Saturday, February 28, 2009

Three Girls and Their Brother

“Three Girls and Their Brother,” by Theresa Rebeck, 352 pages, a satire, one Amazon reviewer gave it only 2 stars, but recommended it as a book hard to put down. Entertainment Weekly: “a fizzy satire of celeb-obsessed NYC about flame-haired teenage sisters who get photographed for The New Yorker and soon become megastars." A 2009 Alex Award winner.

If you've read this book, please leave a comment about it and whether you think it would be of interest to a wide audience of 30,000 university readers.

Mudbound

“Mudbound,” by Hillary Jordan, 352 pages; per Amazon “Jordan won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for Mudbound, her first novel. The prize was founded by Barbara Kingsolver to reward books of conscience, social responsibility, and literary merit. In addition to meeting all of the above qualifications, Jordan has written a story filled with characters as real and compelling as anyone we know.” A 2009 Alex Award winner.

If you've read this book, please leave a comment about it and whether you think it would be of interest to a wide audience of 30,000 university readers.

The Good Thief

“The Good Thief,” by Hannah Tinti, 336 pages, sounds like Oliver Twist in colonial New England. A 2009 Alex Award winner.

If you've read this book, please leave a comment about it and whether you think it would be of interest to a wide audience of 30,000 university readers.

Finding Nouf

“Finding Nouf,” by Zoë Ferraris, 305 pages; mystery set in Saudi Arabia. A 2009 Alex Award winner.

If you've read this book, please leave a comment about it and whether you think it would be of interest to a wide audience of 30,000 university readers.

The Dragons of Babel

“The Dragons of Babel,” by Michael Swanwick, 320 pages; a “modern fantasy”. A 2009 Alex Award winner.

If you've read this book, please leave a comment about it and whether you think it would be of interest to a wide audience of 30,000 university readers.

City of Thieves

“City of Thieves,” by David Benioff, 272 pages, based on stories of author’s grandfather in Russia in WWII. A 2009 Alex Award winner.

If you've read this book, please leave a comment about it and whether you think it would be of interest to a wide audience of 30,000 university readers.

Books we are considering for fall 2010

It takes a while to read several possible books and have committee discussions on their pros and cons for the campus-wide reading program. All of the books previously selected for the SJSU Campus Reading Program were Alex Award winners. So we now start with the list of 10 Alex Award winners, which the Amercian Library Association announces in late January. Here is the 2009 list:

  1. “City of Thieves,” by David Benioff, 272 pages, based on stories of author’s grandfather in Russia in WWII
  2. “The Dragons of Babel,” by Michael Swanwick, 320 pages; a “modern fantasy”
  3. “Finding Nouf,” by Zoë Ferraris, 305 pages; mystery set in Saudi Arabia
  4. “The Good Thief,” by Hannah Tinti, 336 pages, sounds like Oliver Twist in colonial New England
  5. “Just After Sunset: Stories,” by Stephen King, 384 pages of short stories
  6. “Mudbound,” by Hillary Jordan, 352 pages; per Amazon “Jordan won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for Mudbound, her first novel. The prize was founded by Barbara Kingsolver to reward books of conscience, social responsibility, and literary merit. In addition to meeting all of the above qualifications, Jordan has written a story filled with characters as real and compelling as anyone we know.”
  7. “Over and Under,” by Todd Tucker, 288 pages, story of two 14-year old boys having a nice summer while their fathers – one a manager and one a union leader are involved in a labor strife
  8. “The Oxford Project,” by Stephen G. Bloom, photographed by Peter Feldstein, 246 pages, photos and stories of the 600 people living in Oxford, Iowa
  9. “Sharp Teeth,” by Toby Barlow, published by Harper, 336 pages, a "sexy" werewolf story told in free verse
  10. “Three Girls and Their Brother,” by Theresa Rebeck, 352 pages, a satire, one Amazon reviewer gave it only 2 stars, but recommended it as a book hard to put down. Entertainment Weekly: “a fizzy satire of celeb-obsessed NYC about flame-haired teenage sisters who get photographed for The New Yorker and soon become megastars”

There are 4 on the Alex Award list that dont' fit our criteria:

  • Just After Sunset: Stories - short stories
  • Over and Under - not in paperback
  • The Oxford Project - seems to be mostly a photo-essay
  • Sharp Teeth - free verse

You'll find blog entries for the 6 books from the Alex Award list that we'll consider for fall 2010. Please feel free to add your comments to any you have read.