The Happy Booker

Making a List...

Lists. We love 'em here at the Happy Booker. So when we asked a few authors to help us kick off the holiday season with a list of their favorite gift books—either to give or to recieve—we could not have been more pleased with the results.

For the next month, we will be running these wonderful book lists, all brimming with titles sure to please even the most difficult-to-buy-for people on your list.

So get ready to make with the clicky-clicky because the talented and tireless Kim Roberts, author of The Kimnama, is here today to get us started on our Season of Lists and to give the Happy Booker a much needed nudge in the holiday shopping direction.

From Kim Roberts:

These are my top 5 books of poetry by DC authors (all newly published in 2007).  Support your local authors!  Buy these books as gifts!  Or buy them for yourself—they are all terrific, and highly recommended:

Sarah Browning, Whiskey in the Garden of Eden (The Word Works). This vivid first book reveals an author engaged with the politics of daily life, from anti-war demonstrations to worrying about her young son, from musings about race and white privilege to lovely evocations of urban landscapes, especially DC, with "all these heroes under our feet."

Kyle Dargan, Bouquet of Hungers (Univ. of Georgia Press). Dargan's second book is forceful and moving, examining what American identity means in poems of lyric beauty.  "When the busses stop,/these men will clean up/into princes, igniting night like/Montecristos kissed by razors."

Hiram Larew, More Than Anything (Vrzhu Press) In his second book, Larew continues to surprise with his juxtapositions between sweet sentiment and his signature jarring transitions that do nothing less than evoke the the inner clockwork of the English language.  "It's as clear to me now/as eggs next to twine..."

Rod Smith, Deed (Univ. of Iowa Press) Smith's tenth book begins with a magisterial sequence, "The Good House," with its associative leaps that play concepts of ownership against impermanence.  "The good house is curled/&blunt..." he writes.  This book is a tour-de-force.

Terence Winch, Boy Drinkers (Hanging Loose Press) Winch's sixth book tells the story of an Irish Catholic boyhood, and how the speaker comes to reconcile his faith after the death of his mother, where only in dreams "the darkness is dispelled,/our souls opening like fists..."

Limited this list to five was extremely hard—there are so many good books that came out this year!  So let me cheat and mention a few others by name that I'd also recommend: Beth Joselow's Begin at Once (Chax Press), Mary Ann Larkin's Gods & Flesh (Plan B Press), Reb Livingston's Your Ten Favorite Words (Coconut Books), Stanley Plumly's Old Heart (W.W. Norton), Ken Rumble's Key Bridge (Carolina Wren Press), Susan Tichy's Bone Pagoda (Ahsahta Press), and Rosemary Winslow's Green Bodies (The Word Works).

And don't get me started on the anthologies...

Ha Jin in the house

National Book Award winner Ha Jin will join washingtonpost.com's Off the Page  today at 1 to discuss his new novel, A Free Life.

A Free Life is Jin’s first novel set in America, and might be his most autobiographical. It not only explores the world of a recent Chinese immigrant (Jin immigrated to the U.S. in 1985), but also examines his protagonist’s desire and struggle to write in the language of his new home.

Have a question for Jin about his latest novel and other literary topics? Ask your question now or stop by during the discussion—enter questions here.

DC Event Tonight

“Old Books & New Stories”: Mary Kay Zuravleff Reading
at  Riverby Books on Capitol Hill
Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 7 pm
417 E. Capitol St., SE (near the Folger Theater)
Washington, DC

Mary Kay Zuravleff is the next author featured in “A Space Inside,” the popular reading series at D.C.’s Riverby Books. Zuravleff is the author of The Bowl is Already Broken, which the London Independent called, “A highly original, extremely funny, and surprisingly moving novel” and The Frequency of Souls, which one critic deemed, “The best short comic novel ever written about refrigerator designers with psychic powers.” She will not be reading from either of these books. The reading is free, the books are used, and the wine is new. Spread the word.

Saturday with the Happy Booker

Here

Links, but no chains...

Earlier this week it was Locavore, now could it be Indievore?

Whatever the correct word,  this Saturday, November 17, is America Unchained Day. The American Independent Business Alliance, along with  its many partners, urge communities to "unchain" themselves and shop at locally-owned independent establishments. Are you up for the challenge?  Check out more info here.

Over at our local Politics & Prose, they're now selling recycled shopping bags—at cost!—for all your shopping schlepping needs. It should also be noted that Mark LaFramboise, one of their bookbuyers, was on the money with his call of Denis Johnson taking home the National Book Award for Tree of Smoke.  P+P promises a good stock of all the NBA winners.

Another perk for P+P shoppers: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is offering a 25% discount to Politics & Prose customers for any performance of Current Nobody. P&P customers can access the discount by calling the Woolly box office at 202-393-3939 or by using the promotional code “NCRH” on the Woolly website. Limit of 2 tickets per person, offer subject to availability.

