's attempt to re-enter life after experiencing it in its most barbaric form for five months in Iraq in 2003.
The PEN / O. Henry Prize Stories 2009
Each year since 1919, the O. Henry Prizes have been awarded to some of the previous year's most outstanding short fiction. Edited by Laura Furman, The PEN / O.
Alice Munro wins Booker International Prize
Today, Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the third Man Booker International Prize, a £60,000 award presented every two years to an author for an
Haruki Murakami Novel Hits Japan Friday
Haruki Murakami's latest novel, 1Q84, will be released in Japan Friday to great anticipation. Everything but the title of the work has been kept secret, and
Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard
Jack Foley returns as the hero of Elmore Leonard's latest thriller Road Dogs, a full-throttle page-turner peopled with bank robbers, gangsters and con men. The
Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida in Chicago
Dave Eggers and wife Vendela Vida, who are in Chicago for the Printers Row Lit Fest this weekend, spoke with the Chicago Tribune about Away We Go, their new
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
In The Scarecrow Michael Connelly has woven a thriller that grabs the reader and does not let go until the end. Jack McEvoy, ace newspaper reporter, and Rachel
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
Tecumseh Sparrow Spivet is a 12-year-old cartographer living on the Coppertop Ranch just 4.73 miles North of the tiny town of Divide, Montana. His middle name
Summer 2009 Literary Fests
2009 Scream Literary Festival - TorontoA Grateful Dead tour for book lovers - Nigel Beale has compiled a list of Summer literary and storytelling festivals for
The Writer's Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House
Every summer for the past six years, Tin House has conducted summer workshops at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Writers come from around the country to lead
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Opening in Shanghai in 1937 and ending some 20 years later in Los Angeles, Lisa See's Shanghai Girls is themed around the duality between a reverence for
Reading by the Digital Pool
Just weeks before Simon and Schuster announced a deal to sell e-books on the document-sharing website Scribd.com, this Wired article from Clive Thompson points
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje
It began as a small flurry of poems allegedly written by Billy the Kid, according to Michael Ondaatje's lyrical collage of poetry, photography, and fiction
Friday's Endpapers
A round-up of some of the week's book news: R.I.P. Kamala Das Nominate your favorite beach reads ever at NPR.org Listen to the eyeonbooks.com interview
Flint & Silver: A Prequel to Treasure Island By John Drake
Flint and Silver is the first in a series of prequels John Drake is planning to the much loved children's book Treasure Island. This rollicking tale of
Read Infinite Jest With a Few Thousand of Your Closest Friends
What are you reading this Summer? You may want to join thousands of readers (including me) in a group endurance reading event by tackling David Foster
Friday's Endpapers
Wired editor uses Wikipedia content for Free. Poets and novelists cover day's news for Israeli paper (via Secret). Japanese newspaper interviews Haruki
Ignore Everybody : And 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity is the reincarnation of a piece Hugh MacLeod published years ago on his website entitled How to Be Creative,
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Critics loved Cleave's previous book, Incendiary. He also has a website, where he posts the columns he writes for The Guardian. They're funny, full of gentle,
Whale Book takes BBC Samuel Johnson Prize
The BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction was yesterday awarded to Leviathan, Or The Whale, Philip Hoare's memoir of his life-long obsession and humanity's
Oprah's 25 Books of Summer
Unsurprisingly, Oprah has a few book picks for Summer - 25 to be exact and a nice assortment. Here are three I will likely pick up: A Meaningful Life by
Red and Me by Bill Russell, Alan Steinberg
Red and Me is the story of Celtic's all-star Bill Russell and his close relationship with the Celtic's legendary coach Red Auerbach. Could there have been two
Free for FREE on Scribd
Today, Wired editor Chris Anderson put his money where his mouth is by sharing his new book Free: The Past and Future of a Radical Price, in which he posits the
Blogging 60 Years of The National Book Award
The National Book Foundation is celebrating the 60th year of the National Book Awards by blogging one National Book Award winning Fiction winner each day at
And Then There's This by Bill Wasik
Harper's editor Bill Wasik recounts his 2003 experimenation with flash mobs and later with Internet-based viral culture in And Then There's This, an examination
FastPencil Launches Self-Publishing Site
Today, FastPencil, a California-based start-up, announced the beta launch of their self-publishing platform that purports to make the writing and publishing
What is Postmodern Literature, Anyway?
So what exactly is Postmodern Literature? The Los Angeles Times' Carolyn Kellogg says it's hard to pin down and yet offers a number of possible attributes such
R.I.P. Frank McCourt (1930-2009)
Frank McCourt, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes, died today of cancer. Regarding his childhood, McCourt wrote, “People everywhere
Overqualified by Joey Comeau
In Overqualified, Joey Comeau spins a narrative of love and loss via a most unusual vehicle: a series of letters. Not your ordinary epistolary collection,
First Man: The Life of Neil Armstrong
Forty years ago, Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot upon the moon. First Man by
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's (The Shadow of the Wind) latest novel, The Angel's Game, is told from the perspective of David Martin, a Barcelona youth who makes
Wordless Wednesday: Reading Well
by Moriza via Flickr.com[ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Friday's Endpapers
A high school student brought a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com after the company removed George Orwell's 1984 from its customers' Kindles. Monty
Rain Gods by James Lee Burke
Rain Gods is the most clearly literary novel of Burke's distinguished career as a novelist. After 17 Dave Robicheaux, four Billy Bob Holland, six miscellaneous
Twilight Author Accused of Plagiarism
Twilight author Stephenie Meyer faces accusations of plagiarism from Jordan Scott, the author of the vampire novel, The Nocturne, who claims that Meyer's
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
The Enchantress of Florence is Salman Rushdie's most recent sweeping and masterfully-written historical novel, set in sixteenth century Florence and Sikri, the
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book Takes Hugo
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book was awarded the 2009 Hugo Award for best novel Sunday at the 67th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Montreal.
