NPR: What We're Reading April 20-26

Each week NPR chooses 3-4 titles to read and review. This week Scribner's American Subversive is at the top of that list.

I have yet to read, but the more my friends get caught up in the Gawker-culture, the online writing business, and the general New York gossip - the more this seems relevant. However, it does seem odd to tackle terrorism and blogging as two central themes? Or not? I dunno I guess I'll have to read.



NPR describes the book:

In New York's downtown, Aidan, a press blogger for a Gawker-like empire, socializes with his frenemies in the city's media demi-world, gleaning gossip for his next day's posts. As the book opens, the journalists he drinks with, sleeps with and then writes about are all working overtime, trying to crack the case of a terrorist bombing that rocked midtown earlier in the week. Meanwhile, in Vermont, an earnest young woman scans the Internet, searching for the next corporate target whose destruction will, she believes, enable her radical-left terrorist cell to shock a complacent nation out of its stupor. When someone sends Aidan an anonymous tip about the bombing, complete with a photo of Paige, the alluring young radical, he sets out to break a real news story for a change. His hunt will bring these two very different people and value systems face to face.

Joe Matazzoni, senior supervising producer, Arts & Life says:

...New Yorkers and fans of New York stories like Sex and the City will enjoy the novel's spot-on skewering of the downtown media scene, a landscape of fashionable people and dumpy apartments.

How a political terrorism thriller gets comped to Sex and the City is beyond me.

The AP says "Goodwillie provides us with a triumphant work of fiction that's every bit as credible as what's happening in the country these days."

And goodreads.com seems to have a highly favorable review (of the paltry 7 people who seem to have read the book).

More pseudo celebs for the fall....

Olympian Johnny Weir to pen book


iVillage | Susan Boyle Memoir Secrets - iVillage

Oxymoron?

Celebrity Books Galore

We've got a hefty (and eclectic) list of celebrity/psuedo-celebrity books coming out this fall - something for everyone I suppose...


Portia de Rossi Portia de Rossi has an untitled memoir, which will discuss her struggle with eating disorders and coming out.

HODA: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee


Dionne Warwick: The Amazing Dionne Warwick Story

Roseanne Barr: Roseannearchy

Alison Sweeney: The Mommy Diet

Buddy Valastro: Cake Boss


Bethenny Frankel: A Place of Yes


In Paperback:

STAR: How Warren Beatty Seduced America


And for you Music fans:

Rick Springfield: Late, Late at Night
From the man who brought you "Jessie's Girl" comes a story of depression, and of course, sex addiction.

Neil Young Journal (1945-1972)

The Collected Writings of Jim Morrison

Scott Weiland: Not Dead & Not for Sale
(of the Stone Temple Pilots)


In paperback:

Paul McCartney: A Life

And Misc:
Hunter S. Thompson - Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone

Suspence Queen: Mary Higgins Clark

I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Higgins Clark earlier this week - what a lady! She came in the room with such energy - and such a glow about her - at 82 no less!

She had such spunk and sass - throwing out jokes, laughing at how she first got rejected at Simon & Schuster, talking with such enthusiasm about her most current book (AND the next to come!).

She's a perennial favorite in the suspense writing world - she might have been the first recognizable adult author I knew by name because of my Mother would read her on our family vacations. She is the author of 29 suspense novels. Her first book with Simon and Schuster - Where Are the Children - is in its 75th printing! And her books have sold over 100 million copies. And from the looks of it, she's not stopping anytime soon!

Her latest book - The Shadow of Your Smile - comes out next Tuesday 04/13. And she'll be on the TODAY show on Wednesday 04/14.

I hope you enjoy the video above, in which she offers a quick bit of advice to aspiring writiers.

Indie Next List: Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers

Indiebound.com is the community for independent bookstores and their patrons - helping people find and share independent bookstore across the United States. They aim to promote mainstreet economies by promoting consumers shop from their local bookstore.



Each month they release a list of titles nominated by independent bookstores from around the country, called the INDIE NEXT LIST.




Twice a year they also create lists for reading group recommendations, and seasonally they list poetry and childrens selections.

Scribner's SOMETHING RED - mentioned in a post from yesterday - is a Indie Next List Notable. They've also got a video of the author speaking about her book:

Bookstore I Love: WORD

So this weekend I had the pleasure of stopping by WORD bookstore in my neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

The store is a delight - well lit, cozy, with a superb (and wide) selection of books, even though the store itself is small. They have everything from bestsellers to the little known literary books; from an eclectic array of gift books to a unique collection of local interest books.

You'll find index cards with hand written recommendations on the shelves, which adds a personal touch and makes me inclined to pick up those highlighted titles (I bought THE BEST OF EVERYTHING because of just such a note).



Check out their calendar and you'll see that they're not just a bookstore, but also seem to function as a community center with Saturday morning running group, movies, crafting hour, storytime at the park, Greenpoint writers group meetings, basketball league, bananagrams in the basement, and much more. A bookstore as a secular place for people to gather and connect is something I've always thought is genius - and what makes this bookstore such a gem.

And of course they do the usual bookstore things - host launch parties, signings, readings and the usual plethora of author visits - ranging from bestselling authors, literary masters, YA writers, and for earth day eco friendly books. Their basement provides event space. They also have a store book club, which meets twice monthly.



As I said earlier, I bought their recommendation THE BEST OF EVERYTHING by Rona Jaffa; the notecard indicated that every woman in publishing should read this book - and I'm so glad I picked it up. It's the story of 5 women at a publishing house in the 1950s (pubbed in 1958). It's like Mad Men for women...or Mad Women, if you will. Its the story of ambition, desire, and the inner longing of 20 something women trying to make a go in the publishing world - often amidst sexual harassment, bitchy women coworkers, awful office parties, blind dates, even for one character raising a child as a single mother. The author says in a new introduction:

"Back then, people didn't talk about not being a virgin. They didn't talk about going out with married men. They didn't talk about abortion. They didn't talk about sexual harassment, which had no name in those days."

She interviewed 50 women to see if they had the same experiences and she realized that all these issues were apart of their lives, too. I'm thoroughly enjoying, and I wouldn't have picked up without the recommendation posted on that notecard.



While they have recommendations, carry the bestsellers, and even some esoteric titles, if they don't have a book you like in store they say:

"That's okay. We order books all the time and can usually have what you want in 1-2 days. In fact, you don't even have to leave your house to see if we have a book in stock. Just search for it using the search tool in the upper right hand corner. You'll be able to see if it's currently in stock and if so, how many are here. Then, whether it's in stock or not, you can buy it but select "pick up in store," so there's no shipping charge, and you still get to see our smiling faces. So easy!"

Located at:

126 Franklin Street

click address for google maps view of location. If you're in nyc, go visit!!! While you're in the area make a day of it - you're near great restaurants, parks, bars...they recommend:

Peter Pan Donuts (the best donuts in NYC). The Diamond (best beer selection). Lomzynianka (when in Little Poland). Coco 66 (drinks and food). The Pencil Factory (just a block away). Lulu's (free personal pizza with every beer). The Habitat (mac n' cheese happy hour). Amarin Cafe (good Thai food). Papacitos (good Mexican). Pretty much everywhere has a few good vegetarian options.

Rave review of Scribner's SOMETHING RED

In stores now!

Read the nytimes review here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/books/review/Cokal-t.html

"Gilmore glides smoothly from one perspective to another, giving equal and anxious weight to each, as she chronicles a few months in the lives of a family that wishes itself to be deeper both experientially and politically.

...Gilmore has pulled off a remarkable feat: not of fusing the personal and the political but of showing why they’re so difficult to reconcile."

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.