Vromans Bookstore Blog » awards

Some Excellent Book Stories

Patrick — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:20:40 +0000

Meatier posts coming tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out these links of goodness:

Jacket Copy looks at the rise of book clubs for men. “The first rule of the book club is you do not talk about the book club.”

From Metafilter: A discussion of the books people most like to argue about or proselytize for. The list includes Ayn Rand, of course, but also some generally agreed upon classics like 1984 as well as some well-regarded contemporary books such as Infinite Jest. (via The Morning News) I’m not sure what book I argue about most (maybe Gravity’s Rainbow), but I proselytize most for Wheat That Springeth Green and The Epicure’s Lament. If you haven’t read those two, you are likely to get an earful from me.

This is a few days old, but it’s still great: Inkwell Bookstore shows how DC Comics might want to rethink their cover art for “comics aimed at girls.”

Marilynne Robinson has won the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel Home.

An “I’m not at BEA” Round-up of Links

Patrick — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:06:20 +0000

Because I’m not. At BEA, that is.

Friend of Vroman’s Charlie White is featured at The Morning News. Also, if you haven’t gone yet, do check out the group show at the Hammer, Nine Lives. It features LA artists in a variety of media. Sunday is the last day to see it.

As others have noted, Alice Munro has won the Man Booker International Prize. The Guardian points out that many consider her “the greatest living short story writer.”

We neglected to mention it earlier this week, but Mark Sarvas, author of Harry, Revised and the popular lit blog The Elegant Variation, has had a daughter, Clara Grace Sarvas. Congratulations, Mark!

Elizabeth Strout, Annette Gordon-Reed, Jon Meacham, WS Merwin win Pulitzers

Patrick — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:46:43 +0000

The Pulitzer Prizes have been announced, and Elizabeth Strout has won the prize for fiction for her novel Olive Kitteredge. The other book winners are as follows:

Fiction – Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Random House)

Drama – Ruined by Lynn Nottage

History – The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (W.W. Norton & Company)

Biography – American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham (Random House)

Poetry – The Shadow of Sirius by W.S. Merwin (Copper Canyon Press)

General Nonfiction – Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon (Doubleday)

Congratulations to all this year’s winners. Certainly in fiction, the competition was very stiff.