Literary novels, a biography, a humorous memoir, a fable, and more. "What I want to tell you about is something quite different," says one character in these unforgettable books on this year-end list.
Category: Notable Books
2020 Christmas books: presents for myself
The permission of the holiday season is here. A classic novel, memoirs, confessions, and a search for Joseph Roth are now under my tree.
Book award winners announced this week
Some of the finest books published this year won the Booker Prize and the National Book Awards. Fiction includes stories about a ghost haunting a train station, an Asian actor aspiring to be Kung Fu Guy, and a boy in 1980's Glasgow. Here are the titles.
New novels coming in September 2020
We've got lots of good books to look forward to this fall season. Several are by big name authors who publish next month, such as Elena Ferrante and Marilynne Robinson.
An exceptional new World War II novel: “The Vanishing Sky” by L. Annette Binder
"The Vanishing Sky" sings to the heart and gives meaning to the soul by its seductive atmosphere and memorable, resilient characters. A favorite read of mine this summer.
Recommendations for a book club
Often in conversation someone mentions an upcoming book club meeting, and they say they need help with suggested reading to take with them. Here's a list I created for a recent request.
My impossible list of wants. Then three.
The International Dublin Literary Award is parked indefinitely at its 2020 Longlist due to the pandemic. But wait ‘til you see the nominees, happy hunting ground for readers in search of a good novel. There are many, but I provide a tip to help your search.
The singular gift of ordinary happiness
Niall Williams's new novel set in rural 1950's Ireland inspires optimism with the generous spirit of character Christy McMahon. McMahon arrives to assist with the installation of electricity in the village of Faha and seek forgiveness for a past mistake. Read more about this enchanting Irish story.
The books I’ll be reading next
A list of books coming in February and March that have me excited, including an essay collection, memoir, biography, fable, crime story and assorted novels.
Lessons for a book critic
Larry Heinemann won the 1987 National Book Award for fiction. It was a controversial upset. Here's why his story has stayed with me all these years.
My year of reading
Here at The Longest Chapter, instead of calling out best books of 2019, I've gathered a more personal list.
Books I’m recommending
I've captured here the novels I mentioned on NPR member station WOSU All Sides Weekend Books that aired November 8, 2019.
Classic horror with an evil twin
Thomas Tryon's "The Other" unnerved me the first time I read it when I was 16. It still creeps me out.
National Book Awards 2019 Finalists
Twenty-five nominees in five categories made it from the longlist to the shortlist of the National Book Awards. Here's a look at three of them, and also one that didn't make the cut but has an interesting scandal going on in Norway.
Waiting for Dilly Hearne
Two old Irish drug smugglers sit on a bench and chat in a derelict ferry terminal in Kevin Barry’s third novel, “Night Boat to Tangier.” It's a funny, dark, intoxicating story where the pages fly past under the quick-witted banter of Maurice and Charlie, who are looking for Maurice’s estranged daughter.
