Kirkus Best Nonfiction of 2021

Feast your eyes on Kirkus‘ Best Nonfiction of 2021! HOMO IRREALIS: Essays by André AcimanCAREFREE BLACK GIRLS: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture by Zeba BlayUNBOUND: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana BurkeLETTERS TO CAMONDO by Edmund de WaalENTERTAINING RACE: Performing Blackness in America by Know More » […]

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Extra! Extra!: August 2021 Book News

HERE ARE THE HEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THIS MONTH. The New York Times takes a look at Tracey Lange’s WE ARE THE BRENNANS and Oliver Burkeman’s FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS.  NPR talks DIRTY WORK. George Packer tells us what the pandemic exposed about America. RAZORBLADE TEARS has found its screenwriter. WAYWARD CHILDREN and the Capital Know More » […]

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Nonfiction Round-Up (6/9/21)

A critical look at the Second Amendment + an envisioned path toward overcoming injustices + a bold perspective on foreign policy + a guide for middle-aged white men who are suddenly awakening to race and racism + an in-depth look at the U.S. Coronavirus response = this nonfiction round-up. THE SECOND: Race and Guns in Know More » […]

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2013 National Book Critics Awards Finalists

2013 National Book Critics Awards Finalists

The National Book Critics Circle has named the finalists for its best books of 2013 and Macmillan is thrilled to have nine nominees from Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Bloomsbury!  

FICTION
SOMEONE by Alice McDermott

NONFICTION
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer

POETRY
METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
THE BOOK OF MY LIVES by Aleksandar Hemon
MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward

BIOGRAPHY
HOLDING ON UPSIDE DOWN: The Life and Work of Marianne Moore by Linda Leavell

CRITICISM
THE KRAUS PROJECT: Essays by Karl Kraus, translated and annotated by Jonathan Franzen
FORTY-ONE FALSE STARTS: Essays on Artists and Writers by Janet Malcolm

Click here to view the full list of nominees. Winners will be announced in a ceremony on Thursday, March 13, at 6:00 pm EST. Congratulations to all nominees! 

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Best Books of 2013!

Best Books of 2013!

We've had an amazing year in books and are thrilled to be represented on so many Best of 2013 lists. Here's a look at the highlights:
BOOKLIST

Arts & Literature
     IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD by Eve Ensler

Biography
     JACK LONDON by Earle Labor

Health & Medicine
     IN THE KINGDOM OF THE SICK by Laurie Edwards

History
     THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel 

Social Sciences
     EBONY AND IVY by Craig Steven Wilder
     GOSPEL OF FREEDOM by Jonathan Rieder
     HOPE AGAINST HOPE by Sarah Carr
     IN THE NAME OF GOD by Cameron Stauth
     THE UNWINDING by George Packer

Adult Books for Young Adults
  
     A CHANCE TO WIN by Jonathan Schuppe
     THE GAMAL by Ciarán Collins

Books for Youth 
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell
     IF YOU FIND ME by Emily Murdoch

Audio for Adults
 
     HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

 

KIRKUS REVIEWS 

Best Fiction
     LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY by Wilton Barnhardt
     BOX OFFICE POISON by Phillipa Bornikova
     GHOSTS OF BUNGO SUIDO by P.T. Deutermann
     MIDNIGHT by Kevin Egan
     JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS by Sebastian Faulks
     HAVISHAM by Ronald Frame
     TRANSCENDENTAL by James Gunn
     GOOD PEOPLE by Ewart Hutton
     SOMEONE by Alice McDermott  
     THE NIGHT GUEST by Fiona McFarlane
     SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT by Ian Tregillis
     THE LAND ACROSS by Gene Wolfe
     QUEEN VICTORIA’S BOOK OF SPELLS by Ellen Datlow 

Best Teen 
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell 

Best Nonfiction  
     THE GUNS AT LAST LIGHT by Rick Atkinson
     REPORT FROM THE INTERIOR by Paul Auster
     SHOUTING WON'T HELP by Katherine Bouton
     MORTAL SINS by Michael D'Antonio
     THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
     THE SEARCHERS by Glenn Frankel
     THE GREAT DISSENT by Thomas Healy
     THE BOOK OF MY LIVES by Aleksandar Hemon
     THE BROTHERS by Stephen Kinzer
     A FORT OF NINE TOWERS by Qais Akbar Omar
     THE UNWINDING by George Packer
     MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward
     EBONY AND IVY by Craig Steven Wilder

 

LIBRARY JOURNAL

Top 10 Best Books of 2013   
     THE SEARCHERS by Glenn Frankel 

More of the Best 
     JACK LONDON by Earle Labor
     OWNING THE EARTH by Andro Linklater

Best Books 2013: Memoir 
     HER by Christa Parravani

Best Books 2013: Consumer Health 
     MIDLIFE EATING DISORDERS by Cynthia M. Bulik 

Best Books 2013: Sci-Tech  
     BUG MUSIC by David Rothenberg

Best Books 2013: Audio  
     LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY by Wilton Barnhardt
     HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Top 10 Best Books of 2013  
     MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward  

Best Fiction  
     PERCIVAL EVERETT BY VIRGINIA RUSSELL by Virgil Russell
     SOMEONE by Alice McDermott

