Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

As I mentioned last week, filmed adaptation of books look more plentiful and promising for 2009 than they have in the recent past. Now is the time to prepare, so your group can read the book before the film arrives. Of course release dates shift, and chances are that many of these films will be shifted to [...]

I just have to weigh in on that article-schmarticle in the New York Times on the dangers surrounding book groups.
I’m not offended, rather, the author of the piece merely confirms what most of us who have been attending/leading book groups for years have always known.
Someone always wants to talk about their kids or [...]

Whenever I lead a workshop on planning and conducting book discussions, one question in particular inevitably comes up:  what is the ideal size for a book discussion?  My answer, based on my experiences, is 12-15 people — large enough to provide for a variety of opinions, but not so big that the leader has difficulty [...]

If you think of book groups as the most benign of gatherings, think again, according to an article in The New York Times.  Apparently they’re hotbeds of politics and infighting.  Some groups are even hiring professional facilitators.
I was especially struck by the reference in the aticle to “flinging a drink in the face of a member who suggests reading Trollope.” [...]

I’ve read The Hobbit three times, The Fellowship of the Ring twice, The Two Towers once, and I’ve never read The Return of the King.
What does that say about me? 
As one of the iconic books of our time, The Lord of the Rings is often referred to with a reverence that’s uncritical, as I [...]

I just read this article about movies that are better than the books.
I do have to argue, that while I think Stand By Me is a powerful film, the short story, “The Body,” upon which it is based is just as powerful. The story begins with a beautiful piece of writing by King that I had [...]

Do we dare hope that the film industry will rediscover the value of basing films on good books? Until December, 2008 had to be the weakest year in memory for adaptations. Between emphasis on special effects over scripts, focus on teenagers over adult filmgoers, and growing use of sequels, remakes, foreign film retreads, television show adaptations–basically any [...]

Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir, Fun Home, received rave reviews all over the place when it came out. It’s an insightful, tender, exquisitely and excruciatingly detailed coming-of-age story, in which the author discovers that she is gay, and in quick succession learns that her father was a closeted homosexual just before his accidental death.
But Bechdel’s memoir, [...]

Here’s another entry in the end-of-the-year best books sweepstakes: The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2008.  
Fiction
Dangerous Laughter: Thirteen Stories, by Steven Millhauser
A Mercy, by Toni Morrison
Netherland, by Joseph O’Neill
2666, by Roberto Bolano
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Nonfiction
 The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on [...]

Part of me wants to torture you by saying things like:
You will never forget the scene with the baby octopus. Ever. And believe me, you won’t. I went completely into shock…
Okay, but since young Belgian superstar Amelie Nothomb’s Tokyo Fiancee doesn’t come out until the first of January, that would be a mean tease. And [...]