Walter Kirn's six favorite books on deception

Walter Kirn is the author of Thumbsucker and Up in the Air, both made into major films, and 2014's Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade.

One of his six favorite books on deception, as shared with The Week magazine:

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

Dreiser was known for his sometimes plodding prose, but this great tale of yearning and frustration draws power from its author's literal-mindedness. Clyde Griffiths, a child of the Kansas City streets, sees his chance to climb the golden ladder, only to have its rungs snap under his weight. His terrible plunge is brutally observed and expressed.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight memorable royal figures in fiction

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Nicole Hill tagged eight notable royal figures in fiction, including:

Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

Aragorn, son of Arathorn, is a man of many names (Strider, Longshanks, Wingfoot, Estel, Thorongil, Elessar Telcontar, Spanky), but just one butt, sitting comfortably upon its rightful throne of Gondor. He is also the dreamiest geezer this side of, well, Legolas. It’s rare that literature presents a king skilled at more than just playing with maps of battlefields and beheading people, but Aragorn has Elven wits, Dunedain foresight, healing hands, expert battlefield command, a strong jawline, a sensitive streak…I could go on.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Lord of the Rings also made Becky Ferreira's top seven list of bromances in literature, Nicole Hill's list of eleven of the most eccentric relatives in fiction, Nicole Hill's top seven list of literary wedding themes, Charlie Jane Anders's list of fifteen moments from science fiction and fantasy that will make absolutely anyone cry, Elizabeth Wein's top ten list of dynamic duos in fiction, Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten sources that inspired the dark storytelling of Game of Thrones, Rob Bricken's list of 11 preposterously manly fantasy series, Conrad Mason's top ten list of magical objects in fiction, Linus Roache's six best books list, Derek Landy's top ten list of villains in children's books, Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs' list of ten classic SF books that were originally considered failures, Lev Grossman's list of the six greatest fantasy books of all time, and appears on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best women dressed as men, ten of the best bows and arrows in literature, ten of the best beards in literature, ten of the best towers in literature, ten of the best volcanoes in literature, ten of the best chases in literature, and ten of the best monsters in literature. It is one of Salman Rushdie's five best fantasy novels for all ages. It is a book that made a difference to Pat Conroy.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten black characters in children's books

Tanya Byrne is the author of Heartshaped Bruise and Follow Me Down, her third novel will be published later this year.

One of her ten best books for children and teenagers which are about black characters, as shared at the Guardian:

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

In this series the people with dark skin are the ruling class and everyone else is the underclass. Reversing race roles sounds simple, but the trouble with privilege is that people try to understand someone else's experience by comparing it to their own. What Blackman does here is offer an alternative history altogether.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten of fiction’s finest tricksters

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Nicole Hill tagged fiction’s best pranksters, tricksters, and fiends, including:

Tom Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain)

Becky Thatcher could do a lot worse. Tom Sawyer is a born huckster, and he’s great at it. If he could pull off the old privilege-of-whitewashing-the-fence routine at such a young age, just imagine how many lemons he could hawk at a dealership some day (assuming cars existed in this alt-universe…). Or, in the words of long-suffering Aunt Polly, “Who knows, he may grow up to be President someday, unless they hang him first!”

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven of the most epic romances in YA lit

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog, Dahlia Adler tagged seven of the most epic romances in YA lit, including:

Adam and Mia from If I Stay and Where She Went, by Gayle Forman

So much about a couple is in how they weather adversity, and few have shared as much struggle as this musically skilled pair. Throughout it all, including years apart between the duology’s two novels, the love between them may wax and wane, but it never truly disappears. What results is a touching, fraught, empathetic connection that lasts far beyond The End.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Page 69 Test: If I Stay.

The Page 69 Test: Where She Went.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten books about intelligent animals

Karen Joy Fowler is the author of six novels and three short story collections.

One of her top ten books about intelligent animals, as shared at the Guardian:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

A loose retelling of Hamlet, but set on a dog breeding farm in Wisconsin in the 70s. The role of Ophelia is taken on very touchingly by the gifted canine and occasional point of view character, Almondine. A review in the Chicago Tribune identified Wroblewski's book as "easily the best work of fiction ever written about dogs". A bold claim, but also a defensible one.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is on the Barnes & Noble Review's list of five top books on dogs and among ten of the best Twinkies in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top books for "House of Cards" fans

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Ester Bloom recommended ten books for fans of the television series House of Cards, including:

All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren

A calculating and charming Southern politician rises to prominence in this political classic about ego, ambition, and the American dream.

Read about the other entries on the list.

All the King's Men appears on a list of the eleven best political books of all time, Gabe Habash's list of ten of the biggest book adaptation flops, David Blight's list of five outstanding novels about the Civil War era, Heather Brooke's top five list of books on holding power to account, Melanie Kirkpatrick's list of her five favorite novels of political intrigue, and H.W. Brands's five best list of books on scandals...in truth or just in print; Robert McCrum called it a book to inspire busy public figures.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten mothers in children's books

Sophie McKenzie is the bestselling author of more than fifteen novels for children and teens in the UK, including the award winning Girl, Missing and Blood Ties. She has won numerous awards, was one of the first Richard and Judy children’s book club winners, and has twice been longlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal.