The Summer of Infinite Books
I love to read (have you gotten that already?), and I've been steeped in good reading this summer. As I mentioned already, I hopped on board the world's largest
Two of the Deadliest: New Tales of Lust, Greed, and Murder from Outstanding Women of Mystery
Lust and Greed are Two of the Deadliest of the Seven Deadly Sins. Elizabeth George has assembled 23 authors to explore these two forms of sin. This is an evenly
Wordless Wednesday: The Joy of Reading
by Benimoto via Flickr.com [ Send your own book/reading-related photos for Wordless Wednesdays. Find out how ]
Mysteries You Might Have Missed
Great short bit from NPR's resident librarian, Nancy Pearl, with excellent suggestions: Mysteries You Might Have Missed Along the Way. I really like the sound
Farm City : The Education of an Urban Farmer
When Novella Carpenter moves to an Oakland ghetto, a postcard of urban decay, she gazes out onto an adjoining vacant lot - 4,500 square feet of weeds - and
The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine
James A. Levine's standout debut novel, The Blue Notebook, is a difficult kind of fiction. It's the kind of fiction that reveals a truth so painful you hope it
Dragon House by John Shors
Dragon House is John Shors' third novel, after Beneath a Marble Sky and Beside a Burning Sea. Each novel has moved forward in time from Moghul India to World
Short Fiction Delivered to Your Phone
CellStories is a new angle on the digital reading wave now being surfed by E-book readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader, while gaining in
You Are Here by Colin Ellard
You Are Here is a compelling journey through the realm of orientation or way-finding in which experimental psychologist Colin Ellard questions why modern
E.L. Doctorow Speaks About Writing Historical Fiction
E.L. Doctorow spoke with The Daily Beast's Eric Alterman about the writing of Homer & Langley, an historical fiction in which Doctorow reimagines the lives of
The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho
Internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho's latest novel, The Winner Stands Alone, is like his bestselling The Alchemist, but with a murderer on the
Lost Symbol Mania
The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's eagerly anticipated sequel to The Da Vinci Code features protagonist, Robert Langdon on a new adventure of ancient Masonic
Oprah's Book Club Picks Nigerian Author's Stories
In a live broadcast from Central Park on Friday, Oprah Winfrey annnounced that Say You're One of Them, a collection of stories from Nigerian author Uwem Akpan,
The Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley
In March 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Pelican Island in Florida a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. That was the first federally
Four Books on the Top of My Stack
Even as I happily trudge through the last couple hundred pages of Infinite Jest, the stack of books on my night table is getting higher with the addition of a
Happy National Punctuation Day?
Photo courtesy of Jess Haskins National Punctuation Day - who knew? Journalist Jeff Rubin, a stickler for punctuation, created National Punctuation Day in
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
The Da Vinci Code's Robert Langdon is back in The Lost Symbol. He's been invited to Washington at the last minute to make a speech about the fraternal order of
The Best Fiction of the Millennium (So Far)
Over at The Millions, C. Max Magee and company are taking the literary pulse of the 21st Century by listing The Best Fiction of the Millennium (So Far). Though
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Audrey Niffenegger, renown for her wonderful debut The Time Traveler's Wife, proves herself yet again in Her Fearful Symmetry, in which she explores the unseen
Wolf Hall Takes 2009 Man Booker Prize
Hilary Mantel took home the 41st Man Booker Prize Tuesday for Wolf Hall, an historical novel that takes Henry VIII's court as its subject, centering
Herta Müller Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
German novelist Herta Müller won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature today for depicting the 'landscape of the dispossessed' with 'the concentration of
Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow
Homer and Langley Collyer were hoarding hermits who lived in the Harlem of the early 20th Century. They died in 1947 when the hoard they had collected over the
Essays by Wallace Shawn
Essays is an eclectic collection of the hyper-talented Wallace Shawn's musings, interviews, and serious exposition on politics, social responsibility, and the
The Wild Things by Dave Eggers
The Wild Things is Dave Eggers' novelized version of Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak's wonderfully captivating children's book (and now a Spike Jonze
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
It seems that it took only a moment for The Last Song to reach number one on the New York Times bestsellers list. Such is the norm when Nicholas Sparks
Barnes & Noble's e-Book Nook
Photo courtesy Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble is entering the electronic book reader game with its new e-book reader called the Nook. That's right - the Nook.
