Shelf Awareness for Monday, September 20, 2010


Del Rey Books: The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Dial Press: Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood

Pantheon Books: The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

Peachtree Publishers: Leo and the Pink Marker by Mariyka Foster

Wednesday Books: Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber

Overlook Press: How It Works Out by Myriam LaCroix

Charlesbridge Publishing: If Lin Can: How Jeremy Lin Inspired Asian Americans to Shoot for the Stars by Richard Ho, illustrated by Huynh Kim Liên and Phùng Nguyên Quang

Shadow Mountain: The Orchids of Ashthorne Hall (Proper Romance Victorian) by Rebecca Anderson

Quotation of the Day

The Quotable Oprah's Book Club: Reactions to 'The Pick'

"I am really betting that Freedom by Jonathan Franzen will end up being for you, as it is for me, one of the best novels you have ever read. This book is a masterpiece spanning three decades. It is an epic family saga. It has everything. It has sex and love, even rock and roll, and everything you should want in a book."
--Oprah Winfrey on her show last Friday, as reported by Reuters, which noted that "she sent Franzen a note asking for his permission to feature his latest novel 'because we have a little history.' "

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"Also, I’d like to note that, as cynical as we in the media can be about big industries like publishing and television, and as deserving of cynicism as the crasser (financial) motivations of those industries may be, there is a genuineness at the heart of this particular venture that salvages it. Oprah’s viewers genuinely appreciate her guidance, Franzen’s readers genuinely appreciate his writing, and ultimately what her selection of his book means is that many millions of individuals will be spending very pleasant fall evenings in a comfortable chair with a good book."
--Macy Halford in a post on the New Yorker's Book Bench blog

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"Jonathan Franzen is the Lady Gaga of the book world, suddenly everywhere all the time, and even if you're not sure who he is, it gets harder every day to escape his name and the phrase 'The Great American Novel.' "

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"It's not exactly on the level of peace in the Middle East--maybe a better comparison would be to the day that George Steinbrenner and Yogi Berra buried the hatchet--but in the book world it's a big deal."
--Marjorie Kehe in the Christian Science Monitor



HarperOne: Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World by Craig Foster


News

Notes: Health Care Gain for Booksellers; 'The Stakes' at B&N

Employee health care coverage is an ongoing challenge for small businesses, and bookstores are no exception. Betsy Burton, co-owner of the King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, told the New York Times she had worried that health insurance premiums might force her to close eventually, but a tax credit in the health care overhaul will give the business a $21,000 rebate this tax year.

"These people really need their insurance, and I'm right there with them," said Burton, who provides coverage for seven full-time staffers. "I have a son with special needs, and I don't know what would happen to him or us without this insurance."

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The New York Times spoke with Leonard Riggio and Ron Burkle about the stakes involved in their battle for control of Barnes & Noble.

"I find it almost repulsive I have to be put in a position to defend myself," said Riggio. "I don’t want to consume myself with not liking people."

While the fight over B&N "may seem disproportionate to what is at stake," the Times noted that Riggio believes "the battle touches on deep reservoirs of sentiment about an empire he fashioned starting with a small bookstore 39 years ago."

"Lots of people have an emotional stake in books," he said. "It’s not like what they have with their haberdashers."

Burkle, on the other hand, "professes a desire for peace with his longtime acquaintance. But he also described Mr. Riggio as intolerant of questions about his strategy and management," the Times wrote.

"With Len, you’re either a white hat or a black hat," he said, adding that his primary goal is the appointment of independent directors on the board rather than control of the company. "I want someone in there who doesn’t say, 'That’s the most amazing thing I ever heard' every time Len opens his mouth."

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The Wall Street Journal's new weekend section (Shelf Awareness, September 10, 2010) will debut this Saturday. The Associated Press reported that "the Saturday Journal, under a new masthead reading 'WSJ,' will replace Weekend Journal with two distinct sections. The Review section, comparable to the Times' Week in Review, will carry essay-style pieces on big ideas and events, with a pullout section inside devoted to book reviews.... The Off Duty lifestyle section will hew more toward high-end consumer reporting."

Robert Thomson, the Journal's editor, dismissed the idea that this was a direct challenge of the Times, telling the AP: "Nationally, there's no contest now. We're more than twice as big as The New York Times. They're not a serious competitor."

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For 57 years, the Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C., "has continued that time-honored tradition of offering 'good books, good staff and good service' to the people of the Sandhills. And in that time, it has become an important part of the fabric of the community," the Pilot reported in its retrospective on the indie bookstore.

