EarlyWord

The current issue of Newsweek, 1/12, recommends “three excellent books” on the Mideast.

Daniel Kurtzer and Scott Lasensky

Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace 

Most libraries do not own this title.

• Paperback: $16.50; 210 pages
• Publisher: United States Institute of Peace Press (March 15, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1601270305
• ISBN-13: 978-1601270306

 

Patrick Tyler

A World of Trouble: The White House and the Middle East—From the Cold War to the War on Terror 

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (December 23, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0374292892
• ISBN-13: 978-0374292898

• Audio CD: Unabridged
• Publisher: Tantor Media;  edition (December 1, 2008)
• Narrated by Michael Prichard
• 22 Audio CDs (Library BinderL Pkg); $43.99
• EAN: 9781400140060
  

 

 

Martin Indyk

Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East

• Hardcover: $30; 512 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1416594299
• ISBN-13: 978-1416594291

In the New York Times, Janet Maslin calls The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, by Charlie Huston a “smoking-hot” crime novel.

It’s on order in modest quantities by large libraries. Holds are building in some areas (Seattle shows 25 on 8 copies). It has another well-known fan; Stephen King gives it a rave on Amazon.

It’s available simultaneously on audio and Playaway.

• CD-ROM: Unabridged; $29.95
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks,  (January 13, 2009)
• 5 Tape LIBRARY 1-4332-5750-6 $44.95
• 1 Playaway LIBRARY 1-4332-5758-2 $59.99
• 1 MP3CD LIBRARY 1-4332-5754-4 $29.95
• 6 CD LIBRARY 1-4332-5751-3 $60.00 

USA Today says you’re about to hear a lot about a techno thriller by Daniel Suarez. Daemon became an underground hit with “techies and bloggers” after it was self-published in 2006. Last April, Wired published an article about the book, which led to a two-book contract with Dutton. Most large libraries have it on order in modest quantities, with some holds (it had a starred review in Publishers Weekly).

It’s also available simultaneously in audio.

• Audio CD: Unabridged ; $44.95
• Publisher: Penguin Audio; (January 8, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0143144448
• ISBN-13: 978-0143144441

For other titles reviewed today, check our Daily Reviews listings.

The  article “Blockbuster or Bust”  in the Wall Street Journal is one of the few of the recent spate of articles on the book business to give some insight. Written by a professor from the Harvard Business School, it looks at the reason publishers pay so much money for certain titles.

Amazingly, it’s because, more often than not, these books end up making money.

This is not a new phenomenon. Over twenty-five years ago, The Blockbuster Complex, by Thomas Whiteside, shocked the general public by pointing out that publishers were paying big buck for books and doing large first printings. Why, Crown bought Princess Daisy by Judith Krantz for a staggering $50,000 and did a first printing of 150,000 copies!

In the Wall Street Journal’s 2009 Arts and Entertainment Preview, publishing reporter Jeffrey Trachtenberg looks ahead to what may be the blockbuster books of ‘09. 

Below are the titles by month. Bibliographic information is included only for titles that have not been ordered widely by libraries.

January

The Associate, John Grisham thriller, on sale Jan. 27. WSJ quotes the first printing as 2.8 million copies.

February

War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story, Emmanuel Jal

A memoir, from a former Sudanese child soldier. The co-owner of Harlem’s Hue-Man Bookstores thinks readers will want this one, “There’s a lot more to be learned about the subject,” she says.

Many large libraries have it on order, but few have the audio.

• Hardcover: $24.95; 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Press;  (February 3, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0312383223
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383220

• Audio CD: Unabridged edition; $39.95
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio;  (February 3, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1427206341
• ISBN-13: 978-1427206343

March

Handle With Care, Jodi Picoult’s latest, “a story about the mother of a severely disabled child pondering a lawsuit against her ob-gyn, who also happens to be her best friend.” 

Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts

• Hardcover: $35; 416 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft (March 31, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0307450570
• ISBN-13: 978-0307450579

The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littell

WSJ says many independent booksellers are intrigued by this ” massive…fictional memoir… told from the point of a view of a Nazi officer. It won France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2006. Mr. Littell, a native New Yorker who writes in French, is the son of thriller author Robert Littell.” 

• Hardcover: $29.99; 992 pages
• Publisher: Harper (March 3, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061353450
• ISBN-13: 978-0061353451

June

Sara Gruen,  Ape House

“Gruen moves on from the fictional circus menagerie of “Water for Elephants” to bonobo apes (she temporarily adopted 30).”  Some large libraies already have it on order (Hennepin already shows 175 reserves already. It will be released simultaneously in audio and large print.

• Hardcover: $26; 352 pages
• Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (June 2, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0385523211
• ISBN-13: 978-0385523219

• Audio CD: Unabridged edition; $34.95
• Publisher: Random House Audio;  (June 2, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0739368540
• ISBN-13: 978-0739368541

• Large Print, Paperback: $24.95; 576 pages
• Publisher: Random House Large Print (June 2, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0739328042
• ISBN-13: 978-0739328040

Bibliographic information is not yet available for the following fall titles:

September

Noah’s Compass, Anne Tyler

This, along with Richard Powers’s October title, is one of the two “literary” titles included in the story.

The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson

“a nonfiction investigation into the death of the child pharaoh”

October

Generosity: An Enhancement, Richard Powers

By the National Book Award winner.

Some wonderful appreciations of Donald Westlake have appeared since his death on New Years Eve:

• Los Angeles Times, Sarah Weinman — Under any name, Donald Westlake was a grandmaster
• Guardian (UK) – Bloody and rare
• Washington Post – Novelist Donald E. Westlake, 75; Wove Farcical Mysteries

Featured on the cover of the new NYT Book Review is a very strong review for Robin Romm’s memoir of her mother’s death from cancer, The Mercy Papers.

The book also gets an “A” rating in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. The review concurs with the NYT BR, but more succintly,

The Mercy Papers, the vitriol-laced journal [Romm] kept during the three weeks before her mother died, captures all the fear and sadness you might expect from a heartbroken 28-year-old — but it’s her gusting, boiling anger that rattles the page.

Library ordering is light.

The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks

Robin Romm

• Hardcover: $22; 224 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (January 6, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1416567887
• ISBN-13: 978-1416567882

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly previews 12 hot movies of the new year; seven of them are based on books.

EarlyWord has reported on all of them, as well as many more (for a full list of upcoming movies based on books, with tie-in editions, check our Upcoming Movies — with tie-ins. Trailers are available at the right). The Entertainment Weekly listing indicates which are likely to be big in the box office (remember, though, box office success does not predict tie-in success — Atonement didn’t do well at the box office, but the tie in went onto bestseller lists).

Watchmen — March 6

The phrase “highly anticipated” has become a cliché, but this movie lives up to the moniker. Entertainment Weekly featured the cast on a cover in July, a full eight months before the movie is scheduled to appear.  The graphic novel, originally published in 12 issues in 1986/7, was compiled onto one volume in 1995; it’s been on USA Today’s bestseller list for 24 weeks, reaching a high of 13 (it’s now at #45). There’s quite a bit of publishing around the movie; we sort it out for you in Upcoming Movies — with tie-ins section.

Angels & Demons — May 15

Entertainment Weekly says that the movie is a sequel, even though Brown wrote the book before The Da Vinci Code. The producers wanted to “keep coninuity in the character of Robert Langdon.” Expect the movie to be very loosely based on the book.

Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 — June 12

This is the remake of the 1972 movie, which was based on the 1973 bestselling book by John Godey. John Travolta plays the hostage taker in the new version. The book is being reprinted.

Public Enemies — July 1

Johnny Depp as John Dillinger? That’s right.

Based on a book by Bryan Burrough, Enemies is a “cat-and-mouse thriller about the early days of the FBI.”

