Shelf Awareness for Friday, January 3, 2014


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

News

Lawyer Behind J.K. Rowling 'Galbraith' Leak Fined

A legal scandal that made international headlines last summer came to a quiet conclusion at the end of the year. Christopher Gossage, the London solicitor who leaked the fact that J.K. Rowling was Robert Galbraith, the pseudonymous author of The Cuckoo's Calling, was fined £1,000 (about US$1,659) for breaching confidentiality rules, the Bookseller reported. The ruling was issued November 26, but made public December 30 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Rowling had dropped legal action against Russells Solicitors after the firm agreed to make a "substantial" donation to the Army Benevolent Fund.


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


Amazon Collecting Sales Tax in Three More States

Effective January 1, Amazon began collecting sales tax in Indiana, Nevada and Tennessee, "bringing to 19 the states in which it automatically adds tax to purchases. Those 19 states have a combined population of roughly 180 million, more than half of U.S. residents," the Wall Street Journal reported. The three additional states "are expected to generate more than $50 million a year [in sales tax] collectively."


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


Microcosm Publishing Moves Offices, Bookstore

Microcosm Publishing, Portland, Ore., a publisher of books and 'zines, including the Henry & Glenn series of comic books, the DIY home book Make Your Place by Raleigh Briggs and more, has moved its publishing operations and bookstore to a building it purchased. The store sells Microscosm titles, "an ever-changing selection of distributed titles" and merchandise. The company's new digs are located at 2752 N. Williams Ave., Portland, Ore. 97227.


Obituary Note: Elizabeth Jane Howard

Author Elizabeth Jane Howard, who described her readers as "women and educated men" and who "achieved a triumph in her 70s with the Cazalet Chronicle, a highly praised tetralogy of novels set in the England of 1937-47," died yesterday, the Guardian reported. She was 90.


Notes

Library Features 'Animatronic Wall of Books'

As part of its 400th anniversary celebrations, England's Bristol Central Library "is playfully disturbing the peace: for the next three months, visitors will be greeted by Book Hive, an interactive, animatronic installation that makes novels come to life," Gizmodo reported.

The animatronic wall of books features "motion-detecting sensors above the set-up which monitor how people are engaging with the display, then change the movement to correspond with the folks in real time."


Pennie Picks Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini (Plume, $16, 9780142180358) as her pick of the month for January. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she wrote:

"Over the years, I've been so blinded by the importance of our 16th president that, until I read Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini, I gave little thought to Mary Lincoln. And I certainly gave no thought to her dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley.

"But theirs is a relationship worth reading about. For example, Keckley spent many years as a slave before buying freedom for her son and herself. After meeting Mary Lincoln, Keckley became not only the first lady's dressmaker, but also her confidante. And Mary Lincoln, who outlived her husband and three of their sons, is a fascinating woman who battled depression for the last several years of her life. Together, they make for a reading experience that won't soon be forgotten."


Magers & Quinn Seeks Event Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Magers and Quinn Booksellers, Minneapolis, Minn., is seeking an event sales and marketing coordinator, who will be responsible "for building a calendar of successful in-store and offsite events, working as host and salesperson at events, coordinating marketing and publicity to maximize attendance and sales at events, and promoting awareness of Magers and Quinn Booksellers through events and marketing." For more information, contact mary@magersandquinn.com.



Media and Movies

Media Heat: Lynne Olson on Fresh Air

Today on Fresh Air: Lynne Olson, author of Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941 (Random House, $30, 9781400069743).

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Today on Oprah's Life Class on OWN: Greg Behrendt and Amiira Ruotola, authors of It's Just a F***ing Date: Some Sort of Book About Dating (Diversion Books, $19.99, 9781626811201).

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Tomorrow on Fox's A Healthy You & Carol Alt: Tammy Lakatos Shames and Lyssie Lakatos, authors of The Nutrition Twins' Veggie Cure: Expert Advice and Tantalizing Recipes for Health, Energy, and Beauty (Skirt/Globe Pequot, $22.95, 9780762784769).

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Sunday on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism (Simon & Schuster, $40, 9781416547860).


Coming Attractions: 'Most Anticipated Movie Adaptations'

"With so many book-inspired films headed our way in 2014, we lit lovers can't help but resolve to go to the movies," Word & Film observed in offering "a peek at our most anticipated movie adaptations, by genre."


