EarlyWord

There will be some blasts from the past in the media about books next week, as Tony Robbins appears in a new guise and Brooke Shields is on the cover of People magazine. A more recent celebrity, Russell Brand also promotes his latest book, but this time, it’s not a memoir.

Money: Master The Game, Tony Robbina, (Simon & Schuster,  eBook, eAudio)

While we were busy with more mundane things, it seems Tony Robbins went from infomercialist  to “the CEO Whisperer” as he is called on the cover of Fortune Magazine. That infomercial background should help as he promotes his new book on his old medium.  He is set to appear on several upcoming shows, including:

• MSNBC Morning Joe, November 18
• NBC  Today Show, November 18
• Fox News Fox & Friends, November 19
• Bravo-TV Watch What Happens Live, November 23

There Was a Little Girl : The Real Story of My Mother and Me, Brooke Shields, (Penguin/Dutton; Penguin Audio)

Shields is making headlines because of revelations in her memoir about her “hard-drinking mother” (the New York Post),  how she lost her virginity (E! Online), Liam Neeson’s proposal (Irish Central, of course) and how she found out that Andre Agassi was a meth addict (People magazine cover story).

The Pied Piper of Hamelin : Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales, Russell Brand, Chris Riddell, (S&S/ Atria Books, S&S Audio)

Not a celebrity memoir, but a celebrity retelling a favorite fairy tale. Scheduled appearances include:

• NBC Today Show November 18
• NBC Tonight Show sNovember 18
• NBC Access Hollywood  November 18
• ABC Live with Kelly & Michael, November 19
• Bravo-TV Watch What Happens Live, November 20

You Can’t Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television, Al Michaels, L. Jon Wertheim, )Harper/Morrow; Harper)

We don’t have specifics on appearances, but after more than 30 years on television, the author has what is called media access.

The top ten titles that public library staff most enjoyed recommending in 2014 have been announced. As part of LibraryReads first-year celebration, over a thousand people voted on their favorite LibraryReads’s picks from the monthly lists beginning with the first, September, 2013.

The top favorte is The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin (the trade paperback cover is on the right, below. The first person to spot the sly reference in the shop window, by noting it in the comments section, wins a copy of the book).

“A wide range of library staff has signed on with LibraryReads, from all over the country, and from public libraries of all sizes,” says Stephanie Anderson, Head of Reader Services at Darien Library in CT, on behalf of the LibraryReads Steering Committee. “Library staff are tastemakers in their communities, and this list showcases the broad and brio-filled scope of their reading enthusiasm.”

The full list, in order of most votes received, is:

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin, (Workman/Algonquin, April; Highbridge Audio; Thorndike;  Trade pbk, 12/2/14).

The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion (Simon & Schuster, Oct., 2013; S&S Audio; Trade pbk, 6/3/14) — sequel, The Rosie Effect, coming 12/30.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (S&S/Scribner, May 2014; Audio exclusive from Midwest Tape),

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin, July; Listening Library)

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt (Hachette/Little, Brown, Oct, 2013; Hachette Audio; Blackstone Audio; Thorndike)

We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart, Penguin YR/Delacorte Press, May; Listening Library)

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, (RH/Knopf, Sept., 2014; RH Audio; Thorndike, Dec. 10)

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes, (Viking/Pamela Dorman, June; Recorded Books; Thorndike)

Landline, by Rainbow Rowell (Macmillan/St. Martin’s, July; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike)

Longbourn, by Jo Baker (RH/Knopf, Oct, 2013; RH Audio; RH Large Print; trade pbk, 6/17/14)

The fully annotated list will be posted at www.libraryreads.org on December 1st.

Remember to nominate your favorite upcoming titles for LibraryReads. You can nominate titles at any time, but the deadline for the January list (which includes December as well as January titles) is Nov. 20.

Several libraries show growing holds on modest quantities of The Wild Truth, by Carine McCandless, (HarperCollins; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe).

The author is the sister of Chris McCandless, a man who seemingly had everything, but ended as an emaciated corpse discovered in a bus in the Alaskan wilderness after giving away most of his money and breaking with his family.

The story was featured in Jon Krakauer’s 1996 best seller, Into the Wild, which was adapted into a 2007 movie adaptation, starring Emile Hirsch and directed by Sean Penn. In her book, Carine McCandles, who was 21 years old at the time, gives more insight into her brother’s seemingly erratic behavior. A new documentary about him, Return to the Wild, will air on PBS on Nov. 25.

