by Parul Sehgal
On Thursday evening, the National Book Critics Circle will announce the winners in the following categories: fiction, nonfiction, autobiography, biography, criticism and poetry. Browse the five fiction finalists.
Fiction master E.L. Doctorow returns with short stories, while novelist Cristina Garcia finds intrigue among "lady matadors," and Teju Cole looks afresh at post-Sept. 11 New York. In nonfiction, a mother learns self-acceptance through yoga and an economist explodes conventional wisdom about sports.
2011 was a terrific year for fiction — both from first-time novelists and much-decorated veterans. Maureen Corrigan's recommendations range from Karen Russell's dazzling debut, to David Foster Wallace's posthumously published novel, to what may be the Sept. 11 novel.
by Martha Southgate
It's fall, and the mood has turned from silly to serious. In keeping with the buttoned-up season, author Martha Southgate lists her favorite books full of fastidious fellows. They might be fussy, but she knows deep down, they're a whole lot of fun.
by NPR Staff
Teju Cole's debut novel, Open City, follows Julius, a half-Nigerian and half-German doctor, as he wanders the streets of New York. Julius struggles to understand his identity as an immigrant, an experience the author himself is familiar with.
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