Shelf Awareness for Monday, May 4, 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

Quotation of the Day

Buy Indie Day: 'Thanks to All Who Inspired and Conspired '

"We had a very good Buy Indie Day. Thanks to all who inspired and conspired to make it happen, especially everyone who shopped!"--@commongoodbooks

"#Buy Indie Day was a great success. Thanks to everyone who made this a group effort and thank you @joefinder for your indie support."--@ClintonBooks

"@ClintonBooks thank YOU guys. Next year we need to get all indie bksellers on board, put on their websites & newsletters etc."--@JoeFinder

More Twitter reactions at Buy Indie Day and #buyindieday.

 


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


News

Notes: Festival of Mystery; Kindle Mutiny

"When Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont held its debut Festival of Mystery, there were five writers and 22 fans in attendance," observed the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review of the event that last year attracted 41 writers and more than 350 readers.

"It's like opening up a new bookstore and closing it within 24 hours," said Mary Alice Gorman, owner of the bookstore and host of today's 14th Festival of Mystery.

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Cool Idea of the Day: The Milwaukee Journal reported that "May ushers in ladies' month in literature here," with local appearances by Jane Hamilton, Elinor Lipman, Anita Shreve, Mameve Medwed and Elizabeth Berg.

What moves this fully into the cool category is that when Jane Hamilton reads during grand opening weekend of the Boswell Book Company this week, Pegi Taylor will introduce the author in "the same bookstore she once owned."

"I'm so touched that (bookstore owner) Daniel Goldin asked me to do the introduction," said Taylor, former co-owner of Webster's Books, which occupied the space where Boswell is today from 1979-1990. "I'm committed to independent books-and-mortar stores. And I'll be able to show people exactly where I was sitting when I first received a letter from Jane about the publication of The Book of Ruth."

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Some newspaper and magazine companies are expressing their dissatisfaction with Amazon's Kindle by "forging alliances with consumer-electronics firms to support e-readers that meet their needs," the Wall Street Journal reported. "Chief among their complaints about the Amazon portable reading gadget is the way Amazon acts as a middleman with subscribers and controls pricing. In addition, the layout isn't conducive to advertising."

Among the companies seeking alternatives is the Hearst Corporation. According to Journal, the company "is backing a venture with FirstPaper LLC to create a software platform that will support digital downloads of newspapers and magazines. The startup venture is expected to result in devices that will have a bigger screen and have the ability to show ads."

In addition, Gannett's USA Today and Pearson's Financial Times "have signed up with Plastic Logic Ltd.," and even "News Corp., which owns the Wall Street Journal, also is exploring a possible investment in a Kindle competitor."

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The PEN World Voices Festival concluded Sunday. You can find great blog coverage of last week's readings and panels at PEN and Words Without Borders.

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Robin Hemley chronicled an Orwellian case of corruption that has seriously affected booksellers in the Philippines. In his McSweeney's essay, "The Great Book Blockade of 2009," Hemley wrote that in recent months "virtually no imported books had entered the country, in part because of the success of one book, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. The book, an international best seller, had apparently attracted the attention of customs officials. When an examiner named Rene Agulan opened a shipment of books, he demanded that duty be paid on it."

Inspired by the lure of easy money after the Twilight importer paid the requested duty, "customs curtailed all air shipments of books entering the country. Weeks went by as booksellers tried to get their books out of storage and started intense negotiations with various government officials. What doubly frustrated booksellers and importers was that the explanations they received from various officials made no sense."

(Thanks to Richard Nash for sharing the tweet and link from Charles Tan in the Philippines, who commented: "I wish this was satire but it's not.")

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Obituary note: Marilyn French, noted feminist and author of The Women's Room, died Saturday. She was 79. In her obituary, the New York Times observed: "With steely views about the treatment of woman and a gift for expressing them on the printed page, Ms. French transformed herself from an academic who quietly bristled at the expectations of married women in the post-World War II era to a leading, if controversial, opinionmaker on gender issues who decried the patriarchal society she saw around her. 'My goal in life is to change the entire social and economic structure of Western civilization, to make it a feminist world,' she once declared."

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Carol Ann Duffy has succeeded Andrew Motion to become Britain's first female poet laureate, breaking four centuries of male domination. The Guardian reported that she "only agreed to accept the post ahead of poets Simon Armitage and Roger McGough because 'they hadn't had a woman.'"

"I look on it as recognition of the great women poets we now have writing," said Duffy, adding that while she was prepared to write the "official verse which the laureateship requires," she would only do so if inspired. "If not, then I'd ignore it." An interview with Duffy is available here.

