'Tis the season....

....for critics (and kibitzers) to announce their choices for the top, best, and notable books of the year. 

The Washington Post has its top and notable lists; The New York Times features its 10 best books and its 100 notable books; Publishers Weekly recommends its Best Books of the Year.  The Wall Street Journal prepared a bundle of lists for you to browse (including the "50 Friends"). Of the online sites, Slate.com has its staff favorites; the editors of Huffington Post knew what they liked. and Salon offers its "ultimate book guide". 

The library review journals are just gearing up: first off is our "own" Kirkus Reviews (founded by the late Virginia Kirkus Glick, a long-time Redding resident) with its best fiction and best nonfiction lists, followed by Library Journal, with its series of "Best of" lists.

May your busy holidays leave you time to enjoy at least one of the touted books!

mhd

Man Booker Prize announced - a first, a first, and a first

Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize for WOLF HALL, Hilary Mantel has won the 2012 Man Booker Prize for its sequel, BRING UP THE BODIES. In so doing she has achieved three firsts:  first British and first woman writer to win the prize twice; and first writer to win the prize for a sequel.  This series on Thomas Cromwell, the commoner who was Henry the Eighth's right-hand man, provides a riveting read about a compelling historical figure. One more book is planned; does Mantel have another first in her literary future?

Dan Stevens, "Downton Abbey" star and a 2012 Booker judge, talks about BRING UP THE BODIES and other titles on the Booker short list here.

By the Book

Here's a new source of ideas for choosing your next book to read: the "By the Book" feature in the  New York Times Book Review.  Authors in the news discuss what they've read lately. (You might be surprised!)

mhd

Cookbook Harvest

Autumn is the time for many new cookbook releases.  Perhaps it is the cooler weather that brings on thoughts of warm dishes and more time to spend in the kitchen.  Cookbooks are always popular at Mark Twain Library.  This month brings many new titles to tempt readers.  Our already bulging shelves are about to expand a bit more. 

Epicurious Cookbook

In Season

Place your holds on some of our brand new titles.  (By the way, library staff is always ready to be taste testers!) Want a particular cookbook added to the collection?  Let us know your ideas.

Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

Smitten Kitchen

Essential James Beard

J. K. Rowling speaks!

 

Here's a rare interview with one of the world's most popular authors, to mark the publication of her first book for adults.

Everyone's an expert

These days everyone's an expert on what to read - and that's the way we librarians like it!

At the Mark Twain, we've started Pinterest boards that feature patron recommendations as well as librarian suggestions.

But we don't limit ourselves to home-grown testimonials.  Beth recently described the remarkably popular NPR listeners' polls, which have identified 100 of the best-ever teen novels (2012), the top 100 science fiction and fantasy novels (2011), and 100 "killer-thrillers" (2010).

Perhaps you're looking for something a little more substantive.  You could try one of the "Books That Shaped America", the focus of a Library of Congress exhibit this summer.

Or you could be a contrarian and read one of the 373 books that did NOT win the National Book Award for Fiction. Quite a few illustrious authors (Hemingway, Nabokov, Vonnegut, Morrison...) wrote novels that were nominated but did not go on to win.  The National Book Foundation has put together an online exhibit to bring these "contenders" the attention they deserve.

Then again, maybe you'd like to try the FiveBooks Interview feature in the The Browser, which offers book suggestions each week from experts on different topics.  The choices are intriguing, as are the reasons for selecting them.

Do you have a favorite source for reading recommendations? Let us know and we'll feature it in a future blog entry.

Mary Hoskinson-Dean

Best Teen Books

NPR recently polled listeners for the best ever teen fiction.  The results of their poll indicate that young adult  literature is popular not only among teens, but among adults as well.  In fact, NPR points out   that a  "whopping 75,220 voted ..., blasting past the total for last year's science fiction and fantasy poll at, dare we say it, warp speed."

 Harry Potter and the Hunger Games trilogy top the list.  A bit surprisingly the classic To Kill a Mockingbird is #3.   By far, the most popular current male author writing for a teen audience is John Green. 

Here's the complete list; you'll find these books and more by searching the library's catalog.