Archive for September, 2010
It’s the Mocks!
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Below is this year’s list of Mocks, from Bank Street School.
A small moment of gloating if I may. Last year when I posted that our kids picked When You Reach Me, there were a few comments sent to me by e-mail, that of course our kids who live and go to school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan picked a book about their neighborhood. Hah! (if readers recall, my kids picked the real winner). My favorite kid comment was, “I loved this book because it was all the genres at once, realistic, historical fiction, fantasy and a mystery.”
I am in for marathon sessions of booktalks in the coming weeks. Wish me luck.
New Book by Obama
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010President Obama has written a tribute to 13 groundbreaking Americans for readers aged 3 and up. Titled Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, it will be published Nov. 16 by Knopf Books for Young Readers. Among the people profiled are George Washington, Jackie Robinson and Georgia O’Keeffe. According to a story by the AP, the book will have a first printing of 500,000 copies and a list price of $17.99. The President will donate proceeds from the book to “a scholarship fund for the children of fallen and disabled soldiers serving our nation,” according to the publisher’s statement.
The book will be illustrated by Loren Long, whose work includes illustrating the 2005 re-release of The Little Engine That Could, (Philomel, 2005) and writing and illustrating Otis (Philomel, 2009).
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Director for HUNGER GAMES
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010After talking to several potential candidates, Lionsgate is in early negotiations with director Gary Ross to direct The Hunger Games, the first movie in a projected series based on Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, according to Deadline
Ross’s previous directing credits include Pleasantville and Seabiscuit.
According to Deadline, “The huge sales of the trilogy make the film adaptations a potential game-changer for Lionsgate, the way that Twilight was for Summit Entertainment.”
PROMISE ME On GMA
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010Coming out today is a memoir by Nancy G. Brinker, the woman who founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which has raised more than a billion dollars for breast-cancer research. She appeared on Good Morning America yesterday.
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Blair and Dylan on Comedy Central
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010This week, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert feature just one author each; both are on tonight.
Colbert talks with Sam Wilentz and his new book on Bob Dylan; it’s fared much better with the consumer press than it did with the prepub review sources.
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Audio; Books on Tape; UNABR; 6 CD’s; 9780307714978; $40
While Stewart sits down with Britain’s former prime minister.
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FREAKY DEAKY Moves Closer to Screen
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010William H. Macy has signed to star in Freaky Deaky, a film based on Elmore Leonard’s 1988 novel, according to Deadline. Production is planned to begin next year.
Previous books by Leonard that have been made into films include Get Shorty (1995), Jackie Brown (1997, based on Rum Punch), and Killshot (2008).
Leonard’s next book, Djibouti, is coming out in October.
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THE Memoir of the Season
Monday, September 13th, 2010The Daily Beast says to “forget Blair or Bush, [Even Silence Has an End] is the memoir of the season.” By a French Colombian political leader, it describes “her six unbelievably harrowing years” as a prisoner in the jungle. It has not yet been reviewed prepub. The publisher announced a 100,000 copy first print run.
Also listed are the Daily Beast‘s 19 other “Big Books” of the season, coming out between November and September.
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No Hay Silencio Que No Termine; 9781616052430; Publisher: Aguilar; 9/21/2010; Pbk $19.99
New GAME OF THRONES Trailer
Monday, September 13th, 2010Fans of George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series have been eagerly awaiting HBO’s series based on the first book, A Game of Thrones. A new trailer and a “making of “video were featured before the season finale of True Blood last night.
The series will begin in the spring of 2011.
Behind the Scenes:
Franzen, Fortier on NPR
Monday, September 13th, 2010
Two best selling authors were featured on NPR over the weekend. Jonathan Franzen’s book Freedom debuted at #1 on the NYT Fiction list this week. He was interviewed on All Things Considered.
Anne Fortier’s book Juliet, appeared on the list last week at #14 and slipped to #21 on the extended list this week. That could turn around; it moved up Amazon’s sales rankings as a result of an interview on Weekend Edition Saturday.
New Book Review in Town
Monday, September 13th, 2010The NYT BR is getting competition; The Wall Street Journal will begin a new standalone book review section in the coming weeks, reports the New York Observer.
Forbes comments that there is “almost no traditional business case for launching an expensive book review section that will see print… Crowd-sourced reviews on Amazon.com are surely the future of the form.” So, what’s the justification? That owner Rupert Murdoch “hates” the NYT.
It seems that view is shared all over the world (via the Washington Post‘s “Blog Post”):
Next Week: ROOM and Other Fiction
Friday, September 10th, 2010In addition to the three Oprah fiction contenders we just mentioned, Emma Donoghue’s much anticipated novel Room arrives next week, with the highest sales rank of all the Booker shortlist titles on Amazon. The novel is told in the voice of a five-year-old who’s spent his entire life in a single room, held captive there (unknowingly) with his mother. It’s a People magazine pick in the current issue and was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition today. Holds are 5:1 or higher at libraries we checked.
Other Notable Fiction On Sale Next Week
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s) begins a new series in a genre that Kirkus dubs “paranormal farce,” with the hunt for ancient artifacts corresponding to the seven deadly sins.
