RSS 2.0 Feed* * * * * THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2009 * * * * *
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
The editors of SoundCommentary ring in the New Year by looking back on what our staff selected as the best of the best in 2009.
Cover Story
Columns : EDITOR'S PICK OF THE MONTH
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
Best-selling author Pat Conroy was born in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the novel that gained him national attention.
Featured Stories
The Hidden Man by David Ellis
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
David Ellis is the author of five other novels, including Line of Vision for which he won the Edgar Award. An attorney from Chicago, he is currently Counsel to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and served as the impeachment prosecutor in the Governor Blagojevich trial.
Skinned by Robin Wasserman
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Robin Wasserman grew up in suburban Philadelphia. She went to college and majored in the history of science. She also edited children’s books. Robin is the author of the Seven Deadly Sins series, the Chasing Yesterday trilogy and Hacking Harvard. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
One More Year by Sana Krasikov
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Sana Krasikov was born in Ukraine and grew up in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and in the United States. Her debut collection was named a finalist for the 2009 PEN/Hemingway Award and The New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award. It received a National Book Foundation's "5 under 35" Award and won the 2009 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. She is the recipient of an O. Henry Award, a Fulbright Scholarship, and a National Magazine Award nomination. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Virginia Quarterly, Epoch, Zoetrope, A Public Space, and elsewhere.
White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Ellen Klages lives in San Francisco, California.
Revelation by C.J. Sansom
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
C. J. Sansom was a lawyer before becoming a full-time writer. He is a bestselling novelist in the United Kingdom, he has a PhD in history.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Howard Pyle (1853-1911) was an American illustrator and writer, primarily of books for young audiences. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. His 1883 classic The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print to this day, and his other books, frequently with medieval European settings, include a four-volume set on King Arthur that cemented his reputation. He wrote an original work, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His Men of Iron was made into a movie in 1954, The Black Shield of Falworth
Sacred Hearts by Sara Dunant
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Sarah Dunant is the author of the international bestsellers The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan, which have received major acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her earlier novels include three Hannah Wolfe crime thrillers, as well as Snowstorms in a Hot Climate, Transgressions, and Mapping the Edge, all three of which are available as Random House Trade Paperbacks. She has two daughters and lives in London and Florence.
Jesus Out to Sea by James Lee Burke
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Popular mystery novelist James Lee Burke lives in Louisiana.
American Passage by Vincent Cannato
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Vincent J. Cannato teaches history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is the author of The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York and has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
Relentless by Dean Koontz
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Dean Koontz, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives with his wife, Gerda, and the enduring spirit of their golden retriever, Trixie, in southern California.
The School for Wives by Moliere
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, 1622-1673, writing and acting under his stage name of Moliere, was a master of comic theatre whose influence remains strong even today.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Multi-award-winning satirist Terry Pratchett is best known throughout the world for his immensely popular Discworld novels. Neil Gaiman is the author of many highly acclaimed and award-winning books for children and adults, including the New York Times bestseller Coraline. He is also the author of the picture books The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, both illustrated by Dave McKean, Blueberry Girl, illustrated by Charles Vess, and The Dangerous Alphabet, illustrated by Gris Grimly. Among his many awards are the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. Originally from England, Gaiman now lives in the United States.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Philippa Gregory is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance. A writer and broadcaster for radio and television, she lives in England. She welcomes visitors and messages at her website, www.philippagregory.com. Amazon.
Brimstone by Robert B. Parker
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Robert B. Parker is the author of more than 50 books. His novel, Appaloosa, was recently turned into a movie directed by and starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons. The film was an official selection of the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and the winner of the 2008 Best Film award at the Boston Film Festival.
Bayou Dogs: The Haunting of Derek Stone by Tony Abbott
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Tony Abbott is the author of more than seventy books for young readers, including the bestselling The Secrets of Droon series and the novels Kringle, Firegirl (winner of the 2006 Golden Kite Fiction Award), and most recently The Postcard. He lives and writes in Connecticut with his wife, two daughters, and their Corgi, Comet.
