Los Angeles Times Book Prize

The finalists for the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize have been announced.  Winners will be selected in the following categories:  Biography, Current Interest, Fiction, First Fiction, Graphic Novel, History, Mystery/Thriller, Poetry, Science & Technology, and Young Adult Literature. 

Fiction Finalists:

Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment
The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
Blame by Michelle Huneven
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias

First Fiction Finalists:

An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah
Tinkers by Paul Harding
American Rust by Philipp Meyer
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower

Current Interest Finalists:

Columbine by Dave Cullen
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
The Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
The Healing of America: The Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Healthcare by T.R. Reid


The prizes will be awarded on April 23, 2010.

What We're Reading

NPR spotlights new books in this week's What We're Reading.

PEN/Faulkner Award

The nominees for the 2010 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction have been announced.  The annual award honors the best works of fiction by American citizens. 

War Dances by Sherman Alexie

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories by Lorraine M. Lopez

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

For previous nominees/winners click here and here.  This year's winner will be announced March 23, 2010.

New York Times Best Sellers

Click here for the latest New York Times best sellers lists.

Book Roundup - Mysteries/Thrillers

USA Today showcases four new mysteries/thrillers in the Book Roundup.

What We're Reading

NPR spotlights new books in this week's What We're Reading.  One of the books on the list (The Death of American Virtue: Clinton v. Starr) will be featured on Book TV this weekend.

Book TV

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend's Book TV schedule:

The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future by Robert Darnton

The Death of American Virtue: Clinton v. Starr by Ken Gormley

It Happens Every Day: Inside the World of a Sex Crimes DA by Robin Sax

To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West by Mark Lee Gardner

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age by Steve Knopper

The Audies

The Audio Publishers Association has announced the nominations for the 2010 Audies awards.  The Audies honor outstanding achievement in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment.  Judges will select winners in 28 categories, including Audio Drama, Fiction, Nonfiction, Mystery, Multi-Voiced Performance, Romance, and Humor.  For a complete list of the categories and nominees click here.  Winners will be announced May 25, 2010.

Dick Francis

Dick Francis, ex-jockey and author of the wildly popular mysteries set in the horse-racing world, has died at the age of 89.  Francis wrote 42 novels, in recent years collaborating with his youngest son, Felix.  The latest Dick and Felix Francis novel, Crossfire, will be published later this year.

New York Times Best Sellers

Click here for the latest New York Times best sellers lists.

Year of the Tiger

In commemoration of Valentine's Day coinciding with the Chinese New Year, NPR offers Three Books to Take a Bite Out of Valentine's Day.

Book TV

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend's Book TV schedule:

The Selling of the American Economy: How Foreign Companies Are Remaking the American Dream by Micheline Maynard

On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System by Henry Paulson, Jr.

Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State by Garry Wills

Yalta: The Price of Peace by S.M. Plokhy

The Forty Years War: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons, from Nixon to Obama by Len Colodny and Tom Shachtman

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness by Harlow Unger

Best of February

Check out Amazon's Best Books of the Month.

March Releases

Place your holds now on these upcoming releases:

House Rules by Jodi Picoult
No Apology: A Case for American Greatness by Mitt Romney
Blood Vines by Erica Spindler
Clean Kill by Jack Coughlin
Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin
Now Eat This by Rocco Dispirito
The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler
Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein
Deep Shadow by Randy Wayne White
Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes
Bone Fire by Mark Spragg
Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline
Dimiter by William Peter Blatty
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie
The Pallbearers by Stephen J. Cannell
Secret of the Dragon by Margaret Weis
Still Midnight by Denise Mina
Caught by Harlan Coben
Bite Me by Christopher Moore
Take Three by Karen Kingsbury
Shattered by Karen Robards
Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts
The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry
Deception by Jonathan Kellerman

New York Times Best Sellers

Click here for the latest New York Times best sellers lists.

Book TV

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend's Book TV schedule:

Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy by Joseph Stiglitz

All Things at Once by Mika Brzezinski

Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility by David M. Walker

The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel

The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America by Don Lattin

Indie Next List

Check out the recommendations from independent booksellers in the February Indie Next List.

Literary Stepmothers

From the Guardian, Top 10 Literary Stepmothers.

New York Times Best Sellers

Click here for the latest New York Times best sellers lists.