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Awards, News, & Juneteenth Booklists

The 2022 Manitoba Book Awards are announced. CBC has coverage.

Andrew Roberts wins the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography for George III: The Life and Reign of Britain’s Most Misunderstood Monarch (Penguin).  

James Patterson makes headlines for controversial statements he made in a recent interview with The Times. Entertainment Weekly has coverage. 

BookRiot has a booklist for Juneteenth. 

The Seattle Times explores “why food can be a gateway for learning about Black history on Juneteenth.”

Reviews

NYT reviews Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Pr.; LJ starred review): “Moshfegh is one of the most interesting writers alive, but Lapvona is a gloomy, punishing and curiously flavorless banquet.”  The Guardian also reviews: “What impresses here is not so much Moshfegh’s abilities with character or narrative, or even her language (which excels more in her short stories), as the qualities Lapvona shares with a Francis Bacon painting: depicting in blood-red vitality, without morals or judgment, the human animal in its native chaos.”

NYT also reviews Pig Years by Ellyn Gaydos (Knopf; LJ starred review): “But the overall effect is of access and intimacy; Gaydos lets us into her world, and we follow her to the worthy and unforgiving place where nature and agriculture meet.” And, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook (S. & S.): “At its heart, this is a story about family — whether it can survive in an inhospitable environment — and whether it is possible to be a good person in a corrupted world.” And, Diary of a Film by Niven Govinden (Deep Vellum Publishing): “To simply outline its trajectory is to give short shrift to the alchemy by which Govinden, the author of five previous novels, so utterly occupies his narrator’s mind.” Also, Grand Hotel Europa by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, trans. by Michele Hutchison (Farrar): “Not everything works, but in the end, Grand Hotel Europa is like its garrulous narrator, whose flaws and excesses you readily forgive because you enjoy his company.” And, We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys by Erin Kimmerle (Morrow): “Kimmerle’s determined efforts to expose injustice, honor the dead and answer their families’ questions remain as timely as ever.” Plus, Elusive: How Peter Higgs Solved the Mystery of Mass by Frank Close (Basic Books): “One is left to wonder if Frank Close chose the title for “Elusive” as a reference to the glimmering subatomic particle of Higgs’s theory — or to the theorist himself.” Finally, Rough Draft by Katy Tur (One Signal): “And despite a second memoir just shy of 40, she seems low-maintenance for a TV anchor. With her sharp eye and intelligence, she seems wasted behind that damned desk.”

Briefly Noted

USA Today has a Q&A with Jessica Nabongo, the author of The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman's Journey to Every Country in the World (National Geographic), and first Black woman to travel to each country on Earth.

Entertainment Weekly talks with Ottessa Moshfegh about the trailer for her new novel, Lapvona (Penguin Pr.; LJ starred review) and “her enduring fascination with the human body, and the weird Hollywood shuffle of having three major film adaptions currently in production.”

John Waters discusses the inspiration for his novel, Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance (Farrar), with Shondaland. Plus, Christine Kandic Torres talks about her debut, The Girls in Queens (HarperVia).

The Rumpus talks with Liz Prato about her new book of essays, Kids in America: A Gen X Reckoning (Santa Fe Writer’s Project), “gaslighting, racism, terrorism,” and “the Reagan years.”

Vogue interviews Rachel Krantz about her book, Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy—A Polyamory Memoir (Harmony).

Nina LaCour discusses her new book, Yerba Buena (Flatiron), with Casey McQuiston at Bustle.

NYT’s Group Text recommends Jackie & Me by Louis Bayard (Algonquin; LJ starred review), for book clubs and offers discussion questions.

The Atlantic writes “White Author, Black Paragons: When writing across cultural divides flattens characters,” in reference to Geraldine Brooks’s new novel, Horse (Viking; LJ starred review).

LitHub has 20 books for the week.

Lee Cole, Groundskeeping (Knopf), recommends eight Kentucky writers at ElectricLit.

Richard Van Camp curates a list of “25 books that highlight the beauty of Indigenous literature” at CBC.

Bustle has 10 new must-read books, and “25 spell books for every type of witch”.

The Millions shares notable new releases. 

Vogue has "12 New Queer Books to Read This Summer."

OprahDaily looks for that perfect summer book. 

The Star Tribune has a list of summer books for slow days.

BookRiot has 16 books set on the Korean Penninsula.

The Guardian rounds up the best recent science fiction and fantasy.

Vulture suggests “What to Watch, Read, and Listen to After Gaslit.”

“A.B. Yehoshua, Israeli Writer Who Explored Moral and Political Dilemmas, Dies at 85.” NYT has an obituary.

Authors On Air

NPR’s Fresh Air talks with NBC News correspondent Katy Tur about her new memoir, Rough Draft (One Signal).

NPR’s It’s Been A Minute talks with Joseph Han, about his new book, Nuclear Family (Counterpoint), “U.S. imperialism, Korean ghosts and Guy Fieri.”

NPR’s Short Wave chats with chef J. Kenji López-Alt, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques (Norton; LJ starred review), and cooks a recipe from the book.

ALA’s podcast Call Number talks with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and previews theALA Annual Conference in Washington D.C.

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