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
The Children's Book is a flawed masterpiece. It is long and often confusing, yet the writing is superb. The cast of characters is spread across a Victorian and
FastPencil to Give NaNoWriMo Winners Free Copy of Their Novel
Sunday, November 1 marks the beginning of yet another National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), during which thousands of participants will be furiously
Friday Endpapers
William Golding's The Lord of the Flies illustrated edition Kelly Link's The Wrong Grave on Scribd.com Augusten Burroughs reads from You Better Not Cry
National Novel Writing Month Starts Now!
Novelists take your mark! Get set! Go! It's that time of year again - when I and thousands of others (around 150,000 this year) submit ourselves to thirty
And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer
They're back. Arthur Dent, Trillian Astra, and those froody Betelgeusian cousins Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox have returned along with the rest of The
NaNoWriMo Mac Users - Free Scrivener Trial
This news is late in coming, but the company that makes the Scrivener writing software (Mac only) is offering a free trial that runs through December 7. I've
The Best American Sports Writing 2009
The foreword and introduction of a book are usually things to be glanced at, gotten through as quickly as possible on the way to the good stuff. Here, the
The Grammar Devotional
I had the opportunity to meet Grammar Girl (aka Mignon Fogarty) tonight at the Boulder Bookstore. She's here promoting her second book, The Grammar Devotional,
Down Around Midnight by Robert Sabbag
Robert Sabbag's Down Around Midnight recounts the horrific plane crash that he survived in 1979 and the results of the author's recent attempts to contact the
New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year
Oxford University Press announced the New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year (WOTY) for 2009: unfriend - verb - To remove someone as a 'friend' on a
Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount, Jr.
In Alphabet Juice,humorist Roy Blount Jr. collects a compendium of words alphabetically to explore their origins, spellings, pronunciations,and various other
The Ten Best Books of 2009
The best literature of 2009 includes A.S. Byatt's sprawling historical novel, a collection of short stories from Wells Tower, Nick Hornby's musical love story,
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
An inquiry into the nature of factory-farmed meat turned into a three-year oddysey for Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated), the result of which is
Generation A by Douglas Coupland
In Generation A, Douglas Coupland envisions a near future in which bees have been extinct for years and the earth has, as a result, undergone a pollination
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
In Juliet Naked, woman leaves her rock and roll obsessed husband, striking up a relationship with the object of his obsession. Nick Hornby's latest novel
Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Laura Vapnyar
These six short stories all feature Russian immigrants to the United States who eat together and whose lives are uniformly depressing with occasional moments of
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving
Once again John Irving fluently demonstrates his considerable literary merits and superb story-telling ability. Drawing on the lives of an unforgettable cast of
Look At the Birdie by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut fans can revel in fourteen previously unpublished short stories each sparkling with the wit, the sarcasm, and the dark observations that only Kurt
Best American Short Stories 2009
In the foreword to The Best American Short Stories 2009, series editor Heidi Pitlor asks, Does anyone still read fiction? The question chills the spine, and
Matchless by Gregory Maguire
In 2008, NPR asked Gregory Maguire to write and read the story for their annual Christmas show. What Maguire created was Matchless, a refreshing twist on the
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is famous for dystopic novels, including the Booker Prize-shortlisted Oryx and Crake. Fans of Atwood's won't be disappointed by The Year of the
Aesop's Mirror: A Love Story by Maryalice Huggins
In Aesop's Mirror, antiques restorer Maryalice Huggins sets out to track down the origins of an unusual rococo mirror, a quest that takes her on a mystery that
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin's experiment in happiness is eclectic and illuminating. As she makes clear from the start, each person's happiness project is a unique adventure.
Slowing Down for 2010
Slow down. That's my primary resolution for 2010. I recently read John Freeman's manifesto for slow communication, and I agree with him. While the amount of
The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw
It's not revealing too much to say that Ali Shaw's magical debut novel, The Girl With Glass Feet concerns a young woman who faces what is indeed a most unusual
Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith's essays in Changing My Mind come together like a patchwork quilt: a pattern of beauty runs throughout this collection, but the individual pieces
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
After Michael Crichton's untimely death in 2008, a completed manuscript was discovered in his files by his assistant- at least that's how the story goes
A Separate Country by Robert Hicks
Like its predecessor, The Widow of the South, Robert Hicks' A Separate Country has its roots in the Civil War and is an interesting, if sometimes disjointed,
Enter WEbook's PageToFame For a Shot at $10k
Attention writers and aspiring writers: WEbook.com has introduced PageToFame, a competition in which writers submit 1st page samples of their book to be voted
The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim
The time period of this enthralling novel - summer 1915 to December 1945 - covers a tumultuous period in the history of Korea as told through the eyes of a
J.D. Salinger, 1919-2010
J.D. Salinger died today in his New Hampshire home at the age of 91. I was never assigned to read The Catcher in the Rye, but I did so. I was in college, and
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
A lacuna is a gap, a space, the thing you don't know - like an underwater cave or a missing piece of history. In The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver imagines a
Kiss the $9.99 E-Book Goodbye
You may or may not have noticed, but a bit of a skirmish has errupted over the past week between Amazon.com and publishing giant, Macmillan, which has resulted
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
For Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier dug up the skeleton of a story, cleaned the scattered pieces, and rearranged them in just the right order. In doing
Snippets
McSweeney's namesake has passed away. FSG to publish Computer scientist Zachary Mason's The Lost Books of the Odyssey. Sarah Palin skewered for hand notes.
