NPR Book Reviews

Maureen Corrigan's Reviews of "Drood" and "Twilight"

The February 23 episode of Fresh Air on NPR offered reviews by book critic Maureen Corrigan of Dan Simmons' "Drood" as well as Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight." Click here to read and/or listen.

Get Kids Reading

I don't know where mystery writer James Patterson finds the time, he seems to have a new book out every six months, but he has created a great website to encourage kids to read. Take the time to check it out.


“One of the best ways to get kids reading is to find books they love,” Patterson explained to Publishers Weekly. “There are millions of kids who’ve never read a book they liked. I always say that if movies were taught in school and they started with Ingmar Bergman, we wouldn’t like movies.” His goal is to get kids reading by helping parents and educators choose books they won’t want to put down.

If you are a parent, grandparent, teacher or librarian, this site is a well organized place to find exactly what your young readers are craving from the best of the best illustrated books to great advanced reads. There is no pressure to buy, but if you do decide to make a purchase, the IndieBound Link is clearly visible. Better yet, stop in and visit us at Fig Garden Bookstore and let us help you choose.

PEN/Faulker Award

Awards: PEN/Faulkner Fiction Winner

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill has won the $15,000 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the New York Times said. The four finalists, who each receive $5,000, are: Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, A Person of Interest by Susan Choi, Lush Life by Richard Price and Serena by Ron Rash.

And the Oscars Go to...

And the Oscars Go to . . . Slumdog Millionaire

Movies based on books did superbly at last night's Oscars. Well, actually one movie based on a book did superbly, and a few other movies based on books had respectable evenings, too.

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars, capping a storybook run that echoed the theme of the movie itself. It won in a range of categories: best picture, directing, adapted screenplay, original score, film editing, original song, sound mixing and cinematography.

The film is based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, which is available in two tie-in versions, Slumdog Millionaire (Scribner, $15, 9781439136652) and Q&A (Scribner, $15, 978074326748)

Also available: Slumdog Millionaire: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Press, $19.95, 9781557048363/1557048363). Part of the Newmarket Shooting Script series, the book includes the complete script by Simon Beaufoy, a foreword by Beaufoy, an introduction by director Danny Boyle and a Q&A with Boyle on the making of the film.

In other awards for movies based on books--and a short story:

Kate Winslet won best actress for her role in The Reader, based on the book of the same name by Bernhard Schlink, translated by Carol Brown Janeway (Vintage International, $13.95, 978030745489).

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, won best art direction, makeup and visual effects. (It had been nominated for 13 awards.)

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t. -Penguin Group USA

I don't aways agree with the publishers reviews, needless to say they are always glowing, but this one is right on. I loved this book, it is addictively, compulsively readable, thought provoking and begging for discussion. I look forward to more from this talented author.

Kathi

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn sat in my "to be read stack" for quite a while, it was highly recommended, praised by Stephan King and Robert Parker and raved about by my Penguin sales rep. I put it off thinking another dog book, and this one narrated by a dog...could be pretty cheesey. I was wrong!

Chet is a dog who didn't quite complete his police training. "I'd been the best leaper in k-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn't remember exactly, although blood was involved". Bernie, a low key P.I. is his person/partner.

I loved this book, I laughed out loud, I read paragraphs to my family, I tried reading it to my dog! Even the mystery was quite good and ties up neatly at the end.

Even for the non-dog person, Chet's view of the world is entertaining and fun. I can't wait for the next in the series. I have even heard that the movies rights have already been sold.

Enjoy,

Kathi

Lost Library Book

It seems that the pilot who pulled off the miracle landing on the Hudson River on January 15th had to leave his library book behind when he abandoned his sinking jetliner. Sullenberger thought to call the Fresno State library to tell them what happened to the book and to request an extension of the time allowed for its return.

KMPH Fox 26 has the rest of the story:
You see, Sullenberger had packed the book in his luggage, which was on the plane at the time of the crash January 15th. That luggage has since been collected, with other debris of the crash, as part of a federal investigation.Being the good patron that he is, Sullenberger called the library and asked for an extension to get the book back, or at least a waiver of overdue or replacement fees. Sullenberger had received the Fresno State book through an interlibrary loan request at a library near his home in Danville.Fresno State took the request in stride, agreeing to forgive the overdue book, and even making plans to replace the book he checked out with a bookplate inside the cover of the copy dedicating the volume to Sullenberger.

Truely

How random that the last two books I read, "The Little Giant of Aberdeen County" by Tiffany Baker and "Eat, Drink and be from Mississippi" by Nancy Kincaid both have main characters named Truely! They were both great reads.

Kathi