Readers' Advisory Knapsack

NPR Series: Three Books

raknapsack — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:47:33 +0000

NPR has a special book series titled Three Books, “in which authors recommend three books on a single theme.” The authors and themes are diverse and the entire series is worth listening or reading. The books from the most recent feature which aired on January 4, 2012 entitled, Hell-Raising Heroines: Three Ladies With Spitfire by Heather Havrilesky are listed below.

The Great Man : A Novel (2009) by Kate Christensen. “The Great Man is a scintillating comedy of life among the avant-garde—of the untidy truths, needy egos, and jostlings for position behind the glossy facade of artistic greatness. Not a pretty picture—but a provocative and entertaining one that incarnates the take-no-prisoners satirical spirit of Dawn Powell and Mary McCarthy.” – description from the publisher, Doubleday. Kate Christensen’s most recent novel, The Astral, was published in 2011.

After Claude (1973) by Iris Owens ; introduction by Emily Prager. “Harriet is leaving her boyfriend Claude, “the French rat.” That at least is how Harriet sees things, even if it’s Claude who has just asked Harriet to leave his Greenwich Village apartment. Well, one way or another she has no intention of leaving. To the contrary, she will stay and exact revenge-or would have if Claude had not had her unceremoniously evicted. Still, though moved out, Harriet is not about to move on. Not in any way.” – description from the publisher, New York Review Books.

The Journal Keeper : A Memoir (2010) by Phyllis Theroux. “Essayist Theroux has long captivated readers with her pitch-perfect rendering of the inner lives of American women. The Journal Keeper is a memoir of six years in her life, covering universal topics such as love, loneliness, growing old, spiritual growth, and death.” – description from the publisher, Atlantic Monthly Press.

2011 Book Buying Trends

raknapsack — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:33:22 +0000

USA TODAY lists several notable book buying trends during 2011 in the article, “Year-end Books: E-sales Surge; Where’s Oprah?” by Bob Minzesheimer. Some of the trends listed in the article include:

Growth in E-book sales
Self-published writers
The increased interest in books about Steve Jobs, Ernest Hemingway, the Kennedy family, and Amy Chua.
1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
2. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
3. Jacqueline Kennedy : Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy; Interviews with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., 1964 ; foreword by Caroline Kennedy ; introduction and annotations by Michael Beschloss
4. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
The decline in sales of Oprah’s Book Club recommendations and books about Bernie Madoff.
And many more… click HERE to read the complete article.

The Man Booker International Prize 2011: Philip Roth

raknapsack — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:47:16 +0000

Philip Roth won The Man Booker International Prize in 2011. The “prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.” A description of Roth’s career is below from the Man Booker website along with links to to a selection of his novels available from the Newton Free Library.

“Philip Roth (born March 1933, New Jersey) is an American novelist. He is probably best known for his 1959 collection Goodbye, Columbus, his 1969 novel Portnoy’s Complaint, and for his late-’90s trilogy comprising the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Pastoral (1997), I Married a Communist (1998), and The Human Stain (2000).”

Goodbye, Columbus 1959 – located in Library of America’s Novels & Stories, 1959-1962 by Philip Roth

Letting Go 1962

When She Was Good 1967

Portnoy’s Complaint 1969 – located in Library of America’s Novels & Stories, 1959-1962 by Philip Roth

Our Gang 1971 – located in Library of America’s Novels, 1967-1972 by Philip Roth

The Breast 1972

The Great American Novel 1973

My Life As a Man 1974

The Professor of Desire 1977

The Ghost Writer 1979

Zuckerman Unbound 1981

The Anatomy Lesson 1983

The Counterlife 1986

Deception 1990

Operation Shylock 1993

Sabbath’s Theater 1995

American Pastoral 1997

I Married a Communist 1998

The Human Stain 2000

The Dying Animal 2001

The Plot Against America 2004

Everyman 2006

Exit Ghost 2007

Indignation 2008

The Humbling 2009

Nemesis 2010

The Reader’s Advisor Online blog: links to many “Best of 2011″ lists

raknapsack — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:13:08 +0000

The Reader’s Advisor Online blog contains a compilation of links to many of the “Best Books of 2011″ lists published by major periodicals. The list is located on their blog: http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/index.php/2011/12/26/best-of-2011/. The Reader’s Advisor Online blog is a great online resource for reading lists and information about new publications.

Booklist announces 2011 Top of the List choices

raknapsack — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:21:57 +0000

“Booklist magazine, the review journal of the American Library Association, has announced its Top of the List winners for 2011. The eight winning titles were chosen from the annual Editors’ Choice selections as the best books and media of 2011.

“From a dog who became a cinematic icon to a woman who loved chimpanzees to another woman whose only novel has enthralled readers for more than half a century, this year’s Top of the List-winning books and media again display the ability of talented storytellers to embrace all manner of subject matter,” said Booklist Editor and Publisher, Bill Ott.”

The 2011 Booklist Top of the List winners:

Adult Fiction – The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

Adult Nonfiction - Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean

Youth Fiction - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Youth Nonfiction – Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Houghton)

Youth Picture Book – Me … Jane written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell

Video – Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird directed by Mary Murphy

Audio – Bossypants by Tina Fey; read by the author

Reference Source – Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs,” by Michael A. Dirr

Text from an ALA press release: “ALA Press Releases,” American Library Association, March 05, 2010.
http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pr.cfm (Accessed December 20, 2011)

NPR’s The Best Books Of 2011

raknapsack — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:16:17 +0000

NPR has posted on their website, npr.org, a complete listing of their critics’ choices for the best books of 2011. The lists are separated into a diverse range of categories and include short descriptions of each title. The cookbooks listed below are from “2011′s Best Cookbooks: Revenge Of The Kitchen Nerds” by T. Susan Chang. All the lists can be located at npr.org.

120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make by Melissa Clark

The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden

All About Roasting: A New Approach to a Classic Art by Molly Stevens

The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes from Exceptional Home Cooks by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs

The Country Cooking of Italy by Colman Andrews

Lidia’s Italy in America by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali

The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ruhlman’s Twenty The Ideas and Techniques That Will Make You a Better Cook by Michael Ruhlman

American Flavor by Andrew Carmellini

The Rosie’s Bakery No Apologies Butter, Cream & Sugar Baking Book by Judy Rosenberg

The Economist’s 2011 Books of the Year

raknapsack — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:03:58 +0000

The Economist published their 2011 Books of the Year list in the December 10th print edition. The extensive list includes books in several different categories: politics and current affairs, biography and memoir, economics and business, history, science and technology, culture, society and travel, fiction, and poetry. A selection of the titles are listed below, the complete list can be found at Economist.com.

Politics and Current Affairs

Tide Players : The Movers and Shakers of a Rising China by Jianying Zha

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason K. Stearns

Pakistan : A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven

Biography and Memoir

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins her Life’s Work at 72 by Molly Peacock

Economics and Business

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better by Tyler Cowen