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
In Committed, Elizabeth Gilbert - author of the self-described megajumbo international best seller Eat, Pray, Love (2006) - spends a year exploring the
NPR's Three Minute Fiction Contest
NPR's Three Minute Fiction - a contest in which NPR listeners can submit a story that can be read in three minutes (think 600 words) or less - is happening
Web Comic Depicts Iranian Election Protests
Today, First Second Books launches Zahra's Paradise, a serialized web comic about the search for Mehdi, a young man who has disappeared during Iran's 2009
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
The most compelling reason to read a novel is that it has a story that clutches the reader. The story, whether it is a murder mystery or love story, must have
PEN/Faulkner Finalists Announced
Nearly 350 novels and short story collections were considered in selecting the five finalists for the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the $15k literary
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Jasper Fforde may just be my new ffavorite author. He makes my job easy and enjoyable and perhaps even entirely unnecessary. You don't actually have to continue
Tell Us About Your Local Bookstore
You've been keeping it to yourself, haven't you? This haven of yours, this maze of wooden shelves and tables piled high with books. It's musty with paper, or
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Sarah Blake's The Postmistress is composed of intertwined stories of three woman during World War II - a Cape Cod postmistress, a radio gal in London, and a
The David Foster Wallace Archive Opens This Fall
The University of Texas' Harry Ransom Centre has acquired David Foster Wallace's writing archive and will make this material available for public viewing
Point Omega by Don DeLillo
Don DeLillo's latest offering, Point Omega, is perhaps the best thing he's written since White Noise, and certainly one of the most thought provoking works
Wild Child and Other Stories by T. C. Boyle
The struggle of intellectual man with his primal, animal nature is a recurrent theme in T. C. Boyle's stories. Over and again we see humans doing just what
The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni
Cross the visionary philosophies of Buckminster Fuller with the raw energy of punk rock music, and the result is Iowa Writer's workshop graduate Peter
Sherman Alexie wins PEN/Faulkner Award
Native American author Sherman Alexie won the $15,000 PEN/Faulkner Award for his short story collection, War Dances, about which prize judge Al Young said,
Stephenie Meyer to Release New Twilight Novella
Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight vampire series, is planning to release a short novella based upon a character from her novel, Eclipse. The Short
The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
Sam Lipsyte's The Ask is the sad yet funny story of Milo Burke, a disheveled, bitter, failed artist whose mediocre job as a development officer at a mediocre
212 by Alafair Burke
Alafair Burke gets better each time out. Her new novel, 212, is far and away her best yet, placing her solidly among the masters of the thriller genre. This
The Thing About Life is That One Day You'll Be Dead
David Shield's The Thing About Life is That One Day You'll Be Dead is a strange animal: bits of memory - recollections of boyhood sports and reflections
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
Canadian author Yann Martel, winner of the Man Booker Prize for Life of Pi (2001), is back with Beatrice and Virgil, the story of a novelist named Henry
Literate Locales
Seattle, Portland, and Minneapolis top Nigel Beale's list the U.S. Cities with the most bookstores. Denver is in the top ten, I'm happy to say, and I'm quite
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
House Rules may be the most painful, yet rewarding and educational novel you will read this year. Jodi Picoult places us squarely in the life of a boy with
When Do You Abandon a Book?
Earlier this month, Chicago Tribune culture critic Julia Keller joined NPR listeners to discuss her difficulties with Hillary Mantel's Wolf Hall and the common
Tracts for Treehuggers
Happy Earth Day! It's that time of year when we recommit to our stewardship of the planet and open our attention to the health of the other living creatures
The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee
Chang-rae Lee's three previous novels have moved him into the forefront of contemporary literature. Heavily and justifiably praised by all the traditional
PEN World Voices Festival Continuing with Great Panels Today
The 2010 PEN World Voices Festival continues today with 22 events featuring established authors from around the world speaking about books and writing. Not only
New Books in May 2010
A long-awaited new novel from Martin Amis, Philip Pullman's controversial The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, and the final book in Stieg Larsson's
Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott
In her new novel, Imperfect Birds, Anne Lamott employs her characteristically laugh-out-loud writing style to explore teenage drug abuse and its
Books for Mom
Candy is wonderful and the flowers are really very pretty, but you know how Mom likes to curl up with a good book. Check out our selection of Mother's Day
The Barbary Pirates by William Dietrich
Rollicking. Riotous. Uncontained. Peripatetic. Uproariously funny. Bawdy. Entertaining. With just a little tug at the heartstrings. The Barbary Pirates, the
The Enduring Nature of Aimee Bender's Stories
Aimee Bender is the author three books, two collections of short stories and a novel, none of which I've read. Still, I was thrilled to hear that she has a
Tinkers by Paul Harding
Paul Harding's Tinkers is the story of George and Howard, of fathers and sons, of existence and the end of existence. It is a poetic meditation in which
A Must-Listen for Readers
If you happen to be among the many of us who consume at least some of our news via audio podcasts, let me recommend KCRW's Bookworm, one of the best available.
