Hillary Clinton Won’t Have To Worry About Being Reviewed By Michiko Kakutani

It may be a lazy summer Friday, but the book world is buzzing with exciting news. Legendary NY Times chief book critic Michiko Kakutani is stepping down, the Man Booker Prize longlist has been released, and Hilary Clinton’s upcoming book promises to tell the world what exactly happened in 2016.

Michiko Kakutani steps down as chief New York Times book critic

It’s the end of an era in book criticism as we know it. Pulitzer-Prize winning book critic for the New York Times Michiko Kakutani is ending her reign as a feared and respected voice for literature good and bad, as she will be stepping down as the publication’s chief book critic. Kakutani has garnered a reputation for her honest and sometimes scathing book reviews, making and breaking the careers of writers in her 30+ years in the position. Among the authors she has reviewed are literary legends Toni Morrison, David Foster Wallace, and J.K. Rowling. Her reviews not only deemed books good or bad, but sifted through the social implications nestled in the fiction and non-fiction books. Kakutani is relinquishing the prized role to write more essays about politics and culture in the Age of Trump. We know her work will be just as brutal as ever.

[Vanity Fair/ Joe Pompeo]

Man Booker Prize longlist filled with literary big-names

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction has announced its 2017 longlist, and it is graced with English-speaking literary titans. A notable selection is Colson Whitehead’s Underground Railroad, which has already won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Arundhati Roy, who made a comeback with her second novel, Ministry of Utmost Happiness, is featured on the list. The Man Booker Prize is for writers of any nationality who write in English and are published in Britain (American writers first became eligible in 2014). This year, four Americans made their way onto the list: Whitehead, Paul Auster, George Saunders, and Emily Fridlund. In September, judges will announce the shortlist, the longlist trimmed down to six works. The winner will be revealed on October 17, granting the recipient a hefty prize of 50,000 pounds.

[The NY Times/ Sophie Haigney]

New Hillary Clinton memoir addresses pressing questions

Hillary Clinton will address the question that has been on our minds since November: how did it all go so wrong? Aptly titled What Happened, Clinton’s most personal memoir yet will offer insight into the former Secretary of State’s experience as the first female presidential candidate from a major party in the United States. In addition, it will explore her thoughts and feelings during one of the most dramatic and messy campaigns in modern U.S. history. According to the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, the introduction reads as follows: “In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I’ve often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was on a wire without a net. Now I’m letting my guard down.” The book will also include a fair share of discussion about Russian interference in the election. Now number 17 on. Amazon, What Happened is scheduled to be out on September 12.

[The Washington Post/ Hillel Italie]

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