Bookish remainders, starting with ‘Remainder’
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Tom McCarthy’s novel ‘Remainder’ has received the 2008 Believer Book Award. The judges selected it from a short list of 10 excellent, underappreciated novels.
The midwest’s largest book fair -- Printers Row -- opens its doors in Chicago this weekend. The LA Times Book Review’s David Ulin will be there to interview Andre Dubus III about his new novel ‘The Garden of Last Days.’
The NEA has added four new books to its Big Read library: A selection of Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry and short fiction, Louise Erdrich’s ‘Love Medicine,’ Tim O’Brien’s ‘The Things They Carried’ and Thornton Wilder’s ‘The Bridge of San Luis Rey,’ plus they’re throwing a little love to his play ‘Our Town.’
The academic literary community at The Valve is considering a summer book club: ‘The Portrait of a Lady,’ perhaps, or something else by Henry James? Or by W.G. Sebald? Or maybe ‘Green Grass, Running Water’ by Thomas King?
Meanwhile, Oprah’s book club has already gotten started with Eckhart Tolle’s ‘A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose,’ and is conducting online classes starting June 16.
Charles Dickens never got to take an online class; instead of a computer, he worked at a big mahogany desk, which, with its walnut chair, sold at auction this week for $848,000. That’s about seven times the original estimate, which proves only that Christie’s didn’t have great expectations for the sale.
Carolyn Kellogg