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central) follows a mysterious new woman’s slow integration into a small town. The hardcover will be promoted not just by the publisher, but by the movie company that plans to produce a film version of the book, even though the screenplay has not yet been finalized, according to a Wall St. Journal story.
Reckless by Cornelia Funke (Little, Brown) draws on the spooky side of traditional fairy tales to launch a major new dark fantasy series for young readers. Despite making her mark as a master creator of richly imagined worlds with the Inkheart series, Funke’s latest effort gets mixed early reviews. Kirkus praises the “fluid, fast-paced narrative,” but PW finds “the writing is beautiful on one page, clunky on another…. Planned sequels will give Funke a chance to fill in the missing back-story that makes this a frustrating read.”
Next Week: Tasty Nonfiction by Women
Friday, September 10th, 2010Next week brings three female authors with fresh takes on topical subjects.
Big commercial expectations accompany The Wave: In Pursuit of Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean, by O magazine editor-in-chief Susan Casey, about rogue waves exacerbated by global warming (the largest was taller than the Empire State Building) and the extreme surfers who chase them. It is listed in USA Today’s fall books roundup. A review is scheduled for the upcoming NYT BR and it will be featured on Good Morning America on Monday, followed by The Daily Show the next evening.
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Promise Me: How a Sister’s Love Launched the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer by Nancy Brinker, is a memoir by the woman who founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which has raised more than a billion dollars for breast-cancer research. Kirkus finds it “touching and inspring.” Library holds are growing, and it has been rising on Amazon too.
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Big Girls Don’t Cry by Salon.com staff writer Rebecca Traister is a nuanced look back at the election of 2008, arguing that it changed the role of women in national politics. She spoke to librarians earlier in the year at the S&S editors’ Fall books presentation (the next one is Fri., Sept 24 from 9 to 12:30 at the S&S offices in NYC; email Michelle Fadlalla to RSVP or for more information). Traister is thoughtful, dynamic and passionate; sure to be on many talk shows.
PW says that “Traister does a fine job in showing that progress does not proceed in straight lines, and, sometimes, it’s the unlikeliest of individuals who initiate real change.”
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Other Notable Nonfiction on Sale Next Week
Pinheads & Patriots: Where You Stand in the Age of Obama by Bill O’Reilly (Morrow) is another round of liberal bashing from the Fox News pundit.
Power Thoughts: 12 Strategies to Win the Battle of the Mind by Joyce Meyer (Faithwords) is the TV preacher’s followup to her bestseller Battlefield of the Mind. PW says “critics of Meyer will say she sounds like an infomercial (‘You will see amazing results’). Yet her many fans will continue to appreciate her upbeat attitude and her ability to offer practical tips on the toughest topics.”
Oprah Has Us Guessing
Friday, September 10th, 2010Next Friday, September 17, Oprah will select the 64th and final selection for her book club, in the final season of her talk show. The few clues are confusing. The blind ISBN has a St. Martin’s prefix and a $28 price. However, no title in St. Martin’s catalog matches that price. So, we have to assume that one of the two clues is a red herring.
Our hunch is that it’s St. Martin’s Some Sing, Some Cry, a novel of seven generations of African American life by sisters and playwrights Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza that goes on sale next week. A Shout & Share pick at ALA, it got a starred review from Booklist, which called it “glorious in its scope, lyricism, and spectrum of yearnings, convictions, and triumphs.” Ntozake Shane’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, is coming out as a movie in November, directed by Oprah’s close friend and producing partner for Precious, Tyler Perry. However, the price does not fit.
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There’s also a possibility it might be another one of next week’s releases, the international bestseller Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin’s), a psychological thriller set in Paris that plumbs the power of family secrets. PW said “this perceptive portrait of a middle-aged man’s delayed coming-of-age rates as a seductive, suspenseful, and trés formidable keeper.” And Booklist adds, “Expect demand among fans of both literary mystery and high-end romance.” Again, however, the price is not the same as that for the Oprah pick.
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Others have suggested it might be Nelson Mandela’s Conversations with Myself, a collection of the South African leader’s personal papers, including journals kept on the run during the anti-apartheid struggle of the early 1960s and diaries written in Robben Island and other South African prisons during his 27 years of incarceration. But here, the book’s ISBN prefix doesn’t match (it’s from St. Martin’s sister Macmillan imprint, FSG) and it’s currently scheduled to release on October 11. However, the one thing that does match is the $28 price (also true for Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom , but, given Oprah’s history with the author, that one seems a real long shot).
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TOTALLY HIP BOOK REVIEW Goes Mainstream
Thursday, September 9th, 2010We’ve fallen in love with Ron Charles’s “totally hip video book reviews.” Now, with just two in the can (My Hollywood and Freedom), Ron announces that his employer, The Washington Post, has become the official sponsor. Swearing that this will have no effect whatsoever on the reviews, Charles throws in several “product placements” while reviewing Sara Gruen’s new book, Ape House.
Unfortunately, we can’t find a link to embed the review on EarlyWord. Please, Ron, tell The Washington Post they won’t be as hip as you are until they allow you to go viral.
For now, we all we have to give you the video review link. Charles also reviewed the book in print yesterday.
UPDATE: Hurrah! The new episodes of the Totally Hip Book Review are embeddable.