#fiction
#fiction

This month's best paperbacks: Salman Rushdie, Greta Thunberg and more

The novel Victory City by Salman Rushdie is an abridged translation of the epic poem Jayaparajaya, documenting the history of the Vijayanagara empire in south India.

The novel portrays the Vijayanagara empire as a hub of art, new ideas, and economic power, but also a place filled with intrigue, rival factions, and foreign wars. [ more ]

The Atlantic

The Dream of a United Korea

History is a subjective and elusive concept that depends on one's perspective.

Same Bed Different Dreams is an alternative account of 20th-century Korea that combines fact and fiction. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Where to start with: Franz Kafka

Kafka's lesser-known writings have reached wide audiences, making it overwhelming for new readers to know where to start. [ more ]

The New Yorker

1 month ago

Writing

Kevin Barry Reads "Finistere"

Kevin Barry is a renowned author of fiction with several published works.

Barry's new novel 'The Heart in Winter' is set to be released in July. [ more ]

The Atlantic

1 month ago

Choosing America's Greatest Novels

The list includes 136 fiction works from the past 100 years

The canon of significant novels is always fluid and subject to change. [ more ]

San Francisco Bay Times

SF LGBT

Lit Snax: 2.22.24 - San Francisco Bay Times

Exploration of queer history through hidden stories

Diverse themes like sister rivalry, ghosts, and runaways in North Woods [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

The Book Review's Best Books Since 2000

Discover a curated list of notable fiction and nonfiction books from 2000 to 2023, covering various genres and topics. [ more ]

The New Yorker

Addie Citchens Reads "That Girl"

Addie Citchens reads her story "That Girl" from the magazine issue

Citchens is a Mississippi Delta-born, New Orleans-based writer with work published in various publications [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Paul Murray and Fern Brady win inaugural Nero book awards

Irish writer Paul Murray and comedian Fern Brady are the winners of their respective categories in the inaugural Nero book awards.

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray won in the fiction category, while Strong Female Character by Fern Brady won in the nonfiction category. [ more ]

www.esquire.com

Kelly Link Discusses 'The Book of Love'

The Book of Love by Kelly Link is a highly praised novel that is compared to Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

The novel is set in a fictional town called Lovesend, Massachusetts, and explores themes of love, death, and the supernatural. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi review a wild ride through Prague

Helen Oyeyemi's latest novel is a story about stories, with Prague as the backdrop and the idea that reading is subjective.

The novel explores themes of love, history, and identity, with formal experimentation and narrative instability. [ more ]

www.npr.org

Move over, senior center these 5 books center seniors

Fiction about older women is increasingly popular and captivating

These books focus on women who refuse to conform to stereotypes and are still vibrant and surprising [ more ]

Electric Literature

15 Small Press Books You Should Be Reading This Winter - Electric Literature

Small press publishing offers rich and inventive books with attention to craft.

Food plays a central role in the memoir 'Colorful Palate' and shows its emotional and cultural significance. [ more ]

The Verge

The Verge's favorite books from 2023

Books are still a popular form of entertainment and learning

The Verge staff recommend a range of books from science fiction novels to autobiographies to lessons on drawing [ more ]

New York Post

Best books of 2023: Top 30 must-read titles from the past year

A 624-page novel skewers Gen X cynicism, self-care devotion, cancel culture, and conspiracy theories online.

A gripping read that combines mystery and a moving narrative. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

The best fiction of 2023

Paul Murray's book, The Bee Sting, has received enthusiastic feedback and combines humor and irony with sadness.

Other notable books of the year include Prophet Song, Birnam Wood, The Fraud, Tremor, and Old God's Time. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

The best fiction of 2023

Paul Murray's book, The Bee Sting, has been well-received and recommended by many.

Other notable books mentioned include Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, The Fraud by Zadie Smith, Tremor by Teju Cole, and Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry. [ more ]

The New Yorker

Briefly Noted Book Reviews

Forgottenness is a novel that connects two characters separated by a century: a present-day Ukrainian writer and a twentieth-century Polish Ukrainian nationalist.

Baumgartner is a slender, ruminative novel about a professor mourning his wife's death and struggling to make sense of his life. [ more ]

time.com

National Book Awards Spotlight Overlooked Communities and Celebrate Self-Expression

Justin Torres' novel Blackouts won the National Book Award for fiction.

The nonfiction prize was awarded to Ned Blackhawk's The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History.

Dan Santat's A First Time for Everything won the award for young people's literature. [ more ]

Scientific American

55 Books Scientific American Recommends in 2023

The Scientific American staff recommends a variety of books in fiction, nonfiction, history, and sci-fi genres.

