Hinsdale Public Library Reading Corner

The High and the Mighty: NBA Winners and Oprah's New Book Pick

Most folks think of basketball when they hear NBA, but the acronym also stands for the National Book Award, arguably the most prestigious literary prize in the United States. This year's NBA winners were announced last night in a gala New York ceremony. Denis Johnson's trenchant Vietnam War novel Tree of Smoke took the fiction prize, Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA won for nonfiction, Robert Hass' Time and Materials won for poetry and Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian won for young people's literature.

However, the literary champ of the week probably is veteran novelist Ken Follett. For her latest book club pick, Oprah Winfrey selected Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, 973-page opus about the building of an English cathedral in the 12th century. The book's sequel, World Without End, was released a few weeks ago and already is on bestsellers lists.

Surprise Booker Prize Winner Announced

Anne Enright's The Gathering, a dark novel about three generations of an Irish family hiding a bitter secret, was the surprise winner of the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction, announced today in London. Most literary observers considered Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach and Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip to be the favorites to win the prize, which rewards the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.

Doris Lessing Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

The British novelist, essayist and short story writer Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize in Literature today, becoming the 11th woman to receive the award. The Nobel committee lauded the "skepticism, fire and visionary power," of Lessing's work, which is known for its humanism, experimentalism and concern for social inequity. Lessing is also known for her uncompromising, independent personality, which was very much in evidence when she told journalists she "couldn't care less" about winning the award.

Burn, Baby, Burn

On this date in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire blazed through nearly four square miles in the city, leveling more than 18,000 structures and killing at least 300. You can commemorate the 186th anniversary of the disaster by checking out the dramatic, albeit mostly fictional, Hollywood account of the inferno, the 1937 film In Old Chicago, starring Tyrone Power and Don Ameche. They play the sons of Mrs. O'Leary, who has gone down in legend as the owner of the cow who purportedly started the conflagration. However, those looking for a historically accurate account of the fire might want to turn to Richard Bales' book The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, which exonerates the unfortunate bovine once and for all. Meanwhile, readers of all ages will enjoy Jim Murphy's award-winning The Great Fire, which includes historical accounts and numerous sepia-tinged photographs of the aftermath of the blaze.

Oprah's Latest Pick: Love in the Time of Cholera

Continuing her trend of selecting complex, highly literary novels (McCarthy's The Road, Eugenides' Middlesex, etc.) Oprah Winfrey newest book club selection is Love in the Time of Cholera by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia M�rquez. The novel chronicles a love triangle decades in the making and, like most of the author's works, is set in an unnamed Latin American country. When the book was first released in 1988, the The New York Times review called it "radiant," saying it is both "an old-fashioned love story" and "an anatomy of love in all its forms."

Book Review: Julie and Julia

Pushing 30 and stuck in a dead-end job, Julie Powell one day distractedly picks up a dog-eared copy of Julia Child�s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. One successful Potage Parmentier later, she�s hatched a plan to attempt all 524 recipes from Child�s classic cookbook. What follows is the story of her ups (nailing Bifteck Saute au Beurre on the first try) and downs (the Charlotte Malakoff aux Fraises disaster, to name one), as well as several subplots about her personal life, family, coworkers and the blog she created to record her culinary journey. Julie and Julia features wry, breezy, frequently foul-mouthed humor and much affection for Julia Child and the cooking life. Ultimately, Julia�s book teaches Julie a lesson: When life gives you lemons, take the juice, add salt, pepper and butter, and make some delicious Beurre au Citron.

Book Review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

To the staff and fellow residents of his nursing home, Jacob Jankowski is just another cranky 90-something widower. What they don�t know�and what the reader soon discovers�is the story of Jacob�s incredible past as a circus veterinarian for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. The novel focuses on Jacob�s memories of the summer of 1931, when he worked for the Benzini traveling circus until a bloody catastrophe shuttered the show forever. Gruen wonderfully evokes life under a Depression-era big top, filling her tale with romance, suspense and fascinating characters (including an unforgettable elephant named Rosie). With its compelling subject matter and satisfying ending, Water for Elephants is a book that stays with you long after you turn the final page.

