Betting on Nobel, 2013

The Nobel Prize for Literature is expected to be announced on Thursday, so it's time to place your bets. While the politics of the Nobel Prize don't necessarily mean much (as I mentioned last year here), the people in Book Land need something to debate, so here we are. The good people at Ladbrokes, everyone's favorite literary odds maker, have once again taken bets on who will win the Nobel Prize, so let's break down the favorites.

Haruki Murakami: 5/2 odds
Why this pick would be okay: No one has done more to popularize Japanese fiction worldwide, and Murakami's books already have tons of fans. His last book, 1Q84, provided the name inspiration for my brother's cat. What? Isn't that enough reason to give the guy an award? The cat? How about that 1Q84 sold 1,000,000 in its first week on sale in Japan and was a bestseller in the US too? I root for the booksellers here...and it doesn't hurt that I work for Murakami's US publisher, Knopf. Also, Murakami has a new novel that is being translated right now and will go on sale in 2014. The Nobel committee seems to favor writers who are still publishing works.
Where to start reading: Norwegian Wood is the book that made Murakami famous, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle moved him to the forefront of Japanese literary authors. It's more indicative of the surrealistic elements found in the author's work.

Grammy Munro
Liz's fictitious grandmother

Alice Munro: 4/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: First, a Canadian has never won the Nobel Prize, but there are several celebrated Canadian authors reaching that age where lifetime achievement awards are handed out. Alice Munro, along with being my imaginary grandmother (but with less racism than the real version), recently announced that she's retiring from writing, and in the last two weeks she's climbed the Ladbrokes odds list. And Grammy Munro writes short stories, a genre typically unheralded by prizes. An award for Grams would be a validation of the format as equally worthy as longer fiction and poetry. Alice Munro plumbs the humanity of her characters. Right, and she's also published by my company, so she's obviously worthy.
Where to start reading: Since Munro writes stories, diving in isn't a time commitment. One place to start would be Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, one of my favorite collections.

Svetlana Aleksijevitj: 6/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Yeah, I have no idea who this is. Hang on a second.... ah. Svetlana is an investigative journalist from Belarus, according to my sources (Wikipedia; if it's good enough for Jane Goodall to plagiarize, it's good enough for this blog). She writes about Soviet and post-Soviet Russia and women. I've heard of one of her books, Voices from Chernobyl, an oral history of my favorite nuclear meltdown. This pick would be okay because I'd have the joy of hearing booksellers try to say her name. That's one of the secret joys of the Nobel.
Where to start reading:  Maybe Voices from Chernobyl since it's at least available in English?

Joyce Carol Oates: 8/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: I'm not going to lie. If JCO wins, I'm doing the butt dance of joy. The prolific US writer could break the 20 year drought on American winners, and though she's starting to get up there in years, she hasn't really slowed in her writing routine. No one embodies the idea of a writer in my mind like Joyce Carol Oates. She actually might just keel over if she stopped writing. Recently she's taken to Twitter, too, and her tweets are more interesting than yours. Not debatable. She's won the National Book Award, won or been nominated for every major award, and has spent a life trying to uncover America the violent, be it boxing, serial killing, abducting, family dysfunctioning, celebrity chasing/obsessing. Oh, and she wrote my favorite short story ever, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," a story that totally warped my perspective of the world from a very early age.
Where to start reading: The aforementioned short story is a quick treat and captures Oates's need to dig out the darkness from American culture. I also loved Blonde, her novel about Marilyn Monroe. Or check out Black Water, the fictional exploration of the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick Incident.

Peter Nadas: 8/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: The world should be exposed to Hungarian literature? Peter Nadas writes a lot about death, and who doesn't love that? His parents were Communists in Nazi-occupied Budapest, which is intriguing at the very least? Not going to lie--I've never read Peter Nadas.
Where to start reading: I'm not sure, but since I own A Book of Memories, since it's about 1,000 pages long, and since it's compared to Proust, that seems like an excellent place to immerse yourself. Tell me how it is.

Jon Fosse... probably
no relation to Bob Fosse.

Jon Fosse: 9/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Jon Fosse is a Norwegian author and playwright. I've...got nothing. I'm sure he's terrific. He's written many, many plays, as well as novels and essays. I am starting a rumor that he's related to Bob Fosse.
Where to start reading: Seriously, no idea. This is the type of pick that makes booksellers crazy because no one will rush right out to scoop up the numerous dramatic works of a Norwegian guy.

Ko Un...probably no relation to
Kim Jong Un.

