National Book Awards 2017 American Literary Prize List Announced

National Book Awards 2017 American Literary Prize Lists

Every mid-September, the list of 10 competing books in each category for the National Book Awards American Literary Prize is announced, with the five finalists announced by mid-October (this year it will be announced October 4). The Award Ceremony for the winners and Benefit Gala will be held November 15.

Here are the ten books selected in each category for the 2017 National Book Awards, just recently announced. The categories are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature.

These books were selected by a panel of judges composed of writers, literary critics, and booksellers from the thousands of books that are published each year. According to the Award's website rule page, "In order to be eligible for the Award, a book must be written by an American citizen and published by an American publisher between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the current year. Self-published books are only eligible if the author/publisher publishes the work of other authors in addition to his own." They were submitted by their publishers.

Best Books: Esquire's 35 Best Books of 2017

Best Books: Esquire's 35 Best Books of 2017 (So Far)
Published: Sept 7, 2017

As we head into the last quarter of the year, it's a good time to look back through the list of books that have made reading fun or interesting or even a challenge. I begin with Esquire's "35 Best Books of 2017 (So Far)". As they say in their introduction, "Whether you like your reading sexy and satirical or political and polarizing, these stand-out books are guaranteed to challenge the status quo and spark timely conversation."

Take the link above to their article and see what you think of their list. How many have you read -- or might you read?

Booksville Just Broke 50,000 Pageviews Threshold!

My personal thank you to all my readers on the Booksville Book Review and Movie Review blog. It just broke the 50,000 pageviews threshold! That was never a goal, even as I approached that number, just an abstract number like watching the miles tick off on the car odometer. But now that I have reached it, I am grateful for each and every person who has taken the time to view my pages. My actual goal was simply to provide objective reviews of every book I have read and every movie I have watched and hoped you have found them useful. If you have returned to view pages multiple times, then thank you again and again.

Please feel welcome to comment on anything I write, and please feel free to share the reviews if you find something useful.

The Red Turtle: A Magical Journey for the Soul

Movie Review: The Red Turtle (2016)
Version: Starz on Demand

One of the more curious animated films recently is The Red Turtle, directed and co-scripted with Pascale Ferran by Michael Dudok de Wit. There is virtually no dialogue, only the occasional "Hey! Hey!" It is all action, but the story line is simple enough, every nuance plain enough, no need for dialogue.

Simply, a man struggles for his life on a rolling sea in the middle of a storm, eventually ending up on a deserted beach on a small lonely island. Besides the abundant beach and a prominent rocky outcrop that overlooks everything, there is a deep bamboo forest and a few coconut trees, along with a fresh water pool -- all the things he needs to sustain himself. Despite living on a paradise, the man is lonely and bored all on his own, and unable to do anything about it in his seclusion, he tries building a raft of fallen bamboo to escape, but something unseen from below batters his raft and he must return to his solo habitat. He tries it again, and the same thing happens. And again. And again. Finally, the man catches the culprit, a large red turtle, which he follows back to the beach and bodily turns over, leaving it to die on the dry beach in revenge. Eventually the man feels remorse and tries to revive the red turtle, but it has already died. Falling asleep, he later awakens to find the turtle's shell has split and a woman arises from the red turtle's shell. This changes the man's life, giving him a companion and spouse, with which he father's a son and with whom he can grow old on this prison island. The story goes on to chronicle the wonderful life they live together, the ups and the downs, even the moment the son reaches lonely adulthood and says goodbye, swimming away.

In many ways, this film is magical, saying so much with the expressions on the characters' faces and their gestures, eliciting so much emotion and communicating so much of the story through color and music. You never doubt for a moment what is going on in the story. And living through the lives of the characters so intimately by watching everything unfold, never needing to intrude with dialogue, it is a far more powerful telling of the story. It's almost real-life like.

No one leaves watching The Red Turtle untouched by the story. It's a magical journey for the soul.

Moonlight: An Important Story of Courage and Perseverance

Movie Review: Moonlight (2016)
Version: Library borrow

As complex and riveting a story as I have seen in a long time is Moonlight. It traces the story of a young African American gay man growing up on the rough streets of Miami. We see his difficult life as a bullied quiet "little" boy of around age 9, as an abused teen, and as a recovering adult. It is vague about his sexuality, although there is one explicit scene in his teen years when a close friend introduces him to gay sex on a lonely beach at night. Less vague are the scenes of motherly neglect as he is growing up and the abuse he receives as a weak male by other children when he is a boy and when is a teen, even receiving a beating on the playground, an act forced on his close friend by the other more aggressive teens.

The main character is Chiron, played at various ages by Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes. He is mentored as a child by a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan (played by Mahershala Ali) and given shelter by Juan's caring girlfriend Teresa (played by Janelle Monáe) when Chiron's mother Paula (played by Naomie Harris) sends him away so she can do drugs or be instead with her boyfriends. Later as a teen Chiron has no mentors, just the shelter of Teresa's home and the friendship of boyhood friend Kevin, played at various ages by Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, and André Holland. After his beating on the playground, usually weak teen Chiron has finally had enough and returns to class to take a chair to the back of the head of the main bully who brought on his beating, resulting in his arrest. We next find him on the streets of Miami as a drug dealer. It's been years since his beating, since getting out of jail, and Chiron has moved on and changed his life.