Books & Authors

Awards: New Year's Honors in France, U.K., Canada

Danielle Steel was awarded France's highest award, the Legion d'honneur, the Telegraph reported, noting that the bestselling novelist "is published in 70 countries and 43 languages and joins other non-French culture figures Bono, Bob Dylan and Philip Roth to be honored by in recognition of service to France." Steel, who was made a "Chevalier" (Knight) of the order, lives in San Francisco and Paris.

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Authors Anthony Horowitz, K.M. Peyton, Alanna Knight and publisher Peter Owen were recognized in the U.K.'s 2014 New Year's Honors list, the Bookseller reported. Horowitz received an OBE for services to literature, Peyton an MBE for services to children's literature and Knight was also awarded an MBE. Owen, founder of Peter Owen Publishers, was given an OBE for services to literature.

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Douglas Coupland and Louise Penny were among the 90 new appointees named to the Order of Canada, Quillblog reported. Coupland was honored for "his contributions to our examination of the contemporary human condition as a novelist, cultural commentator and artist," and Penny for "her contributions to Canadian culture as an author shining a spotlight on the Eastern Townships of Quebec."


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 Great Reads:

Hardcovers
Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Minotaur, $25.99, 9780312606848). "Police chief Russ Van Alstyne and Episcopal minister Claire Fergusson attempt to take their long-awaited honeymoon, only to become embroiled in a murder and child kidnapping case in upstate New York. A blizzard cuts off most normal means of communication as well as the roads, and the clock ticks as they attempt to locate the missing girl who won't survive if she doesn't get her medication in time. A wonderful addition to this outstanding series!" --Connie Brooks, Battenkill Books, Cambridge, N.Y.

Report From the Interior by Paul Auster (Holt, $27, 9780805098570). "Auster's newest memoir is both unusual and beautiful. I was captivated by his odd mixtape of memories, his blunt honesty, and his comforting tenderness. Whether describing his two favorite films in charming detail or deconstructing his experience with first love, Auster stokes flames of wonder at each turn. It is as though he is reliving each new experience and, to some extent, relearning from each as well. Highly recommended!" --Will Walton, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga.

Paperback
Recipes From an Edwardian Country House: A Stately English Home Shares Its Classic Tastes by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall (Marble Arch Press/Atria, $16, 9781476730332). "For lovers of Downton Abbey and the Edwardian era, what fun to have a peek into the kitchens of the time and access to period recipes that have been modified for the present, including instructions for using food processors to simplify preparation. Just think, you can have an Abbey viewing party and serve your guests an authentic dinner to boot!" --Kathy Ashton, the King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah

For Ages 9 to 12
Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon (Roaring Brook Press, $17.99, 9781596438569). "This is the story of two lonely creatures--Herman, an alligator, and Rosie, a white-tailed deer--living in the big, busy city. Their paths nearly cross many times, but they never quite meet until the perfect moment when a jazzy little song finally pulls them together for a happy ending. Gordon's fabulous illustrations of a New York City perfectly populated by the animal world totally charm and carry the reader along in a wonderful love story for all ages." --Jeanne Snyder, Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]


Book Review

Review: Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States

Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto (W.W. Norton, $27.95 hardcover, 9780393239539, January 20, 2014)

"There was never a time when most Americans, or people in what is now the United States, were white English Protestants," Felipe Fernández-Armesto reminds us. "The making of the country has been a collective effort--sometimes collaborative, sometimes conflictive--of all the ethnic and religious minorities who inhabit it."

Fernández-Armesto's provocative Our America is a timely reminder of the role of Spain and its colonial empire in the creation of the United States. Fernández-Armesto (Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration) brings his personal mixed ancestry (as the British-born, Catholic son of a Spanish journalist) to his fresh historical account of our country's growth through the conquest and annexation of Hispanic colonies. This is not a revisionist history, though, but rather one that pivots from our traditional Anglo-centric perspective to a neglected Hispanic-centric one.

Our America manageably breaks 500 years of history down into three Hispanic eras: colonization of the Americas, United States expansion combined with Hispanic retreat and the more recent Hispanic "re-colonization." Instead of Benjamin Franklin, Davy Crockett or Abraham Lincoln, Fernández-Armesto tells the stories of Coronado, Cabeza de Vaca, Santa Anna and even the fictional Zorro. He identifies the essential difference between Spain's approach to colonization and England's: "Spain occupied areas of relatively dense populations in tropical or semi-tropical environments, where the native's contribution to survival and prosperity was fundamental," he writes, while the English "focused their settlements in relatively temperate areas... where, once colonial farmers had arrived, the natives... could be exterminated or expelled."

