| Fiction books: What is fiction anyway? | | Posted Thursday, February 02, 2006 2:11:09 PM by Rose Martins | The term fiction spans a huge spectrum of book material. Fiction means anything and everything from Inca's to romance novels to science fiction. The best in fiction books are usually reviewed in various publications, newspapers, magazines and online reviews by literary critics.
 Literary critics report on the latest fiction books available, as well as which are worth reading and which are better left on the shelf in the bookstore.
Fiction books such as "the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" make vivid use of one's imagination, transporting the reader to a world unknown, a world of whacky accounts and occurrences.
Romance fiction novels take the dreamy teenager into a world of starry fantasy and dreams, often leaving her with a picture of what she hopes her life will be.
Drama fiction family sagas keep the reader gripped right until the last page. It's the kind of book that the reader struggles to put down, often reading far later into the night than intended. Fiction books are often based on real life historical events, combining fact with imagination.
"The Red Tent" is a fictional book based on a biblical story and "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a fictional book based on historical facts.
... | |
| |
| | | Five best movies in theaters this week | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 2:50:20 AM by Blog57 Team | | "Stranger Than Fiction": Not the laugh riot it appears to be in ads, "Stranger" is a sweet, rueful tragicomedy about a sad sack (Will Ferrell) and a blocked writer (Emma Thompson). If you're a movie fan who also loves books, it's for you. PG-13 "Borat": Relentlessly funny, fake-documentary tour of America. When I saw it, the audience was so crazy about one gut-busting bit, they actually applauded. In the middle of a movie. Even though their applause was drowning out the next hilarious thing. *** "The Prestige": Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are battling magicians in Queen Victoria's day, and this hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye dazzler is a reminder of how fun it can be to have a director (Christopher Nolan, of "Memento" and "Batman Begins" fame) tie you in knots.... | |
| |
| | | Book News: Stephen King popular now, but will his work endure? | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 10:48:41 AM by Blog57 Team | | After 33 years of channeling his paranoia into nearly 50 books, a score of them best sellers, Stephen King is now taking his bows as one of America's greatest writers. The obvious question is: Has King gotten that much better as a writer or have our literary standards fallen that far? Hailed in reviews last week for his latest novel, "Lisey's Story," complete with comparisons to James Joyce, King extended his three-year ascension that began in 2003 with the National Book Award for distinguished contribution to American letters, recognition from Poets and Writers magazine for his efforts to aid other writers and now an interview in the fall issue of Paris Review, the august literary magazine. In the article, King confronts the frequent criticism that his work is not to be taken seriously as literature with the same argument he made in accepting his National Book Award: It's a bunch of snobs who decide what "serious fiction" is, and they don't want to let "the rabble" like me in, he claims.... | |
| |
| | | Jim Webb's Books 'Racist, Misogynistic,' Conservative Critic Says | | Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 12:27:58 PM by Blog57 Team | | (Editor's note: Some of the passages from the books in question are quoted below and may contain words or descriptions that offend some readers.) (CNSNews.com) - Virginia Senate hopeful Jim Webb was taking flak Friday for what sounded like a child sex scene in his 2001 novel, but critics who have examined the books he wrote over a two-decade period also see a pattern of discriminatory and offensive characterization of women and racial minorities. At a time when Webb is campaigning for public office and appealing for Virginians' votes, some believe the writing may speak to his character. Webb's Republican opponent, Sen. George Allen, who also has been dogged by accusations of racism, released a statement late Thursday listing excerpts from the books, charging that they "disturbingly and consistently -- indeed, almost uniformly -- portray women as servile, subordinate, inept, incompetent, promiscuous, perverted, or some combination of these." Allen said most Virginians and Americans would find the passages "shocking, especially coming from the pen of someone who seeks the privilege of serving in the United States Senate, one of the highest offices in the land." Mychal Massie, national chairman of the conservative African-American group Project 21, is among those troubled by the material in the books.... | |
| |
| | | Making a fiction of history... | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:47:24 PM by Blog57 Team | | Novelist Kate Grenville has upset historians by claiming her Booker-shortlisted The Secret River is a new form of history writing. Jane Sullivan reports on a new front in the history wars. At an early stage in her research for what became her novel The Secret River, Kate Grenville found a dispatch from Governor Arthur Phillip, written a few months after the First Fleet arrived in Sydney harbour. When travelling up the Hawkesbury River, he encountered an old Aboriginal man he'd met before, who greeted him with a dance and a song of joy. The old man was caught out stealing a spade. Governor Phillip pushed him away and gave him "three slight slaps on the shoulder". The old man raised a spear, the Governor stood firm. Then the old man dropped his spear and left. "I read this again and again, trying to make sense of it," Grenville writes in her book about the creation of her novel, Searching for the Secret River.... | |
