To mark the 60th anniversary of the National Book Awards, the sponsoring foundation has created an interesting "book-a-day" blog to feature fiction winners. Beginning with Nelson Algren’s The Man With the Golden Arm (1950) and ending with Peter Matthiessen’s Shadow Country (2008), each blog post contains commentary and related links. The National Book Foundation's countdown blog began July 7 and runs until Sept. 21.

But, as they say in infomercials: Wait, there's more! The public will choose the best of the 77 books. On September 21, the foundation will name six finalists, and open public voting (one vote per email address) for a month. Each email address will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to the National Book Awards Ceremony, as well as dinner and two nights at the Marriott near Wall Street.

As they used to say when I lived in Roanoke, Va.: You can't beat that with a stick.

p.s. My crystal ball says the six finalists will be: Invisible Man, The Fixer, Rabbit is Rich, The Color Purple, Cold Mountain and The Wapshot Chronicle. I'll bet an R.C. and a Moon Pie (also Roanoke).