Philip Roth wins his third PEN/Faulkner award for “Everyman”

Portnoy isn’t complaining, and there’s no plot against this American author. Philip Roth has again proven his literary Superman status with Everyman, which won the 2007 PEN/Faulkner award for fiction this week. It’s the third time he’s won the PEN/Faulkner—this time for a 192-page novel that looks backward at the life of a 70-year-old “everyman” […]

Enjoy the best books we forgot to review

I was in a bookstore yesterday and noticed The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters sitting on a shelf—its bright-blue, evocative cover evoking a slap-the-forehead reaction in me. After all, I’d eagerly made my way through its unusual, intriguing pages last summer, and then promptly forgot it. (That’s more a reflection on my flagging memory […]

“Tenderness of Wolves” wins Costa Book of the Year award

It used to be the Whitbread Book Awards. Beginning this year, it’s under different sponsorship as the Costa Book Awards. Whatever you call it, it’s a major literary award in the United Kingdom—actually a series of awards that recognizes the top books in different categories and then names the best of those bests as the […]

ALA presents Newbery, Caldecott, and other children’s book awards

The American Library Association (ALA) has announced its 2007 awards honoring the best of children’s literature. The full list of award winners is long and varied, and we’ve highlighted our favorites below:

Newbery Medal: The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron
Caldecott Medal: Flotsam, by David Wiesner
Carnegie Medal: Mo Willems (author/illustrator)
Geisel Medal: Zelda and Ivy: The […]

Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” is 2006’s best book

No book in a long time has meant more to me than The Road. It’s been years since a book has grabbed hold of me and taken me on such a captivating, stunning journey. And I don’t remember any other contemporary literature that is more beautifully, starkly written. In other words, Cormac McCarthy has written […]

Best books of 2006: “The Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion

Editor’s note: Join us in celebrating the end of 2006 by revisiting some of our favorite books of the year—like The Year of Magical Thinking, which we originally reviewed in April.
Joan Didion is at her best in The Year of Magical Thinking, an unusual memoir in which she applies her uniquely acute observation skills to […]

Best books of 2006: Is “The Accidental” the next “Beloved”?

Editor’s note: Join us in celebrating the end of 2006 by revisiting some of our favorite books of the year—like The Accidental, which we originally reviewed in November.
I’ve had The Accidental sitting on my desk for the past couple months. I put it there after finishing it, with the intention of reviewing Ali Smith’s remarkable […]

Best books of 2006: “The Night Watch,” by Sarah Waters

Editor’s note: Join us in celebrating the end of 2006 by revisiting some of our favorite books of the year—like The Night Watch, which we originally reviewed in June.
Set in 1940s wartime London, The Night Watch is the quietly engaging story of four survivors of the Blitz, whose paths cross at key junctures in their […]

Best books of 2006: Sy Montgomery makes “The Good Good Pig” fly

Editor’s note: Join us in celebrating the end of 2006 by revisiting some of our favorite books of the year—like The Good Good Pig, which we originally reviewed in August.
Sy Montgomery is crazy about animals. She’s stalked man-eating tigers in India, cavorted with legendary pink dolphins in the Amazon, and been emotionally restored by the […]

Best books of 2006: “Anansi Boys” and “Rocket Boys” are books that mirror art and life

Editor’s note: Join us in celebrating the end of 2006 by revisiting some of our favorite books of the year—like Anansi Boys and Rocket Boys, which we originally reviewed together in August.
It’s said that fiction mirrors life. Here are two stories—Anansi Boys, a fiction by Neil Gaiman, and Rocket Boys, a nonfiction by Homer H. […]