2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced

Fiction : Tinkers / Paul Harding

Drama : “Next to Normal,” / music by Tom Kitt; book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey.

History : “Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World,” / Liaquat Ahamed

Biography : “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt” / T. J. Stiles

General Nonfiction prize : “The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms
Race and Its Dangerous Legacy.” / David E. Hoffman

Music : Violin Concerto / Jennifer Higdon

Poetry : “Versed” / Rae Armantrout

Life in the Stacks : the Librarian's column

The fans hum. Students whisper and murmur over homework and laptops. Or more likely, share the latest gossip. Next door, the band struggles through “Send in the gladiators.” A few students type assignments and rush to print them before the bell rings.

The white lull is interrupted by the occasional voice:

“How do I set this to double space?”

“What’s my password?”

“Why didn’t my paper print?”

“Is your print account empty?”
“Maybe. . . .”
“You’re out. Do you have any change?”

Prints are purchased. Keys are tapped. The printer clacks to life, produces the paper, sleeps again.

The hum slides back into place. A moment of peace. Beyond the library walls, the air is clear and blue and warm. A bird sings. Daffodils bloom. The reverie is splintered by the bell.

Amid chatter and laughter, students snatch up their papers and books, grab backpacks. Music spills from their ipods as they rush off to class. Send in the gladiators indeed.

Never underestimate....

the power of well-chosen words.

Nina Bourne, publishing executive whose copy propelled many books to the best-seller list, has died at age 93. Titles championed by Bourne include Joseph Heller's "Catch 22" and Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon."

"Ms. Bourne, fresh out of Radcliffe, gained entree into book publishing by writing a letter of application to Simon & Schuster in the form of a poem that presented her qualifications while weaving in the names of the company’s top writers and book titles." (NYT, 4/14/10)

Read the entire article at The New York Times.

Mapping the reading mind

Why do we like fiction? What motivates us to curl up with a work of fantasy or sci fi?
Literature scholars and scientist are using MRI's to map the brain in an attempt to learn.

Read more at The New York Times.

Excellence : it's about elbow grease

“The genius in all of us” by David Shenk.

Shank discusses scientific findings about the interplay of genetics and ability. While we tend to think of achievement in terms of talents and gifts, research reveals the importance of disciplined practice and repetition. Shenk writes that “[genes] are constantly activated and deactivated by environmental stimuli, nutrition, hormones, nerve impulses, and other genes. . . . [Thus we should view] talent not as a thing, but as a process; not as something we have, but as something we do. Whatever you wish to do well, … you must do over and over again.” While Shenk admits that individuals have limits, he asserts that without disciplined effort, people will never know their true capabilities. (NYT, 3/25/10)

Read the entire review at The New York Times.

New Books 3/24/10

900
Years of dust : the story of the Dust Bowl / Albert Marrin
The Dust Bowl : through the lens : how photography revealed and helped remedy a national disaster / Martin W. Sandler
Going rogue : an American life / Sarah Palin

Fiction
The life all around me by Ellen Foster / Kaye Gibbons
Odd hours / Dean Koontz
Tales of terror : 52 short stories chosen by the master of suspense / introduced and chosen by Alfred Hitchcock