http://www.toptenbooks.net Peder Zane is the author of what the Sun-Sentinal has hailed as "two power house series" featuring NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher and Portland Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid. en-us Copyright 2010 toptenbooks.net http://toptenbooks.net/blog/ Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:15:00 EST Sara Gruen's list of Ten Top Books includes Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare. I don't know about you, but I haven't read that one in a while (don't even ask me about 116). No time like the present:if gte mso 9>Normal0endif-->/CDATA/ / Style Definitions / p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {margin-right:0in; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} />/That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane ../blog/20100817_Sonnet_73_by_William_Shakespeare.html This week’s list comes from one today’s most successful novelists, Sara Gruen:1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen 1. Sunday, 15 August 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100815_Sara_Gruens_Ten_Top_Books.html Before he was named editor of Granta magazine, this week's listmaker, John Freeman, wrote a thoughtfully passionate book titled, “The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox.”It offers a fascinating history of communication - including the railroad and the postal system - and a powerful exploration of how email is transforming society, and our selves, for the worse. Drawing on scholarly research and his own insights, John describes how, as Publisher’s Weekly nicely put it, email is “fragmenting our days, fracturing our concentration, diverting us from other sources of information and face-to-face encounters.”Read the New York Times review here.Read the Seattle Times review here.Read John’s Wall Street Journal Op-ed on the subject here.Watch a video of John discussing the book here.. Saturday, 14 August 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100814_The_Tryanny_of_Email.html Upon being named acting editor of Granta last year, this week's featured listmaker, John Freeman, discussed his hopes for the journal and the changing face of writing in the 21st century.Can you tell me a little about yourself? What’s your background?I was born in Ohio, delivered newspapers for ten years growing up in California, and spent most of my adult life writing for them. My sleep patterns have never really recovered. During the time I worked with the National Book Critics Circle, we tried to raise awareness about the cutbacks in newspaper book review sections. Thursday, 12 August 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100812_John_Freeman_on_Granta_.html This week’s list is an act of courage - or insanity. It boldly goes into the grudge-holding, ego-spinning, never-forget-the-imagined-slight heart of literary darkness where few critics or editors dare to tread.It comes from John Freeman, Editor of Granta. As the big cheese at one of the world’s great journals, John works with scores of the world’s most gifted writers. Tuesday, 10 August 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100810_John_Freemans_Top_Ten_List.html Today we reveal Caroline Leavitt's top two books and, for the first time, her entire annotated list. Read it, then read 'em.1. “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout (2008). Friday, 30 July 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100730_Caroline_Leavitts_Top_Ten_List.html Astute Top Ten readers - that would be all y'all, natch - noticed that we presented Carolina Leavitt's picks out of order yesterday, skipping #6 to presents #s 5 & 4. We had our reasons. Really!At the cocktail party that is Leavitt's list, #6 now meets #3 - who's probably in his cups, but hey, he's an artist. Thursday, 29 July 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100729_Mona_Simpson_meets_Richard_Yates.html Yesterday, when we introduced Caroline Leavitt’s seventh and eighth picks (“Save Me the Waltz” by Zelda Fitzgerald and “The Great Gatsby”), we compared her list to a dinner party whose members talk to and about one another (given those picks, we should have said cocktail party). The chatter heats up today, with her fourth and fifth picks:4. “Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys (1966). Wednesday, 28 July 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100728_Leavitt_Eyres_Twice.html Caroline Leavitt believes in conversation - especially when it comes to books. Her Top Ten list is like a brilliant dinner party whose members talk with, about and behind the back of one another. 7. Tuesday, 27 July 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100727_Caroline_Scott_and_Zelda.html All this work week we'll take a bottom to top look at Caroline Leavitt's list - in her own words. 9.“The World According to Garp” by John Irving. I first found this book when I was stuck in a miserable first marriage and living in Pittsburgh, a city that seemed to hate me. Monday, 26 July 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100726_Caroline_Leavitt_on_Emily_Bronte_and_John_Irving.html I loved Oprah’s Book Club. It inspired millions of people to read and helped spark the book club boom. My one, minor complaint was that it sucked all the air out of the room. Sunday, 25 July 2010 22:15:00 EST Peder Zane http://www.toptenbooks.net/blog/20100725_Caroline_Leavitts_Top_Ten_List.html