Usually we don’t consider our tabulation of the year’s best books over until the beginning of January since the lists keep coming until then. But here is our latest weekly update of the Best of the Best of 2013, to fuel some final holiday shopping ideas. As often happens, the list continues to clarify itself, with George Saunders and Donna Tartt pulling away from the pack — still in a tie for “book of the year” honors. (Sheri Fink, George Packer and Jesmyn Ward are still in close competition for the top nonfiction book of the year.) This count includes […]
Archives for December 2013
Bookselling: New Owners (Again) for That Bookstore in Blytheville; Main Street Books to Close; and More
That Bookstore in Blytheville has changed hands for the second time in just over a year. The Blytheville Courier reports that Chris Crawley and Yolanda Harrison acquired the store from Grant Hill, who bought it from original owner Mary Gay Shipley. Crawley and Harrison had begun discussions with Shipley — whom Crawley described as an “old friend” — even before Hill assumed ownership, then re-approached Hill once it was clear he was looking to sell. The new owners will officially take over the Blytheville, AK store in January with a grand re-opening. Main Street Books in St. Charles, MO will […]
People: Ned Vizzini, 32, Dies
Author Ned Vizzini, 32, committed suicide Thursday evening in Brooklyn, the borough medical examiner’s office confirmed to us (as well as to the LAT.) Vizzini wrote the young adult novels IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, turned into the 2010 film of the same name, THE OTHER NORMALS and BE MORE CHILL, as well as the middle-grade novel HOUSE OF SECRETS (co-written with director Chris Columbus), with a sequel set to be published by Balzer + Bray on March 25. Vizzini also worked as a TV writer on shows including “Teen Wolf” and “The Last Resort.” He is survived by […]
People: Janson-Smith to Retire
Patrick Janson-Smith will retire in fall 2014 when he turns 65, after his fortieth consecutive Frankfurt Book Fair. He is currently publisher of the boutique imprint Blue Door at Harper UK, which he founded in 2008. The line will close after his retirement. He says: “The industry has changed so much in the past few years. The whole industry is in a bit of a mess at the moment, but it can only get better. I think Stephen Page said, if you can’t understand it, get out. I think that’s good advice, which I intend to follow. I’m a book man, and I […]
Briefs: A Harry Potter Play, Hachette UK’s New Office, and a Microsoft Employee Who Leaked Nook Deal
JK Rowling will co-produce a Harry Potter play intended to debut on London’s West End in 2015, and will collaborate with a playwright on the show, which will focus on “the previously untold story of Harry Potter’s early years as an orphan and outcast.” Already a year in “gestation,” it will be produced by veterans Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender. Rowling said their pitch “was the only one that really made sense to me, and which had the sensitivity, intensity and intimacy I thought appropriate for bringing Harry’s story to the stage.” As announced in September, Rowling is also working on […]
More Bests
The latest best books lists come from the three critics at the New York Times, Dwight Garner, Michiko Kakutani and Janet Maslin — who writes, “Let us be the first to tell you: These are quirky lists. They’re supposed to be. These are our favorite books of the year, so please don’t confuse them with 10 Bests, because we can’t make lists like those.” Three of Kakutani’s picks (Alan Blinder, George Saunders and Donna Tartt) also made the official NYT 10 best list. Other recently-published lists include People Magazine’s top 10 books and BuzzFeed’s 17 books they loved. FSG’s favorites […]