The Reading Diva

Relax in Paradise Thomas Berger  and Nadine Gordimer. Congratulations to all of the Booker Prize nominees  and the African American Literary Awards Show nominees (shout-out to Rubicon Reader for making the Google Doc). I'm looking forward to the movie adaptations of Wild and Gone Girl just like everyone else, but where's Addicted on this list? Speaking on Addicted and its author Zane, she just signed a deal with Verge Entertainment . And in case you forgot , before there was 50 Shades of Gray, there was Zane. And she did it better. And speaking of 50 Shades of Gray, the trailer for the movie is out .  The best part of it was the remix to Crazy in Love. Another day, another Amazon/Hatchette showdown story. Speaking of Amazon, their new program is (suppose) to give Oyster a run for its money. Just go to the library, folks. And speaking of Oyster, they have just launched a desktop version. Jonathan Odell's first book is being republished by his agent...

I'm back from vacation and got a new book in the mail over the weekend!  Time for another Mailbox Monday post! This ARC book, Ballroom, is courtesy of Harper Books.  Since this is the only book featured today, here's the synopsis from the publisher: Told in interconnecting stories, Ballroom is a beautifully crafted debut novel—reminiscent of the works of Elizabeth Strout and Jennifer Haigh—about a group of strangers united by a desire to escape their complicated lives, if only for a few hours each week, in a faded New York City dance hall. Time has eroded the glamour of the Ballroom, but at the end of the 1990s, a small crowd of loyal patrons still makes its way past the floor-to-ceiling columns which frame the once grand hall each Sunday evening. Sweeping across the worn parquet floor under a peeling indigo ceiling, these men and women succumb to the magic of the music, looking for love and connection, eager to erase the drab reality of their complicated ...

I'm taking a week off from work next week, but I'm not going anywhere.  Which means that I will be going on a staycation.  Besides a doctor's appointment and a dentist appointment, my calendar is pretty empty for most of the week.  Which means I have more time to read! New Gone Girl trailer and movie posters !! A writer feels that Gone Girl is " misogynistic literature " and wonders why most of the women (because she did forget one or two) have issues.  I do feel her sympathy for one of the main characters. (This article does contain spoilers). And Sharp Objects will be adapted for a television show . A man who wrote a book about surviving a bull run... was gored by a bull. Identical covers in books happens . A lot. A man was charged with assaulting Colum McCann . Amazon ups the ante with Hatchette authors by offering to pay 100% of ebook profits.  And the Author's Guild is not happy . The Fault in Our Stars is the top-selling book in every...

  I was heartbroken to find out about the passing of Walter Dean Myers .  For YEARS, he was one of the very few authors (especially in Young Adult fiction) who wrote about African-American kids and kids that didn't fit the cookie-cutter image of America.  Before their was #weneeddiversebooks and before social media even excised, he wrote about kids who could have lived right around the corner from us.  He wrote over 100 books, won five Coretta Scott King Awards and two Newberry Honors, and was recently the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.  Condolences go out to his wife, sons, other family members and friends.  May he relax in paradise.   Here is a tribute from Ebony Magazine. Relax in Paradise Dermot Healy  and Louis Zamperini . The American version of World Book Night has been suspended due to lack of funds. Barnes and Noble is splitting their retail stores and Nook department .  #goodluckwiththat Authors are ...