The Guardian noted that "As one of the bestselling poets in the U.K., Duffy has managed to combine critical acclaim with popularity: a rare feat in the poetry world. . . . As well as her seven collections for adults, marked by their accessibility, lightness of touch and emotional depth, Duffy also writes poetry and picture books for children, edits anthologies, and has written a number of well-received plays."

Another children's book, a fairy tale, is on the way: Templar Books, a Candlewick imprint, is publishing Duffy's The Princess's Blankets, illustrated by Catherine Hyde, in November ($18.99, 9780763645472/0763645478).

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U.A. Fanthorpe, a poet who had a chance to become Britain's first female poet laureate in 1999, died recently. She was 79. In the Guardian, Richard Hendin called Fanthorpe "an extraordinary character. You might find yourself in some provincial English market town, and happen upon a member of the WI with a little stall selling marmalade, and that woman would look precisely like U.A.--but what she was selling was not marmalade. What you got from her was amazing poetry that quietly de-centred you and made you think."

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Glenn Beck, the talk show host and bestselling writer, signed "a wide-ranging contract with CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster publishing arm that gives him profit participation in each new book, a perk the publisher has traditionally reserved solely for its most important writers, such as Stephen King," according to the Wall Street Journal. Beck will receive smaller advances in exchange for a share of the profits.

 


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


Pulp Function: Doylestown Bookshop Sponsors Museum Show

A conga drum-shaped sculpture fashioned from the pages of a Webster's Elementary School Dictionary and a floor-length gown made of 1,000 shredded U.S. dollar bills (see illustration below) are two of the works on display in the exhibit Pulp Function at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa., which is sponsored in large part by the Doylestown Bookshop.

"The Michener Museum is really special. It's a big part of the history of Doylestown," store owner Pat Gerney said. "Normally I say no to things like this because we can't afford it, but this time I made it happen. It's a fantastic exhibit."

As a sponsor, the Doylestown Bookshop is promoted in the museum's press packets and featured on signage and other materials related to the exhibit. In addition, there was coverage in W4, a magazine produced by Bucks County's chamber of commerce.

Some bookshop patrons also benefited from the sponsorship. "We chose who we thought were our top customers, people who have really supported us faithfully over the last 11 years," said Gerney. They were sent invitations to a special reception and preview of the exhibit. Ten museum passes were given to store staff members so they could see the more than 70 pieces constructed from paper products ranging from newspaper to candy wrappers, and including jewelry, clothing, furniture and painting-like works.

"The exhibit being Pulp Function made it fit very well with the bookstore theme," Gerney said. "I'm such a lover of paper books. Good, old-fashioned books, the way that they've always made them. That's really what struck a chord with me--promoting pulp, things made out of paper. What's more representative of things made out of paper than a book?" Pulp Function is on view through June 28.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt

 


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


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Sonata Mulattica

This morning on the Today Show:

  • Richard Haass, author of War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars (Simon & Schuster, $27, 9781416549024/1416549021).
  • Michelle R. Callahan, author of Ms. Typed: Discover Your True Dating Personality and Rewrite Your Romantic Future (Crown, $22, 9780307408006/0307408000).
  • Ricki Lake, author of Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience (Wellness Central, $22.99, 9780446538138/0446538132).
  • Robyn O'Brien, author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick--And What We Can Do About It (Broadway, $24.95, 9780767930710/0767930711).

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This morning on Good Morning America: James Carville, author of 40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation (Simon & Schuster, $24, 9781416569893/1416569898). He will also appear today on the View and Imus in the Morning.

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Today on Fox's Hannity Show: Brian Jennings, author of Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio (Threshold Editions, $24, 9781439154427/1439154422).

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Frank Partnoy, author of The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals (PublicAffairs, $26.95, 9781586487430/1586487434).

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Today on Fresh Air: Malina Saval, author of The Secret Lives of Boys: Inside the Raw Emotional World of Male Teens (Basic Books, $25.95, 9780465002542/0465002544).

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Today on the Charlie Rose Show: Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Picador, $16, 9780312427993/0312427999).

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Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit (Weinstein Books, $14.95, 9781602860919/1602860912).

Also on GMA: Emeril Lagasse, author of Emeril at the Grill: A Cookbook for All Seasons (HarperStudio, $24.99, 9780061742743/0061742740).

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Tomorrow on Fox's Glenn Beck Show: Brian Jennings, author of Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio (Threshold Editions, $24, 9781439154427/1439154422).

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Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Rita Dove, author of Sonata Mulattica: Poems (Norton, $24.95, 9780393070088/0393070085).

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Tomorrow on the View: Ricki Lake, author of Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience (Wellness Central, $22.99, 9780446538138/0446538132).

Also on the View: Donald Trump, author of Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education In Business and Life (Vanguard Press, $24.95, 9781593155308/1593155301).

