Obama supports independent bookstore!

President Obama visits Praire Lights bookstore in Iowa City.

After mentioning the bookstore in his speech, Obama made a quick trip to the shop to meet a few locals and bought 11-year-old Malia and 8 year-old Sasha two books, along with one for White House Press secretary Robert Gibbs’ son.

“Starting today, small business owners can sit down at the end of the week, look at their expenses, and begin calculating how much money they’re going to save,” Obama said, noting that small business owners could qualify for a tax credit that covers up to 35% of their employees health insurance.

Obama pulled out $37 cash and paid for the books and praised the quaint little shop.

“You have a wonderful bookstore. Hopefully it’ll be a little easier to make sure everybody has health care,” he said.

I really enjoyed one commenter's remark: "It's been several years since we've had a president literate enough to actually visit a book store. Great example Mr. President!"

Read more here and here.

Tournament of Books 2010

This is awesome and I wish I could be a judge! One of my favorites - The Anthologist - was in the running. But sadly it got ruled out : (

See who's still in the running below in the tournament bracket. My vote is for Let the Great World Spin. Semi-finals on 03/29-03/30. Championship on 04/05!

Which book are you rooting for?

See more here.

Olivia Goes to Venice this Fall

A new classic Olivia title is out this fall - Olivia Goes to Venice! This is the sixth picture book in the Olivia series, featuring the character The New York Times calls “a pig with panache.”

Ian Falconer’s five previous Olivia books have garnered as much critical acclaim as they have commercial success. Originally created as a gift for his niece Olivia, Falconer’s children’s book Olivia was first published in October 2000. An instant bestseller and children’s classic, it was awarded the prestigious Caldecott Honor medal by the American Library Association and the Book Sense Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year award by the American Booksellers Association. More than six million Olivia books have been sold in 22 territories.

In addition to designing sets and costumes for the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera House in London, and most recently the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Ian Falconer is known for his memorable New Yorker magazine covers.

So frickin' cute!

NPR: Paperback Fiction Bestsellers

NPR's paperback fiction bestsellers are complied from a survey of approx. 500 independent booksellers. Here are 2 of my favorites from the list.



LITTLE BEE is #2 (#1 on the NYTimes list). As the Washington Post states:

"Little Bee leaves little doubt that Cleave deserves the praise. He has carved two indelible characters whose choices in even the most straitened circumstances permit them dignity -- if they are willing to sacrifice for it. Little Bee is the best kind of political novel: You're almost entirely unaware of its politics because the book doesn't deal in abstractions but in human beings."



BROOKLYN is #12, in which a girl immigrates to Brooklyn from Ireland in 1951. The SF Gate says:

"Every once in a while a book appears to remind us why we love fiction. Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn is about a young Irishwoman who immigrates to Brooklyn, N.Y., shortly after World War II because there are no jobs in small-town Enniscorthy, even for someone with her bookkeeping abilities. It is an enormously absorbing, nuanced read that steeps us in its character's world - and gradually surprises us with its moral resonance."

Video: Author Jeannette Walls on her Mother and their homeless past

FYI - 2009 Best Books of the Year in Paperback

A Short History of Women and Half Broke Horses, both in the 10 Best Books of the Year list from the NYTimes, are out this summer in paperback - perfect for your summer travels.

What each book brings is a fresh perspective of strong women from the past - and how strong women of the past paved the way for the women of today.




A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert, brings multi-generational perspectives of women - all the women a long line of decendents from a famous suffragette - one who starved herself in the name of women's rights. Each character grapples with her place in the history of women - and in what role she plays (or doesn't) in standing up for her rights. But its not all about politics and history - the characters everyday lives, emotions, and beliefs seem to be the kind of thoughts that swim around in your head too. And the writing itself is superb. The NYTimes states:

"The trouble is that each chapter is like a slice of exquisite cake. But the reviewer’s predicament is the reader’s pleasure. I found myself going back time and again to reread whole paragraphs, not because they’d been obscure, but in the way one might press a finger to the crumbs littering an otherwise cleaned plate: out of a desire to savor every morsel."