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende spoke at the TED conference in March 2007, where, in outlining her role as a writer, she provided the basis for any review of her novels, but
One Amazing Thing Writing Contes
Has one amazing thing happened to you? Can you write about it in 700 words or less? Are you female, 21 years old or older, and a resident of the United States?
The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer
In The Dream of Perpetual Motion, Harold Winslow, a greeting card writer imprisoned aboard a zeppelin perpetually circling the globe, sets down his life's
New Yorker Picks 20 Writers Under 40
The editors of The New Yorker have assembled and announced their list of the 20 best writers under 40, published in the double fiction issue of the magazine
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Having completed The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, I was struck by conflicting emotions. There was joy because I had been able to read the best of the
Kingsolver's The Lacuna wins 2010 Orange Prize
Barbara Kingsolver won the Orange Prize for her novel, The Lacuna, in which she links several remarkable historic events in 1930s Mexico and 1940s America
Daring Young Men by Richard Reeves
From June of 1948 through May of 1949, Allied planes and pilots managed to deliver enough food, coal and machinery to keep the entire city of West Berlin
Dad's got a GPS on his dashboard. You Are Here explains why he needs it.
Carrier pigeons, sea turtles, and Saharan Desert ants are Colin Ellard's subjects, as the experimental psychologist delves into man's ineptitude at
Jose Saramago, 1922-2010
José Saramago died today at his home in the Canary Islands, where he lived since moving there in the early 1990s with his wife, Spanish journalist Pilar del
Sum by David Eagleman
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives began when neuroscientist David Eagleman questioned why humans limit our conceptions of heaven to those handed us by
Transported by a good book.
It's great when an author can make me forget my commute, when she grabs me by the hair (I know... what hair?) and drives my nose so deep into her writing that I
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Tom Rachman's subject in The Imperfectionists is the paper, an English language newspaper in Rome that we follow from its inception in the 1950's through
Bad Marie by Mary Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky, About.com Guide to World and Indie Film and the author of Twins (2005), this month published Bad Marie, a novel that Time magazine included in
Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones
In Broken, Lisa Jones tells the incredible life story of a man named Stanford Addison, a quadriplegic Arapahoe who breaks - or rather gentles - wild horses.
Buy a Book, Save a Bookstore with Tin House Books and Dzanc Books
Tin House Books is accepting unsolicited manuscripts with book receipt. Portland Oregon publisher Tin House Books recently announced that, in the spirit of
In NY This Weekend? Buy a Book, Save a Young Life
On Saturday, July 10, more than 10,000 new and used books will go on sale in New York City's West Village with the proceeds going to benefit New Alternatives,
The News Where You Are by Catherine O'Flynn
Much like What Was Lost, Catherine O'Flynn's debut, The News Where You Are employs themes of loss and absence in gentle ways, interwoven within amusing
Who do you write like?
Have you ever had the feeling that your writing style most closely resembles that of a particular writer? Well, now you can find out for sure, thanks to the
This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia
In the beginning there was Amy. Amy Henderson, who recalled seeing The Clash of the Titans with her father and made monster movies on a Super-8 camera with
Best 100 Thrillers Ever: Cast Your Vote at NPR
Last month, NPR asked readers to submit their nominations for the best thriller novels ever written, an excercise that yielded a list of 600 titles that was
The Burning Wire by Jeffrey Deaver
The Burning Wire, Jeffrey Deaver's eighth Lincoln Rhyme novel, grabs the reader like an electric fence that will not let go. Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic,
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
David Mitchell is known for writing brilliant concept novels, but The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet doesn't fit that bill. Here, the author forgoes the
Great Writing Tips Live-Tweeted from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference
You know how in high school you could skip a class and get the notes from a friend? I just learned how Twitter makes that possible in real life! I learned this
Amazon's Kindle e-Reader - Better, Faster, Cheaper
Yesterday, Amazon.com revealed their latest Kindle e-reader, scheduled to be released on August 27. It's smaller, lighter and, perhaps most significantly,
On Writing by Stephen King
Stephen King's On Writing is half memoir, half instruction to writers, and all love for the craft of writing. As good now in its 10th Anniversary edition (July
How to Write a Book (from @Rands)
Don't write a book. Even better, stop thinking about writing a book. Your endless internal debate and self-conjured guilt about that book you haven't written
Tutankhamun by Nick Drake
On November 26, 1922, Howard Carter, a down at the heels, nearly abandoned and discredited archeologist, cleared a hole in a newly-discovered tomb in the
Jonathan Franzen on TIME
Nine years after winning the National Book Award for The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen is poised again to deliver on great literary expectations with
Jenkins at the Majors: From Ben Hogan to Tiger Woods
Dan Jenkins' felicity with words may be equal to the inimitable Herbert Warren Wind, the platinum standard for every golf writer who wielded a pen. His
Books Have Many Futures
In July, Amazon.com announced that they're now selling more Kindle e-books than hardcovers, a startling fact, remarked CEO Jeff Bezos, when you consider that
Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
Packing for Mars, while about space travel, has more to do with bodily functions such as ingestion, digestion and egestion (yes, it means what you think it
Ape House by Sara Gruen
Having read Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen's previous, nearly perfect novel, I was prepared for a bit of a let down. I was wrong! Ape House has it all. It
Oprah Picks Jonathan Franzen's Freedom for her Book Club
