I just got back from Florida and although it was too chilly for swimming, it was nice not to have to wade through the snow. Now I'm turning my focus towards what I consider to be a very important event: The Academy Awards! For me, I watch the Oscars like many people watch the Superbowl - I yell at the TV and have my own running commentary. And lots of snacks, of course.

This is a great time to check out not only the fabulous Oscar winning movies that are available on DVD, but also the the excellent and expressive novels from which so many of them were adapted. Here's a just a few of my personal favorites:


Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1939 winner)
The African Queen by C.S. Forester (Best Adapted Screenplay nominee 1951)
The Graduate by Charles Webb (Best Adapted Screenplay nominee 1967)
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Best Adapted Screenplay nominee 1985)
The Cider House Rules by John Irving (1999 winner)
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (Best Adapted Screenplay nominee 2001)
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (2007 winner)

Check out the complete list of adapted screenplay winners and nominees on Wikipedia.

One of the great things about being part of some of the book discussion groups at KCPL is that I always end up with some interesting reading suggestions. I don't remember exactly how we got onto the topic, but we ended up talking about books set in China. Someone mentioned that she thought Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was an excellent book. And after checking it out of the library and devouring it at home, I must agree that it is a very good read.

Set in 18th century China, the story is told by Lily, the daughter of a farmer who is made laotong (intimate friends whose lives will always entwine) to Snowflower, a girl of much higher status. They exchange messages by writing nu shu, which is the secret language of chinese women, on the delicate folds of a fan. Brought up to believe that women are worthless unless they produce sons, both girls spend much of their time upstairs in the women's chamber, where they learn how to be good wives and daughter-in-laws. Once they have each been paired to marry, Lily discovers a shocking secret about her "old same". It is the first tiny crack in their devoted friendship. With the many difficulties and pains the women of the time suffered (including a heartbreaking depiction of footbinding), this is not an easy book to read, but I was amazed at the strength and determination of these so called delicate women.

"Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you have peace." 

From Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

"42. The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything!" I used to wear a button on my coat that said this (I wonder what happened to that button?), and at least one person passing by me that day would say "That's right!" or "Don't Panic!". It was always cool when people recognized where that phrase comes from; that even though we didn't read the book at the same time, or even know each other, that commonality and enjoyment of a book made a little connection between us.

The book I refer to is one of my favorites, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Have you ever had a bad day? The kind that starts with people planning to destroy your house and ends up with you on a spaceship? Average guy Arthur Dent is saved from the destruction of the Earth by his friend Ford Prefect who turns out to be an alien from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse (of course). They are captured by Vogons, saved by two-headed Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox, meet a depressed robot named Marvin, and set off to find the Question to the Ultimate Answer. Confusing? Not at all- once you read the book!

If you've read Douglas Adams, try some other off the wall writers like Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Jasper Fforde, Spider Robinson, or Tom Holt.

2010 Edgar Award Nominees Announced!

Here's an exciting announcement for mystery readers looking for a good book - I know you're out there!

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce on the 201st anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2009. The Edgar® Awards will be presented to the
winners at our 64th Gala Banquet, April 29, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL
The Missing by Tim Gautreaux (Random House - Alfred A. Knopf)
The Odds by Kathleen George (Minotaur Books)
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books)
Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston (Random House - Ballantine Books)
Nemesis by Jo Nesbø, translated by Don Bartlett (HarperCollins)
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano (Grand Central Publishing)
Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley (Simon & Schuster - Touchstone)
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (MIRA Books)
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur Books – Thomas Dunne Books)
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (HarperCollins)
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur Books)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Awakening by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur Books)
Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof by Blaize Clement (Minotaur Books)
Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
Lethal Vintage by Nadia Gordon (Chronicle Books)
Dial H for Hitchcock by Susan Kandel (HarperCollins)

For more nominees and information, visit the Mystery Writers of America website.