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Books To Jump Up and Down Over
Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz: Being wrong, as it turns out, isn't just the other variable in a binary opposition. Indeed, the relationship between our beliefs and the vast body of knowledge is one of humanity's big problems, but, at times, one of its great virtues. This thoughtful volume outlines numerous examples of human folly, from end-of-the-world prophets to ocular misperception, and makes a strong case for becoming more transparent about human fallibility, even when the results can be quite deadly. (Bat Segundo interview)
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orrigner: This sweeping epic, which has been rightly identified in some corners as a "Holocaust page turner," puts to rest any and all rumors that the historical novel is dead. Orringer's great talent for balancing fine Romantic details, a vigorous synthesis of prewar Paris and Magyar strife, and Nazi brutality demonstrates a remarkable evolution from her previous short story collection, How to Breathe Underwater, and makes this a must read. (Bat Segundo interview)
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black: Forget Wells Tower. Robin Black's marvelous short story collection, which has been needlessly ignored by The New York Times and The Washington Post, is very much on the level: far better than anything written by that lumbering Young Turk. These subtle stories have the maturity to avoid belabored metaphors and neat conclusions, revealing numerous nuances about the human condition in its careful use of understated language. (Bat Segundo interview)
National Book Awards Archive
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White Men Sweep 2009 National Book Awards
Posted on November 19, 2009 | 4 CommentsTonight, the National Book Awards gave every major award to a white man, demonstrating that snubbing women writers isn’t limited to Publishers Weekly. Even the honorary awards were given to Dave Eggers and Gore Vidal, proving that even in the 21st century, white men are... -
The Bat Segundo Show: 2008 National Book Awards
Posted on November 24, 2008 | No CommentsOur reports from the National Book Awards previously appeared in piecemeal on these pages, and have also appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #252. So far as we know, the National Book Awards has not authored anything aside from programs and informational pamphlets. The people... -
Fiction Award
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsAnd the winner is Peter Matthiessen’s Shadow Country. An interminable preliminary speech from Gail Godwin….. And then…. Matthiessen’s speech: He’s smiling as he walks up the stage, holding up his award, looking at Gail, and then addressing the audience. “Well, needless to say, I’m very... -
Nonfiction Award
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsAnd the winner is Annette Gordon Reed’s The Hemingses of Monticello. Reed’s speech: Tonight is actually her birthday. She lived too much in the 18th century. Thanks to Robert Wile (editor at Norton). Couldn’t stop researching and had to write. “I can’t say what a... -
Poetry Award
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsAnd the winner is Mark Doty’s Fire to Fire. Doty’s speech: “Robert is right. This is really good baloney.” Very nervous. “I am glad to be alive in a time when poems like [my finalists] are written.” Shoutout to Terry, editor at HarperCollins. Shoutout to... -
Young People’s Literature Award
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsAnd the winner is Judy Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied. Blundell’s speech: Always a bad idea to follow Daniel Handler. “Most of you don’t know me, but I’ve probably worked for many of the houses in this room tonight.” “This is the... -
How Much Was “Housekeeping” Edited?
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsWhile wandering around the ballroom in search of quotes (and observing Leon Neyfakh’s fine method of collecting quotes from people while standing near the restrooms), I ran into Pat Strachan, who had edited Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping. I remain convinced that Robinson can win tonight. But... -
2008 National Book Awards Podcast #6: Richard Howard
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Comments(This podcast is part of our 2008 National Book Awards coverage. Keep checking this category for details.) Who is the Correspondent Talking With? Richard Howard What’s Going On? In a noisy tableau, our young, roving correspondent hopes to get some answers about the craft of... -
Spouse of a Nominee
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsOutside the ballroom. “Are you nervous?” “Actually, I’m here because of my wife.” “Moral support then?” “You could call it that.” “Was it a big surprise for her to be nominated?” “Well, actually she had the support of many librarians.” “So she expected it.” “It... -
2008 National Book Awards Podcast #5: Candace Bushnell
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Comments(This podcast is part of our 2008 National Book Awards coverage. Keep checking this category for details.) Who is the Correspondent Talking With? Candace Bushnell What’s Going On? Attempting to ascertain precisely why Ms. Bushnell is here, but she is more fond of thanking your... -
2008 National Book Awards Podcast #4: Mark Doty
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Comments(This podcast is part of our 2008 National Book Awards coverage. Keep checking this category for details.) Who is the Correspondent Talking With? Mark Doty What’s Going On? So here’s the deal. Mr. Doty here has arranged a considerable amount of poetry together. But have... -
2008 National Book Awards Podcast #3: Salvatore Scibona
