Why fiction is good for you Jonathan Gottschall is getting a lot of mileage from the recent publication of his book The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. In this piece he addresses the issue of whether fiction in all its forms—TV shows and commercials, religious beliefs, and social commentary as well as novels, […]
Gottschall, Jonathan. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012ISBN 978-0-547-39140-3 Recommended “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories,” declares Jonathan Gottschall in the preface to his recent book The Storytelling Animal. Gottschall, a member
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It’s New Year’s Eve, a good time to look back on what’s happened in the literary world this year. Here are two more “best books” lists I think I’ve missed, NPR’s choices of The Best Music Books of 2011 and 2011’s Best American Poetry. Britain’s The Telegraph provides comprehensive coverage in The Literary Year 2011.
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Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American Legend Ballantine Books, 2001Trade paperback, 399 pagesISBN 0-449-00561-5 Recommended In Seabiscuit Laura Hillenbrand tells the classic American story of the underdog. A mud-colored horse with a crooked leg and not much ambition, Seabiscuit became the icon of rags-to-riches fame and accomplishment for an American population beaten down by years of the
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Yep, it’s that time again already: Time for the “best books of the year” lists. Here’s the first one I’ve seen, Publishers Weekly‘s list of the 10 best books of the year, both fiction and nonfiction considered together. And I’m sure that more lists won’t be far behind.
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Book lovers rake in the reading as publishers release fall titles It’s time to trade in the beach reads for the usually longer and more serious fall reads. The Sacramento Bee‘s Allen Pierleoni lists upcoming new titles, some by big-name authors (think Joan Didion, Lee Child, Stephen King, Alice Hoffman, and Sue Grafton ) in
Vashon Great Books club one of oldest in U.S. The Seattle Times spotlights 92-year-old Grace Crecelius: For 61 years, Grace Crecelius has cracked the books. Not just any books, mind you, but the works of Plato, Descartes and Kant, Shakespeare, Marx and Freud. At 92, Crecelius is the oldest member of what may be one
Best nonfiction books of 2008 | csmonitor.com: The Christian Science Monitor offers its gift-giving guide to nonfiction.
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Maisel, Eric. A Writer’s SpaceAvon, MA: Adams Media, 2008ISBN 1-59869-460-X Recommended In this little (5.5 in. wide by 6.25 in. tall) book Maisel, a therapist and creativity coach, uses the metaphor of space “to communicate how you can get a grip on your writing life and transform yourself from an occasional writer to a regular
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Hood, Ann. Comfort: A Journey Through GriefNew York: Norton, 2008ISBN 978-0-393-06456-8 Highly Recommended When Ann Hood’s five-year-old daughter Grace died suddenly in 2002 from a virulent form of strep, everyone tried to comfort Ann with platitudes like “She’s in a better place” or “Time heals.” But Hood did not find these cliches comforting. And everyone
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