Today, Oprah Winfrey announced Freedom, Jonathan Franzen's 2010 literary bestseller, as her latest book club pick, thus ending the nine-year silence between
The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier
Walker Bean is a bookish pre-teen whose grandfather, an admiral in the navy, falls ill after gazing upon a cursed skull taken from a deep ocean trench in
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Skippy is a complicated kid. He's a got a good heart but is growing increasingly bored with his successes in both the classroom and on the swim team. Skippy
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
In Freedom, the mom is an ex-athlete who still carries a torch for her husband's rock star best friend, the dad is a corporate progressive who fights Big
Lots to read in September
Talk about an embarrassment of riches! Where do I start? New work from Sara Gruen, Michael Cunningham, and Nicholas Sparks, a new series from Ken Follett,
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas
Part literary fiction, Zen koan, and philosophical discussion, Scarlett Thomas' Our Tragic Universe will appeal to readers who can detach from expectations
Get Capone by Jonathan Eig
In Get Capone, Jonathan Eig (Luckiest Man, Opening Day) brings the real Al Capone to life. While acknowledging the myths that have defined Capone for
Room by Emma Donoghue
Seven years ago, Jack's mother was kidnapped and held captive in a man's soundproof garden shed. Equipped with little more than an analog television, the
2010 Man Booker Prize Contenders
The short list for the 2010 Man Booker Prize was announced last week. On it are the following six books: C by Tom McCarthy In a Strange Room by Damon
Zero History by William Gibson
Zero History is the final novel in William Gibson's latest trilogy, and it begins much like its predecessors (Pattern Recognition and Spook Country), with
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Ken Follett has created another blockbuster in the vein of Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, both of which anchored the bestsellers lists in their
Banned Books Week: Think for Yourself
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we are smack dab in the middle of the 29th annual Banned Books Week (September 25 - October 2, 2010), during
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
Khaled Hosseini calls Red Hook Road thoroughly gripping and elegantly written. I had my doubts. The writing felt serviceable but not inspired. In fact,
How to Live Safely in Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Part Douglas Adams, part Mark Leyner (Et Tu, Babe), Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in Science Fictional Universe is frequently quite funny - he describes
2010 Giller Prize Shortlist Announced
98 books have been whittled down to a shortlist of five finalists for the 2010 Giller Prize which has, for the past 17 years, annually awarded the best English
Mario Vargas Llosa Awarded 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature
Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa was today awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is a brand as surely as Kellogg, Chevrolet, or Apple. As surely as you know those cornflakes/car/computer will be of a certain quality, the
Trespass by Rose Tremain
Rose Tremain's Trespass is a cautionary tale of sorts. At once about boundaries both emotional and familial, Trespass tells the story of five aging
Nemesis by Philip Roth
In Nemesis, Philip Roth's thirty-first novel, a Jewish community in Newark is crippled with paranoia surrounding the polio outbreak during the summer of
The Finkler Question takes 2010 Man Booker Prize
The 2010 Man Booker Prize has been awarded to Howard Jacobson for The Finkler Question (Compare Prices), a darkly funny book about Jewish identity. Jacobson
Richard Yates by Tao Lin
Richard Yates takes place in the year 2006 and centers on a character named Haley Joel Osment and his obsession with a sixteen-year-old New Jersey girl
Great House by Nicole Krauss
In Great House, Nicole Krauss has built a monument to the art of the novel. She reminds readers of the limitless restraints of a novelist, and in four
C by Tom McCarthy
In Tom McCarthy's C - the current favorite for the 2010 Man Booker Prize - young Serge Carrefax comes of age in pre-World War I England on the campus of a
What is your pick for best book of 2010?
We've chosen our favorite books of the year - what are yours? Share your pick for Best Book of 2010.
How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu
How to Read the Air is a brilliantly written, literary elegy that holds the reader's close attention from the first paragraph until the end. Mengestu's facility
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1: Savor over time.
The wait for Mark Twain's autobiography has been longer than the interval between the appearances of Haley's Comet that conveniently book-ended the life of
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson is best loved for his travel writing. Readers love to amble along with him on various adventures: through-hiking the Appalachian Trail (A Walk in
Half a Life by Darin Strauss
Darin Strauss was driving with his friends to a miniature golf course when a sixteen year-old girl veered her bicycle across two lanes and into the path of
Dave Eggers Sketches the World Series
I didn't realize that, in addition to being a writer, editor, and publisher, Dave Eggers is also an accomplished artist. Evidently, he's been sketching the
The Instructions by Adam Levin
In over one thousand pages, Adam Levin's The Instructions follows four days in the life of Gurion ben-Judah Maccabee, a fifth grader in Aptakisic Junior
By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham's By Nightfall features a a middle-aged SoHo art dealer whose world is shaken by the arrival of his wife's younger brother, a recovering
Giller Prize Winner: Only 800 Copies in Circulation
Yesterday, Johanna Skibsrud became the youngest winner ever of the Scotiabank Giller Prize with her debut novel, The Sentimentalists. What's more, she may
Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg
Just a couple of years out of Harvard and looking for a way out of his dead end job writing obituaries for the Boston Globe, Avi Steinberg came across an
Five Under 35 Honored at National Book Foundation Gala
Last night, the National Book Foundation hatd their annual 5 Under 35 gala, during which they recognized five young fiction writers early in their careers.
The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire's newest novel, The Next Queen of Heaven, packs in some of the cleverest wit and one-liners since Patrick Dennis' Auntie Mame (1955). Sure the
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans
In her impressive literary debut, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, author Danielle Evans emerges as a smart, funny and strong new voice in fiction.
Irish Author takes Bad Sex in Literature Award
Irish author Rowan Somerville has won the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award for 2010 for portions of his novel, The Shape of Her, which included such
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
In his new book of stories, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, David Sedaris proves that he's a master at pushing the limits of whatever genre he
Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
The connection between an abundant coral reef that Charles Darwin explores on his Beagle voyage and recent technological developments such as Facebook,
Google eBooks Launches with 3 Million Books and Indie Bookstore Support
On Monday, Google launched its much anticipated Google eBooks (formerly Google Editions) with more than 2 million public domain (free) eBooks and hundreds of
Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe
In Fragments, Buchthal and Comment have skillfully edited Marilyn Monroe's personal writing from 1943, when at just 17 years old she married James
The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects
For a seemingly-uninteresting, middle-clas, English accountant living quietly in a London suburb at the turn of the 20th century, W. Reginald Bray had a
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
Consider that you are very old and beginning to sink into the abyss of dementia, but you are still at a point that you know that something is happening to
Tension by Billy Collins
Tension Never use the word suddenly just to create tension. -- Writing Fiction Suddenly, you were planting some yellow petunias outside in
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
In My Reading Life, Pat Conroy presents a straightforward spiritual and psychological autobiography, in which he gives his readers insight to the books that
Holiday Gift Books: For Writers
On Writing by Stephen King (10th Anniversary Edition) On Writing is half memoir, half instruction to writers, and all love for the craft of writing. As
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
In the four novellas that make up Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King has crafted some of the most accessible, engrossing gothic tales that showcase his
The Box: Tales from the Darkroom by Gunter Grass
A literary master, his family, an assistant and her all-seeing camera are the components that make up Gunter Grass's great literary experiment, The Box:
Sunset Park by Paul Auster
Poor dialogue and poor pacing make Sunset Park a difficult story to believe and a difficult book to trust. The characters in Paul Auster's latest all speak
The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll
As both editor Paul Slovak and rocker Patti Smith note in their forewords to Jim Carroll's posthumously published novel The Petting Zoo, Carroll died of a
Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie
Luka and the Fire of Life is the second children's novel by Salman Rushdie, coming twenty years after the publication of Haroun and the Sea of Stories in
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec by Jacques Tardi
If this is your first encounter with The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, I feel I should warn you about the faint regret you'll feel for not
Jonathan Safran Foer's Tree of Codes
Jonathan Safran Foer's latest effort, Tree of Codes, is simultaneously a paean to his favorite book, Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz and a bold
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
My Name is Red was originally published in Turkish in 1998. The first English translation came in 2001 and won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
The Empty Family by Colm Toibin
In Colm Toibin's The Empty Family, emptiness is more of a distance, a space between. In nearly all of the short stories included in this collection,
Anthony Doerr, Yiyun Li, and Suzanne Rivecca vie for Story Prize
The Story Prize shortlist was announced last week. Three finalists were chosen from among 85 story collections submitted by publishers to vie for the annual
Give Me Your Heart: Tales of Mystery and Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is the author of more than fifty novels. Her work is often violent, and her topics often include rural poverty, sexual abuse, and female
Gryphon by Charles Baxter
Gryphon is a collection of twenty-three stories, written by Charles Baxter between the early eighties and today, all of which are packed with a slow-paced
And the NBCC judges toss a few more books on my TBR pile.
Just in case you haven't already seen this, the finalists for the 2010 NBCC Award were announced this weekend - another reminder of all the catch-up reading I
Caribou Island by David Vann
In David Vann's Caribou Island, a retired couple sets off to chase the ultimate homesteader's dream: a cabin, on an island, in Alaska. But the project will
All of Icelandic Literature to go Open Source?
