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The Audio Publishers Association announced finalists for the 2011 Audies. The list of potential winners includes Laura Bush and Alfre Woodward in best solo vocal performance. In the fiction category we have the following nominees: Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen, Narrated by Hope Davis, Simon & Schuster Audio Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett, [...]

Last June — right here, as a matter of fact — I mentioned that Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand’s 1957 doorstop-sized novel, was being made into a two-part feature film. The trailer is now online: I have to say — ouch, this hurts — I think I might have been wrong. I called the novel “utterly [...]

The 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Prize judges have announced finalists and two winners. Beverly Cleary is to receive the Robert Kirsch award and Powell’s Books will get the Innovator’s award. As for finalists, the novel category, for which our own Donna Seaman served as a judge, will be a close one: Fiction Nashville Chrome, by Rick Bass [...]

Actually, that should read, Children’s Book Illustrator Draws Colorful Response to Martin Amis. Amis’ remark last week that “If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children’s book” has drawn a firestorm of criticism (including one verbal slap from a children’s author who does have brain damage), but few as entertaining as [...]

In last week’s REaD ALERT, I offered an update on my resolution to read more widely (or wildly) in 2011 and shared my shortlist–the books I plan to start with. Given my reviewing schedule, I may get no farther than that, although I hope to. If I do get farther, I’ll have no shortage of [...]

I received an e-mail yesterday about the Byook, which promises a “new reading experience.” Given that claims of revolutionary new reading experiences are becoming increasingly common, I’ll let history be the judge.  I’m just excited to have a new another made-up word to add to my list of unfavorites: vook, blook, wovel, poegel . . . and now [...]

I’ve written thousands of reviews for Booklist over the last 30-plus years, but I don’t think I’ve ever written one where there wasn’t something left unsaid. When your reviews rarely exceed 200 words, the cutting-room floor is always well carpeted with points that might have been made, phrases that might have been turned. Perhaps most [...]

According to this article at The Hollywood Reporter, Stephen King’s 1978 post-apocalyptic plague novel The Stand is coming to a movie theater near you. The Stand, which was more than 800 pages long in its original incarnation, and more than 1000 in its 1990 “complete and uncut” reissue, is one of King’s best novels. Rich [...]

In 1997, Booklist hosted a party for Margaret McElderry on the occasion of her 50th year in publishing. She also did an interview with us in which she reminisced about her long and storied career: how she was initially was told by a career counselor she had nothing to offer publishing; the camaraderie she enjoyed [...]

However a person might feel about the great debate regarding public school reform (vouchers, charters, etc.), the idealism – at least – of Teach for America seems to be broadly admired. It’s regarded as the education equivalent of the Peace Corps. During the holiday season I had the pleasure of meeting one of its members, [...]