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Tomorrow night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World (Norton, $15.95, 9780393334807/0393334805).

 


Masterpiece: Three Kurt Wallander Pieces

PBS's Masterpiece will air three episodes based on Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander mystery series beginning this coming Sunday, May 10. Kenneth Branagh stars as the Swedish sleuth who fights crime in the seaside town of Ystad. The first episode is based on Sidetracked (Vintage, $14.95, 9781400031566/1400031567). The second, based on Firewall (Vintage, $14.95, 9781400031535/1400031532), airs Sunday, May 17. And the third, based on One Step Behind (Vintage, $13.95, 9781400031511/1400031516), airs Sunday, May 31. All three episodes begin at 9 p.m. EST. Online resources for book groups will be posted this week on pbs.org/masterpiece/bookclub.

 


Movies: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Stand clear of the closing doors please. The New York Times reported on the gritty, subterranean filming of director Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, a remake of the 1974 movie adapted from John Godey's bestselling thriller. John Travolta and Denzel Washington star.

Scott "had been adamant from the time he joined the project that he would do it only if he could film as much of it as possible inside the actual New York subway system, which never stops running, not even for John Travolta."

 



Books & Authors

Awards: Pannell Winners

The winners of the 2009 WNBA Pannell Award, given to bookstores that "excel in contributing to their communities in ways that bring books and young people together," are:

  • General bookstore category: Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, Ohio.
  • Honorable mention: That Bookstore in Blytheville, Blytheville, Ark.
  • Children's specialty category: Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Shop in LaVerne, Calif.

The winning stores each receive a check for $1,000 and framed original art donated this year by Barry Moser and Anna Dewdney. The awards will be presented at the Children's Book and Author Breakfast on Friday, May 29, at BookExpo America. Sponsored by the Women's National Book Association, the awards honor Lucile Micheels Pannell.

The jurors complimented the winners and all entrants for "the innovative ways these independent stores are reaching young readers in spite of shrinking budgets and resources." Joseph-Beth was cited in particular for its citywide reading project, Small Fries: A Kids' Cookbook, whose sales benefited a children's hospital, and for Reading Reindeer gift tree.

Mrs. Nelson's was praised for its Young Authors contest and "use of outside venues (libraries, churches, etc.) to reach more children."

That Bookstore in Blytheville was cited for its Head Start classroom reading program and for "its wide reach of programs into the community connecting with all ages at multiple venues."

 


IndieBound: Other Indie Favorites

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next picks:

Hardcover

The History of Now by Daniel Klein (Permanent Press, $28, 9781579621810/1579621813). "The History of Now has perfectly drawn characters, a small town you'll want to move to as soon as you open the pages of the book, and various subplots that propel the story from start to finish, all from the heart and brain of a very fine and very funny veteran novelist."--Matthew Tannenbaum, The Bookstore, Lenox, Mass.

Losing My Religion by William Lobdell (Collins, $25.99, 9780061626814/0061626813). "William Lobdell had the religion beat for the Los Angeles Times. He began his journey as an agnostic, went through a born-again conversion, and then, after eight years of reporting on the paradoxes of religion, lost his faith in God. This is a courageous memoir that speaks to all of us--whether Christian, agnostic, or atheist."--Lillian Kinsey, Bohannons' Books With a Past, Georgetown, Ky.

Paperback

The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (Holt, $14, 9780805088496/0805088490). "The Little Sleep is fast and fun, a noirish suspense novel featuring Mark Genevich, a hard-boiled, narcoleptic, quasi-detective in South Boston. This is the first of what promises to be an engaging series, and I eagerly await Mark Genevich's future exploits."--Tova Beiser, Brown University Bookstore, Providence, R.I.

For Teen Readers

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry (Bloomsbury, $16.99, 9781599903347/1599903342). "Julie Berry's enchanting story of an abandoned girl and a mysterious visitor will keep readers enthralled and turning the pages until the end. You'll feel as if you are side by side with Lucinda, the brave heroine, cheering her on throughout the whole adventure."--Summer Moser, Summer's Stories, Kendallville, Ind.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

 


The Bestsellers

Most Popular Titles on AbeBooks in April

The following were the bestselling titles on AbeBooks.com during April:

1. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
2. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
3. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
4. The Giver by Lois Lowry
5. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
6. Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin
7. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini
9. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
10. Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

The following were the bestselling signed books during April:
 
1. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
2. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Everything Ravaged Everything Burned by Wells Tower
4. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Fool by Christopher Moore
6. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
7. Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
8. Drood by Dan Simmons
9. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
10. Indignation by Philip Roth

[Many thanks to AbeBooks.com!]

 


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