Camille DelVecchio compiles an annotated list of comfortable books, ones that evoke childhood, with ‘languid’ pacing, familiar situations, some predictability, and nothing ‘boring, sappy, or patronizing.’ Her list of 15 books includes Good Poems for Hard Times, Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, and books by Philip Gulley, Anne Tyler, Peter Mayle, Carrie Brown, Bill Richardson, […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, fiction, gentle reads on November 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
Sarah Statz Cords at The Reader’s Advisor Online Blog focuses on mysteries featuring paranormal detectives: “These mysteries … ‘blend the detective story with elements of speculative fiction; particularly science fiction or horror. The detectives often have supernatural powers, or may be witches or vampires.’” She recommends a few titles; more are listed here.
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, crime fiction, paranormal on October 24th, 2007 | No Comments »
The Guardian Arts blog takes on the sport of boxing in literature: “Literature and boxing shouldn’t go together. One is concerned with refining our consciousness; the other with trying to clobber someone into unconsciousness as artfully and as swiftly as possible. Yet of all sports writing it is boxing that seems to have inspired some […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, fiction, sports on October 20th, 2007 | No Comments »
Salon surveys the books written by all the 2008 candidates for U.S. President. Apparently all but one candidate (Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.?) has written and published a book.
Among the titles are A Prayer for America by Dennis Kucinich (”Have you texted Peace 73223? Do you advocate the abolition of all nuclear weapons? Are you […]
Filed under: book reviews, readers advisory, booklists, politics on October 19th, 2007 | No Comments »
Mary at 52 Books has posted a list (author, title) of about 20 classic fiction and non-fiction dog stories, from Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson to Lad, a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune.
A few that aren’t on the list:
The Shaman Bulldog: A Love Story (1996) by Renaldo Fisher. One of my favourites, a book […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, animals, classics on October 2nd, 2007 | No Comments »
The Guardian is touring Spain via its fiction, drama, and poetry, and soliciting recommendations for the best authors and titles. I posted something about it on my other blog, here.
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, fiction, travel, best of on September 25th, 2007 | No Comments »
I feel like I’m pushing the season but since I just received my LL Bean catalog in the mail today, with a big balsam wreath plastered on both front and back covers, talking about Halloween doesn’t seem so unseemly …
Fiction Addiction offers title and author for 15 Halloween Reads. I’ve got links to lots of […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, fiction, holidays, crime fiction on September 25th, 2007 | No Comments »
Good idea! The Bensenville Community Public Library (IL) is using its blog to post new booklists each week (author and title only), as well as entries for ‘author of the week,’ ‘book of the week,’ and some discussion of books.
Recent booklist topics: urban fantasy; apocalyptic stories; fiction about knitting, quilting and embroidery; mysteries that […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, fiction, libraries on September 24th, 2007 | No Comments »
On the other hand, if cozy romantic fiction’s not your thing, Serial Killers in the Stacks might be whispering your name, in a sort of creepy, spine-tingling way. Deirdre Bray Root, again in Library Journal (last week), has compiled a well-annotated list of true crime titles:
“The true crime genre covers an enormous amount of territory; […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, true crime on September 11th, 2007 | No Comments »
If Jane’s your girl, check out Bette-Lee Fox’s article in Library Journal this week. She suggests three re-writes (two of Pride & Prejudice, one of Emma), a sequel and series of sequels to P&P, two epistolary collections connected with P&P, two novels about Jane Austen herself, a mystery series featuring Jane the detective, five […]
Filed under: readers advisory, booklists, fiction, classics on September 11th, 2007 | No Comments »