Continuum Contemporaries will be a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration for members of book clubs and readings groups, as well as for literature students.The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed, and most influential novels of recent years. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series will all follow the same structure:a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences, and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas; a summary of how the novel was received upon publication; a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, including film or TV adaptations, literary prizes, etc.; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including websites and discussion forums; and a list of questions for reading groups to discuss.
Philip Nel likes to read books. He also likes to write books. If you buy his books, then he will be able to write more books. So, please: Give generously. Thank you.
Top ten interesting facts about Philip Nel:
1) His favorite Muppet is Animal.
2) The very first book he read all by himself was Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham.
3) In first grade, his favorite book was Jeff Brown's Flat Stanley. He briefly thought he could become two-dimensional, just like Flat Stanley. (He was wrong.) For more details, see Anita Silvey's Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book.
4) He thinks you should read all of Lane Smith's books. They are funny. Very, very funny. They will make you a better person -- or at least a happier one. Why not start with The Happy Hocky Family?
5) Because he cares about the quality of your personal library, he hopes you know that it (the library) would be incomplete without Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Ruth Krauss's The Carrot Seed.
6) His favorite band is They Might Be Giants.
7) Despite the fact that formal education held little interest for him until he went to college, he managed to become a university professor. I know, I know -- he's as surprised as you are. Believe me.
8) In fact, he directs the Graduate Program in Children's Literature at Kansas State University. Yep. True story.
9) No, really -- he does! See, here's the website:
http://www.k-state.edu/english/programs/childlit/
10) He also has his own website. It may or may not be interesting:
http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/