One of her top ten mothers in children's books, as shared at the Guardian:

Mrs Weasley in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

Harry himself is, famously, an orphan and it might be fairer to argue that the people who "parent" Harry the most through the series are Dumbledore and Hagrid. However, Mrs Weasley is the most motherly of mums, a loving and reliable figure who is at the very heart of her own large family and who offers Harry the sort of home life during the holidays that he can only dream of at the Dursleys.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Harry Potter books made Nicole Hill's list of five of the best fictional bookstores, Sara Jonsson's list of the six most memorable pets in fiction, Melissa Albert's list of more than eight top fictional misfits, Cressida Cowell's list of ten notable mythical creatures, and Alison Flood's list of the top 10 most frequently stolen books.

Butterbeer is among Leah Hyslop's six best fictional drinks.

Albus Dumbledore is one of Rachel Thompson's ten greatest deaths in fiction.

Hermione Granger is among Nicole Hill's nine best witches in literature and Melissa Albert's top six distractible book lovers in pop culture.

Dolores Umbridge is among Melissa Albert's six more notorious teachers in fiction, Emerald Fennell's top ten villainesses in literature, and Derek Landy's top 10 villains in children's books. The Burrow is one of Elizabeth Wilhide's nine most memorable manors in literature.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban appears on Amanda Yesilbas and Katharine Trendacosta's list ot twenty great insults from science fiction & fantasy and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten greatest prison breaks in science fiction and fantasy.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone also appears on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best owls in literature, ten of the best scars in fiction and ten of the best motorbikes in literature, and Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten greatest personality tests in sci-fi & fantasy, Charlie Higson's top 10 list of fantasy books for children, Justin Scroggie's top ten list of books with secret signs as well as Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs's list of well-known and beloved science fiction and fantasy novels that publishers didn't want to touch. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire made Chrissie Gruebel's list of six top fictional holiday parties and John Mullan's list of ten best graveyard scenes in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five dysfunctional literary households

Emma Donoghue's latest novel is Frog Music.

The author tagged five favorite unconventional fictional families for the Telegraph, including:

[L]et’s start with the indescribable Mister Sandman (1995) by Canadian visionary Barbara Gowdy: if this story of skeletons (and little people, and parents) in the closet doesn’t put you off, then you are a true aficionado of domestic life at its most weird and wonderful.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten of the best names in literature to give your dog

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Nicole Hill tagged the best names in literature to give your dog, including:

Captain Ahab (Moby Dick, by Herman Melville)

For the dog who won’t rest until he has pried the family hamster from its rubber ball.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Moby-Dick also appears among Horatio Clare's five favorite maritime novels, the Telegraph's ten great meals in literature, Brenda Wineapple's six favorite books, Scott Greenstone's top seven allegorical novels, Paul Wilson's top ten books about disability, Lynn Shepherd's ten top fictional drownings, Peter Murphy's top ten literary preachers, Penn Jillette's six favorite books, Peter F. Stevens's top ten nautical books, Katharine Quarmby's top ten disability stories, Jonathan Evison's six favorite books, Bella Bathurst's top 10 books on the sea, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best nightmares in literature and ten of the best tattoos in literature, Susan Cheever's five best books about obsession, Christopher Buckley's best books, Jane Yolen's five most important books, Chris Dodd's best books, Augusten Burroughs' five most important books, Norman Mailer's top ten works of literature, David Wroblewski's five most important books, Russell Banks' five most important books, and Philip Hoare's top ten books about whales.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six of the best books about failed marriages

Jean Hanff Korelitz's new novel is You Should Have Known.

One of her favorite books about failed marriages, as shared at The Daily Beast:

The Comfort of Strangers
by Ian McEwan

For sheer perversion it doesn't get any better than Robert and Caroline, a married couple in Ian McEwan's 1981 novel, The Comfort of Strangers. These highly disagreeable people are perfectly matched and thoroughly lethal; they set upon another couple, the divorced Mary and her lover, Colin, who are vacationing in Venice, and gradually destroy them, first psychically and then murderously. It's excruciating to witness, but (thanks to McEwan's incredible gift) you just can't look away. When it's over you think: That could never happen to me. Then you realize: That could totally happen to me. It’s not a very pleasant feeling.

Read about the other entries on the list. 

The Comfort of Strangers is on a list of five books that changed Evie Wyld, Kate Kellaway's top ten list of fictional holidays, and John Mullan's list of ten of the best visits to Venice in literature.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five top books on March Madness

One title on the Barnes & Noble Review's list of five top books on March Madness:

A Season on the Brink
by John Feinstein

Feinstein, granted unprecedented access to the practices, locker rooms, and private lives of the University of Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team during the '85-'86 season, captures the intensity, rage, and devotion of controversial coach Bobby Knight. Hate him or love him, his passion for the game is unquestionable and, at the time, reflected growing fervor among American fans of college basketball. Though Feinstein has written several books about the college game -- Last Dance, A March to Madness, and A Season Inside, among others -- this volume remains the yardstick used to measure all such insider accounts. It created a a sportswriting fad (following a single team over the course of a single season) and though the Hoosiers were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1986, their program has since become synonomous with determination.

Read about the other books on the list.

A Season on the Brink is one of Majorie Kehe's ten best books about college basketball.

--Marshal Zeringue