Sep 24, 2013
Introducing our new sponsor. Discussing the changes at the Man Booker Prize. Recommendations for Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford, and At the Bottom of Everything by Ben Dolnick
Starting next week, Books on the Nightstand episodes will be sponsored by Audiobooks.com. Our official referral link isn't quite active yet, so wait until next week to check out the site, where you can get a free book and a free 7-day trial membership. Lest any of you think this means paid advertising is coming to BOTNS, fear not. There will be a short sponsorship message at the start of every episode, plus a new segment (segment 1.5? segment 1A?) called "Audiobook of the Week,' where Ann or I will discuss an audiobook we've loved, that you can get at Audiobooks.com, as well as any other place you buy audiobooks.
Last week, the Man Booker Prize committee announced a major change: eligible books no longer needed to be written by citizens of the British Commonwealth. They simply needed to be written in English, and available in the UK. This effectively opens the Man Booker Prize to American authors, as long as their book is published in the UK. I've always loved the "british-ness" of the Booker Prize, and am disappointed that that will change. Ann will miss the opportunity to discover books that have not yet been published here. Here's a New York Times article about the controversy. What are your thoughts on this major change?
Booktopia Petoskey author Jamie Ford has done it again. Following up on the success of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, he brings us Songs of Willow Frost. Set in Depression-era Seattle, his new novel tells the stories of William Eng, resident of the Sacred Heart Orphanage, and of silver-screen star Willow Frost, who William is convinced is his mother.
Ann started At the Bottom of Everything expecting another enjoyable read from Ben Dolnick, but was blown away by the complex and mature story of Adam, a young man unwillingly drawn back into the life of his middle school friend Thomas, a friend he had left behind because of a secret in their past.