2014 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced

The 2014 Pulitzer Prize Winners were announced yesterday (April 14, 2014) at Columbia University in NYC. The book winners in the fiction, history, poetry, biography and general nonfiction categories are listed below - congrats to all!

Category: Fiction

Title/Author: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Summary: "Young Theo survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, he lives with a friend's family in New York, where his obsession with a small painting that reminds him of his mother leads him to the art underworld." - Library Journal Reviews

Category: History

Title/Author: The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia,1772-1832 by Alan Taylor

Summary: "Drawn from new sources, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian presents a gripping narrative that recreates the events that inspired hundreds of slaves to pressure British admirals into becoming liberators by using their intimate knowledge of the countryside to transform the war." - Provided by Publisher

Category: Poetry

Title/Author: 3 Sections by Vijay Seshadri

Summary: "This new collection of poetry from the author of Wild Kingdom and The Long Meadow ponders the complex divisions of modern life - an errant history, an uncertain future and a present condition of wanting to outthink time."  - Provided by Publisher

Category: Biography

Title/Author: Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall

Summary: "This intimate portrait of Thoreau's editor and Emerson's friend, who was also a daring war correspondent and a crusader for women's rights brings to life this American heroine's passion for her life's work, which was eclipsed by tragedy and scandal after her death at the age of 40." - Provided by Publisher

Category: General Nonfiction

Title/Author: Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin

Summary: "Recounts the decades-long saga of the New Jersey seaside town plagued by childhood cancers caused by air and water pollution due to the indiscriminate dumping of toxic chemicals."  - Provided by Publisher

Click here for more information on current and past Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as nominated finalists. 

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence - Finalists Announced

The American Library Association (ALA) has announced the six books shortlisted for the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. For a book to be considered, it must be an adult fiction or non-fiction book, written in the previous year and published in the United States. The winners will be announced in June at the ALA annual conference in Las Vegas. Click here for more information on this award. All six of the shortlisted books are available at the Community Library - congrats to all the finalists!

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Shortlist

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: "to the women in the hair-braiding salon, Ifemelu seems to have everything a Nigerian immigrant in America could desire, but the culture shock, hardships, and racism she’s endured have left her feeling like she has “cement in her soul.” Americanah is a courageous novel of independence, integrity, community, and love." - Booklist Reviews

Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat: "in interlocking stories moving back and forth in time, Danticat weaves a beautifully rendered portrait of longing in the small fishing town of Ville Rose in Haiti. Their stories and their lives flow beautifully one into another, all rendered in the luminous prose for which Danticat is known." - Booklist Reviews

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: "in the wake of his nefarious father's abandonment, Theo, a smart, 13-year-old Manhattanite, is extremely close to his vivacious mother—until an act of terrorism catapults him into a dizzying world bereft of gravity, certainty, or love. Tartt writes from Theo's point of view with fierce exactitude and magnetic emotion." - Booklist Reviews

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Shortlist

On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand Year History by Nicholas A. Basbanes: "combining crisp technical explanations with vivid historical and contemporary profiles, Basbanes unfolds the two-thousand-year story of paper, revealing in the process that paper is nothing less than an embodiment of humanity." - Booklist Reviews

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink: "as the floodwaters rose after Hurricane Katrina, patients, staff, and families who sheltered in New Orleans’ Memorial Hospital faced a crisis far worse than the storm itself. Fink’s breathtaking account of the storm and what happened at Memorial offers a fascinating look at how people behave in times of crisis." - Booklist Reviews

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin: "this masterful study examines the complex relationship between two presidents, Roosevelt and Taft, who played major roles in the Progressive movement of the early twentieth century. Acclaimed historian Goodwin offers a superb re-creation of a period when many politicians, journalists, and citizens of differing political affiliations viewed government as a force for public good." - Booklist Reviews

If You Loved 'The Goldfinch' You May Also Like

Praised by Stephen King as "a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind," Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch has already spent twenty-two weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers List and shows no sign of leaving anytime soon. In addition, the novel has received numerous accolades and topped many lists as "Best Book of 2013." 

The story is about a young child, Theo Decker, who miraculously survives an accident in NYC that takes the life of his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by a friend's family and he struggles to make sense of his new life without his mother.

I personally loved The Goldfinch and if you feel the same, you may want to check out these read-alike books recommended by NoveList, out Reader's Advisory database:

	A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.
	In Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, June Elbus' uncle, a renowned painter, is the one person has ever truly understood her. Fourteen year old June is shy at school and distant from her older sister. June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June's world is turned upside down.
	A million-dollar painting by Marc Chagall is stolen from a museum in The World to Come by Dara Horn. The unlikely thief is quiz-show writer, Benjamin Ziskind. As Benjamin and his twin sister try to evade the police, they find themselves recalling their dead parents: the father who lost a leg in Vietnam, the mother who created children's books and their stories about trust, loss, and betrayal.

Amazon Picks 2013 Best Books in Print

Amazon announced their "2013 Best Books of the Year: The Top 100 in Print" this past Thursday and the top spot goes to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt!

In The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt gives us the story of Theo Decker, a young boy in New York City who miraculously survives an accident that takes the life of his mother. Alone and abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by a friend's family and struggles to make sense of his new life. In the years that follow, he becomes entranced by one of the few things that reminds him of his mother: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the art underworld. Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America, and a drama of almost unbearable acuity and power. It is a story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the enormous power of art.

The top 10 books listed in Amazon's 2013 Best Books of the Year are:

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
2. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
3. Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel
4. Life After Life: A Novel by Kate Atkinson
5. Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story on the Alaska Frontier by Tom Kizzia
6. Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scot Anderson
7. Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders
8. The Son by Philipp Meyer
9. A House in the Sky: A Memoir by Amanda Lindhout
10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Want more? See the full list at Amazon.com's 2013 Best Book of the Year: The Top 100 in Print.