Nat’l Book Critics Circle Announces Winners for 2012

The winners of the National Book Critics Circle book awards for the publishing year 2012 were announced on Thursday, February 28, 2013.  The award recipients in each category:

Poetry
D. A. Powell, Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys

“In D. A. Powell’s fifth book of poetry, the rollicking line he has made his signature becomes the taut, more discursive means to describing beauty, singing a dirge, directing an ironic smile, or questioning who in any given setting is the instructor and who is the pupil.”

Criticism
Marina Warner, Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights

“…explores the magical realm of the imagination where carpets fly and genies grant prophetic wishes. Stranger Magic examines the profound impact of the Arabian Nights on the West, the progressive exoticization of magic, and the growing acceptance of myth and magic in contemporary experience.”

Autobiography
Leanne Shapton,  Swimming Studies

“A collection of autobiographical sketches that explore the worlds of competitive and recreation swimming. From her training for the Olympic trials as a teenager, to meditative swims in pools and oceans as an adult, Shapton contemplates the sport that has shaped her life.”

Biography
Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson

“Examines Lyndon Johnson’s volatile relationships with John and Robert Kennedy, describes JFK’s assassination from Johnson’s viewpoint, and recounts his accomplishments as president before they were overshadowed by the Vietnam War.”

Nonfiction
Andrew Solomon, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity

“Explores the consequences of extreme personal differences between parents and children, describing his own experiences as a gay child of straight parents while evaluating the circumstances of people affected by physical, developmental, or cultural factors that divide families.”

Fiction
Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

“Asked to be part of the Dallas Cowboys’ halftime show on Thanksgiving, Specialist Billy Lynn, one of the eight surviving men of the Bravo Squad, finds his life forever changed by this event that causes him to better understand difficult truths about himself.”

(All book descriptions are from the respective publishers.)

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Read the Book Before You See the Movie

Many of the Best Picture Nominations at the Academy Awards this year were adapted from books.  The following books are available to read before (or after) you watch the movie:

 

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see the movie.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Lincoln based on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

In 2013 there are plenty of movies that will be coming out that are based on bestselling books.   These movies are all highly anticipated projects.  Some may even become Academy Award nominations. The complete list of movies based on books was found on TresSugar.

I have read the following books and I am looking forward to seeing the movie adaptations:

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  This is the first of 4 books in the young adult series.

Struggling to conceal her supernatural ability, a curse that has haunted her family for generations, Lena moves to Gatlin County’s infamous plantation and inexplicably draws the attention of Ethan, who has been haunted by dreams of an unknown girl.  Release Date  -  February 13

Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

For years, 38-year-old Portia Nathan has avoided the past, hiding behind her busy (and sometimes punishing) career as a Princeton University admissions officer and her dependable domestic life. Her reluctance to confront the truth is suddenly overwhelmed by the resurfacing of a life-altering decision, and Portia is faced with an extraordinary test. Just as thousands of the nation’s brightest students await her decision regarding their academic admission, so too must Portia decide whether to make her own ultimate admission.  Release Date – March 13

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A young man newly rich tries to recapture the past and win back his former love, despite the fact she has married.  Release Date – May 10

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins  The second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.  Release Date – November 22

I have not read the following two books but I am planning on reading them before I see the movies:

Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin

When master mechanic Peter Lake attempts to rob a mansion on the Upper West Side, he is caught by young Beverly Penn, the terminally ill daughter of the house, and their subsequent love sends Peter on a desperate personal journey.  Release Date – TBA

Serena by Ron Rash

Traveling to the mountains of 1929 North Carolina to forge a timber business with her new husband, Serena Pemberton champions her mastery of harsh natural and working conditions but turns murderous when she learns she cannot bear children.  Release Date – TBA

- posted by Evelyn, Readers’ Services

5 for The Edgar Awards

Last night the Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television. Five of the awards are listed below and you can find a full listing of winners and nominees at the MWA website.

Best Novel – Gone by Mo Hayder

Investigating a serial carjacker whose actual targets are young children in back seats, Jack Caffery teams up once again with police diver Sergeant Flea Marley, whose life is endangered by a discovery in an abandoned, half-submerged tunnel.

