Have you heard about “The Great American Read” yet? It’s an eight-part series airing on PBS, starting May 22, that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey). Here are the Macmillan titles included: DUNE by Frank Herbert GILEAD by Marilynne […]
Tag: Jack London
Maximum Shelf: THE PLOVER
“I must have wanted to write a sea novel for years—I just adored Stevenson and Kipling and Conrad and Jack London and voyage-logs and sea stories and KON-TIKI as a boy.”
— Brian Doyle on his inspiration for THE PLOVER
We're very excited about THE PLOVER by Brian Doyle, which continues the story of Declan O Donnell from one of Doyle's previous novels, MINK RIVER. It's an April Indie Next pick, and is this week's Maximum Shelf Awareness feature (we're pretty crazy about it, too).
“THE PLOVER is a fun ride with meaning and heart, lots of it, as well as jokes, scares, storms at sea, surprises, magic, absurdity—and humanity, exuberant joyful humanity.” — Shelf Awareness
See the full summary, review and interview with Brian Doyle on Shelf-Awareness.com.
Get whitelisted and download your e-galley on Edelweiss.
Praise for THE PLOVER:
“Doyle has written a novel in the adventurous style of Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson but with a gentle mocking of their valorization of the individual as absolute. Readers will enjoy this bracing and euphoric ode to the vastness of the ocean and the unexpectedness of life.”
— Library Journal, starred review
“In near stream of consciousness, wave upon wave of words tumbles out in long, beautifully rendered, description-packed sentences... A rare and unusual book and a brilliant, mystical exploration of the human spirit.”
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A jack of all literary trades, Doyle augments his impressive oeuvre with this whimsical dreamscape of a nautical adventure about desolation and friendship. A joyous journey of discovery.” — Booklist
“Every sentence Doyle writes about the ocean smacks of authenticity...”
— Publishers Weekly
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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
And 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.
[...]
Banned Books Week 2013!
Banned Books Week (Sept. 22-28) is upon us once again librarian friends!
This is the week to read and re-read all your favorite banned and challenged books.
If you're feeling inspired to read aloud, we highly recommend that you submit a banned book reading video on the Virtual Read-Out page on YouTube. And don't forget to join the conversation on Twitter today (Monday) 9/23 from 10 am - Noon and Wednesday 9/25 from Noon - 2 pm using the hashtag #BannedBooksWeek2013.
Let's keep fighting for our FREADOM!
[...]
Banned Books Week 2011!
Welcome to Banned Books Week, librarian friends!
This is the week to re-read and recommend all your favorite banned and challenged books. And if you're feeling inspired to read aloud, we highly recommend that you submit a banned book reading video the the Virtual Read-Out page on YouTube.
If you finish all of your favorite banned books before Friday, we recommend two excellent author biographies that uphold the spirit of the week: AND SO IT GOES, the first authoritative biography of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and JUST ONE CATCH, an illuminating biography of Joseph Heller.
[...]
