About Contemporary Literature

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

2010-02-08T09:20:36Z

For Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier dug up the skeleton of a story, cleaned the scattered pieces, and rearranged them in just the right order. In doing so, she has revealed a stunning of account two amazing women in early 19th Century England, a time when many believed that Bishop James Ussher had "proved" the world was created on October 23, 4004 BC.

^{Photo credit: Dutton}

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 09:20:36.

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Kiss the $9.99 E-Book Goodbye

2010-02-03T12:21:13Z

You may or may not have noticed, but a bit of a skirmish has errupted over the past week between Amazon.com and publishing giant, Macmillan, which has resulted in some bad news for e-book, and particularly Kindle e-book, consumers.

A brief and drastically-telescoped reccount of the events:
When Macmillan Publishing (among others) suggested that the Amazon's $9.99 price for Kindle books was devaluing to e-books and that the enormous online reseller should consider raising the price (to around $15), Amazon balked (told the publisher to get stuffed). Read more...

Kiss the $9.99 E-Book Goodbye originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 12:21:13.

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The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

2010-02-01T09:21:40Z

A lacuna is a gap, a space, the thing you don't know - like an underwater cave or a missing piece of history. In The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver imagines a historical space and seamlessly fills it with Harrison William Shepherd.

_{Photo credit: Harper}

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 09:21:40.

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J.D. Salinger, 1919-2010

2010-01-28T23:43:21Z

J.D. Salinger died today in his New Hampshire home at the age of 91.

I was never assigned to read The Catcher in the Rye, but I did so. I was in college, and I'd picked up a copy of the book at The Skylight Exchange, a gritty Chapel Hill coffee shop that boasted a used book and record store in the back. I was renting a closet-sized room in a small house that my landlord, a men's formalwear salesman named Skip, had filled with fine, Victorian furnishings. I brought the slim novel home with me and plopped down on the expensive couch in our well-appointed living room. I don't know that the book necessarily changed me, but I know that I was transfixed throughout. It remains the only book I've ever read cover to cover in one sitting.

J.D. Salinger published The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, after which he wrote short stories and a handful of novellas, the most well known of which was Franny and Zooey (1961). The Catcher in the Rye, which has sold more than 65 million copies and continues to be taught widely in high schools and colleges, will continue to arrest readers with the brutally honest voice of its 16-year-old narrator, Holden Caufield, who had this to say about death:

"I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."

Amen, brother.

J.D. Salinger, 1919-2010 originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 23:43:21.

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The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim

2010-01-25T09:35:16Z

The time period of this enthralling novel - summer 1915 to December 1945 - covers a tumultuous period in the history of Korea as told through the eyes of a calligrapher's daughter. Traditional Korean mores are being shunted aside by the invading Japanese in a brutal attempt to wipe out Korean language and culture completely. Read more.

Photo credit: Henry Holt and Company

The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 09:35:16.

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Enter WEbook's PageToFame For a Shot at $10k

2010-01-20T14:06:46Z

Attention writers and aspiring writers: WEbook.com has introduced PageToFame, a competition in which writers submit 1st page samples of their book to be voted upon by WEbook readers. The prize? An opportunity to win a $10k advance and assistance in landing a publishing deal.

It should be mentioned that there is a small ($4.95 for a limited time) entrance fee, but if you're ready for more anonymous feedback on your novel-in-progress, this may be worth checking out.

Learn more about the contest and submission process over at WEbook.com.

Enter WEbook's PageToFame For a Shot at $10k originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 14:06:46.

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A Separate Country by Robert Hicks

2010-01-18T09:22:53Z

Like its predecessor, The Widow of the South, Robert Hicks' A Separate Country has its roots in the Civil War and is an interesting, if sometimes disjointed, fictional study of Confederate General, John Bell Hood. Read more.

Photo credit: Grand Central Publishing

A Separate Country by Robert Hicks originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 09:22:53.

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Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

2010-01-13T11:21:13Z

After Michael Crichton's untimely death in 2008, a completed manuscript was discovered in his files by his assistant- at least that's how the story goes according to his publisher. If we are to take HarperCollins at its word, then it would seem they stumbled upon a bit of buried treasure, Mr. Crichton's latest book Pirate Latitudes.

_{Photo credit: HarperCollins}

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 11:21:13.

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Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith

2010-01-11T09:34:10Z

Zadie Smith's essays in Changing My Mind come together like a patchwork quilt: a pattern of beauty runs throughout this collection, but the individual pieces are cut in a variety of shapes and sizes. Read more.

Photo credit: The Penguin Press

Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 09:34:10.

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The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

2010-01-08T10:39:49Z

It's not revealing too much to say that Ali Shaw's magical debut novel, The Girl With Glass Feet concerns a young woman who faces what is indeed a most unusual malady. Ida Maclaird has come to the icy archipelago of St. Hauda's Land seeking a man - one she'd met while in the mysterious islands six months prior, before the glass. Read more.

_{Photo credit: Henry Holt}

The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw originally appeared on About.com Contemporary Literature on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 10:39:49.

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