Saturday, March 26, 2011

Outstanding books from Amazon.com, the SFBC and Alabama Alumni Magazine

Today, I give you three book-related items all in one post.

Today’s post includes Amazon.com’s editors’ list of Best Books of March, the Top 20 books from the Science Fiction Book Club’s Spring bulletin and the featured books from the Spring issue of Alabama Alumni Magazine.

Just a few days ago, Amazon.com released its editors’ list of Best Books of March, which includes 10 books that I’m sure more than a few of you have heard about.

Books that made the list include the following titles:

1. “Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef” by Gabrielle Hamilton
2. “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss
3. “My Korean Deli: Risking it All for a Convenience Store” by Ben Ryder Howe
4. “Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything” by Joshua Foer
5. “The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood” by James Gleick
6. “The Cardboard Valise” by Ben Katchor
7. “The Savage City: Race, Murder and a Generation on the Edge” by T.J. English
8. “I Am J” by Cris Beam
9. “Ant and Grasshopper” by Luli Gray and Giuliano Ferri
10. “A World Without Heroes” by Brandon Hull

“I Am J” (No. 8) was Amazon’s Best Book for Young Adults selection, and “Ant and Grasshopper” (9) was their Best Picture Book selection. “A World Without Heroes” (10) was Amazon’s Best Book for Middle-Grade Readers selection.

For more information about these books, visit www.amazon.com.

My copy of the Science Fiction Book Club’s Spring bulletin arrived in the mail a few days ago, and my favorite item in each of these bulletins is the SFBC’s Top 20.

Books that made the SFBC’s Top 20 list include the following titles:

1. “Catacombs” by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
2. “Cryoburn” by Lois McMaster Bujold
3. “Shadowheart” by Tad Williams
4. “Towers of Midnight” by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
5. “Echo” by Jack McDevitt
6. “Hull Zero Three” by Greg Bear
7. “The Bards of Bone Plain” by Patricia A. McKillip
8. “The Way of Kings” by Brandon Sanderson
9. “Against All Things Ending” by Stephen R. Donaldson
10. “I Shall Wear Midnight” by Terry Pratchett
11. “Blackest Night” by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Ivan Reis
12. “Full Dark, No Stars” by Stephen King
13. “The Human Blend” by Alan Dean Foster
14. “Intrigues” by Mercedes Lackey
15. “Bearers of the Black Staff” by Terry Brooks
16. “DC Comics Year by Year” by DC Comics
17. “Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn – The Deluxe Edition” by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely and Phillip Tan
18. “Star Trek: The Original Series 365” by Paula M. Block with Terry J. Erdmann
19. “Catalyst” by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
20. “Night of the Trekkies” by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall

For more information about these books and to view the SFBC’s Top 100 list, visit www.sfbc.com.

Also arriving in my mailbox this week was the Spring issue of Alabama Alumni Magazine. A regular feature in this outstanding magazine is its “Bookshelf” feature, which provides reviews and descriptions of new books with Alabama connections.

Books mentioned in the latest installment of “Bookshelf” include the following titles:

1. “Wings of Opportunity: The Wright Brothers in Montgomery, Alabama” by Julie Hedgepeth Williams
2. “Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family” by Condoleeza Rice
3. “Teddy’s Child” by Virginia Van Der Veer Hamilton
4. “Heart of a Small Town” by Robin McDonald
5. “Bottle Tree” by Jennifer Horne
6. “The Crimson Tide, National Championship Edition” by Winston Groom
7. “If These Stones Could Talk” by Calvin G. Lyons
8. “The Healer’s Apprentice” by Melanie Dickerson
9. “Attached at the Heart” by Lysa Parker and Barbara Nicholson
10. “Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience,” edited by Dr. Clifton D. Bryant and Dr. Dennis L. Peck

For more information about Alabama Alumni Magazine, visit alumni.ua.edu/publications/alabama-alumni-magazine.

In the end, how many of the books mentioned above have you had a chance to read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.

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