Ko Un: 10/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Ko Un is a South Korean poet who has been among the Nobel favorites for many years now. I am not a poetry reader, but I like the idea of Ko Un winning because it would undoubtedly piss off Kim Jong Un, and I love the North Korean crazy.
Where to start reading: It's poetry. You should know better than to look to us for advice on poetry.

Ngugi wa Thiog'o

Ngugi wa Thiog'o: 12/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Ngugi! Love this guy. He's a Kenyan writer who started a new form of
theater in Kenya back in the 70's which encouraged spontaneity and audience participation. It was a huge success until the authoritarian regime in Kenya decided that Ngugi should be imprisoned for his outspoken questioning of convention. While he was in prison, he wrote a novel on prison toilet paper. How can the Nobel ignore a political prisoner? Ngugi fled to the US after he was released from the clink and has taught at places like Yale and written a pooty load of books.
Where to start reading: Go with his memoir, In the House of the Interpreter or his novel Wizard of the Crow.

Thomas Pynchon (?)

Thomas Pynchon: 12/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Meh. I'm not a big Thomas Pynchon fan. However, I would LOVE to see the media storm around a Pynchon victory. Would the famous recluse show up? I'd watch that show.
Where to start reading: The Crying of Lot 49, since it isn't Gravity's Rainbow? Or just watch The Simpsons episode in which cartoon Thomas Pynchon wears a paper bag over his head.

Assia Djebar

Assia Djebar: 12/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Assia Djebar is an Algerian writer known for her feminist stance and whose work often deals with women's struggles. This would be an interesting pick politically since she's a Muslim woman who's been outspoken about women's rights and education. She was one of only two girls to attend her grade school. Assia Djebar is a pen name she adopted because she feared her father's disapproval (her real name is Fatima-Zohra Imalayen). She now teaches in the US.
Where to start reading: I am not sure, but I want to read this woman's biography if one exists. She seems like a bad ass.

Adonis

Adonis: 14/1 odds
Why this pick would be okay: Adonis is a Syrian poet, and the Nobel committee loves to play political games with the prize. He's been an odds favorite for a bunch of years, so it may just be a matter of time before he wins the prize. He too was imprisoned for a period, and when released moved to Beirut, until the Lebanese civil war drove him to Paris.
Where to start reading: It's poetry. Have I mentioned that I gave up poetry for Lent? Poetry readers are pretentious. Yeah, I'm stereotyping.

Other favorites include Amos Oz, Philip Roth, Javier Marias, Margaret Atwood.

Good and Cheap (Books)! Day 12

800 pages of girls, girls, girls

 It's no secret that generally speaking, women’s writing doesn’t get reviewed nearly as much as male writers.  The website VIDA  has an interesting set of images you might want to look through.  Although we haven’t officially looked at the male vs. female reviews on our blog, I would bet that we tilt toward more female reviews simply because I write about Gail Caldwell every three days. It would be interesting to see how Liz and I are fairing in comparison to say, The Paris Review. That’s right, we are going up against The Paris Review!

Elaine Showalter

What we do, though, is consciously try to encourage people to read more women authors, and certainly seek out under appreciated women writers.  That’s why The Vintage Book of American Women Writers, edited by Elaine Showalter, is one of my favorite books from the past few years. More than just another anthology, it’s a treasure trove of celebrated writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Joyce Carol Oates, Flannery O’Connor, Phillis Wheatley, and Maxine Hong Kingston. But that’s not the reason to buy this book, and it’s certainly not the reason you will pick it up time and time again. It’s the lesser-known writers that Showalter has included that made me fall in love with this book.

Fanny Fern

Included in the anthology is Mary Rowlandson (1637-1711), who wrote the novel Charlotte Temple, a bestseller for about twenty years (until Uncle Tom’s Cabin knocked her out of the top spot); she was unknown to me before I read this book. Feminist sisters Alice and Phoebe Cary often wrote and published poetry together, and what a find for me! Phoebe wrote feminist versions of classic poetry from the likes of Shakespeare and Longfellow; what nerve! She and her sister died only months apart in 1871. Frances Miriam Berry Whitcher was the first American female humorist. She was very good at pissing off New Yorkers and her piece called “The Widow Essays Poetry” is worth the price of this book.

Mary Wilkins Freeman

We get caught up waiting for the next blockbuster memoir or new big novel from our favorite authors. I am completely guilty of it. Meanwhile, the true joy of reading is discovering new writers, finding out who we’ve missed.  You won’t just find a new story, poem, or essay from a woman you’ve never heard of in here, you will put the book down, go to your computer and try to learn everything possible about fascinating women like Fanny Fern and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. I promise.