Reviewed this week on the NPR web site, it was also featured on ABC’s 20/20 and on the People magazine web site.

In today’s New York Times, Dwight Garner opens his review of Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish (Tyrant Books, original trade pbk., Nov. 11) with this attention-getting phrase, “Unlike any American fiction I’ve read recently in its intricate comprehension of, and deep feeling for, life at the margins” and goes on to describe it in increasingly glowing terms, winding up with, “The final chapters of this indelible book pulled my heart up under my ears.”

The publisher is the indie press Tyrant Books, which was profiled in The Los Angeles Review of Books last year.

Preparation for the Next Life was one of 35 titles on Publishers Weekly‘s list of “The Big Indie Books of Fall 2014,” also receiving a stellar review in that publication, as a “stunning debut novel that plumbs the underbelly of New York City … Lish’s prose is at once raw and disciplined, and every word feels necessary. “

New cast members have been announced for the film adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s award-winning best seller, Room  (Hachette/Little,Brown, 2010).

Brie Larson was cast earlier this year in the role of a woman only known as Ma in the book. Kidnapped as a teenager, she lives in a tiny room with her 5-year-old son, Jack and the story  is told through his eyes. Jacob Tremblay (Surfs 2 — shown here at the premiere of that movie) has been hired for that key role.

Also joining are William H. Macy, presumably as Ma’s captor, Old Nick and Joan Allen in an unspecified role. It is being directed by Lenny Abrahamson from a script written by Donoghue. and is expected to be released in 2015.

The latest Best Books list is the Amazon Editors picks of 100 favorites of 2014, in ranked order, as well as their picks in Kids and Teens and Cookbooks.

CBS This Morning featured the top ten on Saturday.

The number one title is a debut that has not appeared on any other best books lists yet, but will be familiar to librarians who are members of First Flights: The Penguin Debut Authors program (if you’re not, you can join here), Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng,  is described as, ” ‘kind of a ‘sleeper’ in that it got less attention initially than other novels, but Ng’s debut is a sad and moving story that we all fell in love with from the first line. Deeply felt and searingly emotional, Everything I Never Told You is the kind of novel that people say doesn’t get published any more. We’re so happy it did.”

Below is the video the author created for First Flights members (read our chat with the author here).

Several “non-sleeper” titles are also on the list, including Stephen King’s just-published novel, Revival, (S&S/Scribner; S&S audio; Thorndike), which comes in at #6.

It seems Amazon’s ongoing battle over terms with Hachette has not affected the editors. Four titles from Hachette imprints are on the top 100 list, beginning with Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta at #29 (Hachette/ Little, Brown).

For those betting on the National Book Award winners, which will be announced next week, three of the fiction finalists are in the top ten, with Anthony Doerr’s  All the Light We Cannot See, (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio; Thorndike), at #2, Phil Klay’s Redeployment, (Penguin Press; Penguin Audio; Thorndike) at #5 and Emily St. John Mandel’s  Station Eleven (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; Thorndike), at #10.

On the other hand, the winner of this year’s Man Booker Award, The Narrow Road To The Deep North, by Richard Flanagan (RH/Knopf) just squeaks in at #93.

We have updated our downloadable Best Books spreadsheets with the Amazon selections:

Adult Fiction, V.3, Downloadable Spreadsheet

Adult Nonfiction, V.3, Downloadable Spreadsheet

Childrens and Young Adult, V. 4, Downloadable Spreadsheet

Dominating the media next week will be two quite different books about the current and former residents of the White House … librarians recommend three titles for fellow readers advisors … Stephen King returns to the horror genre while James Patterson explores India.

All the titles covered here, and several more notable titles arriving next week, with ordering information and alternate formats, are listed on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of 11/1014

Holds Leaders

Revival, Stephen King, (S&S/Scribner; S&S audio; Thorndike);  OverDrive Sample; Rolling Stone book and audio excerpts

This is King’s second novel of the year, following Mr. Mercedes, which was called his first hard-boiled detective novel.  The Guardian  hails the new one with the headline, “Stephen King returns to the horror genre.” Interviewed in The Rolling Stone last week, King took a major swipe at the NYT critic, Michiko Kakutani. Any bets on whether she’ll review this one?

