The Greatest Novelist You Haven’t Read

It is one of the eccentricities of American publishing that James Salter has not been widely embraced as a great writer. His books are as good as those of post-war novelists like John Updike, Philip Roth, Richard Ford, and critics have often said so, and yet he is nowhere near as beloved or popularly read. He is frequently referred to as a “writer’s writer,” which sounds terrible, as if he writes effete, airless sentences, as if his novels and stories were obscure poetic exercises, but none of that is true. His writing is as muscular, as clear, as accessible, as lively as those other writers, and yet he is still somehow relegated to that dreary shelf of “writer’s writers,” but even writers have often never bothered to read him. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2013-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #widely embraced #john updike #philip roth #richard ford #sounds terrible

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The Greatest Novelist You Haven’t Read'


Your Valentine’s Day reading list needs more than romance novels

Our book reviewers offer up bouquets to unexpected tales of love and affection, from a long marriage to a passion for the movies. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2024-02-08 20:38:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #romance novels #reading list


5 New Books to Read for Black History Month

These books by Black authors include moving explorations of the past, bold visions of the future, and sage advice for the present. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:


Two novelists have cut ties with PEN over its Mayim Bialik event and Gaza silence.

Two prominent novelists have broken with PEN America over the organization’s decision to platform controversial actor and outspoken ceasefire opponent Mayim Bialik, as well as its relative silence on the unfolding genocide in Gaza (which so far has claimed the lives of at least 120 writers,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-01-31 20:56:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pen america #cut ties #national book award #novelists


Graphic novelist Posy Simmonds wins prestigious French comics award

Award marks first time a British artist and author has won Grand Prix at International Comics festival in AngoulêmeThe graphic novelist Posy Simmonds has won the Grand Prix at France’s Angoulême International Comics festival – the first time a British artist and author has been awarded the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-24 17:52:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british artist #prestigious prize #lifetime achievement #graphic novel


‘There is joy, and there is rage’: the new generation of novelists writing about motherhood

From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shirley jackson #adrienne rich #toni morrison #margaret atwood #angela carter #early 2000s #present day #novelists


Must-Read Historical Fiction Set in Italy

The best historical fiction set in Italy, like these nine titles, explores the complex and even chaotic history of the country. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-18 11:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction


15 Small Press Books You Should Be Reading This Winter

Solstice has come and gone, but in addition to the returning of the light, we can also herald another excellent small press publishing season. What I love about these titles is the richness of imagination and inquiry, leading to inventive plots in fiction and deep emotional honesty in... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-01-15 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #electric literature #small press


Meet the 10 best new novelists for 2024

Our annual pick of the most exciting debut fiction has previously tipped Sally Rooney and Louise Kennedy, Tom Crewe and Douglas Stuart. Here the class of 2024 tell us their storiesEach year since 2014, the Observer New Review’s writers and editors have read scores of forthcoming debut novels... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-14 07:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short stories #ll love #previous years #gail honeyman #completely fine #orwell prize #jane austen #novelists


Keanu and co: how celebrities became bestselling novelists

From Richard Osman and Millie Bobby Brown to the upcoming book by Keanu Reeves, celebrity novels are everywhere. What’s behind the boom? And how do non-famous writers feel about it?I understood that if I was going to do it, I would have to put 100% of myself into it,” says Richard Osman about... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-13 09:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #geri halliwell-horner #paul mccartney #jamie oliver #adult fiction #celebrity author #tom hanks #including books #dolly parton #novelists #nielsen bookscan #upcoming book


Your Guide to Reading More Short Stories and Anthologies

Short stories and anthologies can open up new horizons in reading. If you want to explore more short fiction, here are some tips. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 11:32:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short fiction #short stories


What Booksellers Can Teach Us About Reading, Writing and Publishing

My longtime girlfriend is a longtime bookseller. Her relationship with bookselling predates ours three times over. It is a surprisingly taxing career path—one that asks of the body, and of the mind. There are the bad days, where she brings home the classic bookseller gripes: failed hand-sells,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-01-05 09:56:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #longtime bookseller #bad days #bookseller


The First Books You Should Read in 2024

To celebrate the new year, our reviews editors share eight books guaranteed to get your year in reading started on the right foot—err, page. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


9 New Nonfiction Releases to Read in January

Whether you love pop culture or self-help, are more of a memoir fan, or want to read more about science, there’s something for everyone here. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-03 11:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


10 books to add to your reading list in January

Bethanne Patrick recommends 10 new books to kick off 2024, including an alternate Mexican history, memoirs of wildfire seasons and open marriage and more. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-29 11:00:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #open marriage


18 New Books to Read in January

A look at the Trump-DeSantis rivalry, a witty tribute to “Murder on the Orient Express,” a memoir of open marriage and an epic Swedish novel in verse, among others. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-12-29 10:01:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #orient express #open marriage #memoir


The best books we read in 2023

With El Niño slated to drop a warm, wet winter on most of the US in the coming months, everybody’s going to need something good to read while the weather outside is frightful. Engadget’s well-read staff have some suggestions: our favorite books of 2023! We’ve got a phenomenal assortment of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-12-25 16:30:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #le carr #hay house #book store #literary fiction #science fiction #final book #favorite book #debut novel #manga #books written


Reading James McBride’s ‘The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store’

The Book Review editors MJ Franklin, Joumana Khatib and Elisabeth Egan discuss McBride’s historical novel about fate and community. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-12-22 14:25:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book review


The Complicated Experience of Reading a Late Friend’s Novel

In October, I received an email from an editor at Toronto-based Coach House Books. It was a simple request for me to provide a blurb for the book jacket of the latest book by R.M. Vaughan, the brilliantly titled Pervatory. Except there wasn’t anything simple about it: Vaughan, who I referred to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-20 09:49:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #late friend #book jacket


20 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books Set in Korea

These books provide us with a deeper understanding of what Korea is beyond what we hear or see in popular culture. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #deeper understanding #popular culture #historical fiction


The Memories of Streets: A Reading List of NYC Books That Capture the City’s Many Sides

By instinct and intention, I have been reading books about New York or set in New York since I was a kid. Each one uncovers a facet of the city. Together they form my picture of the life that is hidden inside its buildings or around the corner. Some of these titles, I read when […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-14 09:51:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading books