General News from the World of Literature
In a month or so there will be numerous articles in which publications and other media sources share their picks for Best Book, Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, etc. The Booker Prize and Nation Book Award have already been announced. In case you missed it, read the following: Let’s hear it for James by Percival Everett. Most people are not surprised by the choice for the
Let me ask you this– Where were you and what were you doing 25 years ago this time of year? That would have been the year 2000. It was the year that Malcolm Gladwell published his well-known book The Tipping Point. This book made quite a splash and catapulted Gladwell to fame as a writer. The phrase ‘the tipping point’ became part of our everyday
I came across the following article that appeared in a recent copy of The Guardian. Ardent readers will appreciate!! A would-be burglar in Rome was caught after stopping to read a book on Greek mythology in the middle of a theft, Italian media reports. The 38-year-old reportedly gained access to a flat in the Italian capital’s Prati district via the balcony but became distracted after
It’s amazing what one can find by being a member of Facebook–lost friends, recipes, and sometimes a worthy bit of info. The information below is based entirely on an article that appeared on my Facebook feed from a group entitled English Literature. But first, take a look at the picture below to guess what the article is about…. So, what did you think? A girl
Almost everyone has heard of Harriett Tubman. Unable to read and only five feet tall, Tubman escaped from slavery and founded the Underground Railroad. She paved the way for hundreds of enslaved Africans to escape to the North. She was undoubtely a true American hero, and her picture is proposed to appear on the $20 bill. Right now, Andrew Jackson is on the twenty. (I
Many of you know that I grew up in East Tennessee, very close to Dayton, the site of The Scopes Trial, nicknamed the ‘Monkey Trial’. I must admit, however, that I still know very little about the issues around the trial except that it involved teaching evolution. I went inside the courthouse once. I have never seen any of the many movies based on the
Today, Sunday, August 11, Post and Courier writer Adam Parker wrote a column in which he had book reviewers for the paper name their most outstanding book (so far) of 2024. Several of the books named are familiar ones, such as Salmon Rushdie’s Knife and Percival Everett’s James. Two reviewers, however, talked about ones less familiar, ones that I had not read about or considered
If you watch The PBS Newhour, you may have noticed that they have added a feature entitled CANVAS in which they look into current cultural matters. On June 6 of this year, they featured new books for summer. I enjoyed hearing what Ann Patchett had to say. The man on the segment, however, was a little far out for me!! Hope you enjoy watching. ww.pbs.org ›
This summer, instead of reading ‘beach books’, you might want to get ready to meet and listen to some of the already-announced authors who will be at the Charleston Literary Festival. The festival announced a few of the ‘stars’ today, and I am including the ones whose books I want to read. Some of these books have already been mentioned on the blog. I’ve got
These following two books are very different from one another and will probably appeal to different readers. It’s always good to have a choice, isn’t it? The Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor, is a book by Ronald Drabkin about real life double agent Frederick Rutland. Rutland was a “James Bond-type” figure who had been a highly decorated
