Today in January’s children’s and sf/f sections, contributing editor Sue Bursztynski reviews Margo Lanagan’s latest short story collection, Red Spikes. Black Juice, Lanagan’s first collection of short fantasy tales, was widely admired and awarded in the author’s native Australia. Bursztynski thinks this new collection is every bit as good. The review is here.
Who in the hell thought up this survey? According to the UK’s Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), “a third of British adults have lied about reading a book to appear more intelligent.” What’s more, A cunning 33 per cent of adults have confessed to reading challenging literature to appear well-read, when in fact they haven’t a clue what the book is about. But 40 per cent of people said they lied about reading certain […]
Today in January Magazine’s fiction section, contributing editor David Abrams reviews a new collection of stories by Michael Parker, author of 2005’s If You Want Me to Stay. Though Don’t Make Me Stop Now is not without flaw, Abrams finds a lot to like: Haven’t we all been white-veined at some point in our lives? Parker knows the majority of us have gone through life staring at silent telephones, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot […]
January Magazine’s sister blog, The Rap Sheet, today begins publishing Men’s Adventure, “a crime novel in installments,” penned by Dick Adler, the Chicago Tribune’s longtime, Ellen Nehr Award-winning reviewer of mystery and thriller fiction. This approximately 60,000-word story — new chapters of which will be posted at The Rap Sheet every Monday over the coming year — is based in part on Adler’s experiences as an editor at Argosy magazine, a fiction periodical turned “men’s […]
Today in the January Magazine crime fiction section, critic David Thayer inspects the brightness and sharpness of The Blade Itself, the debut novel from “Killer Year” author Marcus Sakey. “The set-up of The Blade Itself is simple,” explains Thayer. “Two childhood friends, Danny Carter and Evan McGann, plan to rob a pawnshop.” But nothing else about this new book is so simple, as Sakey explores issues of trust, honesty, temptation, and personal values. “The promise […]
Oprah’s 56th book club choice is The Measure of A Man: A Spiritual Autobiography by Sidney Poitier (HarperSanFrancisco). The book was originally published in 2000. On Oprah’s new book club pick, the Chicago Tribune says: If her goal was to erase the memory of the disgraced James Frey, then Oprah Winfrey couldn’t have made a better pick for her book club than a memoir by Sidney Poitier. I don’t know: I think that was maybe […]
“All those years of being told not to read other people’s diaries have come to an end.” And, then again, maybe not. Dark Horse Comics reports that they will publish Diary of Indignities, a book based on Patrick Hughes’ popular Bad News Hughes blog. Hughes, Dark Horse tells us, “has an uncanny talent for personal failure, with more than the average share of embarrassment, carefree violence, booze, bodily injury, hypochondria, inappropriate nudity, painful rashes, neuroses, […]
Today in January Magazine, contributing editor Mary Ward Menke chats with Richard Burgin just as his 12th book, The Conference on Beautiful Moments, is reaching stores. “There is no voice in American letters today like Richard Burgin’s,” The Bloomsbury Review commented about the author. From the tenor of her questions, our interviewer agrees. You can read the full January interview here.
I don’t know how it happened that I missed noticing that Amy Sedaris had a book out almost before it was too late to report on it (yes that Amy Sedaris: brother of David and entertainment goddess in her own right). Meanwhile, Sedaris’ I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (Warner Books, 2006) has been screaming up the charts. And it’s no surprise: the book is built on generous dollops of what appears to be […]
The 2007 winners of various American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards were announced at the Seattle Trade and Convention Center on Monday. Like the Oscars, there are a lot of awards and winners. We’ll just hit the highlights. If you want to see more, the ALA Web site has published the full list. John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:• The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron (Simon & Schuster), […]
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