Frogs, or fortune tellers?
Today’s news introduces some recent books to browse over the long weekend. From a children’s story involving a magical elephant to hypotheses of the apocalypse, at least one of these books should catch your eye.
- Who is Jonathan Lethem calling “the most irresistible contemporary American writer?” Lorrie Moore in his New York Times review of her new book, A Gate at the Stairs. Lethem praises the ease and humor with which Moore takes on issues like war, racism, and the U.S. adoption process. In fact, there were so many glowing quotes it was hard to pick just one, but Lethem sums up his opinion when he says, “On finishing ‘A Gate at the Stairs’ I turned to the reader nearest to me and made her swear to read it immediately.”
- Omnivoracious has named Kate DiCamillo’s latest, The Magician’s Elephant, September’s best book for kids. DiCamillo is a Newbery Medal winner and author of Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux, among others. Omnivoracious assures us that The Magician’s Elephant is just as charming as DiCamillo’s past books. In fact, you may want to read it before handing it over to a youngster.
- For those that like to think about the apocalypse (maybe you’ve been reading too much Suzanne Collins, who knows), Jacket Copy discusses three books out now discussing what will be our downfall. Extinction in our Times and The End of the Long Summer focus on the environment, while Apocalypse 2012: a Novel goes in a more creative direction exploring the Mayan/Aztec prophecy that the world will end in 2012. Two out of the three are technically nonfiction, but it’s really anyone’s guess. I’m going with vampires.
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