Best Mystery  
     HOUR OF THE RED GOD by Richard Crompton
     HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny
     ENIGMA OF CHINA by Qiu Xiaolong

Best Poetry  
     METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart
     INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist

Best SF/Fantasy/Horror  
     TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SCIENCE FICTION, edited by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden
     VICIOUS by V.E. Schwab

Best Comics
     THE PROPERTY by Rutu Modan

Best Nonfiction  
     MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward
     MORTAL SINS by Michael D'Antonio
     THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
     FORTY-ONE FALSE STARTS by Janet Malcolm
     SCARCITY by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir
     THE UNWINDING by George Packer

Best Children's Fiction  
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell

Best Religion  
     MY BRIGHT ABYSS by Christian Wiman


SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL  

Best Fiction
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell
     FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

LibraryReads logoAnd here are all of our LibraryReads’ selections from 2013:

September list 
     #1: FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell
     #2: HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

November list
     #2: THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS by Julia Spencer-Fleming
     #8: THE RAVEN'S EYE by Barry Maitland

December list 
     #7: DANGEROUS WOMEN, edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
     #9: THE TRIP TO ECHO SPRING by Olivia Laing

While it's not technically a "Best of 2013" list, NPR's Book Concierge is definitely a collection of favorites throughout the year. 

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2014 Community Reads Recommendations

2014 Community Reads Recommendations

FYE 2014 catalogAlthough our Academic Marketing division created the “Books for the First-Year Experience” for colleges and universities, we strongly believe that the titles featured in this catalog foster the sort of discussion and self-reflection that make library-led, city-wide reading programs so memorable.  

 

The updated catalog for 2014 is now available and features titles such as

 

 

RADIANCE OF TOMORROW by Ishmael Beah
MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward
THE UNWINDING by George Packer
WHAT MONEY CAN'T BUY by Michael Sandel
THE SUBMISSION by Amy Waldman

 

For more information about these books and other FYE titles, please visit the interactive website or download the catalog as a PDF. 

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The 2013 National Book Award finalists!

The 2013 National Book Award finalists!

Excuse us while we shout the good news from the rooftops, but we're so happy to have several finalists for the National Book Awards

Nonfiction
THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer

Poetry
METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart
INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist

See the full list of nominees here
Free e-books of excerpts from the finalists are available on the NBA website. Click here to download your copy. Winners will be announced on November 20. Congratulations to all nominees! 

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We’ve got 2013 National Book Award nominees! WooHoo!

We’ve got 2013 National Book Award nominees! WooHoo!

Over the course of this week the National Book Awards longlist was published and we are delighted to have several nominees! 

Longlist for Nonfiction

THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer
One of the finest political journalists of our generation, Packer weaves together complex narratives from the past three decades to create a riveting examination of a nation in crisis. It's already received three starred reviews, including this one from Booklist: "Packer offers an illuminating, in-depth, sometimes frightening view of the complexities of decline and the enduring hope for recovery."
Available in hardcover from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Longlist for Poetry

METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart
A vital, searching new collection from one of finest American poets at work today. "The poems of METAPHYSICAL DOG are at once emotionally bracing and full of intellectual reward. Bidart is widely admired by other influential poets; he seems in line for even more attention than he has received." --Publishers Weekly, starred review & PW Pick.
Available in hardcover from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist
The beautiful and inventive second book by the poet Mary Szybist, whose first book, GRANTED, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. "Whether or not readers are attuned to the religious content, these are gorgeous lyrics, in traditional and invented forms—one poem is a diagrammed sentence while another radiates from an empty space at the center of the page—which create close encounters with not-quite-paraphrasable truths. This is essential poetry." --Publishers Weekly, starred review & PW Pick.
Available in trade paperback from Graywolf Press

Longlist for Fiction

SOMEONE by Alice McDermott
The NBA nomination is another well-deserved accolade that this “stunning hymn to the ordinary” (More Magazine) has received in addition to being a PW Pick of the Week, September Indie Next selection and recipient of four starred pre-publication reviews. People gave it 3 ½ stars in the main review of the Sept. 16 issue and many others are singing McDermott's praises, including The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Elle, O Magazine, and NPR's Fresh Air.
Available in hardcover from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.


Finalists for the award will be announced on October 16 and the winners on November 20. Congratulations to all nominees!   [...]

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Starred Reviews for The Unwinding

Starred Reviews for The Unwinding

 

In THE UNWINDING George Packer, staff writer for The New Yorker, narrates the story of this America over the past three decades and tells the story of a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams.

So far the reviews have been exceptional:

"Readers experience three decades of change via the personal histories of an Ohio factory worker, a Washington political operative, a North Carolinian small businessman, and an Internet billionaire. [...] Packer has a keen eye for the big story in the small moment, writing about our fraying social fabric with talent that matches his dismay." —Publishers Weekly (starred review, Top 10: Politics)

"Exemplary journalism that defines a sobering, even depressing matter. A foundational document in the literature of the end of America—the end, that is, for the moment." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Packer offers an illuminating, in-depth, sometimes frightening view of the complexities of decline and the enduring hope for recovery." —Booklist (starred review)

Find out how to get whitelisted for e-galleys on Edelweiss and then download a review copy.

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