Ten of the best books with fictional apocalypses...graded for plausibility

At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog Jeff Somers tagged ten top books with fictional apocalypses...and gave them a plausibility grade. One title on the list:

The Children of Men, by P.D. James

The apocalypse James imagines is a slow strangulation of the human race through the simplest manner possible: sterility. While the ultimate cause for the human race’s inability to reproduce isn’t explored in detail, the fact is, fertility rates have been dropping in the real world for some time, so this is one slow, whimpering world’s end that is entirely plausible—as is the horrific societal breakdown surrounding it.

Plausibility rating: Growing likelier by the day.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Children of Men is on Justin Cronin's list of ten top world-ending novels, Anita Singh's list of five P.D. James novels you should read, Torie Bosch's top twelve list of great pandemic novels, Joel Cunningham's list of eleven scary fictional diseases,  John Mullan's list of the ten most notable New Years in literature, Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the twelve most unfaithful movie versions of science fiction and fantasy books, Ben H. Winters' list of three books to read before the end of the world, and John Sutherland's list of the five best books about the end of England.

--Marshal Zeringue

Harold Bloom's 6 favorite books that helped shape "the American Sublime"

Harold Bloom's many books include The Daemon Knows, which celebrates twelve writers whose works shaped what he calls the American Sublime. One of the author's six favorite books that helped shape "the American Sublime," as shared at The Week magazine:

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester Prynne remains the grandest, most poignant, and most enduring female character in American literature. She is our truest feminist in that she will not yield to the Puritan morality that condemns her and her heroic sexuality.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Scarlet Letter is among Gabe Habash's ten biggest book-to-film flops, Sara Maitland's top ten books of the forest, Susan Cheever's six favorite Massachusetts books, John Mullan's ten of the best reformations in literature, and Paul Auster's five most important books.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five memorable books set on New Year’s Eve (and Day)

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and We Are Not Good People from Pocket/Gallery. He has published over thirty short stories as well.

In 2014 at B&N Reads Somers tagged five memorable books set on New Year’s Eve (and Day), including:

Middlemarch, by George Eliot

Only a small portion of this classic piece of literature takes place on New Year’s—but any excuse to pick up this amazing novel is a good excuse. The New Year’s Day portion is a great scene filled with Eliot’s typically sharp observations of her fellow human beings. The party thrown by the Vincys is superficially cheerful and jolly, but tensions roil just underneath the surface, as observed by the smart and good-hearted vicar Mr. Farebrother. This is a great scene to read in preparation for heading out to a New Year’s bash.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Middlemarch also made Lauren Groff's list of six favorite portrayals of marriage in literature, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best bankers in literature, ten of the best marital rows, ten of the best examples of unrequited love, ten of the best funerals in literature, and ten of the best deathbed scenes in literature. It is among Emrys Westacott's five top books on philosophy & everyday living, Selma Dabbagh's top 10 stories of reluctant revolutionaries, Philip Pullman's six best books, Rebecca Goldstein's five best of novels of ideas, Tina Brown's five best books on reputation, Elizabeth Kostova favorite books, and Miss Manners' favorite novels. John Banville and Nick Hornby have not read it.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five famous novels that have huge mistakes

Jeff Somers is the author of the Avery Cates series, The Ustari Cycle, Lifers, and Chum (among many other books) and numerous short stories.

At the B&N Reads blog he tagged five famous books that contain huge mistakes, including:

The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler

Chandler’s classic hardboiled detective novel—the gold standard for stories of world-weary private investigators—has a plot so famously dense and twisty that an entire murder not only goes unsolved, but completely ignored. At one point, a chauffeur is found murdered in the car. The reader is given the details of the crime scene, implying it’s going to be important, and then it’s never mentioned again. When Hollywood made a film version a few years later the producers contacted Chandler to ask who killed the chauffeur, and Chandler’s response has become the stuff of legend: “Damned if I know!”

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Big Sleep also appears on John Sweeney's top ten list of books on corruption, the Telegraph's top 23 list of amazing--and short--classic books, Lucy Worsley's ten best list of fictional detectives, Becky Ferreira's list of seven of the best books set in Los Angeles, Ian Rankin's list of five perfect mysteries, Kathryn Williams's reading list on greed, Gigi Levangie Grazer's list of six favorite books that became movies, Megan Wasson's list of five top books on Los Angeles, Greil Marcus's six recommended books list, Barry Forshaw's critic's chart of six American noir masters, David Nicholls' list of favorite film adaptations, and the Guardian's list of ten of the best smokes in literature.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten slangy crime novels

Max Décharné is an author, songwriter and musician. His latest book, Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of English Slang. One of his ten top slangy crime novels, as shared at the Guardian:

If He Hollers Let Him Go by Chester Himes (1945)

