The 2007 Quill Book Award Winners

The 2007 Quill Book Awards is set to air on NBC October 27th. Readers can still participate in voting for the Book of the Year at http://www.quillsvote.com/. Voting ends October 10th.

2007 Quill Book Award Winners by category:

Debut Author Of The Year
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Written by Diane
Published by Atria

General Fiction
The Road
Written by Cormac McCarthy
Published by Alfred A. Knopf

Romance
Angels Fall
Written by Nora Roberts
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Audio
To Kill a Mockingbird
Written by Harper Lee
Read by Sissy Spacek
Published by Caedmon Audio

Religion/Spirituality
Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't
Written by Stephen Prothero
Published by Harper One

Graphic Novel
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
Written by Scott McCloud
Published by Harper Paperbacks

Poetry
For the Confederate Dead
Written by Kevin Young
Published by Alfred A. Knopf

Cooking
Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition
Written by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker
Published by Scribner

Health/Self-Improvement
How Doctors Think
by Jerome Groopman, M.D.
Published by Houghton Mifflin

Biography/Memoir
Einstein: His Life and Universe
Written by Walter Isaacson
Published by Simon & Schuster

Sports
The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team
Written by Michael Weinreb
Published by Gotham Books

Humor
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence
Written by Amy Sedaris
Published by Warner Books

History/Current Events/Politics
The Assault on Reason
Written by Al Gore
The Penguin Press

Business
The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
Written by Robert I. Sutton, PhD
Published by Business Plus, Grand Central Publishing

Mystery/Suspense
What the Dead Know
Written by Laura Lippman
Published by William Morrow

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One)
Written by Patrick Rothfuss
Published by DAW Books

Children's Picture Books
Flotsam
Written by David Wiesner
Published by Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin

Children's Chapter/Middle Grade
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Written by Brian Selznick
Published Scholastic Press

Young Adult/Teen
Sold
Written by Patricia McCormick
Published by Hyperion Books for Children

New Release Spotlight: Starting at Sea Level

Starting at Sea Level, a memoir by Terry Noble

Throughout his memoir, Terry Noble imparts to readers what life was like as a young boy growing up near the Chesapeake Bay during the 1950s-1960s. The novel immediately lures you in with a lighthearted story of Terry and his father out on the river; however, there is obvious conflict between father and son, and a hint that Terry’s adventurous spirit may have gotten him in more trouble than he expected.

Noble grew up at a time when oyster wars afflicted the Bay and his dad was Captain—a true hero who protected the oyster beds and risked his life to save others. Surrounded by men who were either watermen or farmers, Noble talks in depth about the oyster and agriculture industries. Reading this book will definitely extend your knowledge on (and increase your appreciation for) these industries.

Nearly 300 pages long, Starting at Sea Level is a fairly quick read due to its short chapters and its ability to keep you wondering what will happen next. The novel is full of vibrant characters, yet the focus is primarily on the men of the community and how they affect the kind of man Noble will become. Noble respects and learns valuable lessons from these men, but the person he tries hardest to impress is his father, a man who doesn’t give compliments easily and believes in tough love. Noble writes, “From the time I was nine, Dad seemed determined to accomplish two things: teach me to work so I would become a productive member of society and keep me under control to prevent me from embarrassing the family.”

Will Noble rise to the challenges he’s up against or will his daring nature ultimately land him in prison? Noble will have you eagerly turning the pages to see whether he follows in the footsteps of the men around him, and if he will finally win his dad’s approval. Though his dad teaches him the value of working hard and being self-reliant, Noble continuously rebels against him and manages to have fun at the same time. The novel is rich with humorous tales of Noble’s boyhood, such as setting his dad’s motorboat engine on fire, using gasoline to get rid of rats eating his corn, and pulling pranks with his friends. And though he constantly finds himself in trouble, he also manages to redeem himself—and win your admiration.

Review by Valerie Zogas, Indigo Editing, LLC

Starting at Sea Level
Publisher: Foggy River Books
ISBN: 978-0-9793603-0-5
Hardback, $24.95; Paperback, $16.95

New Release Spotlight: Girls of Riyadh

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

There are stronger ways to describe a book than by comparing it to another work, and a book shouldn’t be recommended based on anything other than its writing. Yet Rajaa Alsanea’s first novel, Girls of Riyadh, demands both.

This is the Saudi Sex and the City (which is also a favorite show of one of the book’s main characters), following the lives—mostly the loves—of four female members of the elite “velvet class,” Gamrah, Sadeem, Lamees, and Michelle, and of the anonymous narrator, also of that station, who posts these stories in a Yahoo! group. Each chapter is short—sometimes snappy in its brevity, sometimes leaving the reader with questions—but by the end of the book, the reader has a good picture of a life few (if any) Sex and the City watchers know and about which all Westerners should be more aware.

