nomadreader

The backstory: All the Light We Cannot See  won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize , was a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award , was named one of the top five books of 2014 by The New York Times , and won the 2015 Carnegie Medal . Update: It was also the 2015 runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize . The basics: Set during World War II, All the Light We Cannot See  tells the interwoven stories of Marie-Laure, a young Parisian girl going blind whose father works at the Museum of Natural History, and Werner, a young German teenager growing up in an orphanage, where he develops a fascination with radios. My thoughts: Over the years, I've grown weary of World War II tales. I find it a fascinating time in history, but I've read so many great novels about the time and so many good novels about the time that most new WWII novels have a hard time sticking out. Admittedly, if I read this one several years ago, I might have enjoyed it even more than I did. What makes All the ...

Last week I reviewed The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber ( I loved it ). I couldn't stop thinking about Rachel, an African-American homesteader in South Dakota's Badlands. As an academic librarian, I spend much of my day teaching students (and to a lesser extent, faculty) how to conduct research and which sources are most appropriate for which research topics. I'm fascinated by how people conduct research, and Ann graciously agreed to write a guest post about her research for this novel. It was a fascinating surprise to hear that Ann's research began right here in Des Moines! Carrie, thank you for asking me to write about the resources I used during the research process.  I do, though, have a confession to make.  I told very few people, including the librarians who helped me, that I was writing a novel.  The very word intimidated me.  Instead, I said I was working on a project.  When the book was published, I finally told them....