Private India: City on Fire, James Patterson, Ashwin Sanghi, (Hachette/Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print); OverDrive Sample

In spinoffs from his Private series, Patterson’s character Jack Morgan has opened new offices in Europe (PrIvate London and Private Berlin) and Autstralia (Private Down Under). Now he adds another continent in a title written in collaboration with Ashwin Sanghi, known in his own country as “the Dan Brown of India.” In a Times of India interview Sanghi said Patterson’s publisher contacted him, because Patterson wanted to write a book set in India, but didn’t want to write it on his own, fearing “he would lose its flavour.” Like the others in the international Private series, Private India was published originally in the U.K, Random House, followed by a U.S. release by Hachette/Grand Central in trade paperback. In just a couple of weeks, Patterson’s next Alex Cross novel arrives, Hope to Die (Hachette/Little, Brown).

Readers Advisory

Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble, Marilyn Johnson, (Harper), OverDrive Sample

Johnson endeared herself to librarians with her 2010 title, This Books is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. She shines a light on another profession in this LibraryReads pick for November,

“Johnson takes a fascinating look at the field of archeology, profiling a number of archaeologists at work. She visits sites as diverse as an army base, Rhode Island, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Peru, but the best part of this book is learning about the archaeologists and their passions. A fun, interesting read that may cause an uptick in field school applications.” — Jenna Persick, Chester County Library, Exton, PA

The Wild Truth,Carine McCandless, (HarperCollins; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe), OverDrive Sample

GalleyChatters have been enthusiastic about this book for months. Giving further insight into the story that John Krakauer told in the bestselling Into the Wild, about Christopher McCandless’s mysterious disappearance into the Alaskan wilderness, it is written by his sister.

The Heart Has Its Reasons, Maria Duenas, (S&S/Atria; S&S Audio), OverDrive Sample

Also popular on GalleyChat, this was selected by independent booksellers as a top pick for December:

“Blanca Perea is a college professor in Madrid. Her life seems perfect — she is successful and happy, with a husband and two grown sons. When her husband announces that he is in love with another woman and is leaving her, Blanca’s perfect world is shattered. Desperate, she flees Madrid and takes a position at a university near San Francisco. It is her job to probe into the history of a long-deceased writer and former professor, Andres Fontana. As Blanca immerses herself in Fontana’s life, she becomes captivated by the things that drove him — his ambitions, his relationships, and his ill-fated lost love. As she untangles hidden agendas and lies, Blanca finds a strength that enables her to pursue a new life with new possibilities.” — Nancy Nelson, Sunriver Books, Sunriver, OR 

Media Attention

41: A Portrait of My Father, George W. Bush, (RH/Crown; RH Audio, read by George W. Bush; RH Large Print)

George W. Bush turns from painting to writing portraits. This one, undoubtedly in rosy tones, is titled simply 41: A Portrait of My Father (RH/Crown). Publicity includes a three-generational sit down on the Today Show as both author and subject are interviewed by correspondent Jenna Bush Hager.

The Stranger: Barack Obama in the White House, Chuck Todd, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio)

There’s no rosy glow in Chuck Todd’s sharply critical look at the current resident of the White House, as evidenced by Michiko Kakutani’s embargo-breaking review in yesterday’s New York Times

No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL, Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer, (Penguin/Dutton; Penguin Audio; Thorndike)

In his first book, the long-running 2012 best seller, No Easy Day, Mark Owen wrote about the killing of Osama bin Laden. He is still under investigation for allegations that the book disclosed classified information. Owen made sure that his second book, No Hero, was vetted by the Pentagon. He appeared on 60 Minutes last week. According to the story, a sections was cut, “but the reader can infer this is about [the rescue of] Captain Phillips – also the subject of a movie. And then there’s ‘SEAL team blank.’ Owen is not allowed to use the number ‘six.'” Holds in libraries are light, despite advance publicity.

Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film “The Imitation Game,” Andrew Hodges, (Princeton University Press)

The 1983 book, rereleased as a tie-in with a new preface by Douglas Hofstadter. The movie, which opens on 11/28, stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, has Oscar buzz.

The New York Times Book Review issue with the “Best Illustrated Books” list arrives in print this Sunday (see my takes on each specific title).

As those of us who have been watching this list for years know, it typically contains a surprising mix of books with popular appeal and those with arty sophistication. Although it is tempting to second guess and speculate on why one particular title made the list and another was left off, these conversations rarely reflect the actual considerations that went into the selections.

