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The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is ready to give out their rad silver skull-and-puzzle piece award again. And the finalists are: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley A Quiet Belief in Angels, by R.J. Ellroy The Dark Horse, by Craig Johnson The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Steig Larsson The Ghosts of Belfast, [...]

The American Indian Library Association announced the winners of their American Indian Youth Literature awards: Best Picture Book A Coyote Solstice Tale, by Thomas King, illustrated by Gary Clement Best Middle School Meet Christopher: An Osage Indian Boy from Oklahoma, by Genevieve Simermeyer, photographs by Katherine Fogden Best Young Adult Book Between the Deep Blue [...]

This morning, the winners of ALA’s most prestigious youth media awards were announced in Boston. Below are some quick links to Booklist reviews of the winners — for the full list, consult the official press release. And keep your eye on Booklist Online, where we’ll soon be posting fully hyperlinked awards, honors, and lists. Newbery  Medal When You Reach [...]

And to think it all started with a plucky little mash-up called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In her review, Mary Ellen Quinn asked, with tongue firmly in cheek, “What’s next? Wuthering Heights and Werewolves?” Not a bad guess, but the next offering was actually Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Since the public’s appetite for good [...]

On Tuesday the Association of Jewish Libraries announced their 2010 Sydney Taylor Award Winners. Three category winners were selected: Young Readers New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story, by April Halprin Wayland; Illustrated by Stephanie Jorish Older Readers The Importance of Wings, by Robin Friedman Teen Readers Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba, by Margarita [...]

Many of us feel helpless in the face of catastrophes, especially one as devastating as the earthquake that hit Haiti Tuesday, January 12. We can make donations to humanitarian efforts, and we can channel our compassion by learning more about a place we perhaps know little about.  Stories help us connect with the “common humanity” President Obama reminds us of, [...]

Got a press release the other day touting Virtually Dead by Peter May, a thriller author who purportedly has a Brando-style dedication to what I guess you’d call “method writing.” Supposedly May has infiltrated the Beijing police, been inducted as a “Chevalier of French wines,” and is currently shadowing a top chef–all in the name [...]

I wouldn’t even attempt to parse the political motives behind the flap over whether Senator Harry Reid (D, NV) should resign his seat because of his alleged comment that Barack Obama was a strong candidate to be the nation’s first black president because he is fair-skinned and speaks well, all reported in Game Change, by [...]

Three  titles were announced as finalists for the Story Prize: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, by Daniyal Mueenuddin Drift, by Victoria Patterson Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, by Wells Tower The winner will be announced on March 3rd.

When it comes to embargoed books, we Booklisters can’t always wait until we get our copies by snail mail – sometimes we have to buy the book to get our take to you ASAP. So, Monday morning, I stepped off the train and hurried into the first open bookstore I could find to pick up a copy of Game Change by [...]