Some notable books mentioned include 'A City on Mars,' which explores the idea of space settlements and their potential risks, and 'Eight Bears,' which takes readers on a global exploration of bears' stories. [ more ]

Block Club Chicago

Chicago

Chicago Review Of Books Announces 2023 Award Winners

The Chicago Review of Books announced the winners of its annual awards in categories like fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essay/short story.

The awards honor works published by authors from the Chicago area's literary community. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

The 10 Best Books of 2023

The article discusses the process of selecting the best books of the year.

The author mentions that the list includes five fiction and five nonfiction books.

The article provides links to other notable books and previous best book lists. [ more ]

morenonfiction

Fast Company

2 weeks ago

Black Lives Matter

'These environments pit people against each other': Playwright Ife Olujobi on being the only Black person at work

Fiction can reveal painful truths of marginalization in the workplace. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Bold', extremely fun', luminously written': the best Australian books out in March

Le's '36 Ways' dismantles violence of empire, history, language while reclaiming poetic traditions and interiority

Jim Moginie's 'The Silver River' explores Midnight Oil's journey and the human cost of the music industry

Gail Jones' 'One Another' meditates on guilt, displacement, and imagination in a luminously written style [ more ]

Electric Literature

What You Should Be Reading This Winter According to Indie Booksellers - Electric Literature

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue receives high praise for its originality and storytelling.

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino is quirky, funny, and relatable to those who feel different. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor review relentlessly inventive

The novel blends different time periods seamlessly.

The protagonist's tattoos symbolize connections to stories. [ more ]

www.eater.com

The Best Food Books to Read This Spring

Spring brings a variety of new food-related books, from cozy novels to compelling memoirs.

One notable release is The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi review a wild ride through Prague

Helen Oyeyemi's latest novel explores the themes of love, history, and identity, while also challenging the act of reading and the subjectivity of interpretation.

The story is set in Prague and features characters who slip and transmute, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

The novel incorporates formal experimentation and narrative instability, adding to its unique storytelling style. [ more ]

Eater

The Best Food Books to Read This Spring

Spring brings a new crop of food-related books, from cozy novels to compelling memoirs.

One book to look out for is 'The Paris Novel' by Ruth Reichl, a highly anticipated fiction endeavor from a food critic and writer. [ more ]

www.esquire.com

Kelly Link Discusses 'The Book of Love'

The Book of Love by Kelly Link is described as a masterpiece and an extraordinary comfort read.

The novel combines nuanced relationships, local history, cosmic mythology, and hidden magic in a detailed and immersive small-town setting. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Secure, affordable homes are the stuff of fiction': how young writers are responding to the UK housing crisis

The novel, The Lodgers, explores the eerie psychic state created by perpetual precarious housing.

The UK's housing crisis is being addressed in several forthcoming novels. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Day by Michael Cunningham; The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez review tales from the Covid era

Novelists have been quick to respond to the pandemic with fictional works.

Two new novels take contrasting approaches to depicting the pandemic in New York. [ more ]

Document Journal

Ottessa Moshfegh writes not what we asked for, but what we need

Ottessa Moshfegh's fiction explores the dark side of human nature, delving into violent impulses and disjointed logic.

The protagonists in Moshfegh's novels are difficult to love but hypnotizing to watch, drawing readers into their depraved and self-destructive lives. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Day by Michael Cunningham; The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez review tales from the Covid era

The pandemic has quickly become a subject for fiction, with many authors responding to it in their work.

Two new novels, 'Day' by Michael Cunningham and another novel set in New York, explore contrasting narrative approaches to the pandemic period. [ more ]

Public Books

Life inside the Fiction Factory: Dan Sinykin on Conglomerate Publishing

Changes in the publishing industry shape the books readers have access to

The traditional narrative of authors driving trends in publishing is not accurate [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

This month's best paperbacks: Haruki Murakami, Sophie Mackintosh and more

Tom Crewe's debut novel, The New Life, is a richly embodied historical novel that explores themes of sexuality and morality.

Crewe expertly dramatizes moral dilemmas and conflicts between private and public acts of courage and enlightenment. [ more ]

The Atlantic

The Literature of Exile

Exile serves as a powerful engine for fiction, allowing writers to gain an intimate proximity to a new society while still standing at a distance from it.

The duality of being an exile, both inside and outside, is also the superpower of the novelist, allowing them to capture unique perspectives and experiences. [ more ]

PublishersWeekly.com

Book Deals: Week of January 15, 2024

Nidhi Pugalia at Viking has acquired the world rights to Gracie Marsden's historical feminist fantasy novel

Avon has acquired world English rights to Amy James's debut romance novel in a two-book deal [ more ]

PublishersWeekly.com

Book Deals: Week of January 8, 2024

Niki Papadopoulos at Portfolio has acquired Jennifer Wallace's book, Mattering, which explores the concept of 'mattering' and its impact on various areas of life.