Fortunately this book has more to recommend it than its setting. The narrator’s voice is strong and consistent throughout, painting a funny, smart, and curious young woman who observes Islamic holidays and quotes the Qur’an and who also paints her lips bright red before writing each post and who eats pickles and chili and lime chips, to keep her “reminded of the sharp flavor” of what she is about to write. Her introductions to the posts are some of the best parts of the book, as she shares not only details about herself but about the many people writing in to praise or condemn her characters, her telling of their stories, or both.

The book is difficult to connect with at first, but in hindsight that’s appropriate. The narrator is growing used to both her voice and her audience, and the reader rightly feels closer, more included, in later entries. It’s also important to remember that this wasn’t written for a Western audience—Alsanea originally published it two years ago in Lebanon. While a few footnotes explain some things—Arabic words or who a famous person referenced is—they don’t fill in all the gaps. The women eat at an Italian restaurant—what’s that like in Saudi Arabia? Gamrah meets her husband’s mistress and alternately refers to her as Japanese, Chinese, and Filipina. Is her confusion due to ignorance or fury, or does it say something larger about the view upper-class Saudis have toward Asians?

For the most part, though, the reader will be caught up in the story rather than in asking questions. There’s a lot of unique territory—from what Saudi Internet chat rooms are like to how much of an affect homosexuality, adoption, and tribalism have on social situations to what a wedding ceremony is like—covered in this book, but the universality is also clear: love and loss, forgiveness and revenge, humor. At one point, for more than a page, Sadeem talks to herself about a relationship gone wrong. Though some of her thoughts are clearly specific to her circumstances, the self-doubt and stream-of-consciousness questioning is very Young Woman, no matter where she lives.

The only question a reader should demand this work of chick lit have answered more fully is this: Who is Riyadh? The Saudi capital city aches to be a character: it’s in the title, and the characters are very aware of what city or region each comes from. What does Riyadh look like, smell like, taste like? Just as New York City sets a very distinct tone to Sex and the City, so Riyadh should for its Girls.

Review by Kristin Thiel, Indigo Editing, LLC

Girls of Riyadh

Publisher: Penguin Press

ISBN: 978-1-59420-121-9

Hardback, $24.95

Local Events

Monday, September 10
Jules Boykoff's In Beyond Bullets: The Suppression of Dissent in the United States
Where: Powell's on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
When: 7:30pm
Cost: Free

Monday, September 10
Local Author Lee Montgomery Reads from Her Memoir The Things Between Us
Where: Powell's City of Books on Burnside, 1005 W. Burnside St.
When: 7:30pm
Cost: Free

Monday, September 10
CoHo Productions Presents a Staged Reading of Donald Margulies' Play Sight Unseen
Where: CoHo Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh
When: 7pm
Cost: $5

Tuesday, September 11
Seattle Author Sherman Alexie's First Young-Adult Novel, The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Where: Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
When: 7pm
Cost: Free

Wednesday, September 12
Young Readers' Club: Middle and High School Readers Discuss Ophelia by Lisa Klein
Where: Multnomah County Library/Sellwood-Moreland, 7860 SE 13th Ave.
When: 7-8pm
Cost: Free

Wednesday, September 12
Laura Moriarty Presents The Rest of Her Life
Where: Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
When: 7pm
Cost: Free

Wednesday, September 12
Vicki Leon, Author of the "Uppity Women" Series, Presents Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World
Where: Powell's City of Books on Burnside, 1005 W. Burnside St.
When: 7:30pm
Cost: Free

Thursday, September 13
Bitch Off the Page Magazine Release Party of the Singular/Plural issue
Where: In Other Words, 8 NE Killingsworth St.
When: 7pm
Cost: Free

Friday, September 14
PICA Presents Time-Based Art Festival 2007: Elevator Repair Service's "Gatz"
Where: Imago Theater, 17 SE 8th Ave.
When: 4pm
Cost: $30 ($25 for PICA members)

Saturday, September 15
PICA Presents Young Jean Lee: Writing for Theatre (playwriting workshop)
Where: Pacific Northwest College of Art, 1241 NW Johnson
When: 9:30-11am
Cost: $15 ($10 for PICA members)

Saturday, September 15
Rebecca Harrison Discusses her Recent Book, Deep, Dark and Dangerous: On the Bottom with the Northwest Salvage Divers
Where: Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave. In the U.S. Bank Room.
When: 1-2:30pm
Cost: Free

Portland Writers Room

Portland writer Jeffrey Selin suggests a scene and poses a question: "Imagine a shared office space that's quiet, literary, and beautiful. Paid membership is required, but the value of benefits to serious writers is superb. Other cities around the U.S. boast incredible writers' rooms. Should Oregon writers have their own space?"

Check out what's happening at his blog.