The County Library discussion

Not that NBA... the cool one! Last night the National Book Award winners were announced. The headliner, of course, is Patti Smith for her rock-and-roll memior Just Kids:

None of the other winners, or even many of the finalists have received much press, but it seems like these big awards often go to sleepers. Do you think it's the same mentality as those kids in highschool who only liked bands you'd never heard of?

Anyway, have you read any of these? What do you think of the winners, and who do you think should have been on the list? Personally, I think Gary Schteyngart was robbed!

I am stunned that Ship Breaker did not win for the Young People's Award, but then I haven't yet read the other nominees, so I guess I can't judge fairly. But I was so impressed with Bacigalupi's book & felt that teens would be very interested in reading it.

I booktalked it at a Herriman H. S. sci fi/fantasy senior English class just before the library here opened and there was a lot of interest in it. F.Y.I.-the other title they most wanted to know more about was Shusterman's Unwind, also sci fi (but not dystopian like Ship Breaker).

It often seems that the NBA winners, particularly the children's, are not books that become popular reads- sort of like the YALSA Printz Award books.