Shelf Awareness for Tuesday, October 20, 2009


Del Rey Books: The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Dial Press: Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood

Pantheon Books: The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

Peachtree Publishers: Leo and the Pink Marker by Mariyka Foster

Wednesday Books: Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber

Overlook Press: How It Works Out by Myriam LaCroix

Charlesbridge Publishing: If Lin Can: How Jeremy Lin Inspired Asian Americans to Shoot for the Stars by Richard Ho, illustrated by Huynh Kim Liên and Phùng Nguyên Quang

Shadow Mountain: The Orchids of Ashthorne Hall (Proper Romance Victorian) by Rebecca Anderson

Letters

Wal-Mart vs. Amazon: 'Let's Start an Industry Conversation'

We've received several comments from readers on the Wal-Mart-Amazon price wars, now joined by Target (see story below).

From Robert D. Utter of the Other Tiger bookstore, Westerly, R.I.:

What ARE the economics? How much money are these two behemoths losing on each sale when costs are taken into account? What would the P&L and balance sheets look like for this model? At what point is their behavior illegal and anticompetitive?

From Nancy Colalillo, owner of Tome on the Range, Las Vegas, N.M.:

When publishers continue to remainder front list (which is what I call selling to big box stores), what do they expect? When your product is used as a loss leader, it becomes a commodity and has little value. Those of us who must charge the jacket price for books continue to look like whores to customers who think the real price is what they pay at Wal-Mart. Let's start an industry conversation about, among other things, net pricing, the overabundance of titles in the marketplace and the relationship between selling to box stores, print runs and returns.

 


HarperOne: Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World by Craig Foster


News

Notes: B&N's Nook E-Reader to Debut; Target Enters Price War

Barnes & Noble will introduce a new electronic book reader, the Nook, today "with a color touch-screen and $259 price, according to a planned ad for the device," the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that "details of the reader appear in a full-page advertisement viewed by the Wall Street Journal in the New York Times Book Review section dated Sunday, October 25. The advertisement says the Nook will enable its owners to 'Lend eBooks to friends.'"

A B&N spokeswoman declined to comment, but the Journal wrote that the "book chain has scheduled an event for the media, publishers and publishing agents in New York on Tuesday. Features of the Nook include a wireless connection to download books from the retailer's online e-bookstore and an e-paper display from E-Ink Corp. that is separate from the color controls."

In today's edition, the New York Times acknowledged the Journal's claim, though B&N retained its "no comment" status in anticipation of the scheduled news conference for the Nook's unveiling.

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Target now has book prices in its bullseye, too, joining the Wal-Mart vs. Amazon price war by "slashing the prices of seven highly anticipated books available for pre-order on its website" to $8.99, according to the Wall Street Journal, which noted that a "Wal-Mart countered Monday evening by lowering the price of several of the books on its website by a penny to $8.98."

"It remains to be seen if we will go lower if the competition slashes prices further," said Target spokeswoman Kelly Basgen. "At the moment we are only matching what others are doing, but we're watching closely. We want to remain competitive."

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The Weinstein Company, which includes Weinstein Books, and Perseus Books Group, have created a joint venture to publish books. The two companies will develop book ideas together, and Perseus will be responsible for all joint venture staff and "for executing all core-publishing activities." All Weinstein Books staff, headed by publisher Judy Hottensen, remain and "will participate in the development of the longer-term plan" for the joint venture, the companies said. Effective December 1, Perseus will represent all books published by Weinstein Books.

Weinstein Books was founded two years ago as a successor to Miramax Books. Weinstein Books has been distributed to the trade by Hachette.

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The Twin Cities Daily Planet profiled Play by Play Theatre Bookstore, St. Paul, Minn., which is planning a grand opening next month.

"About ten years ago I realized the Twin Cities needed something like this," said owner and "recovering stage manager" Kelly Schaub, "and about five years ago I did some market research and wrote a business plan." She decided to take the bookstore plunge about a year ago.

"I want the store to be whatever people want the store to be," she added. "More than anything, I would like the store to be a place for anybody interested in theater to hang out and make connections."

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In the midst of far too many "Herta who?" articles written after the recent announcement of Herta Mueller as winner of this year's Nobel Prize for literature, Jane Sullivan's column in the Age countered that she was entranced with the author's work a decade ago when she read The Land of Green Plums.

