“Book Reviews: The Three Best Books Of ‘09 - LongIslandPress” plus 3 more |
- Book Reviews: The Three Best Books Of ‘09 - LongIslandPress
- Good News Digest - Morton Grove Champion
- Table of Contents - News & Review
- Decade in books: Writers work magic, delivery has transformed - USA Today
| Book Reviews: The Three Best Books Of ‘09 - LongIslandPress Posted: 23 Dec 2009 03:38 PM PST Even though things have been rough in every other respect of 2009, let's face facts: Culture has been good this year. Great music, modern classics in the theater, and, most importantly, life-changing books. So let's get to it… my top three books of '09.
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett: Skeeter Phelan is like a wayward character on Mad Men: It is 1962 and she's a woman who feels bridled by society. She doesn't want to marry a nice man like all her friends did, and as they start producing offspring, she becomes more of an outcast in their social circle. Oblivious to racial tensions in town, Skeeter begins to befriend the black maids employed by her friends and finds out more about the teeming underbelly of her hometown. This could be just another book in the Civil Rights canon, but Stockett has made each and every one of these characters feel real. Really real. I could have happily read another 1,000 pages. 3. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli: I already praised this amazing, genre-changing, post-modern graphic novel to the heavens in a previous review, so let me just ask: If you haven't read it yet, what's the deal?! Related articles:
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| Good News Digest - Morton Grove Champion Posted: 24 Dec 2009 02:29 AM PST
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Sarah Hulbet of Hinsdale was named to the high academic honor roll at Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va. This honor denotes an average of 90 or above in five or more academic courses for the quarter. Patrick Murray of Westchester, a student at St. Joseph High School, was recognized as a 2010 Illinois State Scholar. Scholars rank in the top 10 percent of the state's high school seniors from 752 high schools. Selection is based on SAT, ACT and/or Prairie State Achievement Exam scores, and class rank at the end of junior year. Iyesah Hoskins, a direct care staff member at Ray Graham Association, received the 2009 Direct Support Professional Award at the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities conference. Plast Ukrainian Scouts, with members in La Grange, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Burr Ridge and Elmhurst, received the Bethlehem Peace Light from Boy Scout Troop 3362 and passed it on to the Chicago Ukrainian community. The PeaceLight of Bethlehem movement started in 1986 in Austria as a Christmas collection for the poor and homebound. Trinity Academy of Irish Dance placed first at the Mid-America Irish Dance Championships held in Columbus, Ohio. Taylor Calcagno of Elmhurst earned gold as part of team dancing and also placed sixth out of 111 competitors in solo competition. Dylan Packer of Elmhurst placed second out of 10 competitors and Deirdre Gillette of Elmhurst placed fifth out of 123 competitors. Sheila Evans, a sixth-grade student at Sandburg Middle School in Elmhurst, won a book reviewing contest for the magazine National Geographic Kids. She was selected as a finalist for her book review on The Secret at Shadow Ranch, part of the Nancy Drew mystery series. The winners were chosen by an online poll. She will now write book reviews for them for a three month period. Anthony Pasquinelli of Hinsdale was honored with the Pasquinelli Family Heritage Room at Roosevelt University. Pasquinelli is a Roosevelt University trustee, founding trustee of the Pasquinelli Family Foundation and executive vice president of Pasquinelli Construction. Pasquinelli made a $2-million gift to establish the Pasquinelli family distinguished chair in real estate. His gift was part of the Developing Real Estate Knowledge and Leaders Initiative. The Pasquinelli Family Heritage Room provides a private meeting space for advisory board members, student interviewers and faculty consultations. High school students placed at the regional Skills USA competition held at Technology Center of DuPage. Katelyn Musch of Clarendon Hills placed second in the graphic communication contest, Nick Stiso of LaGrange Park placed second in the criminal justice contest, Jonathan Foisy of La Grange placed second in the collision repair contest, Chris Dorsano of LaGrange Highlands was on the third-place team in the TV production contest and Alexandra Braasch of Elmhurst placed third in the cosmetology contest. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Table of Contents - News & Review Posted: 24 Dec 2009 12:20 AM PST GREEN GUIDESustainability Gone bananasGrafting master Joe Real is growing some pretty strange fruit in Yolo County. Homegrown Against the grainWhy area farmers grow heirloom varieties of wheat; Julie Cross reveals famous cranberry bread recipe. Plug'd In Star powerLearn how to harness the power of the sun to make those homemade oatmeal cookies.
LOCAL STORIESFeature Story Staying powerFor these locals, the secret to keep going is not stopping. News A man for all seasonsAn interview with California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura. News Dubious distinctionThe economy is down, but toxic pollution in Sacramento is up.
ARTS&CULTUREArts & Culture You hate it, they live itThe recent announcement of Sacramento's new poetry czar inspires a waxing of the city's poetic innards and impulse. Stage The year that wasSN&R's theater critics have made their list and checked it twice. Scene & Heard Holiday creepfestZoltar, a lip-syncing Mark Twain and other holiday fun. Stage Reviews Shakin' the Mess Outta MiserySN&R reviews a new production at Celebration Arts. Poet's Corner Impromptu ProphetA poem by Jennifer O'Neill Pickering of Sacramento. Night & Day Pick No balls in 2010Who cares about a ball drop when there are fireworks, fire dancers and punk rockers? Night & Day Pick Life is just peachyEyes will be fooled at the John Natsoulas Gallery's Trompe L'oeil exhibition. Stage Pick of the Week It's never safe to go back to schoolGet your Catholic Christmas on. Book Reviews Another plagueIn The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood finishes what she started with Oryx and Crake. Book Reviews Underwater psychoticsFor scientist Peter Watts, the future is looking grim, so that's how he writes it. Book Reviews Ultimate outsiderThe Others is an insider's view of an outsider: a young, bisexual Shi'a woman in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia. Ogg's World Ogg's WorldWelcome to the bizarre world of Doug Ogg. Curtain Call The scoop on the American stageA last-minute gift suggestion for theater people.
DININGEating Neighborhood divineGreg worships at the fennel, beets and figs altar while his friend visits heaven in form of beat salad. Skip the antipasto. Smorgasbord Smack that orangeIt's chocolate, orange-flavored and delicious. Corner Table Kids' menuKids don't eat broccoli; they eat trees. Food Stuff Korean delightsIf sushi is cooked, is it still sushi?
MUSICMusic Feature Check the labelLocal boy brings Lefse Records smack-dab to the heart of Midtown. Sound Advice Unicorns, Xmas and fire, oh myMidtown musicians are spotted in a foothills film festival while Baby Grand cut a Christmas-music rug and Two Sheds serenades a crackling fire. Music Pick of the Week Thank you, SkankFinding out about X at age 16 is oh-so-sentimental sweet. Music Pick of the Week Thurs, Dec 24, David HoustonGet a sufficient hit of Luna's music before they close for the holidays, or risk hard-core withdrawals. Music Pick of the Week Sat, Dec 26, Lee DiamondLee Diamond is so smooth he could be a mob boss. Music Pick of the Week Sun, Dec 27, The VespertinesDub/jazz group the Vespertines is raw, yet refined and the vocalist is kind of like Gwen Stefani, but not really. Music Pick of the Week Mon, Dec 28, Sister CrayonHappy birthday to me.
FILMFilm Reviews NineNine clears a ten. Cinema scoped Millennium debuts, part 2The countdown continues with the five best new directors of the decade. Short Reviews AvatarCall it Pocahontas Dances With Wolves with Aliens and fellow Smurfish skinny feline noble savages in the FernGully new world, and call it a day. Short Reviews Alvin and the Chipmunks: The SqueakquelWill the Chipmunks' voices change during adolescence? Short Reviews Did You Hear About the Morgans?Standard-issue country mouse/city mouse crap. Short Reviews Up in the AirOnly George Clooney can make aloofness stylish. Short Reviews The Young VictoriaA palace may be a prison, but at least there are elaborate costumes. In The Mix - DVD/Video Public EnemiesHow is it possible to be more futile than Gong Li in Miami Vice?
OPINIONSBites Second guessingLocal guns laws on trial in the U.S. Supreme Court. Popsmart My food network Ask Joey Slave for hireIf there are two paths in the post-college world, accept a job that offers more personal growth—not elflike slavery. Letters Letters for December 24, 2009Love, hate, indifferencereaders express their opinions, sometimes about each other. Editorial Christmas kerfuffleJesus might suggest we feed the hungry instead of worrying about the way his birth is celebrated. 15 Minutes Will the real Sactown Santa please stand up?This guy is the original: Give him cookies on the big night. Editorial Cartoon Editorial CartoonThis week's cartoon from the mind of John Kloss. Essay Optimism lessonIt's almost 2010 and people are still killing each other. Greenlight Wow … who knew?Lessons learned on day one in SN&R's new green building. Ask a Mexican Mexican intellectuals do existThe Mexican on poetry and prose. Cut&Paste From the SN&R blogs.What Ted learned at straight camp; Newspapers pass the hat.
