some Bibliophile news

So, instead of a book review, I wanted to share some literary news.

I for one am disappointed that the Pulitzer Prize board has decided not to announce a winner in the fiction category. Over 6 months, 3 jurors deemed to be literary experts read some 300 novels and short stories- talk about grueling (and I can imagine it's difficult to mentally sort through all that prose and make clear, critical decisions). They then present 3 novels to the Pulitzer board, which consists of 18 members, who read and decide. This year, they forgot to do the second part. No one is completely clear on why, but the presentation of this honor is huge for bibliophiles (that's me), authors, and the entire publishing industry, and withholding it for any reason is, in my opinion, an affront.

One of the judges wrote an article that I read in the Washington Post. While the situation is lamentable, I appreciated this passage and her takeaway from the experience:

All three novels [The Pale King, Swamplandia!, Train Dreams] are unforgettable, and if you read them all — which would be the best outcome of this Pulitzer debacle — I promise that your sense of the possibilities of American fiction will be enlarged.


I'm considering an encore career in literary critique. Right? That 6 months sounds like my heaven.

Smolder us, Carlos.

In other book-related news, one of my favorite authors, Carlos Ruiz Zafon (he is included in my lengthy inaugural bibliophile post of my favorite literature), has released his third novel in a series I have desperately enjoyed. This one is called The Midnight Palace. Ooh I can't wait to read it. He also did an interview with Good Reads where he listed his favorite "books about books" (it's a series they do).

Don't know about Good Reads? You should! It's like a super interactive online reading list. You can mark books you've read, rate them, mark books you want to read, and write reviews. Good Reads will make suggestions for other books based on your readings and ratings (like Netflix) and allow you to interact with other readers. You can share your list with friends, too. Check it out here and we can be literary friends!
And finally, a little literary comic to advise you in the proper reading technique. Kinda makes me want to taunt a book. Regular reviews will resume shortly.