Not a book today, or not yet at least, but hot off the press: the long list for 2017 National Book Awards in the fiction category.
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OK the short form of the fiction piece of the long list, but that's my speed this week, you have it NPR's way.
Anyway mine was only for the fiction nominees released today and NPR's link was to the whole weeklong megillah.The fiction list today was the first I even saw of this years awards nominees (in a more than ususally busy week) and I thought wow, they cut right to the chase. Remnick must be pitching to The New Yorker's Twitter followers by just giving the names, titles and Amazon links to the nominated works... the next thing I thought was that I should at least read the news headlines when I overbook my week, maybe there's a different president someplace on the planet, who knows.
I don't follow lists myself. Well, not anymore. I do read general reviews, which is where NPR's yearly compilation comes in handy. Plus, it's got a fun to use JS doohickey and it's easy to find genres. There's Amazon's Omnivoracious and GoodReads, and then there's the NYT list, Chicago list and Amazon's own list, and a bunch of other lists.OK the short form of the fiction piece of the long list, but that's my speed this week, you have it NPR's way.
The fiction list today was the first I even saw of this years awards nominees (in a more than ususally busy week) and I thought wow, they cut right to the chase. Remnick must be pitching to The New Yorker's Twitter followers by just giving the names, titles and Amazon links to the nominated works... the next thing I thought was that I should at least read the news headlines when I overbook my week, maybe there's a different president someplace on the planet, who knows.
Much like television, too much exposure to too many choices leaves me baffled and sitting there or standing there at the bookstore. I find it easier to shop at Costco for books. Ours has a large selection of obscure and popular matter. It's cheap compared to list price, like 10-18 bucks cheaper. Each time we go, I get something new. That said, I'm probably going to start the HRC book today.
Off that list I'm going to make time for at least Elliot Ackerman's Dark at the Crossing. I read his novel Green on Blue and admired his ability to convert the ambiguities and complexities of conflicts in Afghanistan into straight-up questions about what is real and what is right, and to have characters offer answers that are more questions, which does seem to me at least to be real, and right. This later book's not set in Afghanistan but rather in Turkey and as related to the Syrian civil war. The author has covered that war as a journalist and now lives in Turkey; he served in the Marines for 8 years in the Middle East and southwest Asia.
Nonfiction? The list is for fiction, but you lost me. Is it fictionalized versions of his experiences?
They are fiction. Doubtless informed by his experience.
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I just read Meg Rosoff's "Jonathan Unleashed."
It was hilarious. Wicked dry humor, trenchant observations of modern life, urban living, dog ownership (yay!), jobs, weltschmerz. Charming, sympathetic characters. I literally did laugh out loud & probably would have rolled on the floor if not for the dog hair.
Can't recommend it enough, and now will probably pester my friends into reading it.
It was hilarious. Wicked dry humor, trenchant observations of modern life, urban living, dog ownership (yay!), jobs, weltschmerz. Charming, sympathetic characters. I literally did laugh out loud & probably would have rolled on the floor if not for the dog hair.
Can't recommend it enough, and now will probably pester my friends into reading it.
I've not yet read any of Fredrik Backman's work. Thank you for referring him, I'm going to reserve a couple of his books from my library.
You're in for a treat! Vermes' Look Who's Back is a future classic, too.
Must say that I am looking forward to the release of the first volume of Philip Pullman's new trilogy "The Book of Dust."
I loved His Dark Materials, so I'm very curious about this too
Right now I'm reading:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
This book is everything people say it is and more This is the first of Nabokov I've read, and I just bought some more of his works, so I'm in for a ride.
Right now I'm reading:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
This book is everything people say it is and more
This is the first of Nabokov I've read, and I just bought some more of his works, so I'm in for a ride.
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816
Just started Stephen Kings - On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft. I am about 50 pages into, started it last night before bed, and I actually like it more than some of his other novels he has written!
Just started Stephen Kings - On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft. I am about 50 pages into, started it last night before bed, and I actually like it more than some of his other novels he has written!
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Thank you! I said the same thing in my post about the book in this thread! That ending was, well strange to say the least and very anticlimactic. Or I as said to the wife, that really sucked and I fell like I wasted some time with the investment and energy given to the characters.
Then I learned the movie was more geared towards the end of the book series. Yeah I was disappointed in it.
Apparently the series "takes off" in book 2. I think I need a break before moving on to that.
I am with you on taking a break from it. I thought about getting the entire series on kindle, but I was a little put off by book one. I also have another series I have been putting off, which is Dune. I keep bringing it up, but I haven't pulled the trigger on reading it yet.
Some are books I already have (Garth Nix's "Abhorsen" trilogy, Pat Barker's "Regeneration" trilogy, Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy) that I plan to send to a good friend.
Others are about politics and history.........in the Horn of Africa.
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