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| Decade in books: Writers work magic, delivery has transformed - USA Today Posted: 24 Dec 2009 01:32 AM PST
| On his website, Stephen King launched a serial novel, The Plant , the first experiment in digital self-publishing by a brand-name author. Readers were asked for $1 for downloading each 5,000-word installment about a vampire vine that takes over a publishing firm. His experiment ended midplot; fewer than half the readers had paid.
King now says it wasn't "the delivery system" but a problem as old as writing itself. He ran out of inspiration, which "happens quite often with writers, but the world usually doesn't know." Still, it raised staggering questions in 2000: Who needs publishers, bookstores or even books when a writer has a website? In 2009, King's best sellers still are published the traditional way, although Under the Dome , released in November, is out as an e-book today. The sky hasn't fallen, but for books, it has been a transformative decade roiled by anxiety and possibilities. New powers emerged: Google , which plans to digitize 20 million books, and Amazon , which continued to change bookselling. The word reader took on new meaning in devices such as the iPhone, Sony E-Reader, Kindle and Nook, not to be confused with the Vook, a one-screen blend of book and video. Human readers made it a big decade for novels about wizards, vampires and a Harvard symbologist. Two series for kids with "crossover" appeal to grown-ups —J.K. Rowling 's Harry Potter and Stephenie Meyer 's Twilight— swept nine of the top 10 spots on USA TODAY's best-selling books of the decade. Dan Brown 's The Da Vinci Code is No. 2. Rowling was a best seller before 2000, when third book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire sold a record 3 million copies its first weekend. By 2007's release of the finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows , speculation about Harry's death (unfounded) rose to levels not seen since Charles Dickens ' 19th-century serials. A record 8.3 million copies sold in a day. In 2007, Meyer, a Mormon stay-at-home mom, began an unprecedented dominance of the best-seller list with her Twilight series about a chaste teen romance starring a vampire. Last year, she sold 22 million books. Brown hit it big in 2003 with Da Vinci , a thriller mixing fact and fiction. It made best sellers out of Brown's three earlier novels. His latest, The Lost Symbol , has sold 4 million copies since September. Rowling, Meyer and Brown had help from Hollywood, but their books were blockbusters in their own right: "They opened as big or bigger than the most anticipated movies, with pre-orders and opening-night parties, which spilled over to other books," says Michael Cader, founder of Publishers Lunch , a digital newsletter. Each sold "quantities of hardcovers once unimaginable." But publishers complain of flat sales overall — even before the recession. E-books, the fastest-growing segment, are in their infancy, 3% of sales. Prices, rights and delaying e-books to protect hardcover sales are in dispute. "Hard bargains will have to be struck," says Sara Nelson, books editor of O magazine, "but in the end, readers will win. Over time, the more readers you can create and nurture, the better ... no matter what the format." It was a decade for memoirs, including Elizabeth Gilbert 's Eat, Pray, Love (No. 25). But after James Frey 's A Million Little Pieces (No. 45) turned out to be part fiction, he was publicly scolded by Oprah Winfrey. Oprah's Book Club turned 34 titles into best sellers, but waned, making only one selection this year. Her show ends in 2011. But authors found outlets on cable shows hosted by Jon Stewart , Stephen Colbert and Glenn Beck , who wrote their own best sellers. Metropolitan newspapers reduced book reviews or moved them online. After 76 years, Kirkus Reviews closes next week. But countless blogs and websites are now devoted to books. "More books are getting attention, but at the same time, enthusiasm for one title is tougher to cultivate," says Carol Fitzgerald, president of the Book Report Network of websites. The number of bookstores peaked and is in "irreversible decline," Cader says. That troubles publishers such as Grove/Atlantic's Morgan Entrekin, who says, "Bookstores are such wonderful places. We need them. They offer community in a world that is becoming more fragmented." Fitzgerald worries about the implications of a recent price war between Amazon and Wal-Mart : "Books as loss leaders, priced like bulk paper towels, says something about what we think of culture in this country." Still, as the National Endowment for the Arts ' David Kipen puts it, "Any decade with two new Thomas Pynchon novels and an uptick in national reading numbers can't be all bad." A 2004 report warned that literary reading was fading away, but a 2009 update found reading on the rise for the first time in 25 years; the biggest increase was among readers 18 to 24. Asked about 2019, King sees 40% of fiction and 25% of non-fiction sales as e-books, but their "essentially ephemeral nature will probably keep them from biting any deeper, even when delivery quality improves." Overall book sales "will decline slightly or remain steady." These days, that sounds like good news. Contributing: Anthony DeBarros Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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