tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364288232009-11-07T00:58:16.402-08:00Book reviews, book-related news and author interviewsLinda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.comBlogger1449125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-85652399007654436002009-11-07T00:05:00.000-08:002009-11-07T00:58:16.557-08:00

Let’s face it: bookstores have had a pretty rough ride this year. Between the (cheerfully monikered) economic meltdown (cue scary music now), the rising tide of electronic books and the hardcover price wars of earlier this autumn, there must have been at least a few days in 2009 when some booksellers just didn’t even want to get out of bed.All of this leads us to the Publishers Weekly-sponsored

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-14187919547756787852009-11-06T12:35:00.000-08:002009-11-06T12:35:39.023-08:00

In Death on the River (Orca Books), veteran children’s author John Wilson weaves a compelling tale with his first person, present tense account of the final days of the American Civil War.We see the horrors of war through the eyes of Jake Clay, a young soldier who enlisted after his brother was killed in battle. Young Jake is wounded and taken prisoner in his very first battle:I come to with a

Sienna Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066864126359185592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-39747518663172924382009-11-06T10:06:00.000-08:002009-11-06T10:17:08.704-08:00

It would be inaccurate and possibly even ridiculous to suggest that Harvard Business School Confidential (Wiley & Sons) distills four difficult years into one very lucid book. And yet, when you read it, that’s more or less how it makes you feel.We get right down to business from the very beginning: there’s just no messing around:Most parents and teachers would tell you: Study hard in school, get

Aaron Blantonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-19905735699607577622009-11-04T00:05:00.000-08:002009-11-03T22:59:47.349-08:00

I had the rare delight of traveling to the city of Victoria on the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island twice during the time I was reading The Chief Factor’s Daughter (Touchwood Editions). It’s not that I’m a super-slow reader, either. Rather, my life aligned in such a way that, not only was I in the city on which the action in Vanessa Winn’s debut novel centers, I even had cause to sit near

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-82215575355596558222009-11-03T14:30:00.000-08:002009-11-03T14:30:00.240-08:00

The debut work of writer, musician and political cartoonist Jeffrey Koterba is published today. Inklings (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) tells the author’s own story in graphic novel form, without the maudlin self-pity often associated with works of that genesis.In his bio, Koterba tells us that “during the summer of 1978 [I] was struck by lightning and lived to tell about it.” He makes it sound like

Lincoln Chohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928697448708430161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-6744306064419538382009-11-03T12:00:00.000-08:002009-11-03T12:37:40.970-08:00

The very first paragraph of The Foodie Handbook (Chronicle Books) describes the journey on which you’re about to embark:Relationships that matter most in our lives are often complicated. Think of the one with your mother or your current love, and perhaps the most perplexing, food. These liaisons can be fraught with love, hate, joy, fear, trust, suspicion, and a whole lot of other emotions.

Monica Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13139525425995764883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-21115121539884678212009-11-03T09:00:00.000-08:002009-11-03T09:00:05.870-08:00

The is a brand new and greatly improved edition of a modern classic: the National Book Award-winning The Great War and Modern Memory (Sterling). Originally published in 1975, it was named one of the most important non-fiction books of the 20th century by the Modern Library. In his preface, author Paul Fussell explains his book succinctly:This book is about the British experience on the Western

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-50763253155064280932009-11-02T05:00:00.000-08:002009-11-02T05:03:03.194-08:00

It’s not that Warren Buffett gave Alice Schroeder permission to write his biography, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life (Bantam). He hand-picked her, a move typical of the man many consider to be one of the most successful business people in the world. And typical of Buffett’s style, he chose right.Former Morgan Stanley analyst Schroeder’s in-depth portrait of Buffett is better

Aaron Blantonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-48790950564901205122009-11-02T00:05:00.000-08:002009-11-02T00:05:00.939-08:00

2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the Best Music Writing anthologies edited by music journalist and scholar Daphne Carr and published by Da Capo. As befits an anniversary edition, this anthology is stunning with contributions from some of the very top names in music writing, and letters, as well.As guest editor Greil Marcus points out, Best Music Writing 2009 is not meant to be an almanac:It is

Lincoln Chohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928697448708430161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-46639744896179551512009-11-01T15:24:00.000-08:002009-11-01T15:24:00.218-08:00

Internationally bestselling author Henning Mankell talks about the first time he met Sofia. He was in Mozambique in the early 1990s. Passing a hospital, he spied a small girl in a wheelchair and he stopped to talk with her. “I still don’t know why,” he says on his blog.Though Sofia’s story didn’t come to him all at once, he was able to piece it together over time. Sofia and her sister had been

Sienna Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066864126359185592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-10178712242690797382009-11-01T12:27:00.000-08:002009-11-01T12:27:00.205-08:00

If it’s true that everyone has a novel inside of them, National Novel Writing Month -- NaNoWriMo -- is meant to be the tool to force it out. From their Web site:Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-2088984142425358092009-11-01T09:00:00.000-08:002009-11-01T09:00:02.259-08:00

The title is misleading, and not in a helpful way. It offers the idea that this will be yet another book on being a better baker. The fact is, Savory Baking (Chronicle Books) is so much more than that.You don’t need to read very far to understand what I’m saying. White Cheddar-Zucchini Pancakes. Hazelnut Waffles. Buckwheat Blinis with Warm Bing Cherries and Crème Fraiche. Fig and Rosemary Spread.

