I can’t believe I read the whole thing! King’s latest story is perhaps his biggest yet, and the 800 plus pages kept me up past my bedtime more than once. For a reader prepared to suspend belief he tells a powerful story of time travel, interjecting thoughtful analysis of the butterfly effect of human actions.
Daybreak (741.5 R163)
Brian Ralph
A good read for fans of the zombie genre, Daybreak is a first-person graphic novel seen through the eyes of a silent observer tackling the day-to-day task of surviving in a post-apocalyptic land filled with zombies and other threats.
At the end of the year there are always numerous Best Books of _____ lists that show up. Recently, the SF Chronicle compiled what they deem the best 100 books of 2011, but if you're like me and a 100 books seems rather daunting, the New York Times gives you the best 10 books of the year.
Available in [print].
This book is a very readable translation/retelling of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.
If you love King Arthur stories this is a primary source but previous editions have been difficult to slog through as Sir Malory wrote in the 15th century.
Peter Ackroyd has done a fantastic job of bringing this classic work linguistically into the 21st century while retaining Malory’s lyrical prose and vivid plots. His introduction to the work and brief biography of Malory also is worth a read.
I didn’t always love beer.
I had my first taste when I was probably 5 or 6 years old, stolen from my dad’s can of Coors. Or was it Black Label when he left it on the porch he was building one warm summer day? It tasted flat, strongly of aluminum, and generally yucky. To this day I can’t stand beer in a can but the taste of beer grew on me.
A two-hour Cal Train ride yesterday made it easy for me wrap up reading a second National Book Award fiction finalist selection, The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak (available in Print and eBook). While not at poetically beautiful as fellow finalist The Buddha in the Attic, this book left me with much to mull over.
I read Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic (available in Print or eBook) prior to it being named a finalist for this year’s National Book Award fiction prize which unintentionally puts me one step closer to my goal of reading all of the finalists prior to the announcement of the winner on November 16. (Side note: I’m beginning to doubt my success in this project).
The National Book Award finalists have been announced. Here are the nominees in the categories of fiction and nonfiction along with descriptions from the publisher and links to where you can find them in the library.
Fiction
Stein confesses that “books are my passion”, but it is the physical format she shows us here, not the content. She entices the reader to create a book with step-by-step instructions for dozens of beautiful unique books, using materials designed by crafters of all media. The book opens with explanations of the craft: terms used to describe the anatomy of a book, the tools used to create one, and aspects of designing one. The book is suitable for use by an “intrepid novice” or an experienced bookbinder.