Grove Atlantic has acquired the rights to Ingvild Rishøi's international bestseller, Brightly Shining, a story about hardship and survival set during Christmas in Oslo. [ more ]

The Paris Review

The Art of Fiction No. 184

Barry Hannah is known for his stunning and painful prose, raucous characters, and furious energy in his early fiction.

Hannah's work is characterized by postmodern complexities, graphic violence, humor, and a focus on language and voice rather than strict plot. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

The ultimate summer reading list: 15 funny books to make you laugh

Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is a must-read for fans of satirical, fantasy novels

Nora Ephron's essays provide funny and profound insights into womanhood and aging [ more ]

The Nation

Susan Taubes's Uncanny Chronicles of Domestic Hell

Taubes's fiction blurs reality and hallucination, exploring themes of marriage and loneliness.

Taubes was overlooked for decades but gained recognition with the reissue of her novel Divorcing in 2020. [ more ]

The Paris Review

Writing

The Art of Fiction No. 207

Jonathan Franzen's fiction reflects his Midwestern upbringing and the impact of the outside world on quiet lives.

Franzen's latest novel, Freedom, received rapturous reception but also faced criticism and backlash. [ more ]

The New Yorker

1 year ago

Writing

The Best Books of 2023

The New Yorker has chosen a dozen essential reads in nonfiction and a dozen in fiction and poetry for 2023.

The collection 'Grand Tour' by Gonzalez combines reflections on art and history with observations of everyday life. [ more ]

Tech.co

Artificial intelligence

Experts' Predictions for the Future of Tech in 2024

Octavia Butler's novel Parable of the Sower, set in 2024, accurately predicted social and environmental issues that we are currently facing.

Industry experts and tech leaders predict an increase in AI-related developments in 2024, including more corporate standardization and predictive security measures. [ more ]

WSJ

A Year in Reading: Our Favorite Books of 2023

Reviewers have shared thoughts on hundreds of books over the past year.

End-of-year guides to the most noteworthy and fascinating reading of 2023 are available. [ more ]

www.npr.org

Design

NPR staffers share their fiction picks from Books We Love

Four NPR staffers recommend fiction books from the Books We Love list.

The recommended books are 'Land of Milk and Honey,' 'Western Lane,' 'The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece,' and 'The Covenant of Water.' [ more ]

Brooklyn Eagle

2023 in books: Protests, bannings and the rise of AI helped shape the story of publishing

Book sales in 2023 saw a decline, but fiction, especially in the romantasy genre, remained strong.

Notable literary highlights included award-winning novels and nonfiction releases. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

San Francisco

The 10 Best California Books of 2023

'Open Throat' is a novel that follows an observant cougar living in the Los Angeles mountains and offers an indictment of human culture.

'Ripe' is a sharp and absorbing novel that follows a tech employee in San Francisco who dives deep into the void.

'Death Valley' is a novel about a grieving narrator who travels to the Mojave Desert to reconnect with the earth. [ more ]

New York Post

The 38 best books to gift for Christmas 2023

There is a perfect book for everyone on your holiday gift list.

There are a variety of genres and themes to choose from, including fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, and children's books.

Some recommended books for the holiday season include 'FICTION' by Colson Whitehead, 'The Exchange' by John Grisham, and 'Dear Child' by Romy Hausmann. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Paul Murray and Fern Brady shortlisted for inaugural Nero awards

Paul Murray, Eleanor Catton, and Fern Brady are among the authors shortlisted for the inaugural Nero book awards.

The winners of each category will be announced in January, with the overall winner of the Nero Gold prize announced in February.

The shortlist includes a mix of established authors and debut novelists from Ireland and the UK. [ more ]

www.vox.com

All of this year's National Book Award finalists, reviewed by Vox

The National Book Foundation has announced the winners of the 2023 National Book Awards across different categories.

'Blackouts' by Justin Torres is the winner in the fiction category, praised for its blending of history and fiction.

The Vox staff reviews all 25 nominees and winners, offering insights into their themes and strengths. [ more ]

The Atlantic

A Redacted Past Slowly Emerges

Blackouts is the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.

The novel focuses on recovering the history of erased and ignored gay lives. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Women & Children by Tony Birch review a new high for the master craftsman

Tony Birch is a well-respected Australian writer known for his fiction works.

Women & Children follows the adventures of an eleven-year-old boy and explores themes of family and violence. [ more ]

www.npr.org

Justin Torres wins at National Book Awards as authors call for cease-fire in Gaza

Justin Torres' novel Blackouts won the National Book Award for fiction.

During his speech, Torres invited all the other finalists to deliver a collective statement calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

LeVar Burton and Oprah Winfrey also spoke out against the banning of books from public schools. [ more ]

PublishersWeekly.com