I had the honor to serve as a judge one year. At the time, children’s book editor Eden Ross Lipson encouraged us to write and share our process and deliberations. This is an outlier attitude. Most book selection juries, from the American Library Association’s Newbery to The National Book Awards, are asked to keep the discussions confidential, to allow for more free of expression of opinions. I recall that the only requirement imposed on the NYT Best Illustrated judges was to keep their appointments a secret until the announcement was made public. I was bursting but honored the request, even taking a vacation day from work for the deliberations so I didn’t have to disclose my participation to my library director.

Read the rest of this entry »

The NYT Book Review‘s selection of the ten best illustrated books of the year is offered as simple list, with no annotations. Librarians may want a bit more background on the titles. Below are my takes.

Draw!, written and illustrated by Raul Colon (S&S/Paula Wiseman)

A word-less masterpiece, a sweeping tribute to the power of imagination, this is a technical tour-de-force.

The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antione de Saint-Exupery, written and illustrated by Peter Sis (Macmillan/FSG/Frances Foster)

Anyone who has had an eye on this year’s output recognizes that The Pilot and The Little Prince is another Peter Sis classic. The exquisitely detailed illustrations beg readers to pore over them again and again, revealing new insights with each reading.

Harlem Hellfighters, written by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Gary Kelley (Chronicle/Creative Editions)

Pairs J. Patrick Lewis’s fact based poems and Gary Kelly’s dark, haunting illustrations combine in a very personal profile of this World War I brigade that fought in France.

Time for Bed, Fred, written and illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail (Walker Books/Bloomsbury)

With spirited watercolor, Ismail coveys emotion and motion with a loose line, indicating the form of the resting or restless or bouncy body of the shaggy dog. A winner for bedtime, story time, or any time.

Where’s Mommy?, written by Beverly Donofrio, illustrated by Barbara McClintock (RH/Schwartz & Wade)

This sweet but not saccharine story of a girl and a mouse parallel lives above the stairs and below is depicted with skill as readers enjoy all the tiny details of a “day in the life” The quiet humor of the text is matched in form and color. The very example of a child-centered picture book.

Here Is the Baby, written by Polly Kanevsky, illustrated by Taeeyun Yoo (RH/Schwartz & Wade)

It is easy to overlook the obvious and familiar. I am grateful that the Judges brought attention to Here is The Baby, a quiet perfect book reflecting day in the life of a toddler. Kanevsky’s rhythmic, repetitive text makes it good to read aloud. Taeeun Yoo, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award for new illustrator, skillfully expresses emotion and light, climate and comfort with specificity of line and color. This is a sleeper that shouldn’t be missed.

The Baby Tree, written and illustrated by Sophie Blackall (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen)

I was delighted. Simply delighted to see this on the list. Anytime I had been in a judging situation, humor was the toughest to sell to my colleagues. Blackall has nailed the subject (misunderstanding grown-up explanations of “where babies come from”) with empathy, kindness AND fun.

Shackleton’s Journey, written and illustrated by William Grill (Flying Eye Books)

Published by a small press in the U.K., this was not reviewed by the professional journals and therefore is not owned by many libraries.  Shackleton’s various arduous expeditions into the Antarctic have been covered in many books and a TV series starring Kenneth Branagh. An example of the arty but accessible (click on the title link to see some of the interior pages), the sketches evoke the feeling of a naturalist’s diary with an almost documentary feeling as we peek into the mundane (six months provisions) isolating hardship (crossing the ice fields) and relief (rescue and survival). Supplies at wholesalers are limited, but this award is sure to result in a reprint.

Haiti my country, written by Haitian schoolchildren, illustrated by Roge (Fifth House Publishers)

As we enter the culture and the land of Haiti through portraits of teenagers, we find ourselves entering their lives and struggles. This picture book can pair well with Youme’s award-winning Selavi: That IS Life, A Haitian Story of Hope, (Cinco Puntos Press, 2004), a book that is essential to all well-rounded collections. (Good news — the publisher tells me that a reprint of this one is coming and it should be at wholesalers in December).

The Promise, written by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Laura Carlin (Candlewick Press)

An urban “Johnny Appleseed” about a young girl whose life as a thief is transformed when she is tricked into planting acorns and witnesses how the resulting trees improve people’s lives. I have to admit that this one did not work for me. As Kirkus puts it, this is “yet another heavily earnest parable,” adding dryly that the idea is “Valid as metaphor though much less so as a feasible plan of action.” Booklist, however, gave it a star.

