Friday, October 17, 2025

100 years of The Great Gatsby

 

"Misunderstanding has been a part of The Great Gatsby's story from the very start. Grumbling to his friend Edmund Wilson shortly after the novel was published in April 1925, Fitzgerald declared that "of all the reviews, even the most enthusiastic, not one had the slightest idea what the book was about". Fellow writers like Edith Wharton admired it plenty, but as the critic Maureen Corrigan relates in her book So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, popular reviewers read it as crime fiction, and were decidedly underwhelmed by it at that. Fitzgerald's Latest A Dud, ran a headline in the New York World. The novel achieved only so-so sales, and by the time of the author's death in 1940, copies of a very modest second print run had long since been remaindered.

Gatsby's luck began to change when it was selected as a giveaway by the US military. With World War Two drawing to a close, almost 155,000 copies were distributed in a special Armed Services Edition, creating a new readership overnight. As the 1950s dawned, the flourishing of the American Dream quickened the novel's topicality, and by the 1960s, it was enshrined as a set text. It's since become such a potent force in pop culture that even those who've never read it feel as if they have, helped along, of course, by Hollywood."

Read the whole article here: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel

Interested in reading The Great Gatsby, or some of the books about or inspired by this great American novel and writer?  Try one of these!

young adult

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed 

For fans of The Grace Year and We Were Liars comes a mesmerizing, can't-put-it-down psychological thriller—a gender-flipped YA Great Gatsby that will linger long after the final line.

adult nonfiction

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books by Karen Prior

Prior takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life.

Literary Yarns: Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Books by Cindy Wang

Learn how to make adorable crochet dolls of your favorite literary characters, including Anne of Green Gables, Elizabeth Bennet, and Sherlock Holmes!

F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing

A collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s remarks on his craft, taken from his works and letters to friends and colleagues—an essential trove of advice for aspiring writers.

Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel by Bob Batchelor

A cultural historian, Batchelor explains why and how the novel has become part of the fiber of the American ethos and an important tool in helping readers to better comprehend their lives and the broader world around them.

So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan

Offering a fresh perspective on what makes Gatsby great - and utterly unusual - So We Read On takes us into archives, high school classrooms, and even out onto the Long Island Sound to explore the novel's hidden depths.

Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda: The Love Letters of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

Through his alcoholism and her mental illness, his career lows and her institutional confinement, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's devotion to each other endured for over 22 years. Now, for the first time, we have the story of their love in the couple's own letters.

The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal that Shaped an American Classic by Kendall Taylor

Both a literary study and a probing look at an iconic couple's psychological makeup, The Gatsby Affair offers listeners a bold interpretation of how one of America's greatest novels was influenced.

Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell

Fitzgerald set his novel in 1922, and Careless People carefully reconstructs the crucial months during which Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald returned to New York in the autumn of 1922 - the parties, the drunken weekends at Great Neck, Long Island, the drives back into the city to the jazz clubs and speakeasies, the casual intersection of high society and organized crime, and the growth of celebrity culture of which the Fitzgeralds themselves were the epitome.

fiction

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is considered F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, exploring themes of decadence, idealism, social stigmas, patriarchal norms, and the deleterious effects of unencumbered wealth in capitalistic society, set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic in this atmospheric historical novel told in three women’s alternating voices.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler

With brilliant insight and imagination, Fowler brings us Zelda's irresistible story as she herself might have told it.

Beautiful Fools by R. Clifton Spargo

Iin 1939, Scott is living in Hollywood, a virulent alcoholic and deeply in debt. Despite his relationship with gossip columnist Sheila Graham, he remains fiercely loyal to Zelda. In an attempt to fuse together their fractured marriage, Scott arranges a trip to Cuba.  After a disastrous first night in Havana, the couple runs off to a beach resort outside the city.

Montauk by Nicola Harrison

Montauk captures the glamour and extravagance of a summer by the sea with the story of a woman torn between the life she chose and the life she desires.

Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow

Working from diaries and other primary sources from the time, Sally Koslow revisits a scandalous love affair in this compelling historical novel saturated with the color, glitter, magic, and passion of 1930s Hollywood and London.

The Great Mann by Kyra Lurie

In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Richardson set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris.

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art - as well as a loving homage to The Great Gatsby - Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.

Nick by Michael F. Smith

A critically acclaimed novelist pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this "masterful" look into his life before Gatsby (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author)

Daisy by Libby Sternberg

While simultaneously remaining true to the original and adding new information, Sternberg weaves Daisy's perspective and Nick Carraway's account together, correcting what Daisy knows is inaccurate from her cousin's novel.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

From the number one New York Times best-selling author, this is a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society.

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Williams brings the Roaring '20s brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively listenable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.

The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler

Deftly subverting romantic notions about money, power, and freedom that still stand today, The Gatsby Gambit is a sparkling homage to, and reinvention of, a world American readers have lionized for generations.

