GalleyChatting; Fall Books
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010We had another lively session of GalleyChat yesterday. A roundup, below, of some of the fall titles we discussed.
Several publishers joined the discussion and offered galleys and/or finished books. Titles that are available are noted below.
Be sure to mark your calendars for our next GalleyChat, Tues., Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. EST (we will be holding all future chats on the first Tuesday of the month, so you can set it up as a repeating schedule).
What will be the BIG Book of the Fall?
Several think it’s Emma Donoghue’s Room. We’ve been tracking it on EarlyWord; it’s the Booker shortlist title that Americans love to talk about (in the UK, The Slap, which didn’t make it from the longlist to the short, continues to outsell all the others). Room landed on the NYT best seller list last week. Obviously, winning the Booker (TBA, Oct. 12), would give it an additional boost.
Getting Holds
In Baltimore County, Gunn’s Golden Rules (Gallery/ S&S) is “surprisingly hot – many more holds than we would have expected.”
In North Carolina, it’s Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron (Grand Central, 11/5)
Title Everyone Needs to Read
For the past few months, beginning with ALA, I’ve been urging people to read Up From the Blue, Susan Henderson, (Harper Pbk Original). I’m happy to say that everyone who has taken the challenge has loved it. During this GalleyChat, a librarian said that after reading it, she’s ordering more copies and another said she read it in one sitting.
The new book I can’t stop talking about is Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter (title comes from how Mississippi school children learn to spell their state “…i, crooked letter; i, crooked letter…”). A review in a Mississippi newspaper (“Thriller hits close to home“) nails the appeal; the opening sentence sets the tone,
The Rutherford girl had been missing for eight days when Larry Ott returned home and found a monster waiting in his house.
UPDATE: In the Washington Post today, Ron Charles gives it another terrific review.
If you’re looking for a smart, thoughtful novel that sinks deep into a Southern hamlet of the American psyche, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is your next book.
The HarperCollins library marketing team is offering copies to libraries; send us an email, with “Crooked Letter” in the subject line, the name of the library you work in, and full mailing address (ends at 5:30 EST Friday, Oct 8).
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Small Press Title Getting Attention
A crime debut that’s “a good Michael Connelly read-alike” (Todd, BCPL) and getting strong prepub reviews, comes from an indie publisher that focuses on mystery
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Book Featuring a Librarian:
Talk about a great opening line, “Pimps make the best librarians.”
RH is offering a limited number of copies. Send us an email, with “Running the Books” in the subject line, the name of the library you work in, and full mailing address (ends at 5:30 EST Friday, Oct 8).
RH also noted that, at ALA, they ran out of galleys for Salman Rushdie’s Luka and the Fire of Life, coming in Nov. send us an email, with “Luka” in the subject line, the name of the library you work in, and full mailing address (ends at 5:30 EST Friday, Oct 8).
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Predictions For Success; Hillenbrand’s New Book
Several say they love Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, but described it as a “harrowing” (I totally agree) tale of being lost at sea and wonder if it will have the appeal of Seabiscuit. As one person commented, she has a long list of friends who are drooling over her copy. Can’t help but think that once all those people get their hands on it, they will be hooked. Hillenbrand can make you interested in anything (hey, was the subject of a long-ago race horse that immediately appealing?); she had me sitting on the edge of my seat with a description of a track meet.
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