March was a big month for literary award nominations! The Bailey’s Prize longlist honors the best novel written by a woman in English. You can find the Pen/Faulkner Award Finalists here (honors the best work of fiction published by an American in 2017) and the Man Booker International Prize Longlist here (awarded to the best work of fiction translated into English).
There’s no overlap among these awards, and I haven’t heard of more than a few. They seem to be a diverse group, which is nice. A few I want to read are: Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, The Power by Naomi Alderman, Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo, Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood, Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, and The Lesser Bohemians by Eimar McBride.
Sadly, I’ve completed none of these books. Two of the nominated books are ones I started and didn’t finish, but I feel I should go back to: LaRose by Louise Erdrich, and Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeline Thien. There’s no space for the whole lists, but if you’ve read any of these, which ones, and how did you like them? And what do you think is missing from this list? I was surprised there was no love for Commonwealth or News of the World or Homegoing, at least on the Bailey’s list.
I saw two articles this month about authors and books I love. Margaret Atwood wrote this article for the New York Times about The Handmaid’s Tale, which of course is feeling very relevant these days (and with a movie coming soon this is a must re-read). And here’s a fantastic article about the 50th anniversary of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. I had no idea Hinton wrote this book when she was sixteen! Although that explains why it feels so real. Another book I’d like to re-read.
Interested in reading more science fiction and fantasy written by women? Check out this e-book package on Humble Bundle (through March 28). For anywhere from $1 to $15, you can pick up books by Octavia Butler, Jane Yolen, Robin McKinley, Elizabeth Hand, and Nalo Hopkinson. And it even supports a very good cause, First Book. I’ve got too much to read already but it’s too good a deal to pass up, and I’ve been wanting to read more Butler.
io9.com recently published this interesting article about Nnedi Okorafor (Hugo-winning author of Binti) and how books featuring main characters of color frequently have their covers “white-washed”.
To get us ready for April (well, some of us), check out All I Want for Passover is this Harry Potter Haggadah.
And last, my husband sent me this very cool link to an article full of pics of literary tattoos. I want them.