Colonies need colonists, and "the Spanish empire was, in a sense, a victim of its own success," he suggests: "It outgrew its own capacity for recruiting colonists." Mexico won independence from Spain, but then it, too, ran out of colonists in the northern territories--and the increasing swarms of Anglo immigrants into Texas, California and Colorado eventually led to the Mexican-American War and the annexation of more than half of Mexico by the United States.

The modern era of Hispanic immigration to the U.S. to satisfy the growing need for labor has led to our present situation, where self-identified Mexicans represent a quarter of all foreign immigrants. Fernández-Armesto's somewhat radical suggestion is that instead of building a walled, inward facing country, the United States should embrace its Hispanic heritage and reach out to the rest of the Hispanic Americas to form a cohesive cultural and economic coalition--even endorsing a bilingual population. He makes a convincing case, a forward-looking facet of a perspective on our history that has been long overlooked. --Bruce Jacobs

Shelf Talker: In a provocative Hispanic-centric history of the United States, historian Fernández-Armesto makes the case that our future will be stronger if the nation embraces its Hispanic origins.


Deeper Understanding

Robert Gray: Resolved for 2014--Read Lots of Great Books

You've seen the illustration again and again. The transition from one year to the next is always represented by an overconfident newborn baby and a scythe-wielding Father Time, accompanied by promises of a fresh starts and lists of resolutions that flutter through the air like Times Square confetti on New Year's Eve.

Out with the old and in with the new is the prevailing cultural myth, though author John Green contends that last year's decrepit baby should not necessarily be thrown out with the champagne-laced bathwater because "some encouraging trends and statistics about the current state of humans in the world" indicate that "there are many reasons to be hopeful that 2014 might be the best year on record for humans, even if much of this growth is not (currently) sustainable."

So we've got that going for us.

There probably isn't a book industry equivalent to the baby/old man icon, since a book published last year, if still in mint condition, looks just like a book set to be released next Tuesday (and may be much, much better between the covers). Digital books, you ask? Who knows? Perhaps they will remain forever, if virtually, young. Certainly they seem so right now, though I assume something will come along not too far down the publishing line that will make our current "state-of-the-art" e-book delivery/consumption process seem as archaic as an 8-track tape deck in a 1973 Chevy Caprice Classic.

Does that matter? At the reading core, I don't think it does. Thus my single resolution is the one I make every year. It has been further validated by the recent discovery of Woody Guthrie's 1942 "New Years Rulin's," which included "Read lots good books." For 2014, I'm upping Guthrie's ante by vowing to read lots great books.

It's that simple, and attainable. Everything else about our industry requires a well-honed ability to anticipate and adapt. We all do this, every day of the year, and it's the antithesis of a resolution. You don't resolve to be more adaptable. You are... or you aren't.

Dee Robinson, co-owner of Village Books, Bellingham, Wash., definitely is. On Facebook this week, she eloquently depicted our book trade challenge of living--with resolve if not resolutions--in the future, whether we're poring over advance reader copies and publisher catalogues or...: "For my non-retailer friends, so you have an idea how schizophrenic my life is: It's not 2014 yet, and I've received 3 catalogs with my 2015 calendars I need to buy, with one rep appointment to buy calendars. And on Jan 6 we go to Atlanta gift show to buy Christmas decor/ornaments for next Christmas. Happy New Year!"

The reading life, however, offers a chance for resolutions. Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, Mich., shared one: "New Year's Resolution: Finish every book I start. (That includes you, copy of Infinite Jest sitting near my bed since 2011.)." And Brain Pickings offered historical precedent with a publishing twist in the form of a 1977 pledge by Susan Sontag to "have lunch only with Roger [Straus]. ('No, I don't go out for lunch.' Can break this rule once every two weeks.)."

New Year's Day is also a good time to offer sound advice for others to follow. In a post at Bustle, Emma Cueto wrote: "This year as you make your New Year's resolutions to get in shape and stop wasting all your time on social media, there's one other habit you ought to try cultivating: Buy your books from independent bookstores whenever possible. That's right, it's time to ditch Amazon and even Barnes & Noble and take your business elsewhere. Namely to a locally owned bookstore."

Shopping indie "is something you can feel good about, and unlike your other New Year's resolutions, it won't leave sore from weight lifting or sitting at home alone on a Saturday because you gave up drinking so much," Cueto noted. "So take that money you were going to spend on a gym membership you know you'll stop using by April and invest it in your book shopping. You won't regret it."

Sounds like an excellent and comfortably familiar game plan to me, so here's my slightly revised resolution: I will read lots of great books in 2014 and keep buying them at indie bookstores. --Robert Gray, contributing editor


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