Pioneering black crime writer Chester Himes moved to Paris in the 1950s to escape American racism, afterwards creating the landmark series of crime novels featuring Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones. This, however, was written in California. Characters say rest the weight (sit down), you still on rubber? (do you have a car?) and use then-current jazz terms such as pad and groovy, two decades before the hippies thought they invented them.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Sixteen of the most indispensable books of the 1950s

At B&N Reads Melissa Albert tagged sixteen of the biggest books of the 1950s, including:

From Here to Eternity, by James Jones

The first of James Jones’ trio of World War II novels, followed by 1962’s The Thin Red Line and 1978’s Whistle, From Here to Eternity won the National Book Award and was made into a movie starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra. It centers on three soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the warm months of 1941, as they brawl and haze and betray each other, attempt to assert their individual will, and discover what happens to the nail that stands up.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five books about backwoods horror

Cullen Bunn is an American comic books writer, novelist, and short story writer. One of his five favorite books about backwoods horror, as shared at Tor.com:

The Old Gods Waken by Manly Wade Wellman

Wellman’s Silver John is a kind of country-folk Dr. Strange or John Constantine. Armed with a silver-stringed guitar and a wealth of folksy know-how, John the Balladeer wandered the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, facing druids, ancient deities, and black magic. The Old Gods Waken is the first of the Silver John novels, and it is heavy with country-folk hoodoo and Native American folklore. This is a story that shows how the old world and ancient traditions impact the “modern” backwoods world.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven top books with thinking zombies

At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog Ceridwen Christensen tagged seven top books with thinking zombies. One title on the list:

Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion

In this update of Romeo and Juliet, the zombie R eats Perry’s brains, and acquires both his memories and affection for the lovely Julie. Much of the novel is narrated from R’s locked-in zombie point of view, and his inability to express himself is both frustrating and horrifying. Like its young lovers, Warm Bodies maybe isn’t as deep as it wants to be, but R’s tongue-tied urgency resonates with us fools who remember love’s first bite.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Warm Bodies is among Jeff Somers's eight best speculative works with dead narrators, Sarah Skilton's six most unusual YA narrators, Rachel Paxton-Gillilan's five funniest YA zombie novels, Nick Harkaway's six favorite holiday books, and Nicole Hill's seven favorite literary oddballs.

The Page 69 Test: Warm Bodies.

My Book, The Movie: Warm Bodies.

--Marshal Zeringue

25 notable books by billionaires

One title from Business Insider's list of "25 books by billionaires that will teach you how to run the world":

Business @ the Speed of Thought by Bill Gates

With a net worth of $75 billion, Forbes estimates the Microsoft founder is the richest person in the world. In "Business @ the Speed of Thought," Gates explains how business and technology are inextricably linked.

Using examples from companies like Microsoft and GM, Gates suggests that businesses see technology as a way to enhance their operations. While the book was initially published in 1999, many of Gates' insights remain accurate and relevant today.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Twelve great books that deserved more buzz in 2016

The Newsday staff tagged twelve great books that deserved more buzz in 2016, including:

The Gloaming by Melanie Finn

A tiny press has published a psychologically astute thriller that belongs on the shelf with the work of Patricia Highsmith. In the opening paragraphs, the narrator in Switzerland has discovered her husband’s infidelity, and the shock of the deception leads to a lethal car accident. For reasons that only gradually become clear, she decamps to Tanzania. Alternating chapters between two continents, the book is brilliant on the pervasiveness of corruption and the murkiness of human motivation. When the narrator disappears, five of the characters she has encountered take over the story, which ends with an existentially perfect flourish. Here is a page-turner that leaves its reader wiser.—KAREN R. LONG

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five top Christmas-filled fantasy books

At the BN Kids blog, Charlotte Taylor tagged five top fantasy books full of Christmas, including:

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

This is a classic fantasy story set at Christmas, in a snowy corner of England where the age-old struggle between the forces of Light and Dark collides with the ordinary life of a boy named Will. It is a midwinter day, Will’s eleventh birthday, and he’s looking forward to a white Christmas with all his many older siblings at home when he finds that he has a part to play on the side of the forces of Light. Suddenly the familiar landscape of his home and the snowy woods around it changes into an ancient landscape of magic. And as winter tightens its grip and the cold grows stronger, the Dark comes rising. A time-travel interlude back to a Victorian Christmas house party adds an additional touch of seasonal charm. This is a truly gripping adventure, and the Christmas setting makes it one I like to re-read myself this time of year, with great enjoyment every time around. Although it’s technically the second in the series, it stands alone just fine.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten Christmas books

Matt Haig's newest books include The Girl Who Saved Christmas and A Boy Called Christmas. One of the author's ten top Christmas books, as shared at the Guardian:

Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien

I’m not the biggest Tolkien fan, I must admit, but I make an exception for his letters from the big man himself. These were letters Tolkien gave to his children every year, and tell wonderfully detailed little tales of life in the North Pole, about reindeer and fantastical polar bears. It’s magical.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue