Shelf Awareness for Thursday, September 14, 2017


Groundwood Books: Skating Wild on an Inland Sea by Jean E Pendziwol, illustrated by Todd Stewart

St. Martin's Press: The Cut by CJ Dotson

Random House Books for Young Readers: Mr. Lemoncello's Fantabulous Finale (Mr. Lemoncello's Library) by Chris Grabenstein

Yale University Press: Tattoos: The Untold History of a Modern Art by Matt Lodder

News

NYC's Books of Wonder Opening Second Location Tomorrow

Books of Wonder, New York City, is opening its second location, on the Upper West Side, tomorrow and starting a full events program with a teen panel featuring authors E. Lockhart, Bonnie Pipkin and Adam Silvera tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Books of Wonder signed a lease on the space in June and had hoped to open by early August but construction on the 2,600-square-foot store took longer than expected. A special grand opening event will be held in the fall, but for now, the store said in an e-mail to customers, "we just can't wait to invite you into this new space to 'kick the tires' and help us determine what works best for this new store. Of course, you can look forward to finding at 84th Street the same carefully curated collection of new, classic, and collectible books, as well as a selection of original artwork, prints, and signed posters that you can find at our 18th Street location."

The new Books of Wonder store is located at 217 W. 84th St., New York, N.Y. 10024; 212-989-1804.


G.P. Putnam's Sons: Kate & Frida: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Books by Kim Fay


Irma Updates: Stores Slowly Reopen; 'Some Damage' at B&B Key West

More bookstores in Florida have reopened, expressing gratitude--and quite a bit of humor.

Posted on Facebook yesterday by Inkwood Books, Tampa: "We've got natural and electrical light in the kid's section. Our little chair is threadbare, but so welcoming to little readers. Come sit and read a while if being without power or being out of school has you a bit stir crazy. Also, [owner] Stefani [Beddingfield] took a shower and had hot coffee at a friend's house, so it's safe for all your senses at Inkwood today. #Inkreaders #caffeineismybff #BooksellerSmellsNiceNow THANK YOU".

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Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore in Delray Beach is once again open for business. Though the store never lost power during the storm, Hurricane Irma did take out the store's Internet and phones, which were restored Wednesday morning. Murder on the Beach has cancelled all events for this week, but will be back on schedule starting Saturday morning with a self-publishing workshop.

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Bookstore1Sarasota in Sarasota took no damage from Hurricane Irma but did close on Monday to re-shelve, tidy things up, and reconnect its computer system. The store reopened for business on Tuesday morning. In a Facebook post the store invited customers to come in and "bring your Irma stories and pick up one of the books just out today."

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Murder on the Beach shared its "Official State of Florida Cartoon"

In Punta Gorda, Copperfish Books is "breathing a sigh of relief that Irma's full force didn't come this way." The bookstore suffered no damage during the storm but has been closed this week. Copperfish Books will reopen on Friday, and the store's next event will be an adult Coloring Party on Monday, September 18, for which Copperfish is waiving the participation fee "to encourage folks to come relax and relieve some hurricane stress."

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On Facebook, Books & Books @ the Studios in Key West, Fla., reported that while "not a lot of information is coming out of Key West at this time," the bookstore did receive some damage from Hurricane Irma but "staff is accounted for and safe." Books & Books also extended its thanks "to all the first responders who are providing help and storm recovery" and best wishes "to everyone dealing with Irma's aftermath." Meanwhile the Studios, the complex in which Books & Books Key West resides, posted on Facebook that it sheltered 20 people during Hurricane Irma along with a "Noah's Ark of assorted pets," and sustained only minor damage.

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Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga., summed up the thoughts of many: "Thanks for making today sunny and bright for us and for each other. We talked with Irma refugees from Florida and Georgia, and we witnessed people bonding over books and expressing concern about their neighbors' Irma damage. For the millionth time, we saw how a neighborhood bookstore really is a community hub, a place where people who never would've crossed paths otherwise spark up lovely friendships. Some of those friendships are minutes long, while others may last a lifetime. We are honored to bear witness to the magic that emerges when readers gather in a space like Avid."


BINC: Donate now and an anonymous comic retailer will match donations up to a total of $10,000.


Amazon to Triple Warehouse Space in Mexico

Amazon plans to expand its operations in Mexico, and a key part of that is the building of a million-square-foot warehouse in Tepotzotlan, about 25 miles north of Mexico City, Reuters reported. Citing real estate professionals in Mexico, Reuters said that the warehouse would triple Amazon's distribution space in the country.

"Amazon's Mexico push comes amid talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could benefit the Seattle-based retailer if the United States persuades Mexico to raise a $50 limit on the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free," Reuters wrote.

Amazon is the country's third-largest online retailer with sales in Mexico estimated at $253 million.

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In other Amazon news, the company will open a million-square-foot warehouse in Shelby, Mich., its third fulfillment center in the state. The facility will focus on larger products, such as household decor, sporting equipment and gardening tools. The company has a sortation center as well as a corporate office in Detroit.


Obituary Note: Peter Hall

Sir Peter Hall, who staged the English-language premiere of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and the world premiere of Harold Pinter's Homecoming, and "was the single most influential figure in modern British theatre," died September 11, the Guardian reported. He was 86. "As a director of plays, especially Shakespeare, Pinter and Beckett, he was very fine.... But it was through his creation of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the early 1960s and his stewardship of the National Theatre from 1973 to 1988 that he affirmed his passionate faith in subsidized institutions. If we now take their existence for granted, it is largely because of the pioneering battles waged by Hall and his visionary enthusiasm," the Guardian wrote.

"We are bereft at Oberon Books," publisher James Hogan told the Bookseller, recalling how the "great Sir Peter had turned to this small publisher in Holloway, still struggling for credibility and prominence in the theatre industry. The mood changed. 'If they’re good enough for Peter Hall, then they’re good enough for me'. So went the buzz round the business, in particular literary agents who mainly dealt with the big publishers."

Oberon went on to publish numerous works by Hall, including The Peter Hall Diaries; Making an Exhibition of Myself; and Sir Peter's Shakespeare's Advice to the Players. "Fifteen years ago when this titan of the theatre put his trust in us to publish his work I was of course overjoyed and privileged," Hogan said. "Peter was meticulous about his books, ever patient and never wrong.... As we know, among his many great qualities was his devotion to the works of Shakespeare. He knew each play by heart line by line. But he was equally devoted to new writing.... Most of all I miss his generous advice on theatre and publishing which I treasure to this day."


Notes

Image of the Day: Mark Bray at Bluestockings

Mark Bray discusses his new book, Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook (Melville House), at Bluestockings, New York City, on September 11.


Birthday Road Trip: National Book Store in the Philippines

National Book Store, the bookstore and office supplies chain in the Philippines, is celebrating its 75th birthday. Noting that the first shop "was destroyed by a major fire, the second, by a typhoon, but nothing would stop its resilient founders," Town & Country magazine featured "9 Things You Didn't Know About National Book Store."

"While we all have fond memories of childhood trips to National Book Store, no one can tell its story better than Nanay Coring, its co-founder. On its 75th birthday, we take a look back at its history, the challenges it has faced, and ultimately, its triumph, with Nanay Coring as our guide," Town & Country wrote. Among the revelations: co-founders Soccoro Cancio (Nanay Coring) and Jose Ramos met at a bookstore before launching their own, which they named after their cash register.

In its 75th year, with more than 220 branches, 4,000 employees and 1.5 million customers, National Book Store "continues to root itself in humility and goodness. Through avenues such as the National Book Store Foundation, the bookstore engages with impoverished communities to provide its poorest schools with libraries and supplies. 'Happiness is helping people,' Nanay Coring has always said."


Personnel Changes at Scholastic Trade

At Scholastic Trade:

Dan Moser has returned to the company as director, special markets and new business. He was previously at Disney as international brand licensing manager.
 
Julia Eisler has joined Scholastic as associate manager, marketing & social media. She was previously at Grand Communications.
 
