Lisa O'Donnell, author of 'Death of Bees.' (Photo: Vanessa Stump)
Showing posts with label Voices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Voices. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2013
Friday, December 7, 2012
New voices: 'Trial of Fallen Angels' by James Kimmel Jr.
James Kimmel has written a book, 'The Trial of Fallen Angels.' (Photo: NONE NONE)
Thursday, July 12, 2012
New Voices: Author Karen Thompson Walker
Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles (Random House, $26) is set in a once-placid California suburb facing solar radiation, dying species, failing crops and social disintegration after Earth's rotation slows.
Ramin TalaieWhy it's notable: The book sold for a reported seven figures, and it's been optioned for the movies and has earned early rave reviews.Memorable line: "We were here."Quick bio: Walker, 32, a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., grew up in San Diego. She worked in book publishing while writing her first novel.Real-life inspiration: "In 2004, shortly after the earthquake that caused the tsunami in Indonesia, I read that the earthquake was so powerful that it had affected the rotation of the earth, shortening our 24-hour days by a fraction of a second. I was really stunned by that news, by the idea that something I had always taken for granted — the steady rising and setting of the sun — was actually in flux."On the threat of "the big one": "Sometimes I think I might not have written The Age of Miracles if I hadn't grown up in California, if I hadn't been exposed to its very particular blend of beauty and disaster, of danger and denial."On the popularity of end-of-the-world scenarios: "My own pet theory is that there's actually a certain kind of unexpected pleasure in reading about a world radically altered by disaster. In these kinds of stories, a lot of the ordinary things we take for granted have fallen away — food in the grocery stores, hot showers, the predictable rising and setting of the sun. … As a result, all of the ordinary things begin to look a little miraculous. There's a pleasure in being reminded of the value of ordinary life."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
Ramin TalaieWhy it's notable: The book sold for a reported seven figures, and it's been optioned for the movies and has earned early rave reviews.Memorable line: "We were here."Quick bio: Walker, 32, a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., grew up in San Diego. She worked in book publishing while writing her first novel.Real-life inspiration: "In 2004, shortly after the earthquake that caused the tsunami in Indonesia, I read that the earthquake was so powerful that it had affected the rotation of the earth, shortening our 24-hour days by a fraction of a second. I was really stunned by that news, by the idea that something I had always taken for granted — the steady rising and setting of the sun — was actually in flux."On the threat of "the big one": "Sometimes I think I might not have written The Age of Miracles if I hadn't grown up in California, if I hadn't been exposed to its very particular blend of beauty and disaster, of danger and denial."On the popularity of end-of-the-world scenarios: "My own pet theory is that there's actually a certain kind of unexpected pleasure in reading about a world radically altered by disaster. In these kinds of stories, a lot of the ordinary things we take for granted have fallen away — food in the grocery stores, hot showers, the predictable rising and setting of the sun. … As a result, all of the ordinary things begin to look a little miraculous. There's a pleasure in being reminded of the value of ordinary life."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
New Voices: Sara Benincasa's 'Agorafabulous!'
In debut memoir Agorafabulous! Dispatches From My Bedroom (William Morrow, $24.99), author and stand-up comedian Sara Benincasa describes in hilarious and sometimes horrifying detail her struggle with panic attacks and the dark days when she was too terrified to leave her room.
Why the book is notable: Benincasa has a growing reputation in comedy. She hosts the popular podcast Sex and Other Human Activities.Memorable line: "In simplest terms and most convenient definitions, my psychiatric diagnosis is that I'm afraid of the mall. Which, I can assure you, is untrue."Quick bio: Benincasa, 31, grew up in New Jersey and went on medication for depression and anxiety at 16, finding the right ones at 21. Today, she writes, performs and visits colleges, where she explores issues such as suicide prevention in her routines.The appeal of living in New York City: "I've always felt like such a weirdo and New York is full of weirdos."Why she loves performing: "Performing is an affirmation of life for me. I am doing something that would have been impossible 10 years ago."Up next: A young-adult novel based on F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is a girl, and the story is set among modern teens in the Hamptons.
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
Why the book is notable: Benincasa has a growing reputation in comedy. She hosts the popular podcast Sex and Other Human Activities.Memorable line: "In simplest terms and most convenient definitions, my psychiatric diagnosis is that I'm afraid of the mall. Which, I can assure you, is untrue."Quick bio: Benincasa, 31, grew up in New Jersey and went on medication for depression and anxiety at 16, finding the right ones at 21. Today, she writes, performs and visits colleges, where she explores issues such as suicide prevention in her routines.The appeal of living in New York City: "I've always felt like such a weirdo and New York is full of weirdos."Why she loves performing: "Performing is an affirmation of life for me. I am doing something that would have been impossible 10 years ago."Up next: A young-adult novel based on F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is a girl, and the story is set among modern teens in the Hamptons.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
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