By Sophie
No Bookbits last month (vacation), but I’m happy to be diving into the book news again today!
– Awards! Hot off the press: Helen Garner has won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with How to End a Story, her diaries detailing her life as a writer (and much more besides of course). The World Fantasy Awards were announced last Sunday; I was thrilled to discover I’d actually read (and loved) 2 of the winners, The Tainted Cup (novel) by Robert Jackson Bennett and Yoke of Stars (novella) by R. B. Lemberg (the Birdverse deserves all the praise). And of course the big one: László Krasznahorkai received this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature last month.
– Awards II! Two more big literary prizes will announce winners this month: The Booker Prize this coming Monday 10 November (catch the shortlist here), and the National Book Awards on Wednesday 19 November.
– If you’re considering diving into two brand-new releases, both doorstoppers, check out the Guardian‘s review on Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood and as well as their review on Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith (both have links to extracts!).
– Another doorstopper, but on the geopolitical stage, is excerpted over on LitHub: Autocrats vs. Democrats by Michael McFaul discusses the current trend of U.S. isolationism and what it means for the rest of the world. Personally, I hope that this week’s mid-term shift to the Democrats is the herald of more change to come over on the other side of the Atlantic.
– On to a (literal) palate cleanser: dinner with loved ones, one of my very favorite activities in the world. NPR talks to chef Samin Nosrat, who cooks and dines with friends every week, about her latest cookbook Good Things (and shares the recipe of a very, very garlic-y bread).
– Interview! The Guardian has an interview with Chris Kraus, author of cult-favorite I Love Dick, to celebrate the release of her new novel The Four Spent the Day Together. LitHub has a chat with Teju Cole about his novel Tremor (and many more topics besides). NPR interviewed music journalist Cameron Crowe about his new memoir, The Uncool (if you love the movie Almost Famous, this is the source material!).
– Lists! Ten Novels in Verse That Will Hook You, 8 Literary Horror Novels (because Halloween may be over but the days are still getting darker), Six Retellings of ‘The Cruel Sister’, and 7 Super Books for Comics Lovers.
– Why we love literary angst. The Guardian looks at classics like Dostoyevsky’s White Nights and Ali’s Madonna in a Fur Coat and their recent, TikTok-boosted popularity, especially among the younger crowd.
– And finally, a carousel of pictures from ABC Amsterdam’s first ever Halloween Party last Friday. Thank you to everyone who came by, and especially for all your amazing costumes!