Good and Cheap (Books)! Day One

Every day this month, we are going to dedicate ourselves to recommending a quality book that you can purchase for under $20. “What, do we have to pay for this service?” you ask. No, no you don’t. It all comes free with this low quality blog. Every single day when you click on our blog you will know that we’ve thought long and hard about which books we truly believe you can get the most bang from your buck(s) this spring. We promise that for each book we choose we will confer with each other, debate heartily, and weigh the pros and cons of each of our choices. We want what’s best for you. Now, on the off chance we don’t have enough time, energy, or knowledge to put that kind of effort in to our choices, we will probably just swivel around in our desk chair and the first paperback you see is what we’re going to recommend. But wouldn’t it be great if we at least put some effort in? We can all dream, I guess, but for now it’s just a crap shoot.

I am going to kick the month off with a one of our favorite titles from last year that is now available in paperback with a brand new cover. You were waiting for paperback weren’t you? Cheapskate, you must work in the book business!

Me? I would never
creep you out!

Stay Awake by Dan Chaon is a collection of uh-unsettling stories. When was the last time you read a really good story about a parasitic twin for example? A long time, right? Wait no more; the title story is fantastically haunting. One of my favorite stories is “I Wake Up,” about a boy who is sent to live with a foster family after his mother is sent to prison. The family has lost their own teenage son and as he grows up (having slept in the dead son’s bed, by the way) we see he is slowly losing his grip. "Bees" is about a father whose life begins to spiral out of control with the onset of his child’s night terrors; the father can no longer repress the memories of his secret first wife and child that he abandoned so long ago.

Do you like Gillian Flynn or Joyce Carol Oates? Do you like Victor LaValle or Daniel Woodrell? Do you like Liz or Gianna? Well then you must trust me, Dan Chaon is an artist, and for $15 it’s a steal. Oh, yeah, you can just steal it. Thief. 

New Year, New 30 Day Book Challenge, Day 14

Day 14: Favorite Book by Your Favorite Author

Gianna:

If I were to answer this question directly (for a change), I would say my favorite book by my favorite author is The Habit of Being: The Letters of Flannery O’Connor, but since these letters were published after her death, perhaps it's not exactly her book. If you’re going to be that picky (and why would I expect anything less from you sons a bitches), I would say Flannery O’Connor: The Complete Stories. Wait, that was also published after her death. Jesus, did anyone publish anything while this poor woman was actually alive?

Anyway, yesterday I added to the question of who my favorite author is and added a bonus answer of who my favorite author right now is (too lazy to go back one day and look? Don’t blame ya, I chose Miranda July). Today I thought I would choose some additional favorite books of late.

Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht. Set in the Balkans, the story follows a young doctor as she tries to uncover the truth surrounding her grandfather’s mysterious death. If you’re new to Tea, here is a wonderful interview on NPR.

Like You’d Understand Anyway by Jim Shepard. Sometimes you hit a lull in your reading life. You think that maybe you’ll never love a book again. Jim Shepard has the cure. I chose Like You’d Understand for this piece but really, I could have chosen any of his books. He writes about big subjects, far ranging subjects; Jim Shepard is big and bold.

Swamplandia by Karen Russell. What I love about Karen Russell is that she is truly original and fearless. How original and fearless? Swamplandia’s main character is a twelve year old alligator wrestler. And can I just say that if you are going to buy any book based on the cover...this is it.

Tenth of December by George Saunders. What all of the writers above have, including Flannery O’Connor and Miranda July, is a true sense of originality. Yes, Tenth of December is a collection of stories, but my friends, this will be, I promise you, this book will be on your top ten year end list. I know, it's only January and don’t Jhumpa Lahiri, Kent Haruf, Susan Minot, and Elizabeth Strout have books coming out t his year? Isn’t UT Press publishing Sam Shepard letters this year? Yes, yes, all true, but Tenth of December will be the very top of your list. 

Liz:

What the hell is this?

(chomp chomp chomp) Yeah.  I'm eating barbecue potato chips and American Idol.  There's a Muppet on there named Minaj or something. I don't know what's happening. And there's this kid who wants to be Justin Bieber, so apparently the contestants are extra delusional.

Hang on a second....I needed to lick the barbecue flavor off my fingers.

Okay. What am I doing now? Right. ....Dear god, Mariah's clothes don't fit.

Gah, the one-legged tap dancer is terrible. Cannot sing.

Joyce Carol Oates. Blonde. Or We Were the Mulvaneys. Or Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Why are ruffled chips better than flat?

Oh, great. Family-nominated "singers."  Extra delusional people. My ears! They should place a specific, keep away from Q-Tips when watching this show, warning label on the packages of objects I can shove into my ear canals.

I really love barbecue potato chips.