| |
| | | 9-11 books, edgy narratives are finalists | | Posted Thursday, October 12, 2006 6:48:05 PM by Blog57 Team | | NEW YORK - A graphic novel, two narratives in free verse and three books about Sept. 11 were among the National Book Awards finalists announced Wednesday. Big names were mostly shut out, including Cormac McCarthy and Alice McDermott. Also bypassed was Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons, his first book since 1997 National Book Award winner Cold Mountain. "The list is unconventional, unexpected; this is not what you'd expect from the National Book Awards," said Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, which sponsors the prizes. "There are a lot of edgy narrative styles." Among the better known books named were Taylor Branch's On Canaan's Edge, the last of his acclaimed Civil Rights trilogy, and Austinite Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower, a nonfiction work about the Sept.... | |
| |
| | | BOOKS ON THE CHARTS | | Posted Tuesday, October 03, 2006 2:47:16 PM by Blog57 Team | | The Lexington Herald-Leader did a big piece recently on the rise of fan fiction. They found out the most popular subject of all: Kate Jackson. Their words from here. For reasons that elude us and might even elude her, the Alabama native has inspired a plethora of fan fiction. Is it that "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" fanfic fixation on the Internet? Was she truly the better third of that Farrah-Jaclyn-Kate trio on "Charlie's Angels"? Are there '70s fanatics who can't get over her wistful-nurse turn on the police drama "The Rookies"? Did some fanfic-fixated folks see her potential even back in her days as ingenue Daphne Harridge on "Dark Shadows"? No matter. Jackson's glory days live on in fanfic. What she thinks of this we know not, because Jackson did not respond to our request for comment.... | |
| |
| | | Service and sacrifice:Local author's latest portrays military family's grief | | Posted Sunday, September 24, 2006 6:47:55 AM by Blog57 Team | | Frank Schaeffer has always used his life as the stepping-off point for his books. His early fiction drew on his life as the son of American missionaries growing up in Europe and his transition from fundamental upbringing to adulthood. But his son's decision to join the Marine Corps in 1999 and the resulting emotional journey for his family led the Salisbury screenwriter-turned-fiction novelist into completely new territory. Schaeffer's experiences with a son in the military were pivotal to his role as both a father and novelist. "When your son puts on a uniform and goes out and defends you, regardless of your politics," he said, "it's a humbling experience." Schaeffer and his son, Cpl. John Schaeffer, shared their letters back and forth during boot camp and beyond in the 2002 book, "Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps." Schaeffer followed up with a glimpse into his own private journal in "Faith of Our Sons: A Father's Wartime Diary," and then "Voices From the Front - Letters Home from America's Military Family," a collection of hundreds of personal, often emotional letters to and from servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan following Sept.... | |
| |
| | | Viz to Publish Art Books for 2006 Holiday Season | | Posted Thursday, September 14, 2006 6:48:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | San Francisco, CA, September 12, 2006 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release this fall of six new gorgeously illustrated, hardcover art books for titles including NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, FUSHIGI YÛGI and HANA KIMI as well as the company's first instructional art book, SHOJO BEAT MANGA ARTIST ACADEMY, which offers instructional artistic techniques by some of the hottest shôjo manga artists. VIZ Media's ongoing series of art books have each garnered acclaim for their lavish coffee table presentations filled with lush character and mechanical illustrations, as well as insightful commentaries and essays by some of the most renowned manga and anime artists.... | |
| |
| | | Fort Ashby Library to hold book sale | | Posted Sunday, September 10, 2006 8:47:59 PM by Blog57 Team | | Available books will fall into the categories of adult fiction in both hardback and paperback, children's fiction in both hardback and paperback, children's non-fiction, cookbooks, craft books, historical/war books, assorted other non-fiction books, magazines, inspirational fiction, religious books, romance books and some ex-library books.The cost of the books will be a donation to benefit the Fort Ashby Public Library. .... | |
| |
| | | North Port Briefs | | Posted Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:48:41 PM by Blog57 Team | | BookNews, a new online service for readers, is offered by the Sarasota County Library System. The advisory gives readers access to free electronic newsletters about a wide variety of books at www.sclibs.net, or it can be delivered directly to your e-mail address. Electronic newsletters include books on new fiction, new non-fiction, mystery, classics, business, home and garden, science fiction, books for children and teens, large-print books, audio books and other interests. For more information on library services, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000. Children and parents can celebrate birthdays at the Englewood Art Center. An experienced party planner and art instructor will organize a fun and creative party of groups ages 5 and up. Select a date and time, let the Art Center know the number of guests, choose a theme and two art projects.... | |
| |
| |
|
|