"What makes this award so well-deserved is that it's not just about recognizing a dissident writer," Sullivan observed. "Language, its precision and possibilities, has always been vital to Mueller. Oppressive regimes distort and twist words to their own ends ('Workers of the world, unite' says the sign in the factory). Mueller rescues words and lets them sing."

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The Emerging Leaders Council is extending until next Tuesday, October 27, the deadline for applying for its eight scholarships to the Winter Institute. Booksellers under 40, especially front-line booksellers, are encouraged to apply. The scholarships pay for airfare and lodging at the conference. Though an owner or manager may nominate an employee, the nomination must be accompanied by an e-mail from the nominee. For more information, click here.

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Could in-app sales and the iTablet be the "Killer Combo to Save Publishing?" That's what Wired explored after Apple announced "a subtle-yet-major revision to its App Store policy, enabling extra content to be sold through free iPhone apps. It's a move that immediately impacts the publishing industry, and it could pay even bigger dividends if the Cupertino, California, company indeed delivers its highly anticipated touchscreen tablet."

Wired suggested that Apple has a better chance to "redefine print media to save the publishing industry . . .  than any other tech company out there. Apple is a market-shaper, and that's the kind of a company the publishing industry needs to resuscitate it as the traditional advertising model continues to collapse."

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As Amazon launched the international edition of its Kindle, Retail Week considered whether e-readers "will bring about bookshops' demise, or if the world of print will prove resilient."

Waterstone's commercial director Neil Jewsbury suggested the latter: "To say it's the end of the bookshop is premature. I'm sure it does put pressure on individual book retailers but booksellers need to be able to quickly adapt. . . . It's not something we should be intimidated or frightened by. We can up the offer to customers across different channels. . . . We think it's good for publishers, authors, customers and retailers. It's new and exciting, it's convenient, it's in line with trends and fashionable. It's got the opportunity to drive new readers."

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The Henrico County, Va., Public Library held an extended Banned Books Week (September 26-October 17) due to the popularity of its Banned Book Reading Room. Boing Boing reported that the library invites people "to volunteer as a reader of a banned or challenged book. This is our way of celebrating that our community has the right to read freely."

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Boing also Boing showcased io9.com's recommendations for the "best place to start your kids with reading Science Fiction." 

 


Park Street Press: An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey by Peter A Levine


Media and Movies

Media Heat: The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone

Today on Fresh Air: Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves (Viking, $32.95, 9780670021253/0670021253).

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Henry N. Pollack, author of A World Without Ice (Avery, $26, 9781583333570/1583333576).

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: George Wendt, author of Drinking with George: A Barstool Professional's Guide to Beer (Simon Spotlight, $24.99, 9781439149584/1439149585). He will also appear tomorrow on Fox News' Hannity.

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Tomorrow on Oprah: Tal Ronnen, author of The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat (Morrow Cookbooks, $29.99, 9780061874338/0061874337).

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Tomorrow on E!'s Chelsea Lately: David Alan Grier, author of Barack Like Me (Touchstone, $24.99, 9781439154922/1439154929).

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Tomorrow on the View: Susie Essman, author of What Would Susie Say?: Bullsh*t Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedy (Simon & Schuster, $25, 9781439150177/1439150176). She will also appear tomorrow on Joy Behar.

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Tomorrow on Tavis Smiley: Ron Paul, author of End the Fed (Grand Central, $21.99, 9780446549196/0446549193).

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Tomorrow night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in a repeat: Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, author with Jeffrey Zaslow of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters (Harper, $25.99, 9780061924682/0061924687).

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Tomorrow night on the Colbert Report, in a repeat: Shashi Tharoor, author of The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power (Arcade, $27.50, 9781559708616/1559708610).

Also on Colbert: Sanjay Gupta, author of Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds (Wellness Central, $24.99, 9780446508872/044650887X).

 


G.P. Putnam's Sons: Take Me Home by Melanie Sweeney


Television: The Dog Whisperer

A half-hour comedy project "inspired" by the work of "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan, author of Cesar's Way and other books, is in development for Fox TV, with Wilmer Valderrama set to star. Variety reported that "details are still being ironed out, but it appears that Valderrama would play the character based on Millan, who has built a lucrative empire based on his skills as a professional dog trainer."