Out of the blue, Chiron gets a call from his old friend Kevin, the one who gave him the beating in the playground. He's wondering what he's been up to all these years. What's he up to now? And we find out how their two lives have changed. Kevin was Chiron's close friend, who shored him up when others were picking on him, who stood at his side until he was challenged by the stronger bullies to act out against Chiron. Now there is an implicit invitation for Chiron to visit Kevin in Atlanta and when Chiron drive up to see him out of the blue, there's another implicit invitation. Chiron has driven all the way there to see what it's all about. 

Everywhere in Chiron's life there is danger. There is betrayal (except for Juan and Teresa). There is abuse. We are always wondering where his life will turn. Even at the end, when there is a slight twist of fate, we wonder where Chiron's life will turn. 

Moonlight won the Best Picture Oscar Award. It was promoted as being controversial because it was a daring movie about a Black homosexual. But having seen it, I would say it is less about that than it is about the abuse of the weak and the rise of the abused against horrific odds.

A good film, a daring film, a film exploring new ground in old territory, Moonlight is an important story of courage and perseverance in a difficult world. It's definitely worth seeing. 

Collateral Beauty: Mostly Window Dressing to Get You to the Surprise Ending

Movie Review: Collateral Beauty (2016)
Version: Library borrow

In Collateral Beauty, Howard and Whit partner to create a successful advertising agency, along with the sweat and dedication of Claire and Simon. But when Howard suffers the death of his very young daughter, he retreats from reality and life, putting in peril all that he, Whit, Claire, and Simon have built. Nothing anyone tries to do to help him resolves Howard's deep sorrow. Howard's destructive behaviors begin to affect business to the point that the agency is about to collapse, and Whit decides to sell it rather than have it fail. To do so, Whit has to be able to prove that Howard is mentally incompetent to make the decision on the sale. With the uneasy assistance of Claire and Simon, and the help of three stage actors and a private detective, Whit sets out on an intervention to either bring Howard to his senses or provide the proof he needs.

This film takes a lot on its shoulders to make a point, a point attempted to be made in its title. But the execution comes in the telling, and that's where it comes up short. You have to think long and hard to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and as obscure as the title is and as strange as the pieces of the puzzle are, it's easy to fumble with the point of the story. The themes are Love, Time, and Death, portrayed by the three actors that Whit employs for the intervention. But it is never really clear how those themes fit into the death of the daughter and how Howard deals with it. Moreover, the title, "collateral beauty" doesn't begin to explain either the desired outcome or the achieved outcome of the story, even though it is referenced at the beginning and end of the film. This is, unfortunately, a scripting problem. The story line is too complex, the writing too evasive.

What is good about Collateral Beauty is the acting. Will Smith puts on an emotional tour de force as Howard, the grieving father. Naomi Harris is riveting as Madeline, the grief counselor but who turns out to have a surprising connection to Howard. Helen Mirren is delicious as the actor portraying Death, Jacob Latimore puts on a strong performance as the actor portraying Time, and Keira Nightley is winsome as the actor portraying Love. Edward Norton as Whit, Kate Winslet as Claire, and Michael Peña as Simon are good as well. Their performances bring a depth to the story that makes up for what the writing fails to provide.

I've read a few explanations for the meaning behind the title in an attempt to understand it. The surprise ending probably best sheds light on everything, but if you have to wait till the last minute for the "Aha!" moment, then the film has failed. All the rest is window dressing simply to get you to the end. In this sense, I believe you will likely find yourself scratching your head looking for its meaning right up to the end and wondering why you sat through everything else. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: A Great Followup to the Original

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Version: Library borrow

Hollywood has a much better success rate lately with sequels. That's certainly true with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a great followup to its original, Guardians of the Galaxy. Partly, it's because the old cast and crew are back. And it's sci-fi/fantasy film magic.

Fresh back from saving Xandar from the wrath of Ronan, the Guardians return heroes. They've become a solid team, like a family of squabbling siblings, and now they need to help team leader Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, find his true heritage. In the middle of a mighty battle, just when they seem to have met their match against a forceful foe, comes a mighty savior: Ego.

At first, Ego seems pretty cool. He's more than a savior, he's the creator. More than the creator, he's Peter's father. And Ego wants super son to join him in his newest quest of greatness. Then things turn sour, as father and son come to odds and Peter must rely on family and old enemies-turned-allies to battle an all powerful god. 

The special effects in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are pretty cool. Not, maybe, as cool as in, say, Star Wars or Star Trek, but pretty cool in a fantasy film kind of way. They stretch the imagination and help build an amazing universe you can believe in despite the way the story tellers stretch nature. Adding to the appeal of the film are the zany characters, built both around the scripting and the actors, played once again by Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautisa as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Vin Diesel as Baby Groot (adorable this time around). Michael Rooker returns as Yondu, the blue-faced leader of the resistance gang with the pet arrow he can control with a serious series of whistles. New to the cast is Kurt Russell as Ego. Between the fun script and the cast's natural sense of humor, the narrative plays out with lots of interesting twists and gags.

Now, this wouldn't make a bid for best picture of the year or award winner in any category, but it would make a bid for greatest way to spend an evening with the family. It's fast paced and entertaining, and afterwards you won't feel like you wasted your time or your money (assuming you paid to see it). I would have no trouble recommending this film to friends or family. If you haven't yet seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, put it on your list to see soon!