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Some of the finalists for this year's L.A. Times Book Prizes are listed in the paper today (full list is below). Among the local nominees are Michelle Huneven for her novel Jamesland, Pete Dexter's Train which was set in L.A., and David Marshall Chan's Goblin Fruit, a collection of stories about Los Angeles Asian Americans. The prizes are awarded April 24 during the Times Festival of Books at UCLA. Given a certain recent mini-controversy, it could be interesting to see if Sandra Tsing Loh returns for another year as emcee of the prize ceremony.
Biography:
• Deirdre Bair, "Jung: A Biography";
• T.J. Binyon, "Pushkin: A Biography";
• Robert Hughes, "Goya";
• Neil Smith, "American Empire: Roosevelt's Geographer and the Prelude to Globalization";
• Rebecca Solnit, "River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West."
Current Interest:
• Jon Krakauer, "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith";
• Gerald Posner, "Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11";
• Carlo Rotella, "Cut Time: An Education at the Fights";
• Anthony Swofford, "Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles";
• Ross Terrill, "The New Chinese Empire — And What It Means for the United States."
Fiction:
• Sherman Alexie, "Ten Little Indians: Stories";
• Pete Dexter, "Train: A Novel";
• Michelle Huneven, "Jamesland";
• Jhumpa Lahiri, "The Namesake";
• Tobias Wolff, "Old School: A Novel."
Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction:
• Monica Ali, "Brick Lane: A Novel";
• David Marshall Chan, "Goblin Fruit: Stories";
• Mark Haddon, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time";
• John Murray, "A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies: Stories";
• Lara Vapnyar, "There Are Jews in My House".
History:
• Anne Applebaum, "Gulag: A History"
• Louis Crompton, "Homosexuality and Civilization";
• David Maraniss, "They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967";
• Timothy Tackett, "When the King Took Flight";
• Henry Wiencek, "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America."
Mystery/Thriller:
• Neil Gordon, "The Company You Keep";
• Peter Lovesey, "The House Sitter";
• Henning Mankell, "The Dogs of Riga: A Kurt Wallander Mystery" [translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson];
• Rebecca Pawel, "Death of a Nationalist";
• George P. Pelecanos, "Soul Circus: A Novel."
Poetry:
• Henri Cole, "Middle Earth";
• Anthony Hecht, "Collected Later Poems";
• Charles Simic, "The Voice at 3:00 A.M.: Selected Late & New Poems";
• Rosanna Warren, "Departure: Poems";
• Kevin Young, "Jelly Roll: A Blues."
Science and Technology:
• David Baron, "The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature";
• Chandler Burr, "The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses";
• Stephen S. Hall, "Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension";
• Philip J. Hilts, "Protecting America's Health: The FDA, Business, and One Hundred Years of Regulation";
• Paul Hoffman, "Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight".
Young Adult Fiction:
• Martha Brooks, "True Confessions of a Heartless Girl";
• Jennifer Donnelly, "A Northern Light";
• Kevin Henkes, "Olive's Ocean";
• Richard Peck, "The River Between Us";
• Francine Prose, "After".