*A Collection of
Antiquarian Curios & Relics*
"We play at
believing ourselves immortal. We delude ourselves in the appraisal
of our own works
and in our perpetual misappraisal of the works of others.
See you at the
Nobel, writers say, as one might say: see you in hell . . ."
--Roberto Bolano
THOUGHTS
ON THE 2014 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
Yes, it's that time of year
again. The leaves on the trees are changing color and the 2014 Nobel
Prize in Literature will be announced tomorrow. Contingent on the renown
of the winner, this award can be a boon or a bust for booksellers. Last
year, Canadian superstar Alice Munro won the award and we feasted. O, how
we feasted! The flipside of the coin was Herta Muller, who won the 2009
Nobel Prize in Literature, and we waited and waited in vain for American
readers to try to feign any kind of a passing interest. I looked up
LadbrokesTM Betting
Odds for the Top 5 candidates, 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature, and it was not
encouraging:
Nguigi Wa
Thiong'o 7/2
Haruki
Murakami 9/2
Svetlana
Alexievich 6/1
Adonis
10/1
Ismail
Kadare 10/1
Crap! When I have to look
up four out of five authors to see who they are, it's never a good sign.
We have an African novelist who writes in his native Gikuyu, a Ukrainian
investigative journalist, a Syrian poet, an Albanian novelist, and Haruki
Murakami, whose recent release Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of
Pilgrimage (9780385352109) 25.95 is on all the bestseller lists.
C'mon booksellers, join in with me: MURAKAMI! MURAKAMI!
MURAKAMI!
If Roberto Bolano were still
alive (and you may not know that an author has to be living to be awarded the
Nobel), he would probably be one of the favourites. Mr. Bolano has been
graced with his first biography, Bolano: A Biography in Conversations (9781612193472)
26.95. It is long overdue.
Twenty years from now, Brian
Morton, award-winning author of Florence Gordon (9780544309869) 25.00
may be near the top of this list. 'It's pronounced Gore-don.'
I could see the title character, a cantankerous old woman novelist, saying
exactly that.
There is no danger of funnyman
Bob Odenkirk ever, ever being nominated for the Nobel Prize, but he has put
together a 'collection of new short humor fiction' in his latest title, A
Load of Hooey (9781938073885) 20.00. If you need more copies, you 'Better
Call Saul!'
Well, it looks
like we've run out of time. I and a very small percentage of Americans
will look forward to the announcement tomorrow. I have to admit I think
it would be kinda cool if Bob Dylan won. Hey, 25 to 1 aren't horrible
odds . . .
Odds
& Sods
I never thought
I would say this, but I will, "It's kinda hip to be a Spartan fan right
now." True, their football team lost a heartbreaker to Oregon early
in the season, but if they run the table, they could very well be in the
college playoffs this season. So it might be a good time to carry a few
copies of Jack Ebling's Heart of a Spartan (9780985831202) 49.95.
Speaking of Spartans, we've received Tom
Shanahan's Raye of Light (9781938532191) 22.95, which harkens back to
the Duffy Daugherty football era, when Jimmy Raye became one of the first
African-American players to quarterback for a major college. Go
Green! Go White!
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