For some reason, I’m not surprised that Ta-Nehisi Coates made the National Book Awards long list of nominations for Nonfiction.
No offense, Dr. West.
Temporarily setting aside arguments about whether or not Coates’ book Between the World and Me reflects a proper descendancy from Baldwinism, or an adequate rebuttal of neo-liberalism and all artifacts which smack of President Obama, I would say that any current and thoughtful exploration into the race problem which much of America continues to ignore is a timely contribution.
I’ll have more to say about that topic later.
Sy Montgomery, another nominee announced today, made the long list by writing a character profile of sorts about the octopus (!) While I haven’t read Montgomery’s book, I must admit that watching this video of an octopus mugging a shark makes me think I owe you a book report soon.
The complete Nonfiction long list is below. The National Book Foundation will present the short list on Wednesday, October 14, and will feature the announcement of winners during the Awards Dinner on Wednesday, November 18 in New York City.
Cynthia Barnett, Rain: A Natural and Cultural History
Crown/Penguin Random House
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Spiegel and Grau/Penguin Random House
Martha Hodes, Mourning Lincoln
Yale University Press
Sally Mann, Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs
Little, Brown/Hachette Book Group
Sy Montgomery, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness
Atria/Simon and Schuster
Susanna Moore, Paradise of the Pacific: Approaching Hawai’i
Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan
Michael Paterniti, Love and Other Ways of Dying
The Dial Press/Penguin Random House
Carla Power, If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran
Henry Holt and Company/Macmillan
Tracy K. Smith, Ordinary Light: A Memoir
Alfred A. Knopf
Michael White, Travels in Vermeer: A Memoir
Persea Books
Via The New Yorker.
mentalunrest.com 