Book Studio‘s Bethanne Patrick‘s Top 10 and, perhaps more interestingly, Bottom 10 Books of the Year. Patrick minces no words on Lethem, Kingsolver, Niffenegger, Moore, and Larsson.
Bethanne Patrick’s Bottom 10 of 2009
Oprah’s New Book Club Pick Revealed
Word on the street is that Oprah's new book club pick will be Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan. So, last chance to get one before the Oprah logo goes on the front. We first wrote about Akpan when he appeared in the 2005 New Yorker debut fiction issue. Say You're One of Them was also a "Most Anticipated" book in 2008.
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The Circle of Life
Matthew Shaer takes a gander at the history of book pulping.
One After the Other
It’s been seventeen years since Judy Blume published a book for adult readers. Her latest, In the Unlikely Event, brings that streak to an end. In the Times, Caroline Leavitt reviews her new book, which depicts a small town in the fifties reeling in the wake of three consecutive plane crashes. FYI, our own Lydia Kiesling wrote an essay on Blume’s book Forever.
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An Accomplished Saxophonist
Here's a great interview with Colin Stetson, the saxophonist who's lent his talents to such acts as Tom Waits, Bon Iver, TV on the Radio, Arcade Fire, and Feist.
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In/sane
If you’re not already a fan of Will Self, his new book, Shark, may not be the best place to start. As Walker Rutter-Bowman points out, the book dispatches with many of the conventions of modern writing, including line breaks, paragraphs and dialogue tags. But it’s still an effort worthy of its author, he writes: “Here is a hunk of modernism that poignantly, beautifully, and, it seems, genuinely renders mental states of sanity and insanity while smudging the gradations in between."
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The World Begat by the King James
As the King James Bible turns 400 this year, it is perhaps more revered than read. That’s a shame, argue three new books, which contend that its cultural influence and literary merit are unsurpassed in the English language.
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Where the Books Are
Ever visited a new city and found yourself in need of a bookstore? Well, if it happens again, and you're in the US, you can just use Google Maps, which now features the locations of the country's public libraries and bookstores. (h/t Bookforum)
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Stocking Stuffers
It's not even Thanksgiving, but Dalkey Archive Press is already Jingle Bell rocking their holiday sale. 60% off pretty much all Dalkey books.
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