David Mitchell has gotten a lot of attention recently because of the forthcoming star-studded film of his "Cloud Atlas."  While I enjoyed reading it for a book group earlier this year, this is a highly unusual book in every way, and the movie promises to be even more challenging.

But Mitchell has also written some more traditional novels that are simple yet stunning.   During the storm, I found the time to read (by candlelight) his 2006, "Black Swan Green," a coming-of-age novel set in a small village in England during the time of the Falklands War in the early 1980s.  Hero Jason Taylor will remind some people of Holden Caulfield, with hints of the boy from "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime."  Mitchell has done an incredible job of getting inside the head of this young man, and bringing the reader along.  To say more about the plot would spoil the joy of discovery, but give this one a try if you enjoy exceptional character development and a truly humane attitude by an author towards his creations.

Submitted by Mary Rindfleisch, Assistant Director

Hilary Mantel has been awarded her second Booker Prize for her novel "Bring Up the Bodies."

This year's Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to Mo Yan of China.  

Yesterday,  the semifinalists for the National Book Award were announced.  The winners will be honored at the National Book Award Ceremony in New York City on November 14, 2012.

Publishers Weekly has declared October 2 as The Best Book Day of 2012.  Find out why.

The National Book Foundation has just named this year's "5 under 35" fiction authors to watch. The 5 Under 35 program, now in its seventh year, honors five young fiction writers selected by past National Book Award Winners and Finalists.

This week Julia Child would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday, and a new biography of the inimitable Child has just been published to glowing reviews.  

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child
by Bob Spitz
Published to coincide with what would have been her 100th birthday, this biography of the iconic Julia Child captures another side of Julia's complex personality: her fierce diligence in mastering the science as well as the art of cooking through detailed experimentation and her concern to translate the preparation of complex French recipes for readers in America. (Annotation from BookLetters)