On the subject of locall bookstores we want to  put a plug in for Candida's World of Books.  We found ourselves in Candida's last weekend, after attending a performance of Shining City  (spectacular) at Studio Theatre. The small welcoming store had a wonderful selection of international titles, travel books and music; we were sorry we hadn't visited earlier.

Good luck with your local indievore shopping this weekend. Drop us a note and let us know how you did. 

[Contest update: Today is friday and we've officially closed our book giveaway contest. Congrats to Lesha Anderson of Indiana for winning a signed copy of Season of Gene by Dallas Hudgens. Thanks to all who entered. Don't forget to check out Friday's Five Chapters for the full Hudgens story. ]

Book Giveaway Reminder , plus...

Book giveaway update: 1 day left to enter to win a signed copy of Season of Gene by Dallas Hudgens.  This book giveaway was inspired by Hudgens week over at Five Chapters. Go read.

• Ron points out this added bit of business on the Word of the Year, by  "dictionary evangelist" Erin McKean, who gives us a few choice phrases to add to our repertoire.

• A fine appreciation of Aphra Behn in the Guardian. (via Booksquare)

• And finally, The National Book Award Winners were announced:   

        *  Fiction: Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke
        * Nonfiction: Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
        * Young People’s Literature: Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
        * Poetry: Robert Hass, Time and Materials

    Any surprises?

Best Of...'07

It’s that time of the year again, when the New Oxford American Dictionary makes its big announcement : The 2007 Word of the Year.  That's right folks, it's TWOTY time and only one word can win, and what a word it is,  oh boy. The latest and greatest word is...wait for it..."LOCAVORE."

What's a locavore? Well, we're glad you asked:

"The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation."

Apparently the word was coined two years ago by four women in San Francisco who encouraged local residents to eat only food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius of the city.

A few of our favorite runners-up for the 2007 Word of the Year include "mumblecore" (an independent film movement featuring low-budget production), "tase" (to stun with a Taser..duh!), and "upcycling" (transforming waste materials into something more useful or valuable).  You can read all about it here.

Take 5

Our old pal Dallas Hudgens returns to his short story roots this week over at Five Chapters. We're digging the episodic format that keeps us on the edge of our seat and we eagerly await the next installment—truly a brilliant site.  Also, a quick perusal of the archives reveals several HB guestbloggers, including Ben Greenman and Josh Henkin. Go take a look.

So, in honor of Dallas week at 5 Chapters, we're giving away a signed copy of his novel, Season of Gene, here on the blog.  Booklist raved over Season of Gene —   "Hudgens has scored again. He's given readers an engaging, knowing glimpse of an odd, but no doubt real, world of arrested development. And he knows his baseball."—Kirkus gave it a starred review and PW says: "Those ready for a rowdy ride won't be disappointed." 

Entry details: drop us an email, subject line "Book Giveaway," and be sure to include your complete mailing address.   We'll take entries until Friday morning, 10AM and then the names go into the sorting hat for selection.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Sanjay Srinivas of Texas who won our last book giveaway: a signed copy of Patricia Cornwall's latest, Book of the Dead.

Norman Mailer, R.I.P.

The news this weekend was of Norman Mailer, dead at 84.  Controversial and prolific— 30 books, including novels, biographies and works of nonfiction—winner of two Pulitzers and an unexpected cameo on the The Gilmore Girls, Mailer obits, remembrances and tributes abound.

Mark rounds up all the links fit to print. And for the dissenting view, you can always pay Ed a visit.

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Friday Features

Lots of links to keep you busy on this wet and cold Friday morning:

• We've got an article in The Washington Post today about a certain ghostly Irish drama.

• To our Poet friends out there (you know who you are) : The latest issue of  Beltway Poetry News hits the net.  Learn about new releases (single author books and anthologies), Competitions, Grants, Calls for Entries, Special Events, and Area Readings.  All the poetry news in one convenient location. Go see.

• A website that builds your vocabulary AND  feeds the hungry? It's a win-win. (Warning: tremendously addictive)

• PW on the best books of '07—am I the only person who thinks this is a little early?

• Lary Dark, director of the Story Prize, talks about the world of the Short Story over at the National Book Critics Circle blog (via Ron)


• Worth noting: Ms. BookSquare doing topnotch writing about the Writer's Strike.

• 'Tis the Season: Just in time for the holidays, beautiful pinewood cake boxes, to bake old-fashioned, extra dense cakes. You've got to see this folks, really. We're placing our order early.  All made by writer and editor Lucinda Ebersole.

• Finally, a reminder to all those poetry-lovers out there, this is one of the gifts I am giving this season: Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston.  Reb is a wonderful poet and a sometime guestblogger. Yes, we are biased but we also know good work when we see it: Reb is the real deal. If you don't believe us, take a look at what others are saying:

Reb Livingston, a poet of whimsical intelligence and daring grace, writes poems both naughty and nice. With breathy, brisk eroticism and long-lasting passion for the language, these poems dance and sing like a good-sounding drunk. Let them love you and you'll never get their seedy taste out of your mouth.
–Lorna Dee Cervantes, CU Boulder, author of Drive: The First Quartet

Order your copy today.