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Libba Bray is the author of the acclaimed A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. She says “I’m one of those people who has to write. If I don’t write, I feel itchy and depressed and cranky. So everybody's glad when I write and stop complaining already.”
Undone by Karin Slaughter
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Karin Slaughter is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Fractured, Beyond Reach, Triptych, Faithless, A Faint Cold Fear, which was named an International Book-of-the-Month Club selection, Indelible, Kisscut, and Blindsighted; she contributed to and edited Like a Charm. She is a native of Georgia, where she currently lives and is working on her next novel.
Ghost of a Flea by James Sallis
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
A writer of varied talents, James Sallis is a published poet, critic, translator, and novelist. He has been praised as "a fine talent, introspective, sardonic, a master of quick characterization and narrative compression" (Buffalo News) and as "a rare find...a fine prose stylist with an interest in moral struggle and a gift for the lacerating evocation of loss" (Newsday).
Speech and Debate by Stephen Karam
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Stephen Karam is co-author of Columbinus (2006 Helen hayes nomination), which ran at New York Theatre Workshop following a co-production by Round House/Perseverance Theatres. His last two plays, Speech & Debate and Girl on Girl, debuted as workshop production at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre. He is currently working on a new play commission for Roundabout Theatre Company, and opera libretto and a screenplay adaptation of Speech & Debate for Overture Films.
Vanished by Joseph Finder
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
JOSEPH FINDER is the author of several critically acclaimed, bestselling thrillers including Power Play and Killer Instinct. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
River Secrets by Shannon Hale
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
About the Author Shannon Hale is the Newbery Honor-winning author of Princess Academy, Book of a Thousand Days, and the highly acclaimed and award-winning Books of Bayern: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets. She has also written a novel for adults, Austenland, and a graphic novel with her husband, Rapunzel's Revenge. She lives with her husband and two young children near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Carolyn Wall is an editor and lecturer. As an artist-in residence, she has taught creative writing to more than 4,000 children in Oklahoma, where she is at work on her second novel, The Coffin Maker, coming from Delta in 2010.
The Commission by Philip Shenon
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Philip Shenon is an investigative reporter with The New York Times, based in Washington. He was the lead reporter on the investigation of the 9/11 Commission and has held several of the most important assignments of the Washington Bureau, including chief Defense Department Correspondent, Diplomatic Correspondent, Congressional Correspondent and Justice Department Correspondent. He was one of two New York Times reporters embedded with American grounds troops during the invasion of Iraq and worked in pre-war Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran for the New York Times foreign staff.
Darwin in a Nutshell by Peter Whitfield
Fri, Jan 01, 2010
Peter Whitfield provides a clear, straight-forward account of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution.
Hope for Animals and their World by Jane Goodall
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
Jane Goodall is a featured speaker throughout the world. A UN Messenger of Peace, she is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, a global nonprofit that empowers individuals to take informed and passionate action to improve the environment for all living things.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16th, 1854. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize for poetry in 1878. His espousal of the fin de siècle Aesthetic Movement, which preached devotion to art above all else, resulted in acclaim from some, and deep hostility from others. In 1882 Wilde arrived in North America to give a lecture tour, announcing as he landed that he had ‘nothing to declare but my genius'.
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
Margaret Atwood has won many awards for her literary achievements. The Canadian author's works include poetry, children's books, drama non-fiction and many novels.
The Loo Sanction by Trevanian
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
TREVANIAN (Rodney Whitaker, 1931-2005) was the best-selling author of Shibumi, The Eiger Sanction, The Main, Summer of Katya, and Incident at Twenty Mile. He was also an educator in communication and dramatic arts, and wrote nonfiction books under his own name. His books have been translated into more than fourteen languages.
Tempted by P.C. and Kristen Cast
Thu, Dec 31, 2009
PC CAST is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author, as well as an experienced speaker and teacher. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious Prism, Daphne du Maurier, Affaire Du Coeur, and other awards. She lives and teaches in Oklahoma. KRISTIN CAST has won awards for her poetry and journalism. She also lives in Oklahoma, where she attends Northeastern State University as a Biology major.
Night of the Gun by David Carr
Thu, Jan 01, 2009
David Carr is now a columnist for the New York Times.