Novelist John Updike died yesterday at age 76 of lung cancer. Hillel Italie of the AP describes him as a “Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, prolific man of letters and erudite chronicler of sex, divorce and other adventures in the postwar prime of the American empire,” best known for his four ‘Rabbit’ novels.
Also in the Boston Globe [...]
(Duplicate of my post at Beyond Rivalry)
This booklist of mostly fiction titles — for children, young adults, and adults — and a few films, all with World’s Fair settings, was developed in 2008 with help from Fiction-L list members. It’s arranged chronologically by Fair, then by date of publication. Additions and corrections welcomed.
A list of [...]
“Tony Hillerman, whose lyrical, authentic and compelling mystery novels set among the Navajos of the Southwest blazed innovative trails in the American detective story, died Sunday at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, The Associated Press reported.
“He was 83 and lived in Albuquerque.
“The cause was pulmonary failure, according to the AP report.”
Much more at the NYT. Also [...]
Tagged crime novels, deaths. western U.S., hillerman, mysteries, novelist, obituaries, tony hillermanReuters reports steady and increasing sales of books about finance, cookbooks, and mysteries and thrillers, as people struggle with money issues, make more meals at home, and seek an escape from difficult times. Among the titles mentioned are the new authorized biography of Warren Buffet, The Snowball, Stop the 401(k) Rip-off!: Eliminate Costly Hidden Fees [...]
Tagged economic downturn, finance, financial fiction… as determined by a panel “of major and independent booksellers and representatives of reading groups, as well as World Book Day organisers.” The full list is in the Telegraph and includes a host of books I’ve never heard of. Might be a good reading group selection tool. You can vote for your favourite title.
Some [...]
USA Today posts its lengthy interactive list of summer fiction and non-fiction. You can sort by title, author or release date, and look at all the books at once or only fiction or non-. Excerpts available for some. [22 May]
Politics and Prose Bookstore’s Summer Favorites 2008, with separate lists for hardcover fiction, paperback fiction, pb [...]
The Guardian books blog examines what’s so appealing about vampire fiction, beginning with a short history of the theme and comparing older and seminal fictional works about the blood-drinkers with modern vampire lit, which tends to humanise and glamourise the vampire. As always, the comments offer more titles and food for thought ….
Both tips from RAO:
In Slate, “Procrastination Lit: Great novels about wasting time,” a “small and unnerving category of literature that is not only about procrastination but that, in form and style, enacts the frenetic paralysis of irrational delay,” compiled by Jessica Winter. Books included are three by Thomas Bernhard (In The Lime Works, The Loser [...]
Shelf Talk at Seattle PL offers an annotated list of about 20 books and movies featuring very bad children. More in the comments.
The big question for many: When will Dan Brown’s next book, following his wildly successful The DaVinci Code (2003), be published? Jeffrey Trachtenberg, writing in the Wall Street Journal today, says it’s a mystery:
“[T]he nation’s biggest retailers can barely restrain themselves. ‘We’re constantly asking,’ says Bob Wietrak, vice president of merchandising at Barnes & Noble [...]