Liu Xiaobo, Chinese writer and human rights activist
Happy New Year! Celebrate 2010 with news about the struggle for free speech in China, upcoming titles to look out for, and non-YA books for teens.
- The literary community is up in arms over the arrest of Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after helping to create Charter 08, a document requesting reform in China. Xiaobo was sentenced on Christmas day, and six days later notable authors (including E.L. Doctorow and Don DeLillo) gathered in front of the New York Public Library to call for his release. Jacket Copy discusses the issue, relating it to other instances of Chinese authors’ arrests.
- On a lighter note, the Guardian rings in the new year with a focus on buzzed-about titles of 2010. The article highlights books in every genre from January through June, giving a brief summary of each and explaining why you should care. The list is a refreshing change from the end-of-the-year “best of 2009″ lists, though it requires a bit of patience since some of these books don’t release for 6 months.
- Teens may enjoy books about vampires, but this guilty pleasure doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate “serious” literature. In NPR’s “Three Books for The Smartest Teens You Know,” young-adult author Garret Freymann-Weyr highlights 3 books that literary teens will love. These are not YA books, but each selection features a teenaged protagonist faced with a significant obstacle. Freymann-Weyr selects books with emotional depth and literary merit, and no, Catcher in the Rye is not on the list.
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