During his interview with John Cleese, author of the new memoir, So, Anyway … (RH/Crown), Jon Stewart achieved a career high by making him laugh.

There was’t much talk about the book, but Stewart did say, “So, Anyway … is on the bookshelves now.” Nevertheless, the book roses to #152 (from #411) on Amazon’s sales rankings.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is making the leap from big screen to small screen. All 13 titles in the book series have been acquired for adaptation by Netflix.

The first book was adapted as a movie  in 2004, starring Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and Jude Law. It was originally planned as the beginning of a  film franchise, but that never materialized.

There’s no news yet on who will star, or when it is likely to debut.

The press release quotes the author,

“I can’t believe it,” Mr. Snicket said in a statement from an undisclosed location. “After years of providing top-quality entertainment on demand, Netflix is risking its reputation and its success by associating itself with my dismaying and upsetting books.”

That sense of humor will serve Snicket, (aka Daniel Handler), well when he hosts the upcoming National Book Awards.

The trailer for the movie, below:

Of course, author and exec. producer John Green is VERY excited that filming has begun for the adaptation of Paper Towns.

He’s coy about the specific location, but it’s already been reported that the shoot is in Charlotte, N.C.

The movie is scheduled for theatrical release on June 19, 2015.

Good news for those who enjoyed HBO’s adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge. The director, Lisa Cholodenko, is gearing up for another TV adaptation, this one for NBC, of a complex, award-winning novel, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, (Penguin, 2010).

It was just announced that Uma Thurman will star, replacing Mary Louise Parker, who recently had to drop out to recover from pneumonia.

The controversial Australian novel, about the shock waves set off after a man, having had it with an obnoxious four-year-old boy at a barbecue, ends up slapping him. It was a hit in both Australia and the U.K., where it became a reading group staple.

When it was released here as an original trade paperback, it received a strong endorsement in the Washington Post.  Noting that the book switches back and forth among various characters and their reactions to the events, the reviewer says,

It’s a potentially confusing structure, but Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas is a master of seamless joints … He gets so close to his characters that the reader almost pleads with him to treat them more kindly.

While it gives American readers a sense of life in Australia, it also resonates here,

In The Slap we live for a few short weeks in suburban Australia, learning the language, becoming intimate with the characters and experiencing their customs. But finally the novel transcends both suburban Melbourne and the Australian continent, leaving us exhausted but gasping with admiration.

It was made into a popular Australian TV series in 2011 (as a result, some reports cite the new adaptation as a remake of that series, without noting the original source material).

Below is a trailer for the Australian version:

Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall series, recently told an audience that she will not appreciate it if the BBC indulges in the kind of “nonsense” that the Americans brought to history in The Tudors TV series on Showtime.

American audiences will be able to judge for themselves this spring. PBS just announced that they will air the series as part of  “Masterpiece,” beginning April 5. The six-part series stars Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis, known to many American primarily as Brody in the first three seasons of Showtime’s Homeland, as Henry VIII.

In an odd bit of timing, the TV series begins after the Broadway opening on March 20th of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theatrical adaptation, which has been a hit in London (view Act 1, Scene 1). The text of the play will be published in two versions:

Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies: (stage version)
Hilary Mantel, Mike Poulton
Theatre Communications Group; December 16, 2014
Ship Date: November 24, 2014
9780007549894, 000754989X
Trade Paperback, $22.95 USD

Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies: The Stage Adaptation
Hilary Mantel, Mike Poulton
Picador: February 24, 2015
9781250064172, 1250064171
Trade Paperback, $16.00 USD

As to when the third book in the trilogy, The Mirror and The Light will appear, Mantel said it is “unlikely to be ready until 2016.“

Twelve thousand teens have voted and selected their favorite 2013 books for the YALSA Teen’s Top Ten. The winners are announced in the video below, by Willow Shields (aka Primrose Everdeen of The Hunger Games). The number one title is Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin).

The author is clearly a librarian favorite, as well. Her YA title Fangirl topped the very first LibraryReads top ten list, as a crossover title for adult readers, and the author’s adult title, Landline, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin), was on the July list.

The winners are also announced in more prosaic list form.

Voting was based on the following 25 nominees: