Malla Nunn
A brief but revealing Q&A with Malla Nunn, author of A Beautiful Place to Die, the first in a new series set in 1950s South Africa starring Detective Emmanuel Cooper.
Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo and Yoko Tanaka, the illustrator of The Magician's Elephant, discuss the writing and illustrating of the book. In a separate Q&A, Kate discusses The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
Brigid Pasulka
Brigid Pasulka explains why she wrote her first novel, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True, which is set in Poland during World War II, and in Kraków 50 years later.
11/5/2009: I absolutely loved the books "Case Histories" and "One Good Turn" by Kate Atkinson and could not wait for the 3rd book in the series. Unfortunately, I just did not find it as interesting. Kate continues an write the best characters in the mystery genre, especially Jackson Brodie, but the story just wasn't as good as she normally writes. However, an average book by Kate Atkinson is going to be so much better than other books in this genre. Kate has great humor and has...
11/4/2009: A gripping and fascinating adventure of one young girl's obsession with knowing who her parents really were/are. The delving into the idea of Dracula as a modern day belief so early on in the book, initially can make the reader skeptical; however, I felt the execution (excuse the pun) of it was indeed intoxicating. I especially loved the lesser character of the mother`s mother, the reader gets a sense of organic narrative as though we are sitting down at her humble kitchen table, and being...
10/31/2009: I borrowed Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell from the library, hoping it would be a lively story of two feuding wizards. Instead, the author spends so much time explaining magic (history, theory and practice) that the characters fail to develop beyond this one aspect of their lives. The true disappointment for me was the unusual ending. How could a knowledgeable wizard get into such a mess?
That said, the author does successfully create a magical England separate from the one we know from...
10/25/2009: Growing up in West Virginia where coal miners and their families struggled to make a living, I loved Bragg's descriptions of the country surrounding and the lives of the poor. The respect for the south and the struggle of the poor is in every sentence of this book. He treated his characters (family) with respect. I loved it. It warmed my heart. Bragg took me home for a brief time and made me smile...
10/25/2009: The first page offered surprising futuristic ideas, compelling me to continue reading. However, as soon as the author referred to the "eastern shore" not capitalizing E and S, I had my doubts but was willing to allow for his choice of designation for the nine counties east of the Chesapeake Bay. I found his character development unusually diverse and rich, and shortly I was able to picture Liz, Linus, Lenwood, Kathleen, Amber, Clarence and the Patty Cannon gang as though I knew them...
10/19/2009: The Takeshima family experiences several life changing events that turns their world upside down as they are forced to move from a Japanese community in Iowa to southern Georgia in the 1950's. The inseparable sisters, Lynn and Katie, discover the world through friendship, dreams, poverty, and discrimination; but the love that bonds them together remains unbroken as their family life is interrupted by an addition to the family and a change in their parent's employment conditions which allows...
10/18/2009: What an amazing book. It should be required reading for everyone too young to remember the racial injustice and turmoil of the 1960s. In addition to simply having something important to say, The Help is exceptionally well-written. All the characters are three-dimensional, even the minor ones, and everything about it feels agonizingly real. My only complaint is that it ended too soon; I wasn’t ready to leave the marvelous women at this book’s...
10/17/2009: I loved this book. The immature, childish, innocent narration leads to a horrifying, frightful ending, in which you wouldn't expect. This book left me shaken and telling myself, "That actually happened to people." It was my eye opener to the holocaust. It was clever and interesting the way they portrayed the main character, Bruno. He is a very real, innocent 9-year-old, not knowing the horrors that are right in front of him. After a while, you forget that these people are...
10/14/2009: This book is for the discriminating reader who enjoys exquisitely written, softly beautiful prose, and who does not require an action-packed plot to appreciate a book. The subject is not upbeat, and yet the reader has a sense of sober satisfaction at the end, somehow. What transpires in the novel appeals almost entirely to one's intellect, but the story and the story within the story are emotionally rich as well. This was one of my top five reads for last year, and makes my top thirty or forty...
10/12/2009: Say You're One of Them is in a word, haunting. I read each paragraph, afraid, anxious of the next. I found myself objecting out loud, rooting for the children, not wanting to believe that the evil would prevail. This is the most important book I've ever read. It humbled me and the "obstacles" I face in this country. To me, Africa is synonymous with God, especially the way the world, as a whole, has failed them both. This is a must read for anyone who has seen the African struggle on...
10/12/2009: For years I have been looking for a book that would make me feel the same emotions as I felt when I read "To Kill and Mockingbird", and this book is definitely it. I laughed, I cried, I felt deep concern for the characters, I could not put it down until it was finished. I grew up in the South without a maid, but was aware of them through friends and other family members. To say I fell in love with Skeeter, Abilene and Minny does not seem to describe how much I wanted to share...
10/12/2009: Stolen Child is a great book, and recommend to all ages. The book is at first tedious, but then you get to the core and you can't wait to see what comes next, and you began to see the real story behind it all, the alienation folds away, and there are human emotions. The book was a masterpiece, they way he made you feel so alienated at the beginning then you see and feel as the child and changeling might.
A brilliant...
10/11/2009: I read this book in celebration of Banned Book Week (2009-09-26 through 2009-10/03). I'm not entirely sure why it would have been a challenged novel, as the future it paints is so distant that I personally believe children in its intended age group would be unlikely to find it disturbing, but then again, I'm not a parent.
One of the more interesting aspects of the novel is the way the reader is initially led to believe the characters live in a utopia; only gradually is it revealed what...
9/26/2009: I read the book a couple months ago and started reading it again. I found it so full of useful information. I am an advocate for wild, healthy oceans and have done volunteer work with the Ocean Conservancy and Monterey Bay aquarium for the past 18 years. As a recreational fisherman, seafood lover, and diver, I found the book very informative and read it from cover to cover. I've just started reading it again and plan on using some of the information to call into a local morning talk show about...
9/15/2009: I read this book after my two teenage daughters had read it and told me about it. I cried through the entire story and was haunted by it for many months. The three of us discussed it with each other almost on a daily basis for a very long time because none of us could get it out of our minds. At the time, my son was about the same age that Dave was when the abuse began and the three of us couldn't imagine that kind of horror being placed upon a boy of that age or any age, for that matter....
A spellbinding novel that spans the Victorian era through the World War I years, and centers around a famous children's book author and the passions, betrayals, and secrets that tear apart the people she loves.
A novel on the anxiety and disconnection of post-9/11 America, on the insidiousness of racism, the blind-sidedness of war, and the recklessness thrust on others in the name of love.
Jeannette Walls's memoir The Glass Castle was "nothing short of spectacular" (Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant.
A gripping and fascinating adventure of one young girl's obsession with knowing who her parents really were/are. The delving into the idea of ...
read more
I borrowed Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell from the library, hoping it would be a lively story of two feuding wizards. Instead, the author spends ...
read more
Borders to close 200 Waldenbooks outlets(Nov 06 2009) As Barnes & Noble prepares to close all but two of their B. Dalton mall stores by January 2010, Borders announced that they will close about 200 of the...
Full Story
NPR & ABA Partner to Share Book Coverage(Nov 05 2009) In a joining of like minds, NPR and ABA have partnered to provide thoughtful bestsellers and unique book coverage to readers, both on NPR.org and...
Full Story