Alexis Kuzma has joined Scholastic as mass market sales associate. She was previously special markets assistant at Abrams.


Book Trailer of the Day: Body Music

Body Music by Julie Maroh, translated by David Homel (Arsenal Pulp Press), from the author of Blue Is the Warmest Color.


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Sally Quinn on Morning Joe

Today:
Fresh Air: Fred Hersch, author of Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life in and out of Jazz (Crown Archetype, $28, 9781101904343).

Tomorrow:
Morning Joe: Sally Quinn, author of Finding Magic: A Spiritual Memoir (HarperOne, $28.99, 9780062315502.

The Talk: Stephen Colbert, co-author of Stephen Colbert's Midnight Confessions (Simon & Schuster, $19.99, 9781501169007).

Tonight Show: Gucci Mane, co-author of The Autobiography of Gucci Mane (Simon & Schuster, $27, 9781501165320).


TV: The Child in Time

PBS Masterpiece has released the first trailer for The Child in Time, a 90-minute co-production with BBC One based on Ian McEwan's award-winning 1987 novel, Deadline reported. The project stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kelly Macdonald as grieving parents of a missing child. Stephen Butchard wrote the adaptation, which also stars Campbell Moore and Saskia Reeves. Pinewood Television and Cumberbatch's SunnyMarch TV are producing The Child in Time, which will air on Masterpiece in 2018.


This Weekend on Book TV: The Brooklyn Book Festival

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, September 16
10:15 a.m. James Stavridis, author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans (Penguin Press, $28, 9780735220591), at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

12 p.m. C-SPAN tours Concord, N.H., to visit local authors and literary sites. (Re-airs Sunday at 7:30 a.m.)

7 p.m. Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (Nation Books, $19.99, 9781568585987), at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C.

8:45 p.m. Jeremy Rabkin and John Yoo, authors of Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules for War (Encounter Books, $25.99, 9781594038877). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

10 p.m. David Osborne, author of Reinventing America's Schools: Creating a 21st Century Education System (Bloomsbury, $30, 9781632869913). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m. and Monday at 12 a.m.)

11 p.m. Jon Kukla, author of Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty (Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781439190814). (Re-airs Sunday at 6:30 p.m.)

Sunday, September 17
1:15 a.m. Mark Skousen, author of The Structure of Production (NYU Press, $26, 9781479848522). (Re-airs Sunday at 6 p.m.)

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Live coverage from the 2017 Brooklyn Book Festival in New York City. (Re-airs Sunday at 1 a.m.)

11 p.m. Joe Tone, author of Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream (One World, $28, 9780812989601), at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.



Books & Authors

Awards: NBA Poetry Longlist

The National Book Foundation continued unveiling the longlists for the National Book Award, starting with the Young People's Literature category on Tuesday and yesterday with poetry. This year's longlisted poetry titles are:

Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016 by Frank Bidart (FSG)
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen (BOA Editions)
The Book of Endings by Leslie Harrison (University of Akron Press)
Magdalene: Poems by Marie Howe (Norton)
Where Now: New and Selected Poems by Laura Kasischke (Copper Canyon Press)
WHEREAS by Layli Long Soldier (Graywolf Press)
In the Language of My Captor by Shane McCrae (Wesleyan University Press)
Square Inch Hours by Sherod Santos (Norton)
Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press)
Afterland by Mai Der Vang (Graywolf Press)


Attainment: New Titles Out Next Week

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, September 19:

The Cuban Affair: A Novel by Nelson DeMille (Simon & Schuster, $28.99, 9781501101724) follows a an ex-military charter boat captain caught up in Cuban espionage.

To Be Where You Are by Jan Karon (Putnam, $28, 9780399183737) is the 14th novel set in the town of Mitford.

The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance by Tom Brady (Simon & Schuster, $29.99, 9781501180736) gives the New England Patriots quarterback's fitness regimen.

Imagine by John Lennon, illustrated by Jean Jullien (Clarion, $18.99, 9781328808653) turns Lennon's lyrics into an illustrated children's book published in partnership with Amnesty International. (September 21.)

Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change by Ellen Pao (Spiegel & Grau, $28, 9780399591013) is the memoir of the former tech CEO and investment banker.

The Trick: A Novel by Emanuel Bergmann (Atria, $26, 9781501155826) follows a Holocaust survivor magician and a young fan in modern Los Angeles.

The Book of Separation by Tova Mirvis (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26, 9780544520523) is the memoir of an Orthodox Jewish woman who left her faith.

The Odyssey of Echo Company: The 1968 Tet Offensive and the Epic Battle to Survive the Vietnam War by Doug Stanton (Scribner, $30, 9781476761916) chronicles an American platoon during the Vietnam War.

The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen (Dutton, $28, 9780525954958) is the seventh Department Q murder mystery.

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake (HarperTeen, $18.99, 9780062385468) has the queens continue their fight to be the one Queen Crowned in this sequel to Three Dark Crowns.

I Love You Like a Pig by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli (Balzer + Bray, $17.99, ISBN 9780062354839) is a picture book of funny, silly and tender moments.

Paperbacks:
Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna (Atria/Keywords, $16.99, 9781501178320).

7 Lessons from Heaven: How Dying Taught Me to Live a Joy-Filled Life by Mary C. Neal (Convergent, $16.99, 9780451495426).

Movies:
Victoria and Abdul, based on the book by Shrabani Basu, opens September 22. Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria in this true story of the monarch's friendship with an Indian clerk. A movie tie-in edition (Vintage, $16, 9780525434412) is available.

Stronger, based on the memoir by Jeff Bauman, opens September 22. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man who lost both legs in the Boston Marathon bombing. A movie tie-in edition (Grand Central, $8.99, 9781478920403) is available.


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:

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (Atlantic Monthly Press, $26, 9780802126597). "See What I Have Done is a spellbinding historic reimagining of a Gothic tale many of us grew up knowing about. Schmidt brings to life all the characters in Lizzie Borden's world and takes the reader on an adventure through time and the investigation into the murder of her parents. Schmidt uses context to make the moment in history as much of a character as the people in the story, and the lively characters will keep you transfixed on the murder mystery. It is hard to say that a book about a murder is delightful, but See What I Have Done is a delightful, suspenseful, and satisfying read." --Steve Iwanski, Turnrow Book Co., Greenwood, Miss.

Hardcover
The Marriage Pact: A Novel by Michelle Richmond (Bantam, $27, 9780385343299). "The world has gone wacko lately, and in the fictional world of The Marriage Pact a secret group forms that ostensibly seeks to protect the integrity of marriage. With guidelines to follow to keep the worst from happening, it isn't long before newlyweds Alice and Jake find themselves in trouble. One of them breaks a rule and the consequences are, well, scary. A thriller like no other, this book may make you take a second look at your neighbors and ask yourself: how far you would go to keep your marriage intact?" --Linda Bond, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, Wash.

Paperback
If the Creek Don't Rise: A Novel by Leah Weiss (Sourcebooks Landmark, $15.99, 9781492647454). "This debut novel set in a small North Carolina Appalachian village is full of strong Southern voices. Among them is Sadie Blue, a child bride who realizes in a matter of days that she has made a mistake in marrying the ne'er-do-well Roy Lupkin, and Kate Shaw, who answers Minister Eli Perkins' ad for a teacher for the children of Baines Creek. As Kate begins to make a difference in the lives of her students, she realizes they are returning the compliment. Kate offers to teach Sadie Blue to read, helping her to make another life for herself. Each of the characters will touch your heart, and you will cheer for their victories!" --Elizabeth Merritt, Titcomb's Bookshop, East Sandwich, Mass.

For Ages 4 to 8
A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui (Capstone, $15.95, 9781623708030). "A strong, quiet story about love, family connection, and the way community is built on small shared moments. Bao Phi's clear prose tells a story where perhaps not much seems to happen, but in which the whole world is illuminated for a child by his father. Thi Bui's illustrations bring the reader into the life of a boy, a family, and the community where they live." --Shannon McMaster, The Bookman, Grand Haven, Mich.