Mansion Beach by Meg Moore

A sparkling, escapist novel following a young woman entwined in the opulent lives of her neighbors, set against a backdrop of scandal, secrets, and a not-so-subtle love triangle.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Nghi Vo’s debut novel reinvents a classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.

film

There are two Great Gatsby films.  Robert Redford starred in the 1974 version and Leonardo DiCaprio headlined the 2013 adaptation.  





Thursday, October 9, 2025

2025 Kirkus Prizes

 



Lucas Schaefer, Scott Anderson, and Thao Lam are the winners of this year’s Kirkus Prizes, given annually to works of exceptional merit in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature.

The winners of the awards were announced Wednesday night during a ceremony at the TriBeca Rooftop in New York. The event was also livestreamed on Kirkus’ YouTube channel.





Schaefer won the fiction prize for The Slip, his debut novel about the characters associated with an Austin, Texas, boxing gym and a 16-year-old boy who goes missing. In a citation, the prize jurors wrote, “This debut novel fearlessly explores issues of race, class, sex, and gender through a wildly inventive group of characters and events…Franzen/Roth/Irving comparisons are earned and deserved.”

The judges for the fiction award were Thérèse Purcell Nielsen, a Kirkus reviewer and former public librarian; Oscar Villalon, a journalist and editor of the literary journal ZYZZYVA; and Kirkus fiction editor Laurie Muchnick.

 



Anderson took home the nonfiction award for King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation, a history of the 1979 revolution that forever changed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. “It’s a masterful and propulsive account that chronicles a devastatingly transformative series of events whose aftereffects reverberate to this day,” the judges said in a citation.

This year’s nonfiction jurors were Calvin Crosby, an owner of the King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City and executive director of the nonprofit Brain Food Books; Anita Felicelli, the books editor of Alta Journal and author of the books ChimericaLove Songs for a Lost Continent, and How We Know Our Time Travelers; and Kirkus nonfiction editor John McMurtrie.



Lam won in the young readers’ literature category for Everybelly, her picture book about a young child who encounters neighbors of different shapes and sizes at the local swimming pool. In the prize citation, the judges said, “This joyful celebration of humanity springs to life through masterful, vibrant collages and text that’s both poignant and witty.”

 

Judging this year’s young readers’ literature award were Annette Y. Goldsmith, a librarian and co-founder of “Building a Global Youth Literature Collection 101”; Erika Long, a librarian, lecturer, and founder/consultant at Not Yo Mama’s Librarian, LLC; and Kirkus young readers’ editors Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon.

The winners of the prizes were chosen from books that received a starred review from Kirkus during the eligibility period of November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025: 383 fiction titles, 290 nonfiction titles, and 497 young readers’ titles. The winning authors each received a trophy created by the London design team of Vezzini & Chen, along with a cash prize of $50,000. In a statement, Tom Beer, the editor-in-chief of Kirkus, said, “This year’s Kirkus Prize winners bring us vital messages for our time—messages about the joys of community, the power of self-transformation, and the mutability of historical events—all conveyed through exhilarating prose and pictures.” The Kirkus Prize was first awarded in 2014. Previous winners include Percival Everett for James, Brian Broome for Punch Me Up to the Gods, and Harmony Becker for Himawari House.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/winners-of-the-2025-kirkus-prize-revealed

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Agatha Christie

 

UPCOMING O'NEAL LIBRARY PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS:

Every Tuesday morning 10-11am – Gentle Yoga with Marie Blair (drop in)

Tue, Oct 7 6-8pm – Sustainable Style: Clothing Swap 

Thu, Oct 9 5:30-7pm – Writing Workshop with Miriam Calleja  

Sat, Oct 11 10:30-noon – Medicare Made Clear  

Sun, Oct 12 3-4:30pm – Poetry as Prayer  

Mon, Oct 13 6:30-7:30pm – Great Short Stories discussing“Cyclists’ Raid” by Frank Rooney 

Tue, Oct 14 10-11:30am – The Bookies Bookclub discussing“The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (drop in)

Tue, Oct 14 5:30-7pm – Writing Workshop with Miriam Calleja  

Sun, Oct 19 3-4:30pm – Poetry as Prayer 

Wed, Oct 22 10-11:30am – Medicare Made Clear 

Wed, Oct 22 10am @ Junior League of Birmingham (2212 20th Ave South) - O'Neal Library presents Technology Tips for Everyday Life in collaboration with ALL IN Mountain Brook's Silver Spartans

Wed, Oct 22 5:30-8pm – (ages 18+) Nightmare on Oak Street:DIY Sweater Pumpkins  

Thu, Oct 23 6-7pm – Neurodivergent Community Group  

Fri, Oct 24 6:30-8:30pm – Traditional Music of Scotland withmusician Jim Malcolm  

Fri, Oct 24 – Ticket vouchers available for Alabama SymphonyOrchestra Masterworks concert  

Sat, Oct 25 – Ticket vouchers available for Alabama SymphonyOrchestra Masterworks concert  

Sun, Oct 26 3-4:30pm – Poetry as Prayer 

Tue, Oct 28 6:30-8pm – Books & Beyond discussing horror (drop in)  

Every year, Books & Beyond (BAB) takes one month for an author study, where any work by or about an author is fair game. This week, BAB met to chat about all things Agatha Christie!

