Well, the London Book Fair came and went and the biggest buzz was generated by…….. (drumroll please)…….. THE WEATHER!! Everyone who attended was stunned that the weather was nice in London, which apparently hasn’t happened since the 12th Century. If you want actual book-related buzz from the London Book Fair, Galley Cat was all over it.
Another week, another major award for Cormac McCarthy. In case you haven’t heard, THE ROAD won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction as well. Next up for Mr. McCarthy: the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Medal of Freedom, Time’s Man of the Year, and American Idol.
Oh, I was shocked to find out that some non-Cormac McCarthy-authored books won Pulitzers as well, including Lawrence Wright’s seriously-it’s-incredible-you-should-read-it THE LOOMING TOWER for nonfiction, THE RACE BEAT by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff for history, and THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN AMERICA by Debby Applegate for biography.
Chronicle Books announced that Hachette (formerly Time Warner Book Group) will now handle their distribution, although Chronicle will still handle their own sales. So just in case you were up in the middle of the night last night wondering how Chronicle’s books get from the warehouse to bookstores……… now you know.
British Magazine The Bookseller’s annual pick for the Oddest Title Award went to THE STRAY SHOPPING CARTS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA: A GUIDE TO FIELD IDENTIFICATION. Congratulations. I think.
And finally, hey, kids! Want to pretend you’re a gruel-eating orphan or learn about how the French chopped off people’s heads during the Reign of Terror? Well, the coolest amusement park EVER is opening up in Kent, England: the Charles Dickens theme park, DICKENS WORLD!!! The main event: only the awesomest log flume in the world, you guessed it, based on GREAT EXPECTATIONS!! Hurry kids, be the first on your block to brag that you stole a kid’s wallet in Fagin’s Den!!! (And if you think I’m making this up, read about it all here.)
Have a great weekend everyone!
Dave says
The Looming Tower has been featured on CSPAN and their BOOK-TV programming.
Len says
Also, Natasha Tretheway, associate professor in the English Department here at Emory University (where I am employed), won the Pulitzer for poetry for her collection, Native Guard. I am now the first on my block to know a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Nathan Bransford says
len-
Whoops, I forgot to add that one! Thanks for correcting the oversight.
A Paperback Writer says
The Great Expectations log flume? What the crap?
I still want the haunted house featuring Miss Havisham…. That’d be a much better idea.
sex scenes at starbucks says
I met a Pulitzer prize winner once. And I said something reeeeal smart like “I googled you cuz I didn’t know who you were” (true, btw) “and you won the Pulitzer!”
He was good-looking, too. It was a banner evening.
Annalee says
Actually, the weather thing was all me. See, I’ve been in Northern Ireland all semester, and I decided to bring some totally sweet weather with me. There was some trouble getting it in through customs, I’ll admit, but it all worked out in the end.
Hence why it’s been gorgeous over here this spring while my native mid-atlantic coast is getting shafted.
kimstagliano says
Dickens Park? No. Can’t be! What, the cake is served forty years old? The Fun house mirror shows a wrinkled up old bride? Tis a far far better rollercoaster that I ride than I have ever ridden before? Eeesh. What’s next? A theme park based on Dolly Parton?