For Ages 9 to 12: An Indies Introduce Title
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez (Viking, $16.99, 9780425290408). "What do you do when your mom moves you to Chicago, far away from your friends, your dad, and his record shop? If you're Malu, you make zines to express your feelings, find your people at school, and start a punk band to reinvent traditional Mexican music. This tour-de-force debut will have you smiling, singing, and cheering for Malu as she explores her family history, culture, and community and comes to better understand herself. A must-have middle-grade book." --Cecilia Cackley, East City Bookshop, Washington, D.C.

For Teen Readers: An Indies Introduce Title
All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis (Harlequin Teen, $18.99, 9780373212446). "In a dystopian future in which almost all words and gestures have been copyrighted and citizens are charged for even the most basic forms of communication, the ultimate act of resistance may be to choose silence. In this richly imagined novel, Katsoulis explores ideas of free speech and the consequences of intellectual property law through characters that are sympathetic, tough, and thoroughly believable. All Rights Reserved is an excellent sci-fi thriller (with some of the best world-building I've seen in ages) with a great sense of humor and a political conscience. For anyone who feels the need for a little bit of revolution in their fiction, this book is just the thing." --Annie Farrell, Labyrinth Books, Princeton, N.J.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]


Book Review

Review: Nine Continents: A Memoir In and Out of China

Nine Continents: A Memoir in and Out of China by Xiaolu Guo (Grove Atlantic, $26 hardcover, 9780802127136, October 3, 2017)

In her moving memoir Nine Continents: A Memoir In and Out of China, Xiaolu Guo (Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth) draws an open portrait of her life as a young woman in China.

Guo is one of the world's preeminent Chinese-born authors writing in English; Granta has named her one of Britain's best young novelists. Moreover, Guo is an accomplished filmmaker who's honed her own documentary style. Her films, like her fiction, explore immigration to the West, the intersection of different cultures and the immigrant experience in a fast-paced, globalized world.

Nine Continents doesn't pull any punches. Guo begins by delving into her impoverished childhood in the coastal fishing village of Shitang. Her early life with her grandparents is characterized by a hardscrabble existence in which she's ravenous. Her finely tuned, descriptive prose captures the austerity of peasant life: "When the wind came and blew through the windows, the long and pale-coloured ribbonfish were like a row of hanging men, swinging weightlessly in the stale air." A Taoist monk in a nearby decrepit temple identifies Guo as a "peasant warrior" and prophesizes that she will travel great distances and helm her own fate. When a group of young artists visits the village to sketch and paint the coastline, revealing the transformative power of art, Guo recognizes her calling: "From that afternoon onwards, I knew I wanted to become an artist."

The second act of Nine Continents revolves around Guo's adolescence and early adulthood. She is reunited with her parents in a communist compound in Wenling in the 1980s. She describes the political fallout from the Cultural Revolution years earlier and the propaganda and injustices of life under an oppressive state. Despite its socialist ideals, Guo's China is cruelly patriarchal; abuse and mistreatment of women are commonplace. Guo addresses her own sexual abuse, and in a later chapter confronts the man who molested her. Her father, a talented painter whose work is controlled by the state, helps her get into film school in Beijing. It is in Beijing at the turn of the millennium where Guo becomes an artist. Nine Continents shines much-needed light on the struggle of modern Chinese citizens to be free artistically and intellectually: "I wanted to go beyond all tradition, conservatism and its history. I would cut away the past and become someone else."

Guo's artistic journey leads her to London. Though the West offers more individual freedom, Guo is alienated by its contradictions: "A feeling of being a 'second-class citizen' dominated my every day in Beaconsfield, and made me hang my head in despair." To mitigate this dislocation, Guo pushes herself to learn English and soon succeeds as a novelist in her adopted tongue. Piercing and poignant, Nine Continents serves as a bridge between two worlds and demonstrates the hardship of immigration but also the value of multiculturalism. --Scott Neuffer, writer, poet, editor of trampset

Shelf Talker: Novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo recounts her peasant childhood in post-Mao China and her path to becoming a breakout multicultural artist.


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