Topic: Joshua Ferris

National Book Awards: the 2011 fiction nominees

The 2011 National Book Award winners will be chosen tonight at 8 p.m at a black-tie ceremony in New York hosted by actor and author John Lithgow.  This year's nominees were not without controversy, most notably in the Young Adult category, where author Lauren Myracle was first erroneously listed as a nominee for her novel, “Shine” and then was asked to withdraw her nomination. (At Myracle's request, the National Book Foundation made a $5,000 donation to the Mathew Shephard Foundation in exchange.) In the adult fiction category, judges chose to honor some less-publicized books over some of the bigger “event” novels of the year, such as Ann Patchett's “State of Wonder” and Jeffrey Eugenides's “The Marriage Plot.”  Here's a look at the five finalists for the fiction prize.

Office vacancy: White-collar woes

White-collar jobs are under unprecedented pressure -- not just because of the sluggish economy but because of structural forces like outsourcing and automation.

Five books that deliver life – with the boring parts edited out.

The adventures of a mostly normal life – and why they make the best kind of books.

The Imperfectionists

The newspaper these characters work for is dying. At least they get to live in Rome.

Bestselling books the week of 2/4/10, according to IndieBound*

What's selling most in independent bookstores across the US.

The Unnamed

Joshua Ferris follows satirical debut “Then We Came to the End” with a dark novel about a man who cannot stop walking.

A reading list for 2010

Looking ahead, here's a list of some of the most anticipated titles of the first quarter of the new year.

The most anticipated books of 2009