Tuesday Thingers (hosted by The Boston Bibliophile)
LibraryThing’s Common Knowledge feature tracks awards; you can find it here.
I used to pay a lot more attention to book awards than I do lately. I’m somewhat attentive to the Pulitzer (for fiction), National Book Award, and PEN/Faulkner winners, and seeing those award decals on a book cover does sometimes tip my decision on whether or not to read something, but that’s about the extent to which they influence me – now. They used to be a much bigger factor, apparently…
I can’t meet that “off-the-top” restriction on the “What award-winning books do you have?” part of this week’s question, because this is not the kind of thing I can usually remember off the top of my head, which is why I catalog my books on LT in the first place. Luckily, that “common knowledge” feature made it pretty easy to look up book-award winners, and it marks the books in your collection. Reviewing that list, and remembering reading some of them, does tell me that I probably have chosen some books primarily because they won awards, particularly the Pulitzer. Here’s what I have:
Pulitzer Prize for fiction
March by Geraldine Brooks (2006)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2003)
Empire Falls by Richard Russo (2002) (in long-term TBR Purgatory)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (2001)
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1999) *
Independence Day by Richard Ford (1996) *
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (1995)
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (1994) **
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (1992)
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (1989)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1961)
National Book Award
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (nonfiction, 2005) (TBR)
Three Junes by Julia Glass (fiction, 2002)
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (fiction, 2001) (in long-term TBR Purgatory)
Waiting by Ha Jin (2000) +
** = same book won Pulitzer that year
PEN/Faulkner Award
The Great Man by Kate Christensen (2008)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (2002)
* = same book won Pulitzer that year
+ = same book won National Book Award that year
If I have to choose a single favorite from among these winners, it’s Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex. Michael Chabon and Anne Tyler are both among my favorite authors, but the books they won awards for aren’t necessarily my favorites of the books they’ve written.
What about you – how much do book awards affect what you choose to read? Do you have any favorite award-winning books?
I’m skipping Teaser Tuesday this week, since I had so many books in it last week! But commenter feedback did help me decide what to read next; I’m about halfway through Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time, and plan to read The Post-Birthday World after that. (Thanks, Janet and Lenore!)
Villainy – Booking Through Thursday
Today (Sept. 11) is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know that not all of you who read are in the U.S., but still, it’s vital that none of us who are decent people forget the scope of disaster that a few, evil people can cause–anywhere in the world. It’s not about religion, it’s not about politics, it’s about the acknowledgment that humans should try to work together, not tear each other apart, even when they disagree.
So, feeling my way to a question here … Terrorists aren’t just movie villains any more. Do real-world catastrophes such as 9/11 (and the bombs in Madrid, and the ones in London, and the war in Darfur, and … really, all the human-driven, mass loss-of-life events) affect what you choose to read? Personally, I used to enjoy reading Tom Clancy, but haven’t been able to stomach his fight-terrorist kinds of books since.
And, does the reality of that kind of heartless, vicious attack–which happen on smaller scales ALL the time–change the way you feel about villains in the books you read? Are they scarier? Or more two-dimensional and cookie-cutter in the face of the things you see on the news?
For a period after 9/11, I had a hard time reading much fiction, or anything that seemed “fluffy.” I was a news junkie for awhile – which is something I tend to go through stages of anyway – and lightened up gradually. But in addition to what happened, I was always more tuned to the human-interest angle – where people were when it happened, the experiences of the families, the after-effects – and continue to be drawn to that in fiction.
Other than that, I don’t think it’s affected my reading all that much (although I do think it’s been a factor in the success of The Kite Runner). It’s influenced some of my reading in the area of religious studies, and has made me wonder about how some people can believe that acts of intolerance, violence and murder can truly be motivated, let alone sanctioned, by God. It’s a concept of God that I just can’t grasp. As far as fiction is concerned, though, I don’t think it has changed how I view villains in books, particularly since I tend to prefer reading stories with more complex characters that may not have a real good guys/bad guys setup. Again, it’s the human-interest angle.
This BTT topic touched off some personal reflections about this day – what happened, and what it means – and I’m linking to some of the related posts from book blogs I read:
“What I Saw That Day,” an essay by Will Entrekin, reprinted at Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage!
“Remembering Today, 7 Years Ago,” at Age 30+…A Lifetime of Books
“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy,” from Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?, whose birthday is the also-infamous December 7
And at Reading Room, Gautami’s post from India reminds us that terrorism happens all over the world
Friday Fill-Ins #89
1. I enjoy a really good, really bad pun.
2. The direction this country will take after November is something I wonder about often lately.
3. In your heart, you knew you shouldn’t have eaten that (but your stomach confirmed it).
4. Take a cup of coffee, add a little creamer and sweetener and you end up with something warm and delicious to help wake you up.
5. Life has gifted me with a pretty good sense of humor (lucky for my husband!).
6. Getting caught up in a good book is an instant vacation.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to whatever we end up doing, even if it’s nothing, tomorrow my plans include taking the kids clothes shopping again and Sunday, I want to take my stepdaughter to go get our nails done, among other things!
What exciting weekend plans do you have – or, failing that, what boring plans do you have?
I’ve read a lot of award-winning books, just not big awards. Mostly Hugo and Nebula winners; what can I say? Still, those will influence me to try an author I’ve never read before. I don’t always like them, though. I’m hard to please. 🙂
The Kite Runner is an excellent book whih touhes that human angle. I think we need to read about these happenings.
Thanks for linking my post! I am honoured.
Football and more football with the boys…I’d wouldn’t mind doing my nails for something different! 🙂
Mike – I figured Hugo/Nebula winners would be more your thing. You know I don’t read a lot in those genres, but if I decide to start I will definitely go to you for suggestions!
Gautami – Thank you for the excellent points you made in your post. Americans do tend to think it’s all about us, and we sometimes need to be reminded it’s not, in my opinion.
Gayle – The manicures are in advance of a family party next weekend. The polish probably won’t last that long, but the grooming should.
Better you than me with the football games. I am so NOT a football person.
For me it depends on the award. I quite like the Giller and the Orange Prize and wouldn’t mind reading most of those. And then some other awards like the Booker or Pulitzer, etc. I tend to pick and choose what appeals to me. Although that fact that a book has won an award can tip the scales if I’m a little curious about it.
As for the weekend, not much planned. It’s still a bit too hot here to want to be out. I so can’t wait for fall to finally get here!
Tanabata – It’s pretty much that way for me too, as far as awards are concerned.
We’re having surprisingly cool weather – usually September and October in Southern California are hot months, but it’s been nice this week. We’ll see how long it lasts. Hope it cools off for you soon!
My favorite award-winning book (that’s an easy one): A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole. Also one of my favorite books of all time. It won the Pulitzer for fiction (sometime back in the 60s). Fascintating background (in my opinion!): the author killed himself in his early 20s and his mother found the manuscript in his desk drawer afterward. She collared a professor at the university there in New Orleans and made him read it – while she waited. The professor relented and started reading, and within a few pages knew he had something spectacular in his hands. The rest, as they say, is history. [OK, I didn’t do that story justice AT ALL, but you get the gist.] I recommend this book to everyone… Have a great weekend, Florinda!
Anna – I’ve heard that’s a real love-it-or-hate-it book – I haven’t read it myself, yet. It does have quite a backstory, though, and I will keep your recommendation in mind!
fill-in #2 is definitely on my mind as well. have a great weekend!
Alisonwonderland – I think that many of us are thinking about that these days, really.
My daughter is very impressed if books have won the Newberry award.
April – I was too, when I was your daughter’s age :-).
My in-laws and I drive my husband crazy with puns. He HATES them. Haha! I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming election too. I know how I want it to turn out. How I think it needs to turn out. But will we be so lucky? I haven’t opened a book since I got home from Hawaii, would you believe it? I need to chose my next book and get on with it. Enough blog reading!
The BTT question is an interesting one. I hadn’t really ever thought about how 9/11 might have impacted my reading, but looking back and adding in the other examples offered in the question, I would probably have to say yes. At least on some level. I think world horrors like genocide and terrorism do impact my reading to some degree. There’s a sense of wanting to know more and understanding the why’s. I could probably go on and on about this if I set my mind to it. 🙂 I can’t say my impression of fictional villains has changed much.
Have a great week, Florinda!
Literary Feline – I think puns are a love-it-or-hate-it thing. When Tall Paul and I were in the get-acquainted correspondence phase of our relationship, I warned him about my weakness for them; he warned me that he has the same weakness. You can just imagine some of the conversations around our house :-).
It was an interesting BTT question; I’m not sure I answered it very well.
I wonder about #2 as well. Oh, no Tuesday Teaser! I’m disappointed 🙂
Janet – Don’t worry, it’ll come back :-). I was just getting a bit ahead of my reading with those.