Critical Notes

Meganne Fabrega reviews chef Julia Pandl’s memoir, Memoir of the Sunday Brunch, and author Benjamin Anastas’ memoir, Too Good to Be True, for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Scott McLemee reviews Ronald

The year-end lists have begun: Jim Carmin and John Freeman are among the critics contributing to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s roundup of critics’ favorites, Jane Ciabattari lists her five favorite short-story

Last week the National Book Awards were given in fiction to Louise Erdrich for her novel The Round House, in nonfiction to Katherine Boo for Behind the Beautiful Forevers, in

Julia M. Klein reviews David Nasaw’s The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy for the Boston Globe. Gina Webb reviews Laird Hunt’s novel Kind One

Collette Bancroft reviews Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Flight Behavior for the Tampa Bay Times. David Biespiel discusses the work of Sylvia Plath at his Poetry Wire column for the Rumpus. C.M.

The NBCC is now on Tumblr! Take a look and follow us. (We’re on Twitter and Facebook too.) David Varno reviews Laird Hunt’s novel Kind One for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Tom Wolfe’s new novel about Miami, Back to Blood, is having a tough time with critics: Collette Bancroft in the Tampa Bay Times says it feels “back of the times”

Daniel Mendelsohn, an NBCC Balakian Citation winner, talks criticism shop with the Millions. The New York Times’ “Room for Debate” blog hosted a discussion on the question “Do we need

Gregg Barrios interviews Junot Diaz at the Los Angeles Review of Books. Robert Birnbaum interviews Martin Amis for the Morning News. Mary Ann Gwinn interviews Sherman Alexie for the Seattle

The amount of attention paid to book critics’ opinions may have hit its high point last week, with the release of J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy.