National Book Award

Thoughtfully selected books make wonderful gifts that can be enjoyed time after time and shared with family and friends. Contenders for 2015 book awards are ideal choices. This year’s winners and finalists include excellent selections for the fiction lover. Among them is the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. Inspired by the 1976 invasion of the home of singer Bob Marley, James creates multiple voices to give life to a forceful novel that delves into a volatile time in Jamaica’s postcolonial history, one with a long shadow of evil. Fates and Furies, National Book Award finalist, is another suggestion. In a masterpiece of love, creativity, and power, author Lauren Groff dazzles with an examination of the two sides of a marriage. The second half of the book turns the first half on its head. Stunning revelations suggest the heart of a couple is their secrets. And, for fan of thrillers and mysteries, put the winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel on your list. Written by William Kent Krueger, Ordinary Grace is a moving mystery focused on the price of growing up. The summer of 1961 was a grim awaking for teenager Frank Drum. When tragedy strikes his family, he finds himself in a world full of secrets and betrayal. Although not yet an award winner, The Odd Fellows Society…

John Updike Did you know that John Updike wrote a 70 page mystery story when he was only 14 years old? He said that he wanted to be recognized while he was still living. This is why he worked so hard to get published at an early age. There are many other reasons why they should keep his place in the literary canon for today and future generations. One of the reasons he should be remembered is that he was talented in ¬¬multiple fields. Also, he was known as a universal writer. John Updike should…

A popular book that started Braudy’s reputation for his knowledge of the popular culture, Hollywood Cinema, and and American zeitgeist of the 1950’s. "An exciting, entertaining exploration of films.... [Braudy] attempts to understand rather than promulgate rules and categories, and somehow to keep the criteria of enjoyment in some meaningful connection with the criteria of judgment." - Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times. Along with the publication of his book, Braudy was a part of the publication…

into Dartmouth College. She majored in English and Creative Writings. Louise also took courses in Native American studies. This program was headed by her soon to be husband, Michael Anthony Dorris that later committed suicide. It was till 1976 when she finally graduated. In 1979, Louise then earns her Master of Arts degree in writing from John Hopkins University. After this, she begins her writing career as a poet and Jacklight would soon be published in 1984. Jacklight was a book of blank verse…

This essay is about the Nickel and Dimed book that was written by Barbara Ehrenreich. Here is a quote found from the book, “Of all the nasty outcomes predicted for women's liberation...none was more alarming than the suggestion that women would eventually become just like men.” Nickel and Dimed was published in May 2001. The following is cited after this paragraph, “Barbara has written many other books that have awards. She is the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller…

masterpiece of literature that must be read. “…It has become a contemporary classic, taught in thousands of high school and college classes every year” (Row, 1). Although I may think this others, of course, also have oppositions. Opposed ideas like: the Chinese culture was portrayed negatively, the pressures of ghost seemed excessive, or that the novel had too much taking place. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions and many people have different thoughts about the novel. Each reader…

Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior is an autobiography based on her childhood memories; even so, she uses techniques of characterization as if it is a fictional piece. She introduces memorable characters with unique personalities. These characters are the many people who have an impact on her childhood. After being introduced, Kingston fleshes them out through their dialogue and manner of speaking, and develops them through their interactions with others and changes to their surroundings.…

Maxine Hong Kingston shows that one can form an identity by breaking silence in The Woman Warrior; Kingston develops this theme through different talk-stories stories her mother tells her. Throughout The Woman Warrior, Kingston gradually finds her own identity by examining heavily weighted talk-stories. Through these stories told to her by her mother and her aunt, she is able to express a part of her which her own experiences cannot explain as a Chinese-American female. Convinced by her mother’s…

The book sectioned into five chapters, where each portrays a woman figure along with talk-stories: Kingston’s long-dead aunt in “No Name Woman”; female warrior Fa Mu Lan in “White Tigers”; Brave Orchid, Kingston’s mother in “Shaman”; Moon Orchid, Kingston’s aunt in “At the Western Palace”; Kingston herself at last. The chapters integrated the series of talk-stories with the narrator’s inner self feeling the ache of being split between the two cultures, to show her growth and development of…

balance the culture of the country in which she resides, America, and the culture of her home country, China. This struggle is shown by Kingston’s account of various parts of her childhood, which shape who she is. Rather than simply a list of Kingston’s experiences, The Woman Warrior is a novel with broad social implications. Application of the chapter “Conception: The Origins of a Story” from Technique in Fiction to The Woman Warrior reveals that Kingston’s anecdotes, however different, all…