New York Times Readers Select the Best Book of the Last 125 Years
In a bit of clever content marketing for their recent retrospective collection, The New York Times asked their readers to pick the best book of the last 125 years. No one who follows these sort of polls will be surprised with the top few (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Fellowship of the Ring, and 1984), though I was pleased to see Beloved clock in at number 5. The full list is paywalled, but Kirkus gave some background on how they structured the voting.
E.O. Wilson, Two-Time Pulitzer Winner for Non-Fiction, Dies at 92
E.O. Wilson, one of the 20th century great science writers, died this week at the age of 92. Starting in the 1960s, Wilson explored ideas of biological diversity, evolution, and human behavior—largely by looking at ants. He won the first of his two Pulitzers for 1979’s On Human Nature, but is probably best known for The Ants, which was awarded the Pulitzer in 1991.
Behind the Bookstore Boom in China
Maybe like me from time to time you stumble across images of spectacular bookstores in China and…well thought they looked cool. But did you know that over the last 5 years, over 40,000 bookstores have opened each year. Not all of these are the showstoppers that breakthrough on U.S. social media, but apparently the centerpiece bookstores are largely subsidized by huge malls to drive foot traffic.
The Most Influential Historical Fiction Books of All Time
Historical fiction has really boomed as of late, so at Book Riot we take a look at the books that have most influenced what the genre has become. I was glad to see The English Patient make the cut, as it is one of my favorite book/movie combos–and the subject of the most recent episode of Adaptation Nation on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the movie’s release.