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In search of lost eden
Review of ‘This Other Eden’(W. W. Norton & Company, 2023) by Paul Harding There are authors who build lush and ornate worlds by whimsically stringing words as they go along and then there are authors whose prose feels like finely chiseled pieces of blocks strung together with the perfect amount of agglutinant, making a splendid…
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New books for 2023: Fiction books
The Nov. 24 issue of Anabaptist World includes several mini reviews of recent books. Some of them are fiction books. The latest work of Mennonite fiction to rise from the plains of Steinbach, Man., eschews a linear path in favor of revealing its narrative by hopscotching across a cast of characters and times. The loosely…
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Best Nonfiction Elementary 2023
The beginning of life, the stars in the sky, the fungi around us, and some of the hottest topics in biology and science are on display in the best books of 2023 in the elementary nonfiction list. The facts are in: these writers and illustrators help kids connect with the real world in one thrilling…
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AI can’t write my books yet, but it still took my author photos
When the Screen Actors Guild first announced it would be striking, in July, I found myself scanning the list of grievances. Despite being a card-carrying, sidewalk-pacing member of its sister group, the Writers Guild of America, I briefly indulged some knee-jerk thoughts. Writers, after all, are not showered with free products they can easily afford.…
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This Is Your Brain on Books
The subtle Saint Anselm, a Benedictine monk, treated reading as a form of communion. In his time, the 11th century, readers often consumed books differently than they do today. A common form of monastic reading, for example, was lectio divina, which monks treated—as Christopher de Hamel says in The Manuscripts Club, a group biography of…
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Newly Opened Amanita Books Fills Niche for a Used and Rare Bookshop
DISCOVER YOUR “NEW” FAVORITE BOOK. Amanita Books quietly opened in the beginning of November in Eau Claire. In a purposefully dark and cozy spot on Hastings Way in Eau Claire, Amanita Books, the newest bookstore in town, fills its walls with mythical wonders and its shelves with untold secrets. Inspired by woodland creatures and imaginations…
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Canadian John Vaillant wins $85K U.K. nonfiction prize for book about Fort McMurray wildfires
John Vaillant has won the 2023 Baillie Gifford Prize for his book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast. The Baillie Gifford Prize is an annual British award that celebrates the best of nonfiction written in English, presenting the winning author with £50,000 ($85,851 Cdn). To mark the occasion of the prize’s 25th anniversary this year, shortlisted authors…
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Valley of the Birdtail wins two prizes at the Quebec Writers’ Foundation literary awards
Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson’s nonfiction work Valley of the Birdtail won two prizes at the 2023 Quebec Writers’ Foundation (QWF) literary awards. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the annual awards, which recognize writers in seven categories: first book, spoken word, children’s and young adult literature, non-fiction, poetry, translation and fiction. Valley of the Birdtail,…
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The books that make the best holiday gifts this year
Thinking of buying yourself a little treat this Black Friday? Struggling to find a gift for a friend or family member who has already read every book? We’re here to help. Below you’ll find a veritable bounty of book recommendations ranging from sci-fi, to fantasy, to mysteries, to cook books, and just about everything in…
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INTERVIEW: Author Brian K. Goodman on the Czech-American love affair in literature
An assistant professor at Arizona State University in the U.S., Brian K. Goodman published his first book earlier this year, The Nonconformists: American and Czech Writers across the Iron Curtain, a treasure trove of information and insights for anyone passionate about literature, human rights, and countercultures of political dissent and creative resistance. The book’s topics…