Best First Novel by an American Author – Bent Road by Lori Roy

After the 1967 riots in Detroit hit too close to home, Celia Scott and her family move back to her husband’s hometown in Kansas, where his sister died under mysterious circumstances 20 years before and where Celia and two of her children struggle to adjust–especially when a local girl disappears, sending the town into a whirlwind.

Best Paperback Original – The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett

After eleven union men are found dead in a trolley car in 1919, a man named Hayes must discover the truth behind the murders–and behind the McNaughton Corporation and the Evesden, the company town it built–before he meets a grim end.

Best Fact Crime – Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

A dramatic narrative account of the 20th President’s political career offers insight into his distinguished background as an impoverished wunderkind scholar and Civil War hero, his battles against the corrupt establishment and Alexander Graham Bell’s failed attempt to save him from an assassin’s bullet.

Best Critical/Biographical - On Conan Doyle: Or, the Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda

Combining memoir and appreciation, On Conan Doyle is a highly engaging personal introduction to Holmes’s creator, as well as a rare insider’s account of the curiously delightful activities and playful scholarship of The Baker Street Irregulars, the most famous and romantic of all Sherlockian groups.

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

5 for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction

Earlier this week the Pulitzer prizes were announced and the Fiction committee declined to choose a winner in that category, setting off a firestorm of comment and criticism.  Most observers were incredulous about the fact that that the committee could not find a book published in 2011 worthy of the prize.  At any rate, book lovers all over were deprived of being steered towards a good book to read while publishers and libraries are left without the sales and circulation jumps that the award generates.

If you were looking forward to reading this year’s prize winner why not try a winner you might have missed.  Here are five from years past (plus a bonus at the end):

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2008)

Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd, a New Jersey romantic who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fuku – the ancient curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2005)

As the Reverend John Ames approaches the hour of his own death, he writes a letter to his son chronicling three previous generations of his family, a story that stretches back to the Civil War and reveals uncomfortable secrets about the family of preachers.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (2001)

In 1939 New York City, Joe Kavalier, a refugee from Hitler’s Prague, joins forces with his Brooklyn-born cousin, Sammy Clay, to create comic-book superheroes. Out of their fantasies, fears, and dreams, Joe and Sammy weave the legend of that unforgettable champion the Escapist. And inspired by the beautiful and elusive Rosa Saks, they create the otherworldly mistress of the night, Luna Moth. As the shadow of Hitler falls across Europe and the world, the Golden Age of comic books has begun.

American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1998)

A former athletic star, devoted family man, and owner of a thriving glove factory, Seymour “Swede” Levov finds his life coming apart during the social disorder of the 1960s, when his beloved daughter turns revolutionary terrorist out to destroy her father’s world.

A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler (1993)

A collection of stories about Vietnamese immigrants living in Louisiana as they face love, loss, despair, and the challenges and conflicts of a new life.

Bonus: Over at The Morning News they have been running the Tournament of Books to coincide with basketball’s March Madness since 2005.  This year’s winner for books published in 2011 was “The Sisters Brothers” by Patrick deWitt, which I recommend very highly as a alternative to the nonexistent Pulitzer prize winner for fiction in 2011.

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Five for the Academy Awards

Quite a few of the films nominated to win an Oscar at the 84^th Academy Awards this Sunday, February 26, 2012, started out as books:

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Book Description:  Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors were financially and culturally progressive – one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners.  Now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control and his wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident and will soon be taken off life support. The Kings can hardly picture life without her, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them – and spurs them into surprising actions.

The film is nominated for Best Movie, Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Writing (Adaptation), Best Director (Alexander Payne).

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre

Book Description:  The man he knew as “Control” is dead, and the young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn’t quite ready for retirement- especially when a pretty, would-be defector surfaces with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence. Relying only on his wits and a small, loyal cadre, Smiley traces the breach back to Karla-his Moscow Centre nemesis-and sets a trap to catch the traitor.

The film is nominated for Best Actor (Gary Oldman), Best Music (Original Score), Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Book Description: Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

The film “Hugo” is nominated for Best Movie, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design

Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Book Description: Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager, is leading a revolution. Reinventing his team on a budget, he needs to outsmart the richer teams. He signs undervalued players whom the scouts consider flawed but who have a knack for getting on base, scoring runs, and winning games. Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball and a tale of the search for new baseball knowledge—insights that will give the little guy who is willing to discard old wisdom the edge over big money.

The film is nominated for Best Movie, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill),  Best Sound Mixing, Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

War Horse by Michael Morpugo

Book Description:  In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey’s courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer’s son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?

The film is nominated for:  Best Movie, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Music (Original Score), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

Other book based films nominated for awards this year:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer)for Best Movie, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Max von Sydow)

The Help (based on the book by Kathryn Stockett) for Best Picture, Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Octavia Spencer)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (based on the book by Stieg Larsson) for Best Actress (Rooney Mara), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Editing

The winners will be announced this Sunday, February 26, 2012 during the awards ceremonies to be televised beginning at 7PM Eastern Time.  You can see the complete list of all of this year’s nominees at the official site of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

-posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Nat’l Book Critics Circle Announces Nominees for 2011

The finalists for the National Book Critics Circle book awards for the publishing year 2011 were announced on Saturday, January 23, 2012.  The categories are Fiction, Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Biography, Criticism and Poetry.  The Fiction nominees are

Teju Cole – Open City

Feeling adrift after ending a relationship, Julius, a young Nigerian doctor living in New York, takes long walks through the city while listening to the stories of fellow immigrants until a shattering truth is revealed.

Jeffrey Eugenides – The Marriage Plot

Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while at the same time an old friend of hers resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is his destiny.

Alan Hollinghurst – The Stranger’s Child

Embraced by the family of his Cambridge schoolmate, Cecil Valance writes an inspiring poem in an autograph album that becomes a staple of every English classroom after he is killed during World War I.

Edith Pearlman – Binocular Vision

Presents a collection of short stories that focus on the trials and tribulations of a group of Northeasterners.

Dana Spiotta – Stone Arabia

Sharing a close bond that supersedes other relationships, Nic, a fiercely reclusive musician; and Denise, his dedicated sister and solitary audience member, become increasingly isolated in the wake of Nic’s obsessive work, a situation that grows vulnerable as the siblings age.

The awards finalists in the other categories can be seen at the National Book Critics Circle’s blog.  The winners will be announced on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

(All book descriptions are from the respective publishers.)

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

National Book Award Finalists

The winners of the 2011 National Book Awards will be announced on November 16, 2011.  Books in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature are nominated yearly for what might be the most prestigious book award given in the United States.

This year’s nominees are…

Fiction

Andrew Krivak, The Sojourn

Téa Obreht, The Tiger’s Wife

Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic

Edith Pearlman, Binocular Vision

Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones

Non-fiction

Deborah Baker, The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism

Mary Gabriel, Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution

Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

Manning Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

Lauren Redniss, Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout

The nominees in the categories of Poetry and Young People’s Literature can be seen here.

- posted by Sonia, Reader’s Services

A good week for J.K. Rowling

If you thought that Queen Elizabeth is the most influential woman in the U.K., you would be wrong.  A recent poll of magazine editors named Harry Potter creator, J.K. Rowling, to that honor (if you are interested, the Queen came in third after Rowling and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham).  Guess selling more 400 million copies of the Harry Potter books makes you pretty influential!

In the same week, Rowling received a bronze statue of the Ugly Duckling when she was named the recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award. This new award recognizes an author who can be compared with the Danish writer who wrote some 160 stories and poems including “The Little Mermaid” and “The Ugly Ducking” before his death in 1875.

In her acceptance speech (video), Rowling said that Andersen “understood that writing for children does not mean ‘pureeing’ what one would have written for adults… it ought not to be bland or sloppy or devoid of challenging ingredients” and praised his “indestructible, eternal characters”.

- posted by Brenda, Reference Services