Digital librarian and founder of The Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle met with Iceland's Minister of Culture and National Librarian last week to discuss
Townie by Andre Dubus III
Townie is Andre Dubus III's (The Garden of Last Days) no-holds barred memoir of poverty, drugs and violence in the mill towns of Massachusetts. Here, the
SXSW: A Guide for Readers and Writers
The SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas (March 11-20, 2011) is a mammoth music, film and digital media event that annually spans the course of a week with
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Hilola Bigtree, matriarch of the Bigtree Clan and star of the alligator wrestling show at the family-operated Swamplandia! alligator park, has passed
The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier
Kevin Brockmeier's The Illumination is a deftly constructed literary meditation that opens with the onset of a worldwide paranormal phenomenon: without any
Ayako by Osamu Tezuka
Set in rural Japan, Osamu Tezuka's Ayako follows the deeply troubled Tenge clan as their household (and country) attempts to regain its footing after World
Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl
It's no small feat to write about such a complex person as Roald Dahl - and Storyteller is no small book. Weighing in at 2.5 pounds and 660 pages, this
The Pale King and the IRS, April 15
Momentum builds as the April 15 date approaches. Not for your taxes, but for the release of David Foster Wallace's final novel, The Pale King. Wallace's
Sing You Home by Jodie Pocoult
Jodi Picoult's Sing You Home will bring tears to your eyes from both anger and sympathy as it presents both sides of three of America's most polarizing,
Libraries, HarperCollins Square Off Over E-books
The huge growth in e-book sales and the changing landscape of reading has sparked tension between libraries and the publishers who license e-books to them. In a
The Belief Instinct by Jesse Bering
In The Belief Instinct, evolutionary psychologist Jesse Bering uses science, popular culture, and a dash of humor to illustrate why belief in God is not a
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of the Decade
Tor.com readers voted more than 10,000 times for over 1600 titles to name the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of the Decade. Here are the results:
Indie Choice Book Award Finalists
Last week the Indie Choice Book Awards finalists were announced. The winners will be chosen by the owners and staff at American Booksellers Association
The Information by James Gleick
In The Information, pop science author James Gleick traces the history of information from African talking drums, used for centuries as a kind of audio
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
That's right. I finally read A Visit from the Goon Squad, and my only regret is that I waited so long. On the upside, my wait put me in the position to read
Stigmata by Lorenzo Mattoti and Claudio Piersanti
In their graphic novel Stigmata, Lorenzo Mattotti and Claudio Piersanti have created an exceptional example of a successful collaboration of art and text.
Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad Wins 2010 NBCC Award
The 2010 National Book Critics Circle winners were announced Thursday night. Jennifer Egan beat out Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and Paul Murray's Skippy Dies to
Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx
Annie Proulx is justifiably famous for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Shipping News and her short story Brokeback Mountain, which was made into the
Deborah Eisenberg Wins 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award
Deborah Eisenberg's The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg was selected Tudsday as the winner of the 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
Tea Obreht's outstanding debut novel The Tiger's Wife captivates with both awe and understanding. With a flawless synthesis of politics, folklore, and
Spark by Julie Burstein
In Spark: How Creativity Works, public radio journalist Julie Burstein takes readers inside the minds of America's greatest writers, filmmakers, musicians,
The Baseball by Zack Hample
Sub-titled Stunts, Scandals and Secrets Beneath the Stitches, Zack Hample's The Baseball provides the serious baseball fan with all the fun-filled and
The Foremost Good Fortune by Susan Conley
In The Foremost Good Fortune, Susan Conley chronicles two years that she spent with her husband and their young sons in Beijing, China in a memoir that
Donald by Eric Martin and Stephen Elliott
It's a perfectly slippery trick to write alternate-history fiction about the current political climate. Not only does Stephen Elliott and Eric Martin's
David Foster Wallace Audio Tribute at Broadcastr
In conjunction with the release of The Pale King, the folks over at Electric Literature are putting together an audio tribute to David Foster Wallace.
John Lennon's Letters to be Published in 2012
With Yoko Ono's consent now 30 years after John Lennon's death in 1980, Lennon's unpublished letters will be published in a volume titled The Lennon
You Think That's Bad by Jim Shepard
Jim Shepard's new collection You Think That's Bad features an impressively wide array of well-conceived short fiction. Readers are introduced to the
When the Thrill is Gone by Walter Mosley
The reviews for the first two books in Walter Mosley's Leonid McGill series were ones of universal praise. When the Thrill is Gone, the third in the series,
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
The Pale King, like its progenitor Infinite Jest, is a puzzle - a bit like one of those 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that consumes the family's attention for
2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Goes to Goon Squad
After winning the National Book Critics Circle Award and being hailed as a best book of 2010 by Publisher's Weekly, The New York Times, Time magazine among
Earth Day Reading (Tracts for Treehuggers)
In case you haven't heard the news (or seen today's very cool Google Doodle), today is Earth Day, a day that reminds us to each do our part in preserving
A Widow's Story: A Memoir by Joyce Carol Oates
Although Joyce Carol Oates considers herself a private person, someone who needs a lot of time to be alone, A Widow's Story is welcoming. We're invited to
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Tina Fey's quirky and self-depracating sense of humor comes through in her memoir Bossypants - all the way to the cover showing shows the writer coyly posed
Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir by Ander Monson
Beyond its wildly captivating surface elements, the essays in Vanishing Point all return to themes of writerly ownership and its limitations. Vanishing
The Great Night by Chris Adrian
Chris Adrian's The Great Night fuses the heavy weight of the mortal coil with the mischiefs of the faerie kingdom when three individuals crossing San
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
Sarah Vowell (The Partly Cloudy Patriot, The Wordy Shipmates) is credited with creating her own category of writer: funny historian. And the fact that
Radiolab's Virtual Bookshelf
I'm a big fan of the Radiolab podcast and and avid reader, so the Radiolab Virtual Bookshelf, a list of all the books that have been mentioned in the
When the Killing's Done by T.C. Boyle
T.C. Boyle (The Women) is a dynamic writer with an expansive vocabulary. He chooses controversial topics and then weaves chatty novels around them; his