Patrik Henry Bass

For decades, teenagers have enjoyed stories of darkness and dystopia — from social critiques like “The Lord of the Flies” to dystopian nightmares like “A Clockwork Orange.” But in the last year or two, the market for dystopian and apocalyptic young adult fiction has exploded with more books and darker stories than ever, and the year ahead promises the most books in this genre to date.What's behind this teen dystopian trend, and why is there so much demand for it?

2010 is coming to an end, but a whole new year of news and culture awaits in 2011. All week long, we're talking with big thinkers about what they’re anticipating…from new movies to world events. Today, we're anticipating some of the books we know will be coming out in 2011. 

We’re joined by Patrik Henry Bass, senior editor for Essence magazine and frequent books contributor to The Takeaway. We also speak with Karen Holt, former deputy editor of Publishers Weekly, and contributor of book reviews to O: The Oprah Magazine and Essence. Both Bass and Holt offer their book recommendations.

The holiday season is approaching quickly, and if you’re like millions of other Americans, books will be on your to-give list. What books should you be giving? Which books are most likely to be enthusiastically received — regardless of whether you're giving them to an e-reading enthusiast or couch potato?

Patrik Henry Bass, our friend and senior editor at Essence magazine, is here with some tips, and offers (after the jump) his favorite books of 2010 for this gift-giving season.

This month, Mark Twain fans will finally be able to read something by him that’s never been published before: Twain's secret autobiography, which he decreed should not be published until one hundred years after his death.

Why the delay? Was his request unusual? And how common is it for books to be published after an author’s death?

Love them or hate them, the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform have released their draft proposals to slow the quickly growing national debt. Many politicians say the ideas will never, ever be approved by any future Congress. With proposals that call for major cuts in domestic and military spending, bumping the age to qualify for (decreased) Social Security benefits, and a simplified but much broader tax base with fewer exemptions, the plan is guaranteed to be unpopular among politicians and voters alike. But as unpalatable as these notions are to politicians, is it time to start getting serious about painful cuts?    

Cleopatra was ancient Egypt’s final, and arguably most famous, Pharaoh. But aside from epic romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, we know very little about her. For example, what did she actually look like? Was her leadership role unique among women of the time? And how did she earn the reputation as a scheming temptress?

A textbook distributed to Virginia's fourth graders states that African Americans served in the Confederate Army by the thousands. The book, "Our Virginia: Past and Present" was distributed for the first time last month to outcry from parents and educators.

The world may best know Glenn Beck and Rand Paul as Tea Party leaders. But Beck and Paul also happen to be avid readers, and both have mentioned their fondness for Ayn Rand and her dystopian novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Widely celebrated by Tea Party leaders, Ayn Rand's books have become centerpieces of the Tea Party’s literary canon; over the last year and a half, sales of her books have tripled as a result over the past year and a half.

How did this happen? What other books are on the Tea Party’s list of favorites? And what similarities does their canon bear to those of other political movements?

This week, the NAACP’s president, Benjamin Jealous, did something previously unheard of for the organization: He encouraged members of New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center to work with him and specifically, to attend the NAACP march for jobs and justice in Washington next month. 

The books we read as adolescents can have a huge influence on our lives. We talk about the ones that matter to us and the evolution of the young adult novel over the years with Essence senior editor Patrik Henry Bass and S.E. Hinton, legendary author of such young adult classics as "The Outsiders," "Tex," and "Rumble Fish."

And we're asking you, What was the first book that changed your life? What book do you remember most from your youth? Let us know.

What makes a film adaptation of a book work, and what makes it fail? The Takeaway talks with Patrik Henry Bass, senior editor of Essence magazine about why he believes some adaptations work better than others. We also chat with Ben Sherwood, author of "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud," about watching his novel make the transition from page to screen.

What do you think? Which books made better movies?

Eighty years ago this year, Laura Ingalls Wilder penned the first draft of what would eventually become her first book, “Little House in the Big Woods.” The semi-autobiographical young adult novel followed Wilder’s adventures with her sisters and parents in the Midwest during the late 1800s, and was soon followed by several more books - all of which make up the wildly popular “Little House” series. Since their original publication, none of the books have ever gone out of print.

But the popularity of Laura Ingalls Wilder goes well beyond her books. Laura Ingalls Wilder museums have been erected in many of the towns where Wilder once lived; there’s the musical that debuted last year, based on the books; this week begins the first ever “Laurapalooza Conference” in Mankato, Minnesota…and of course, there’s that iconic television series that ran from 1974 to 1984 and has run continually in syndication around the world ever since.

What is it about “Little House on the Prairie” that we love, and why does it seem to be more popular than ever?

For better or worse, the beach book is the Rodney Dangerfield of publishing. It gets no respect.

But Patrik Henry Bass says that, despite their bad rap, we shouldn’t be ashamed of diving into and savoring the fluffiest of literary concoctions. The senior editor for Essence magazine, and a lover of a wide variety of genres, Patrik says there are loads of delicious beach books hitting shelves right now – and that we don’t necessarily have to respect them to enjoy them.

Patrik's top five picks for the season (as well as two bonus suggesions) are after the jump.

Fifty years ago this summer, Harper Lee’s only book “To Kill a Mockingbird,” was published. Popular with critics and readers from the beginning, it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and a year later was adapted for film, with Gregory Peck starring as Atticus Finch, and Mary Badham as his daughter, 'Scout.'

Today, in honor of To Kill a Mockingbird’s anniversary, we talk with Mary Badham, about her Oscar-nominated role in the film.

This week, thousands of book industry retailers, agents, authors, and hangers-on have been gathering in New York for the annual BookExpo America conference.

Patrik Henry Bass, senior editor of Essence magazine, is among those attending the show. And what he’s noticed is that the enormous popularity of graphic novels is continuing to grow even bigger.

He explains why graphic novels are so huge right now, and walks us through some of his favorite titles from the past year.

As Elena Kagan prepares for her confirmation hearings, we are wondering: What should she read? Essence Magazine senior editor Patrik Henry Bass came up with some suggested reading for the nominee as she awaits her confirmation hearings.

Do you have recommended reading for her? Share your suggested book list in the comments.

Here's Patrik's list:

• "The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex and Secrets in the Jim Crow South" by Alex Heard
• "Blue Orchard" by Jackson Taylor
• "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet" by Bill McKibben

In literature, the African-American family has changed and morphed over the years. From the churchgoing family of James Baldwin's "Go Tell It On The Mountain" to the rural female-led household of Toni Morrison's "Beloved" to the inner city of Sapphire's "Push."  But now, the black American family is being rewritten all over again in a totally new way. We take a look at three upcoming books about family written by black men.

We join with The Week Magazine to take a look back at the best and the worst of last week. The last seven days proved to be pretty bad for folks with personal vices, but it was a very good week for one Brooklyn teacher who had her stolen car returned to her 3 years later, with interest!

Patrik Henry Bass explains why Kitty Kelley wants you to know that nobody can keep a secret. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin previews the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs

We touched a nerve yesterday when we looked into the significance of Nevada Senator Harry Reid's comment over President Obama's dialect and level of skin tone.