Read Street - baltimoresun.com

Delaware student wins $61,000 writing prize

By Dave Rosenthal — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:13:00 GMT

Congratualtions to Tim Marcin, winner of Washington College 's Sophie Kerr Prize, worth $61,192 this year.

Winner of $61k Kerr literary prize announced

By Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:50:00 GMT

Winner Tim Marcin, 22, hopes to pursue sports journalism career

As the five young writers sat with bated breath, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda told them that a life of wordsmithing would bring them pain.

Books a popular gift for Maryland governor

By Dave Rosenthal — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:46:00 GMT

Books -- about the War of 1812, the Chesapeake Bay and other topics -- were popular gifts to Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley last year, according to his financial disclosure forms. He received nearly 90 books during the year, The Baltimore Sun's political reporters found in checking the forms. And it's fitting for Maryland's key role in the War of 1812 that O'Malley received not one, but two copies of " 1812: The Navy's War" by Georges Daughan.

Harper Lee lawsuit breaks years of silence

By Dave Rosenthal — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:09:00 GMT

Harper Lee's leap into the headlines with a lawsuit against a New York literary agent is a remarkable change for the reclusive author, who wrote a great American novel a half-century ago and has hardly been heard from since.

Book donations honor woman killed in Afghanistan bombing

By Dave Rosenthal — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:37:00 GMT

The Books For Kids Day event has a touching twist this year: It's being dedicated to Anne Smedinghoff, the 25-year-old Johns Hopkins University alum who was killed in a bombing while delivering textbooks to school children in Afghanistan.

Pulitzer Prize winners include 'The Orphan Master's Son'

By Dave Rosenthal — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:48:00 GMT

The 2013 Pulitzer Prizes were announced today, and among the winners is "Devil in the Grove," a non-fiction account of Baltimore native Thurgood Marshall's fearless work for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in a Florida case. As we all know, Marshall went on to bring the nation's landmark school integration case, Brown vs. Board of Education, and later became a U.S. Supreme Court justice. The winners:

Breathe Books in Hampden opening health-food cafe

By Kristine Henry , The Baltimore Sun — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 02:03:00 GMT

Prominent investors helping fund expansion

Breathe Books in Hampden says it will add a health-food cafe to its store next month. Owner Susan Weis-Bohlen says all the offerings will have at least one of five features: gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, raw or Ayurvedic -- Ayurveda is a holistic type of medicine that originated in India. This goes along with the store's stated mission to provide "books, music, and spiritual and inspirational items to help people continue their practice and journey."

Books and beer could be winning combo

By Dave Rosenthal — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:43:00 GMT

The recent announcement that Atomic Books will expand and make beer available at special events is an intriguing -- and promising -- development for all indie bookstores.

Kingsolver, Hosseini, Atwood headline National Book Festival

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:16:00 GMT

The Library of Congress released today the list of speakers for the fall National Book Festival, and, as usual, the event is studded with prominent writers and poets.

Roger Ebert's books are his legacy

By Dave Rosenthal — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:20:00 GMT

Rogert Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic who died today, leaves behind a rich legacy, thanks to a shelf-full of books that explore movies -- and his own life.

Newtown shooter's reading list?

By Dave Rosenthal — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:49:00 GMT

The search warrant for the home of Adam Lanza , who went on a murderous pre-Christmas rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., included some chilling items, including a New York Times articla about a 2008 school shooting. It also mentioned some books, which could have been Adam's or his mother's.

RIP Anthony Lewis

By Dave Rosenthal — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:48:00 GMT

I was saddened to read the obituaries for Anthony Lewis, the Pultizer Prize-winning reporter, columnist and author.

Books highlight lineup for speaker series

By Dave Rosenthal — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:33:00 GMT

Authors Bill Bryson and Doris Kearns Goodwin are among the headliners for the 2013-14 Baltimore Speakers Series, part of a lineup that is sure to delight book lovers.

Book lovers, save the date for CityLit Festival

By Dave Rosenthal — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The lineup for the 10th annual CityLit Festival is set, so Baltimore-area book lovers should mark April 13 on calendars.

Dan Brown offers peek at new book, Inferno

By Dave Rosenthal — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:18:00 GMT

Dan Brown fans can get a look at the opening of his upcoming book, "Inferno," along with a free ebook of his breakthrough best-seller, "The Da Vinci Code," publisher Doubleday announced today.

Smith College book sale starts Friday

By Dave Rosenthal — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:43:00 GMT

Among the annual events that should be marked on every book lover's calendar is the Smith College Club of Baltimore book sale , which starts Friday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. I've been going to the sales for years, and have never failed to make some interesting purchases. (The harder part is convincing my wife, a Kindle devotee, to let me bring more books into the house, which already has reading material on almost every flat surface -- except the stove. If I can find some fire-proof volumes, that will be covered too.)

Books on the big screen -- 'Great Gatsby' to launch Cannes film festival

By Dave Rosenthal — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:04:00 GMT

Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" will kick off the 66th Festival de Cannes, organizers announced today .

Google Doodle honors author Douglas Adams

By Dave Rosenthal — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:03:00 GMT

Today's Google Doodle marks the birthday of Douglas Adams, author of the hilarious "Hitchhiker" sci-fi book series.

Books on the Big Screen: Oz movie reviews

By Dave Rosenthal — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:33:00 GMT

L. Frank Baum's classic about a wonderful wizard is getting a new look, in a movie prequel called "Oz: The Great & Powerful." This isn't a true adaptation -- in fact, Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion and other key characters do not even appear, and references to Baum's work are kept to a minimum. Early reactions show that the movie may be more appealling to general sudiences than to critics .

Back-to-back book festivals coming this fall

By Dave Rosenthal — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Book lovers in the Baltimore-Washington area should circle September on their calendars, to save dates for a pair of big festivals.

Book adaptations are big winners at Oscars

By Dave Rosenthal — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:30:00 GMT

To find the inspiration behind the actors, actresses and others who hoisted Oscars last night, look no further than the works in your nearest library, bookstore or e-reader. The big winners were drawn from characters in adaptations that ranged from a mid-19th Century novel to modern magazine articles. It's another sign that the lifeblood of the movie industry is not glitz and glamour, but rather the imagination of an author toiling alone at a kitchen table.

Superman comic books draw ire of gay advocates

By Dave Rosenthal — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:04:00 GMT

It's hard to imagine that gay marriage and Superman could be wrapped into a controversy, but that's happening across the nation as DC Comics launches a new line of comic books featuring Clark Kent's alter ego.

One Maryland One Book choice: King Peggy

By Dave Rosenthal — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:40:00 GMT

This year's pick for One Maryland One Book, the statewide reading program, is "King Peggy," a tale about a Washington, D.C., woman who is unexpectedly chosen to be King of Otuam, a 7,000-person village in Ghana.

Pratt library offers a piece of history on Lincoln's birthday

By Dave Rosenthal — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:21:00 GMT

To mark the birthday of Abraham Lincoln , our 16th president, the Enoch Pratt Free Library is offering a look at a bit of history today.

Baltimore love stories for book lovers -- Mencken, Poe and Fitzgerald

By Dave Rosenthal — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:32:00 GMT

With Valentine's Day approaching, it's a good time to review some of the literary love stories that have been set in Baltimore. In an article in the latest issue of the Sun magazine, reporter Jill Rosen highlights the relationships of H.L. Mencken, Edgar Allan Poe and F. Scott Fitzgerald -- all three of which ended in tragedy. Here are excerpts from that article.