Blog posts
The Little Books of Fall: 2009 Edition
This a.m. several of my colleagues whom I follow on Twitter have been grumbling about those ubiquitous Big Books of Fall lists that are popping up like so many humidity-forced mushrooms. How many times, O Creator, can we hear about "The Lost Symbol?" Yes, Dan Brown has a new book, and many of you will read it...
But I've never followed Pied Pipers, and I didn't like "The Da Vinci Code" (yes, I said it, and I'm not sorry). My must-read list for fall is slightly different, although by no means obscure. I just think it's high time that someone put together a list that tells you something you might not hear everywhere else.
So, with little (ba-da-bing) fanfare, here are The Book Studio's Top Ten Little Books of Fall for 2009. How did I decide these were THE Little Books of Fall? Not only have I perused or thoroughly read each one, each has something so memorable about its story, genesis, or hook.
Read more »
Submitted by Bethanne on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 2:34pm "31 Hours" by Masha Hamilton
A mother's intuition, they often say, is strong. In the case of Carol, it is strong enough to propel an entire plot. Carol wakes up one day worried about her son Jonas, who has been strangely detached and out of touch for the past months, despite the fact that mother, son, and father (also ex-husband of Carol's) all live in the New York City metropolitan area.
Read more »Best of 2009 Roundtable: The Critics Speak
I'm going to push this one live without too much commentary for the moment, because I want everyone to have the chance to watch and laugh along with me, Ron Charles (fiction editor for The Washington Post), Louis Bayard (book reviewer and bestselling author), and Maureen Corrigan (book reviewer for NPR's Fresh Air).
Try to stay until the very end, because we do discuss...#fembook! Why weren't more women on the Best of 2009 lists? Some interesting opinions, here.
I hope you'll let me know what you think of this roundtable, because we'd love to have this group back to The Book Studio. If you prefer to email rather than leave a comment: thebookmaven at gmail dot com. Thanks!
Read more »The Book Maven's Top 10 Books of 2009
Choosing my Top Ten books of the year has been agonizing. I wish I had an office full of colleagues to argue with, but for this year at least the list is all my responsibility.
You'll note that many of these books appeared on The Book Studio in one way or another. For some, I conducted interviews with the authors; for others, I wrote reviews. That is not deliberate deck-stacking; it's a function of the fact that I try very hard to choose books that I believe will be strong -- but also books that intrigue me and that I want to read.
Read more »
Post new comment