Charlaine Harris, the author of the popular Sookie Stackhouse books, said that she might stop writing the series after the next two books. Read the full interview. I can only hope that she decides to tie up loose ends if she does stop writing the series. Hear that, Ms. Harris? NO cliffhangers!
Need a replacement for Sookie? Our database, NoveList Plus has some readalike suggestions including:
As an urban fantasy fan, my suggestions include:
The Agatha Awards are given to mysteries that honor the “traditional mystery.” That is to say, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie as well as others.
BEST NOVEL
THE BRUTAL TELLING – Louise Penny*
BEST FIRST NOVEL
THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE – Alan Bradley [Delacorte Press]
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley
BEST SHORT STORY
“On the House” – Hank Phillippi Ryan, QUARRY: Crime Stories by New England Writers
BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
DAME AGATHA’S SHORTS – Elena Santangelo
Author Jean Auel (rhymes with “owl”) created an instant sensation in September, 1980 with the release of the prehistoric fiction book The Clan of the Cave Bear. The story begins as Ayla, a five year old Cro-Magnon girl, is orphaned and later adopted by the Neanderthal Cave Bear Clan. Slowly but surely, Auel released sequels which became known as the Earth’s Children series. Ayla matured and met love interests Jondalar and Ranec as she traveled throughout Ice Age Europe.
The final book in the series, Land of the Painted Caves, will be released on March 29, 2011. Now is the time to revisit the series and it is important to read them in order to get the full flavor of the time period, setting and challenges faced by the main characters. All of the titles are available in several formats – Playaways, books, CD and large print:
Publishers Weekly has announced their top books of 2010
 Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan |
 Freedom by Jonathan Franzen |
 Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand |
 Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee |
 Big Short by Michael Lewis |
 Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot |
 Just Kids by Patti Smith |
 Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson |
 Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall |
FICTION
WINNER: Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule
Finalists:
Peter Carey, Parrot and Olivier in America
Nicole Krauss, Great House
Lionel Shriver, So Much for That
Karen Tei Yamashita, I Hotel
NON-FICTION
WINNER: Patti Smith, Just Kids
Finalists:
Barbara Demick, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
John W. Dower, Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, 9-11, Iraq
Justin Spring, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward
Megan K. Stack, Every Man in This Village Is a Liar: An Education in War
YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE
WINNER: Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird
Finalists:
Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
Walter Dean Myers, Lockdown
Rita Williams-Garcia, One Crazy Summer
It’s that time of year again – when everyone starts releasing their “best of the year” lists; there’s a new entrant in 2010. For the first time ever, the Library Journal has chosen its top ten books of the year. It’s a mix of fiction and non-fiction.
* American Terroir by Rowan Jacobsen
* By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham
* Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
* How To Live, Or, a Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell
* Room by Emma Donoghue
* The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
* The Passage by Justin Cronin
* The Tiger by John Vaillant
* The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
* Walker Evans Decade by Decade
The World Fantasy Awards were held recently in Columbus. China Mieville’s City and the City won for best novel.
Peter Straub, Terry Pratchett, and Brian Lumley all won lifetime achievement awards.
JK Rowling recently won the Hans Christian Andersen literature prize. Read more.
The National Book Award Finalists have been announced.
The Hugo Awards were announced last month.
The City and the City by China Mieville and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi won Best Novel.
Both authors have new books out this year. Bacigalupi’s novel, Ship Breaker is about a futuristic world, where teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living. When he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
Mieville’s Kraken is a bit of an homage to HP Lovecraft. Tentacles ahoy!