For Half Broke Horses the main character is strong in the no-nonsense, depression-era mindset of i-don't-have-time-to-be-frivolous-or-worry-too-much-about-my-feelings sort of way. Yet throughout the story you do get to the heart of the character when, small or large, tragedy strikes from time to time - never keeping her down for too long. Always moving, growing, and dealing with what life throws her way. But its not just that she becomes a sort of champion of getting through life, its also that she generally deviates from what was expected of her at the time. She doesn't have the time or the inclination to follow cultural sanctions or expectations. She just has to figure out the best way to survive and enjoy her life when possible. What's more is that this character is based off of Jeannette Walls' own grandmother (her picture above). Walls' first book, The Glass Castle, was the story of her childhood - and Half Broke Horses acts as a prequel to the first book - showing the history of her grandmother and glimpses of her Mother's upbringing. This is as close to a real-life generational history of women that you can get. As the NYTimes review points out "In an author’s note, Walls writes that she considers “Half Broke Horses” less a novel than an 'oral history, a retelling of stories handed down by my family through the years.'"


Half Broke Horses
Jeannette Walls
Out in paperback Sept 7th

Short History of Women
Kate Walbert
Out in paperback June 15th


Click the title for review and excerpts.

Judgmental

The Subconscious Shelf at the New Yorker states:

"You have books. We have a desire to judge you on them."

Send in a picture of your books and the New Yorker will provide analysis, or put more bluntly, judge your character.

Today's is fun.

"Angela, I’ve no idea how you’ve done it, but you’ve managed to assemble the book stack of my nightmares..."




It appears that you are confused about the following:

How to read people
How to make people read you
How to like people
How to like men
How to plan a wedding on a budget (oh, ugh)
How to make money
How to be pretty
How to sell a book (oh, god)
How to publicize your book
How to get rid of the life you’re stuck with
How to determine what you’re good at
What to watch on your television


Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/03/the-subconscious-shelf-4.html#ixzz0htN4QEEY

How to Design a Book Cover: 6 hours in 2 minutes

Naysayers Beware! Independent Bookstores Innovate and Thrive

While doom-and-gloom tends to permeate the narrative of the publishing and book business world these days, I think there are success stories at every corner.

Take this article in pubishers weekly highlighting 6 independents that opened shortly before the economic collapse - showing how innovative bookselling, grassroots marketing, and good old fashioned local touches can make all the difference.

Or how about this article about Iliad Bookshop in L.A. crediting a loyal clientele and not putting "junk" on his shelves as his saving grace.

And what about here - where Connecticut booksellers are marrying handselling with online marketing - finding customers online - finding ways to connect personally with their customers digitally.

Also, as always, how about those authors that support the literary scene at the local level - favoring independents over chains? Even just this week I heard from Nikki @ Pudd'nhead Books, who hosted author Chris Cleave (Little Bee)- who in turn hailed her independent bookstore in St. Louis, MO at the event.

And even the support of NPR, whose best seller list is based off of 500 independent bookstore sales - supporting the indies by highlighting those books that sell best in the independent market.

Some say that I'm naive in believing that the independent book market can revive and thrive - but I firmly disagree. While we are facing hard realities about a changing business, there is evidence that indies around the country are sustaining and growing their business - getting creative, maintaining their personal touch, and adapting to the swiftly changing market.

Design Porn: Bookish Cures for iPad Envy

If you sick of all those ads in the subways for ereader covers (they act as if having a colored cover makes your kindle original) then see here for some pbook (thats code for actual-hold-in-your-hand-flip-the-pages-book) accessories.


I like these Leaves of Grass book marks :)

The Mile High Book Club: Great Airplane Reads

Gearing up for a visit to my family in San Fran in 2 weeks, and the 5.5 hour plane ride, I'm already assembling a list of reading for my travels. This NPR clip states:

"I don't have a Kindle. But I do have my pride and pretension. When I travel, I want something delicious and escapist to read that won't insult my intelligence or embarrass me in airports."

Here, here!



As for me, I'll be reading Kate Morton's Forgotten Garden and for some escapist fantasy I'll be diving into childrens author Margaret Peterson Haddix's The Missing series.