Monica Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13139525425995764883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-52466485094829839452009-10-30T05:00:00.000-07:002009-10-30T05:00:00.435-07:00

Many people still remember when Martin Amis was the enfant terrible of the British literary scene. Then he matured into the hot, cool guy who’d make pithy observations on other artist’s work while producing a fairly dazzling stream of work of his own.From there, it’s inevitable, right? First enfant terrible. Then hot guy. From there it’s only a matter of time until you hit curmudgeon. This last

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-80067619922758403892009-10-30T02:00:00.000-07:002009-10-30T02:06:28.096-07:00

Ezra Pound was born on this day in 1885. From Writer’s Almanac:Pound was born within a few years of James Joyce, William Carlos Williams, D.H. Lawrence, Marianne Moore, Hilda Doolittle, and T.S. Eliot, and he was instrumental in promoting the careers of each one of these writers -- as well as many, many others. He was a champion of modern poetry and prose; Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-46560208207771653072009-10-29T13:23:00.000-07:002009-10-29T13:30:47.418-07:00

Early in 2010, Vertigo will publish a five book series of graphic novels told by dark overlord Stephen King and short story writer Scott Snyder.The series will feature American cowboy vampire Skinner Sweet and was originally conceived of by Snyder who had approached King for a blurb and ended up with a co-author.“I love vampire stories,” King told The Guardian, “and the idea of following the dark

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-23742287021726704612009-10-27T01:15:00.000-07:002009-10-27T01:15:00.885-07:00

While it’s true that great writers can be born on any day of the month or week, it does seem as though there are certain days where the muses have sprinkled extra magic. October 27th is one of those. Today is the birthday of at least three of the really greats: from both now and then.Dylan Thomas was, says Writer’s Almanac, “the man who called himself ‘a freak user of words, not a poet’ but who

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-28717850818793354662009-10-26T10:00:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:56:15.833-07:00

The usually elegant Three Rivers Press is quick to point out that their “2003 sleeper hit,” The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, was at the vanguard of the current zombie movement. From a Three Rivers Press release:The Zombie Survival Guide has spurred countless other books on zombies, along with its own line of products such as The Zombie Survival Guide Journal that gives people a chance to

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-41477665668840659152009-10-26T08:35:00.000-07:002009-10-26T08:35:00.075-07:00

Eighty-five years after his death, the author of The Castle and Amerika is at the heart of a strange controversy. From The Guardian:Israel’s National Library is calling on a German museum to hand over the original manuscript of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial to correct a “historical error”, in the latest unravelling of a complex dispute over the writer's legacy.The manuscript was sold at auction

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-80286400179598788552009-10-24T03:25:00.000-07:002009-10-24T09:16:58.638-07:00

Today I dropped by my local Home Depot only to be met with a shock: the rows upon rows of barbecues I’d seen there just a few weeks ago had disappeared and been mysteriously replaced with ... fake Christmas trees and decorations. After I’d recovered and had gotten my too-hard-beating heart under control I stopped and took stock. After all, the time between when you see the first Home Depot

Monica Starkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13139525425995764883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-16310104831573897332009-10-24T00:24:00.000-07:002009-10-24T00:30:12.300-07:00

The Arthurian legends have inspired countless tellings and retellings though few of those have been for children. Nancy McKenzie corrected that a couple of years ago with Guinevere’s Gift, intended to be the first book in the series she is calling the Chrysalis Quartet. Guinevere’s Gamble (Alfred A. Knopf) is the second book in that series.The strong female heroine in this series is likely to

Sienna Powershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00066864126359185592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-70068969000386306442009-10-23T09:00:00.000-07:002009-10-23T09:00:10.094-07:00

The Rap Sheet reports that pie-throwing comedian Soupy Sales passed away yesterday:Another character from my boyhood has passed on to that great entertainment venue in the sky: Milton Supman, better known as the “rubber-faced” comedian and TV personality Soupy Sales, has died at age 83 in New York City.Sales was also the author of several books, including My Life & Zany Times and Stop Me If You

Linda L. Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05868426000807302834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-70071033336806165042009-10-22T06:00:00.000-07:002009-10-22T06:00:03.196-07:00

David Small’s Stitches: A Memoir (McLelland & Stewart/W.W. Norton) is fantastic. As good or better than the most celebrated graphic novels that it will inevitably be compared to. Stitches is all the more compelling because it is not a novel at all. Rather, it is a graphic telling of author and illustrator David Small’s early life.This is David through the Looking Glass as seen by David Lynch or

David Middletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10281181661341523981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-86430006985341032022009-10-22T05:05:00.000-07:002009-10-22T05:05:00.634-07:00

On the off-chance that you’re not yet totally sick of vampires, debut novelist Sarah Jane Stratford serves up an interesting new take on the blood-sucking mythos. A sort of alternate history, with vampires, The Midnight Guardian (St. Martin’s Press) opens on Hitler’s Germany, right at the bloody center of the Second World War. By 1940, Hitler has managed to kill all the vampires in Europe and

Lincoln Chohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928697448708430161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-48127398884867034602009-10-22T00:05:00.000-07:002009-10-22T00:05:00.404-07:00

Harlow Giles Unger is one of those authors with the talent and skill -- not to mention passion -- to breathe life into history. You don’t have to read very far in his 16th book, The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness (Da Capo) to understand this:The world was awash with war when James Monroe was born in the spring of 1758. A dozen nations were spilling the blood

Aaron Blantonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36428823.post-66455136907844364772009-10-21T13:00:00.000-07:002009-10-21T13:00:02.315-07:00

Despite the weird title and the seemingly off-the-wall premise, Good Night & God Bless (Hidden Spring) is a cool little book whose time has come.As you will not have guessed from the aforementioned weird title, Good Night & God Bless is a guide to convent and monastery accommodation in Europe. While in some cases this also means spiritual retreat, it can also just mean inexpensive and interesting

Aaron Blantonnoreply@blogger.com1