FILM & TELEVISION:

Miss Marple, starring Joan Hickson

Miss Marple, titled Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the series, is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie, starring Joan Hickson in the title role. It aired from December 26, 1984 to December 27, 1992 on BBC One. All twelve original Miss Marple novels by Christie were dramatized.

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

The affable Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) is being tried for the murder of a wealthy woman, and legendary lawyer Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) has chosen to represent him. Unfortunately, Leonard's alibi depends on the testimony of his callous wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich) -- who, after the discovery of a legal loophole, makes the shocking decision to appear in court against him. To Sir Wilfrid's surprise, this is only the first in a series of puzzling revelations and reversals.

Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen (2022)

Historian Lucy Worsley explores the life of Agatha Christie through documents and interviews and tries to understand what inspires her to write her novels.

Evil Under the Sun (1982)

Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), solves the murder of an actress at a Balkan resort.

Ordeal by Innocence (1984)

A 1950s U.S. scientist (Donald Sutherland) probes the murder of a British friend's (Christopher Plummer) wife (Faye Dunaway).

4:50 from Paddington (1987)

Miss Marple (Joan Hickson) investigates her friend's (Mona Bruce) claim that she witnessed a murder on a train.

Murder She Said (1961)

When aging sleuth Miss Marple (Margaret Rutherford) witnesses a murder through the window of her passing train car, she alerts the authorities. Unfortunately, the police are hesitant to take the word of an old lady in lieu of an actual body. Taking matters into her own hands, Marple gets a job as a maid at Ackenthorpe Hall, where she believes the murder took place. There, she must match wits with blowhard Luther Ackenthorpe (James Robertson Justice) if she wants to solve the mystery.

BOOKS SIMILAR TO OR ABOUT AGATHA CHRISTIE:

Marple: Twelve New Stories

Bringing a fresh twist to the hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie mystery, these twelve esteemed writers have captured the sharp wit, unique voice, and droll ingenuity of the deceptively demure detective. A triumphant celebration of Christie’s legacy and essential reading for crime lovers, Marple is a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains one of the most famous detectives of all time.

A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn’t mean it's all made-up ...Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off unfortunate victims in her books; indeed, she employed it more than any other murder method, with the poison itself often being a central part of the novel. Christie's extensive chemical knowledge provides the backdrop for A is for Arsenic, in which Kathryn Harkup investigates the poisons used by the murderer in fourteen classic Agatha Christie mysteries.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujanta Massey

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X—meaning she probably couldn't even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah—in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India's first female attorney, The Widows of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp new sleuth.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.

Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car―strange for a frigid night. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away. Agatha Christie novels have withstood the test of time, due in no small part to Christie's masterful storytelling and clever mind that may never be matched, but Agatha Christie's untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.

Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

BOOKS BY AGATHA CHRISTIE:

There are a variety of Miss Marple ebooks and eaudiobooks available on the Libby and Hoopla apps!

And Then There Were None

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

Endless Night

When penniless Michael Rogers discovers the beautiful house at Gypsy’s Acre and then meets the heiress Ellie, it seems that all his dreams have come true at once. But he ignores an old woman’s warning of an ancient curse, and evil begins to stir in paradise. As Michael soon learns: Gypsy’s Acre is the place where fatal “accidents” happen.

Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories

Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories is a collection of eleven tantalizing tales of murder and other criminal pursuits—including the classic title story, the basis for the 1957 Oscar-nominated Billy Wilder film starring Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, and Charles Laughton.

Sparkling Cyanide (previously published as Remembered Death)

Six people sit down to a sumptuous meal at a table laid for seven. In front of the empty place is a sprig of rosemary - "rosemary for remembrance." A strange sentiment considering no one is likely to forget the night, exactly a year ago, that Rosemary Barton died at exactly the same table, her beautiful face unrecognizable, convulsed with pain and horror. But then Rosemary had always been memorable - she had the ability to arouse strong passions in most people she met. In one case, strong enough to kill....

Evil Under the Sun

It was not unusual to find the sun-loving Arlena Stuart stretched out on a beach, face down. Only, on this occasion, there was no sun…she had been strangled. Ever since her arrival, the air had been thick with sexual tension and each of the seaside guest had a motive to kill her, including Arelena’s new husband. But Hercule Poirot suspects that this apparent ‘crime of passion’ conceals something much more evil.

Item descriptions pulled from Rotten Tomatoes and Amazon.