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Comments(This podcast is part of our 2008 National Book Awards coverage. Keep checking this category for details.) Who is the Correspondent Talking With? Salvatore Scibona What’s Going On? Talk of writing novels over the course of ten years, the advantages of writing on typewriters, and... -
2008 National Book Awards Podcast #2: Annette Gordon Reed
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Comments(This podcast is part of our 2008 National Book Awards coverage. Keep checking this category for details.) Who is the Correspondent Talking With? Annette Gordon Reed What’s Going On? Talk about the Hemmings. National Book Awards Podcast #2: Annette Gordon Reed (Download MP3) This text... -
2008 National Book Awards Podcast #1: Joan Wickersham
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Comments(This podcast is part of our 2008 National Book Awards coverage. Keep checking this category for details.) Who is the Correspondent Talking With? Joan Wickersham What’s Going On? Talk about Wickersham’s book, The Suicide Index, and how disorderly emotions can’t always be arranged in an... -
National Book Awards Dispatch #1
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsI am now situated in the press section of the Cipriani Ballroom. Galleycat’s Jason Boog is here, and we are urging him to get his journalistic party started. There are numerous round tables, which one expects from a ballroom, and plentiful waiters ready to kick... -
National Book Awards Podcasts
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No Commentsurl='http://www.edrants.com/national-book-awards-podcasts/';size='small'; -
Again, the National Book Awards
Posted on November 19, 2008 | No CommentsDuring the past two days, there have been sparse entries on these pages. There are reasons for this: a few deadlines met, a few interviews conducted (one very journalistic, the other involving two people with funny brains approaching strange nexuses, or, nexii, as the interviewee... -
National Book Award Finalists Announced
Posted on October 15, 2008 | 2 CommentsNow this is a very intriguing list. Fiction Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project (Riverhead) Rachel Kushner, Telex from Cuba (Scribner) Peter Matthiessen, Shadow Country (Modern Library) Marilynne Robinson, Home (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Salvatore Scibona, The End (Graywolf Press) Nonfiction Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic... -
And You Thought Bloggers Were the Unprofessional Ones
Posted on November 15, 2007 | 1 CommentLeon Neyfakh: “Chuck Shelton, the editor of the publishing trade publication Kirkus, came over to the table to say hello to Mr. Karp. Mr. Shelton greeted Mr. Hitchens, whom he said he knew from cocktail parties. Shortly thereafter, according to Mr. Shelton, he was inexplicably... -
For What It’s Worth
Posted on November 15, 2007 | 12 CommentsHmmm, I don’t know how “Franzen’s no fun” equates to “Franzen’s a jerk.” I certainly didn’t say the latter to this individual. But unlike this individual, I won’t use modifiers here. I’ll let listeners judge for themselves whether the encounter was a “toxic provocation.” url='http://www.edrants.com/for-what-its-worth/';size='small'; -
Cindy Lee Johnson
Posted on November 14, 2007 | 4 CommentsDenis Johnson’s wife is now up. She is assuring us that Johnson “is on assignment. Legitimate.” She is now reading an acceptance speech. “Naturally, I’m very grateful to the National Book Foundation for this award and I’m very sorry to miss this one chance to... -
And, By the Way….
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No CommentsThe Mysterious Two did have the inside tip. url='http://www.edrants.com/and-by-the-way-2/';size='small'; -
And the Fiction Winner Is…
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No CommentsThe presenter this year is Francine Prose, also the chair of the judges. Lebowitz said that, given the laundry list of Prose’s achievements, she “has the envy of Joyce Carol Oates.” She is boasting about what a pleasure it was to read the books. She... -
Tim Weiner Speech
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No CommentsHe has a deep Brooklyn accent. He means business. He is thanking a lot of people. Above all, Phyllis Grann — “a great editor, a force of nature.” The spotlight is on her. “These people, ladies and gentleman, turned my finished manuscript into a hardcover... -
Nonfiction Award
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No CommentsDavid Shields is presenting the Nonfiction Award. Shields is walking slowly up to the stage. He does want to keep us in suspense. Particularly after Hass’s protracted speech. And he is READ-ING THE BOOK TIT-LES SO SLOW-LY. We’ve been here for four hours. Come on,... -
Jason Boog’s Video of Tonight
Posted on November 14, 2007 | 1 Commenturl='http://www.edrants.com/jason-boogs-video-of-tonight/';size='small'; -
Robert Haas Speech
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No CommentsHe quoted Emily Dickinson, “Success is counted sweetest / By those who ne’er succeed.” “Poems have always been rich and plangent.” He is being very kind towards his fellow nominees, as everybody else is. Indeed, he is spending much of his speech talking about “learning... -
Poetry Finalist`
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No CommentsFran Lebowitz: “One down, three to go.” Charles Simic is now presenting. “This is an amazing time in American poetry, as we found out reading these books. A lot of good poems have been written and published. At least ten to fifteen books would have... -
Sarah’s Twitter
Posted on November 14, 2007 | No Comments…can be found here. url='http://www.edrants.com/sarahs-twitter/';size='small'; -
Alexie Speech
Posted on November 14, 2007 | 1 Comment“Well, I obviously should have been writing YA all along.” Nervous, truly awe-struck. The first book he remembered was Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day Board Book. He was struck by the gorgeous isolation. His first creative writing teacher handed him a Native American volume....