We’re in the midst of book awards season, heady times for lit lovers. The finalists are announced and the anticipation builds. Such talented writers, such fascinating, interesting, diverse books. And the big question crosses your mind: No, not “who will be the winner?” More important, “have I read them all?” With the Man Booker PrizeContinue reading

We’re thrilled to share that Lisa Ko‘s powerful debut, The Leavers, has earned a well-deserved spot as a finalist (finalist!) for the National Book Award for Fiction.  Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It’s a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everythingContinue reading

Lisa Ko’s The Leavers was just longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction. Here she explains how she came to write this “dazzling debut,” as People called it. The Leavers is the winner of the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver for a novel that addresses issues of social justice. .Continue reading

What books recently rocked my world: . The View From Lazy Point by Carl Safina – one of the best writers out there on the natural world, particularly oceans, this book is a careful observation of the wonders of life as observed through migrations and then also brings to bear the devastating effects of climateContinue reading

I would like to make a motion to take “November” and rename it “Yesvember”. An entire month beginning with the word “no” acts as a subliminal discouragement. It’s bad for morale. If we cannot agree on “Yesvember”, we could also look into something less emphatic: “Perhapsvember” is an option–a month of possibility–although that wont fitContinue reading