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince — July 17

Originally scheduled for last year. Still to come, the two-part Deathly Hallows (Nov. 2010 and Nov. 2011).

Julie & Julia — Aug 7

Julie Powell, bored with her life, challenges herself to cook all the dishes from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, from beginning to end. Nora Ephron directs this adptation of Powell’s memoir of the experience. Entertainment Weekly gives special attention to Meryl Streep, who plays Julia Child.

Where the Wild  Things Are — Oct 16

Director Spike Jonze directs this movie of his childhood favorite

As reported in the New York Times, Donald Westlake died on New Years Eve at 75.

The first bestseller lists of 2009 don’t look all that different from 2008.

As they have since August, the four volumes of the Twilight saga occupy most of the top spots on the USA Today list, with J.K. Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard interrupting at #4.

Looking back to the first list of 2008, Twilight was at a lowly #19 and Eat, Pray Love was at #1.

The Twilight series has ended (Stephenie Meyer had planned to publish Midnight Sun, a book that retells the story from the vampire Edward’s point of view, but abandoned it after part of an early draft appeared on the Web).

But, not to worry, other bestselling YA vampire series continue.

All four titles in the A House of Night series by P.C and Kristin Cast are on the USA Today list. The first volume, Marked, has been on the list for 26 weeks; the most recent volume, Untamed hit the list at #10 when it came out in September. The series is also at #4 on the 1/11/09 NYT Childrens Series list after 18 weeks.

Reminder: The series’s authors, P.C. and Kristin Cast will be speaking at a breakfast at MidWinter sponsored by the AAP (full info on the breakfast here). Tickets are free, but seating is limited. RSVP by Jan 9th to Tina Jordan, AAP. Your YA’s will never forgive you if you don’t go.

The next title (#5) in the series comes out in March. Most libraries are not yet showing it on order (Hennepin has 11 copies on order, with 21 reserves). It’s also available as a simultaneous audio.

Hunted 

P.C and Kristin Cast

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; (March 10, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 031237982X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312379827

• Audio CD: $39.95; Unabridged edition
• Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners;  (March 10, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1427206074
• ISBN-13: 978-1427206077

Back on the NYT list (1/11/09) is The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith, currently at #10 on the Childrens Series list. This original paperback series, first published in 1991, was recently published in omnibus editions. The next new title in the series will be in hardcover, which, according to the author’s Web site, “starts the trilogy that’s exclusively about Damon.”

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall 

L. J. Smith

• Hardcover: $17.99; 592 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (February 10, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061720771
• ISBN-13: 978-0061720772

• Library Binding: $18.89; 592 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (February 10, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0061720798
• ISBN-13: 978-0061720796

The first in the author’s Night World omnibus volumes was on the NYT list earlier in ‘08. The third is coming from S&S in April.

Night World No. 3: Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight

L.J. Smith

You have to go all the way to #57 before you find a new title on the USA Today bestseller list. The NYT lists also show little change, for the week that included Christmas Day. All that gift buying tends to focus on the tried and true.

The only new title on the NYT lists is Kelly Corrigan’s Middle Place. A video of the author reading from the book on You Tube has had over 1.8 million downloads (see next post, A Viral Hit). 

The Vampire Diaries lands on the children’s Series list for the first time, but earlier volumes have appeared before (see previous post, Bestselling YA Vampires).

The following are the new titles to the USA Today list:

#57 Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness: Life-Altering Secrets from Today’s Cutting-Edge Doctors, Suzanne Somers,  Crown

#86 Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates,  Vintage

#104 Naruto, Volume 33 Masashi Kishimoto,  VIZ Media LLC

#133 President Obama: The Path to The White House, Time Magazine,  Time

#147 Michelle: A Biography, Liza Mundy,  Simon & Schuster

#150 New Cook Book: Prizewinning Recipes Limited Edition, Better Homes & Gardens,  Better Homes & Gardens