The announcement of this year's Pulitzer Prize winners was overshadowed by the horrific events in Boston. The winner for fiction this year went to Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son, a novel we are currently reading. Admittedly, A Reader's Respite was just pleased that they actually awarded a fiction prize this year. 2012 saw no Pulitzer Prize for Fiction awarded due to some lazy-ass judges unable to form a consensus.
This is one of the problems with the Pulitzer. Although it's award for fiction has, in years past, gone to some of the very best books we have ever read, they occasionally get a little pissy, throw up their hands, and don't award a damn thing for the year. It might be excusable were it not for the unimaginable disappointment of the finalists. (Talk about ego-deflating: "Sorry, you were all so bad we couldn't sully the name Pulitzer with any of these novels.")
So happiness prevailed in our world that 2013 saw a clear winner. And then (and here comes the gossip part), a little birdie over at Book Riot passed along a little Twitter conversation between a couple of newspaper book critics. You can see the screen shot and read the article here, but in a nutshell, one of the critics happens to mention that he's been told that obvious non-Pulitzer novels are often short-listed in order to nudge the judges to make the obvious choice. Of course, the critic prefaced this little tidbit by stating "Between you & me...". Really? "Between you & me" on TWITTER? We suspect a eensy-teensy bit of sh*t-stirring going on around here or a big #TwitterFail. But we'll let you make up your own mind.
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Speaking of Pulitzer Prize winners, former recipient David Mamet has announced that his publishing house can go to hell in an apple cart. Well, he didn't exactly use those words, but he did announce that his next book will be self-published. His primary reason, he says, is "because publishing is like Hollywood — nobody ever does the marketing they promise.” Mamet is only one of a growing number of mainstream authors choosing to take control of their own publishing destiny and the world of self-publishing is becoming larger than many ever thought possible. You can read more about Mamet and his decision here.
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The American Library Association released it's annual State of America's Library Report, which includes the list of the Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Library Books of 2012. Topping the list?
Captain Underpants
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Thirteen Reasons Why
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And lastly, who saw the ad author James Patterson took out in the NYTBR?
Anyone care to inform us what the hell he is yapping about here? Is there some secret plan to burn our books, bookstores, and libraries that A Reader's Respite is unaware of? Or is he just being paranoid about the e-book thing again? Either way, we don't get it.
I try to ignore the Twitter upheavals. I'm always amazed by the banned books. I think Little House on the Prairie is on some lists. Really.
ReplyDeleteHm, now I'm going to have to go back and look at this year's shortlist.
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HA! Between you & me... !!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell what is up with the Ad, I used to read James Patterson - you know, back when it was Patterson writing Patterson.
LOL - I was thinking that, ha ha ha, when I wrote it, but was feeling a tad benevolent so didn't mention that he doesn't even write his own books anymore so why does he CARE? Le sigh.....
ReplyDeleteA mention about the Ad .. "I haven't thought about it " says Patterson.
ReplyDeleteWow. Run a big fat ad and then still not think about it.
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