 


Movies: American Rust

Scott Stuber's Stuber Productions acquired the screen rights to Philipp Meyer's debut novel, American Rust. Walter Salles will direct and Jose Rivera will write the script, according to Variety. They previously collaborated on The Motorcycle Diaries and are currently working together on an adaptation of Junot Diaz's The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

 



Books & Authors

Awards: German Peace Prize

Claudio Magris was honored with the German Peace Prize, presented by the book industry at the Frankfurt Book Fair, for "fostering European diversity in his works." Previous winners have included Orhan Pamuk, Vaclav Havel, Chinua Achebe, Octavio Paz and Susan Sontag.

Magris "has written extensively about Germany, central Europe and his native Italy," the CBC reported.

"We cradle ourselves in the illusion that we live without war because Europe's borders are now peaceful and largely open," he said in his acceptance speech.

 


Attainment: New Titles Out Next Week

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, October 27:

Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim by Anne Rice (Knopf, $25.95, 9781400043538/1400043530) is a paranormal adventure about an assassin sent back in time to 13th-century England.

True Blue by David Baldacci (Grand Central, $27.99, 9780446195515/0446195510) follows a disgraced D.C. cop dishing out vigilante justice in the hopes of obtaining a new badge.

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Tor, $29.99, 9780765302304/0765302306) is the first of a trilogy concluding the Wheel of Time series.

You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas by Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's, $21.99, 9780312341916/0312341911) is a collection of funny short stories based on the holidays.


Shelf Starters: Sugarless

Sugarless by James Magruder (University of Wisconsin Press, $24.95, 9780299233808/0299233804, October 22, 2009)

Opening lines of books we want to read:

Until the day I made two girls cry in speech class, I always thought I left no impression. My stepsister Carla, also a sophomore, broke the news at the dinner table.

"Ricky made two socialites cry today," she said, smacking the serving spoon flat onto the mashed potatoes. The pud it made matched the phlegmy sound of her voice.

I looked up from my plate. Carla and I didn't acknowledge each other at school. She was a burnout with low-slung torpedo tits. I was cautious, featureless, a bus stop stand-alone holding his breath, beneath anyone's notice.

--Selected by Marilyn Dahl


Book Review

Book Review: The Case for Books

The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future by Robert Darnton (PublicAffairs, $23.95 Hardcover, 9781586488260, October 2009)



It's a safe bet most readers of Shelf Awareness will be attracted to this book for its title alone. In this collection of well-informed essays, Robert Darnton, historian and director of the Harvard University Library, offers a decidedly open-minded perspective on some of the technological changes affecting the world of books and leads an insightful and learned discussion of topics that will appeal to more traditional bibliophiles.

In the first trio of his 11 essays (about half of which have appeared in the New York Review of Books), Darnton explores the practical and philosophical issues surrounding Google Book Search, the corporate behemoth's plan to digitize millions of books (seven million as of November 2008). Darnton wrestles thoughtfully with the tension between making these vast intellectual resources widely and inexpensively available and the danger inherent in ceding their control to a profit-making enterprise, eventually coming down on the side of "holding the digitizers responsible to the citizenry."

The four essays that comprise the middle section of the book are a fairly tedious discussion of the project dubbed Gutenberg-e, an experiment Darnton spearheaded in the late 1990s to encourage the electronic publication of historical monographs. The plight of young Ph.D. recipients stymied in their efforts to find traditional publishing outlets for their dissertations isn't likely to be of much interest to general readers, although Darnton's observation that those works are being sliced from tightening library budgets because of the skyrocketing cost of academic journals (upwards of $20,000 annually in some instances) is startling.

Patient readers who've navigated that discussion will be rewarded by the four essays that comprise the concluding section of the book. In it, Darnton delivers a lively, if not entirely unsympathetic, critique of Double Fold, Nicholson Baker's jeremiad against the crusade of librarians to microfilm newspapers and books--destroying printed materials in order to save them. That's followed by an introduction to some controversies in the academic field of bibliography, the study of how books come into being. The concluding essays are a fascinating exploration of 17th century British history through the medium of the commonplace book and an examination of the rowdy book trade in 18th century France.
 
With the price of Amazon's Kindle dropping (now $259) and journalists musing about whether downloaded e-books, like their audio counterparts, soon will be "Napsterized," it's helpful to have a learned guide like Robert Darnton to lead us into the brave new world. If it's not already here, that is.--Harvey Freedenberg

Shelf Talker: In this collection of essays, eminent historian and bibliophile Robert Darnton offers a clear-eyed look at the transformation of the world of books in the digital age.

 


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