Books on the Wall blog posts covering contemporary literature, contemporary authors, and everything in between.
To talk about fiction in the context of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, is to talk about the nature of fiction itself. Just what is fiction for? What is the 9/11 novel, and what role does literature play in our post-9/11 world? The purpose of fiction Over the years, writers, readers, and cultural commentators have inevitably chimed in with their own answers, one of the most famous of which came from the late David Foster Wallace: “I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction’s job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. […]
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What is a serial novel? A serial novel is a work of fiction that is published in sequential pieces called installments. These installments can be published at nearly any interval for nearly any period of time, though weekly and monthly installments are most typical. Serialized novels have traditionally been published by literary magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals. In fact, the breakout hit podcast Serial got its name from this style of publishing a story in installments. Some serial novels—like The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins—were written specifically for that format, while others—like parts of Middlemarch by George Eliot—were originally intended to be a […]
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Here at Books on the Wall, it’s pretty clear that we love us some good alliteration. In case you missed it, we publish a Words Wednesday every few weeks—hey, there’s some more alliteration!—with a quote graphic featuring the poignant, pithy, or polished prose of our favorite authors. (Okay, okay, we’re done now.) We’ve got Words Wednesdays galore: William Shakespeare, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Leo Tolstoy…and more. Love of alliteration aside, we’re excited to bring our newest series of posts to the Books on the Wall blog: Novel Knowledge. (The fact that N + K = alliteration demonstrates what we all already know […]
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Winner of the National Book Award in 2001, Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections tells the story of the Lambert family from a fictional Midwestern town called St. Jude. The three adult children left their parents in St. Jude many years before, but now each one faces his or her own brand of personal crisis while their father slowly descends into dementia. Listen to Jonathan Franzen’s interview about The Corrections on NPR. “And when the event, the big change in your life, is simply an insight—isn’t that a strange thing? That absolutely nothing changes except that you see things differently and you’re less fearful […]
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This quote comes from Celeste Ng’s recent novel, Everything I Never Told You. Though the plot primarily focuses on what happened to a missing teenage girl named Lydia, the story really deals with themes of family, culture, and identity (and especially how these three aspects of life interact). The novel explores the sometimes tragic distance between what we say and what we mean and who we are and who others think we are. We just finished the novel and would definitely recommend it as a quick but deeply affecting read. He can guess, but he won’t ever know, not really. What […]
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We all have those small errands to run from time to time that take up more time (and effort) than we either want or expect. Maybe it’s a visit to the doctor, a long bus commute to work, or that seemingly endless line at the post office. In these inevitable times of queue-induced despair, it’s tempting to pull out your smartphone and waste some time catching up on Instagram or Facebook. And hey, no judgement here; we’ve all been there. No matter how long it takes, the time never seems quite long enough to really do anything. But that’s exactly why […]
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Books are the best way to visit a new place when you can’t actually go anywhere. Check out our infographic with a book recommendation for every state in the USA. Which state will you visit next? What are your recommendations for books set across the United States? — For those who prefer text, here’s a text list of our book recommendations for every state in the USA. 50 States of Books Alabama Boy’s Life (1991) Robert McCammon Alaska The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (2007) Michael Chabon Arizona Animal Dreams (1990) Barbara Kingsolver Arkansas I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) Maya […]
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This quote comes from Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2005 novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This novel follows the journey of Oskar Schell, a precocious 9-year-old who is searching for clues about his recently deceased father. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close artfully blends humor and tragedy to explore themes of heritage, identity and loss. Jonathan Safran Foer has recently announced his upcoming novel, Here I Am, to be released in September 2016. “I looked at everyone and wondered where they came from, and who they missed, and what they were sorry for.” Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
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This quote comes from Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved. Published in 1987, Beloved follows Sethe, a slave who struggles for freedom from her plantation in Kentucky. Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of American fiction. “Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.” Toni Morrison, Beloved
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We were so excited about the reader response on our first Around the World book infographic. We received many great suggestions and a lot of well-considered feedback, and we would like to first say a big “THANKS!” to our readers. You’re teaching us about new books and authors every day. We incorporated reader feedback along with our personal author favorites for our next list of recommended books set around the world. Again, this is not a “best of” list; we just want to give some suggestions for books set in interesting places. So join us as we travel the globe […]
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