Book Review: Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

It�s the holiday season in the north of Scotland, where a disparate group of individuals have converged. Elfrida, a free-spirited retired actress in her mid-sixties, is acting as companion to Oscar, a retired choirmaster and organist who recently lost his wife and daughter in a car crash. They are soon joined by two of Elfrida�s distant relations and a newcomer to the area, all of whom are several decades younger. Although diverse in age and temperament, the characters eventually find solace in friendship and the comforts of hearth and home. Filled with warm characters and rich descriptions of rugged Scottish coast, Winter Solstice is a soothing, delightfully cozy read.

Nigerian Author Wins 2007 Orange Prize

Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has won the 12th-annual Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction with Half of a Yellow Sun, her second novel. The book, a sweeping war epic set during Nigeria�s vicious 1960s Biafran conflict, was called �a moving and important book� by prize judges.

The Orange Broadband Prize is one of the the U.K.�s most prestigious literary awards, given annually to the best novel written in English by a woman of any nationality. Because of its focus, the award has been controversial. Previous winners include Larry�s Party by Carol Shields, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

Lights, Camera, Read: Summer 2007 Edition

The summer movie season is in full swing, and in the midst of all the blockbusters, there will be a few films with literary underpinnings:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling
Evening, based on the novel by Susan Minot
Jindabyne, based on the story "So Much Water So Close to Home" by Raymond Carver
Stardust, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman

So before you see the movie, check out the book!

Horsing Around

Saturday is the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby, the brightest jewel of thoroughbred racing�s Triple Crown. One way to get ready for the Run for the Roses is to check out a racing-related novel. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley (herself a breeder of thoroughbreds) gently satirized the complex world of the track with Horse Heaven, a funny story packed with human and equine characters. For a sweeping Bluegrass State-based saga, try Fern Michael�s Kentucky Rich, Kentucky Heat and Kentucky Sunrise. The trilogy chronicles the ups and downs of the Coleman clan, a wealthy family overseeing a prestigious horse farm. Readers who enjoy mysteries might like to take a gallop with Dick Francis, whose numerous equestrian whodunits have made him a household name in his native England.

For more information on the Kentucky Derby, trot on over to our Reference News blog.

Pulitzer Prizes Announced

The 2007 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced. Here are some of the winners available at the library:

Fiction: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
History: The Race Beat by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff
Biography: The Most Famous Man in America by Debby Applegate
General Nonfiction: The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
Music: Sound Grammar by Ornette Coleman

2007 Ravinia Schedule

The 2007 Ravinia schedule is now available at www.ravinia.org. Among the highlights: performances by Placido Domingo, Tony Bennett, B.B. King and a live recording of A Prairie Home Companion. Ravinia's "One Score, One Chicago" pick for the year is Alexander Zemlinsky's The Mermaid.

Oprah's Latest Pick: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Oprah Winfrey has once again spoken: Her latest book club pick is Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a tale of a father and son journeying across a bleak, post-apocalyptic landscape. The notoriously private McCarthy, best-known for dark stories of the West such as All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing, will be interviewed by Winfrey in an upcoming episode of her talk show.

Book Review: Jim the Boy by Tony Early

In these complicated, stressful times, sometimes there is nothing better than curling up with a comforting, old-fashioned read. Tony Early's debut novel, Jim the Boy, fits the bill perfectly. This understated, graceful book traces an ordinary year in the life of Jim Glass, a 10-year-old living in Depression-era rural North Carolina. Although his father died unexpectedly a week before Jim�s birth, the boy has been happily brought up by his quiet mother and three devoted bachelor uncles. During the course of the story, Jim begins to see his place in the wider, sometimes discomfiting world: visiting the seashore, enrolling in a new school, consoling a polio-stricken friend, and meeting his estranged grandfather. Jim the Boy�s clear prose, endearing characters and bittersweet nostalgia gently evoke a time when less was more.