My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge

The lovely people over at Estella’s Revenge have decided to challenge the readers of the world to a “My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge.”  The premise of the challenge is to get you to read authors and genres that intimidate you.  They have proposed a list and of course you can deviate from the list just choose other books/genres that intimidate you.  The challenge begins on January 1, 2008 click on the link above to sign up and enjoy the fun.  You will be able to participate in discussions regarding the selections and automatically enter yourself in the pool to win prizes.  So join in the fun!!!!!!!!!  

The 12 official novels by month

January: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens (since Estella is our namesake)
February: The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (African American)
March: Cat’s Eye, by Margaret Atwood (Atwood for Atwood’s sake)
April: Transformations, by Anne Sexton (Poetry)
May: Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote (Southern)
June: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (Russian)
July:The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier (adolescent)
August:Maus I and II, by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel, Pulitzer winner)
September:The Secret Lives of People in Love, by Simon Van Booy (Independent)
October: The Human Stain, by Philip Roth (Contemporary/Jewish)
November: A Month of Classic Short Stories, Various - watch for a list
December: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Dusty)

Cont’d Chris Power take on Short Stories

The Guardian’s Chris Power is continuing his series on The Survey of a Short Story.  Here are links to his posts.

Brief Survey Short Story Prt. 2

Brief Survey Short Story Prt.3

Brief Survey Short Story Prt.4

If you don’t learn anything at all from this series at least take away with you some of the notable authors of short stories and read their work.  I know for myself I have been able to create a list of short stories that I must read in the near future. 

Writers Revealed a Podcast for the Lit World

Are you looking for a show that highlights authors and their upcoming work? Do you want to go to an author event without leaving the house?  Check out Host Felicia Sullivan every Sunday @ 6pm EST/3pm PST as she interview authors about their work and delve into the back-story of each book.  You can also check out her website at www.writersrevealed.com to get the latest show schedule, win free books and participate in other events.

This Sunday she will discuss The Sabotage Cafe’ by Joshua Furst

   To hear the podcast go to http://www.nowlive.com/member.asp?id=100210775

And the winners of the National Book Awards are…….

Young People’s Literature Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown & Company) Photo © Rob Casey.

Poetry Robert Hass Time and Materials (Ecco/HarperCollins) Photo © Margaretta K. Mitchell, 2001.

Nonfiction Tim Weiner Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (Doubleday) Photo © Jessica D. B. Doyle.

Fiction Denis Johnson Tree of Smoke (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Photo © Cindy Johnson.

Tuesday Book Roundup

The Great Masai by Corinne Hofman

Ms. Hofmann tells the story of how she falls in love with an African warrior while on vacation in Kenya.  Over the course of time and overcoming obstacles she moves into a tiny hut with him and his mother and spends four years in his Kenyan village.

The Daring Book for Girlsby Andrea Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz

This book is the how-to manual on everything from secret-note passing skills, double dutch, the perfect cartwheel, friendship bracelets and science projects.

Sorcery & the Single Girl by Mindy Klasky

Jane Madison is a newly fledged witch trying to find her ground in the world.  She feels like a misfit and her powers are no help with her life issues.  Soon she is invited to join the exclusive  group Washington Coven.  Could this be a new start or a mistake?

National Book Awards: 5 under 35

The National Book Foundation for the second year, featured the next generation of fiction writers @ the “5 under 35″ party and reading on yesterday.

Writers recognized this year

Kristen Allio, Garner, Coffee House Press 2005

Dinaw Mengestu, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, Riverhead Books 2007

Asali Solomon, Get Down: Stories, Farrar/Straus/Giroux 2006

Anya Ulinich, Petropolis, Viking Press 2007

Charles Yu, Third Class Superhero, Harcourt 2006

 The group was chosen by NBA fiction authors who found the work promising.

 

The Man Booker Prize Goes To…..

Anne Enright was named the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction on Tuesday 16 October, for her book The Gathering.   Enright is the second Irish woman to win the prize.

Guardian Blogs about the “Survey of a Short Story”

The Guardian Books Blog, author Chris Power, is showcasing the survey of literature form we have grown to love: The Short Story.

“This is the first in a regular series of blogs that propose to offer a (very) partial survey of the short story, each post dealing with a single author who did or is doing something special with the form. In the interests of full disclosure I should point out that when I say “partial” I mean both “incomplete” and “biased”, and I hope I’ll get to hear dissenting opinions from you folks.”  Guardian Books Blog

Sam Savage Signs with Coffee House Press

News from Publishers Weekly

Coffee House Press, the venerable Minneapolis literary press, announced yesterday that it has sold all available world rights to Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife, a debut novel by Sam Savage, to the Spanish publishing house, Seix Barral. According to Allan Kornblum, the sale for a six-figure sum is the largest rights sale in Coffee House’s 23-year history. The deal was negotiated by Sandra Bruna, of the Sandra Bruna Agència Literària in Barcelona.

Read more of the article @ Publishers Weekly

The Meat & Spirit Plan by Selah Saterstrom

Here is a copy of my review published on Feminist Review.

The Meat & Spirit Plan