Bobbie Bicket, who purchased the store in 2006, added new computer systems and equipment, a website featuring 24-hour online shopping, customer loyalty programs and social media options. "But the greatest asset of the shop is the employees," she said. "They provide customer service beyond compare."

Children's section manager Angie Tally shared one of the keys to the shop's future success: "If I can get just one book into a child's hands, it will be the first of many. And if I can bring authors to schools to share their books and inspire kids to read, I've done my job."

Still, she worries "about the future of independent bookstores. I worry that if people continue to support big box or Internet giant corporations rather than small shops, young readers will forever lose the opportunity to experience the joy of sitting on a wood floor in their favorite section of the bookstore, thumbing through the pages of an interesting new book. I worry that those obscure titles by unknown authors that booksellers discover will remain in obscurity and only authors whose name has already become a commodity will make appearances on the bestseller list."

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A celebration of the life of David Thompson, the bookseller and publisher who died suddenly on Monday, September 13, will take place Sunday, September 26, 2-5 p.m., at the Briar Club in Houston, Texas. There will be margaritas and Mexican hors d'oeuvres--Thompson's favorites--along with other drinks. No RSVPs are necessary.

For those who want to make donations in Thompson's memory, Alafair Burke has set up a fund that will go to a charity that will be determined later. Send a check to the order of "In Memory of David Thompson" to 7 E. 14th St. #1206, New York, N.Y. 10003. To make a direct payment, please contact alafair@alafairburke.com for account information. To make a donation through PayPal, please mark recipient as inmemoryofdavidthompson@hotmail.com.

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In a Wall Street Journal piece headlined "The Internet Might Save Main Street," Peter Funt imagined a sequel to You've Got Mail, the 1998 film in which chain bookstore baddy Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) helps drive Kathleen Kelly's (Meg Ryan) indie children's bookstore out of business.

In the new version, Joe and Kathleen are married, the Fox & Sons bookstore chain files Chapter 11, and "in the end the Foxes sell Joe's yacht and use the money to reopen The Shop Around the Corner, which now has a coffee bar and free wi-fi. Profits are modest, but the couple lives happily ever after because sales, while too small to sustain the big-box store, are just right for the needs of a hard-working, book-loving, Internet-addicted couple."

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Although "excellent authors avoid writing clichés," the same discipline does not always apply to their promo photographs. "In an attempt to look uniquely profound yet accessible, or convey some novel combination of deep thoughts with good times, a lot of writers end up looking exactly the same as their peers," according to Flavorwire, which offered "a critical look at five categories of promotional-author photography as a warning for all future writers who want to break out of the formula."

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Two handwritten manuscript pages featuring J.K. Rowling's "The Ballad of Nearly Headless Nick" will be on display for 10 days at Reading Lasses Bookshop during the Wigtown Book Festival in Scotland, beginning September 24.  

BBC News reported that "the story was originally written as part of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets but edited out before publication.... Now in the hands of prominent book collector and owner of Asia Literary Review, Ilyas Khan, the manuscripts have not previously been displayed in public."

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Unexpected perils on the e-highway. In Portland, Ore., a TriMet bus driver's lawyer claimed his client was not reading a Kindle while driving despite video evidence, but "the passenger who filmed the video told KGW [Lahcan] Qouchbane was definitely reading and added, 'from our perspective, it was kind of the worst time to be doing something like that.' "

TriMet's Mary Fetsch told KGW "they had received several complaints about Qouchbane before the Thursday morning incident... [and] said eight operators this year have been suspended for violating TriMet's electronic device policy."

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Irresistible objects: book division. Incredible Things featured "20 brilliant bookcases," noting: "While it becomes easier to store digital media, it seems to become more interesting to store the real deal. Your book collection in particular says a lot about your personality, so why shouldn't your bookshelf do the same?"

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The future--of a sort--has arrived for University of Texas at San Antonio's Applied Engineering and Technology Library, which offers an on-site collection that includes no bound books. Inside Higher Ed reported that the university "says it now has the first actual bookless library. Students who stretch out in the library's ample study spaces--which dominate the floor plan of the new building--and log on to its resource network using their laptops or the library's 10 public computers will be able to access 425,000 e-books and 18,000 electronic journal articles. Librarians will have offices there and will be available for consultations."

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The Toronto Globe & Mail featured "10 books you have to read this fall."

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Book trailer of the day: the Shadow Keepers series by J.K. Beck (Bantam).

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To celebrate Fiction Week, starting today, the American Scholar is posting a new short story each day at theamericanscholar.org.

 


Park Street Press: An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey by Peter A Levine


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Jon Stewart on Oprah

Today on Oprah: a segment on the documentary Waiting for 'Superman', including an excerpt from the book Waiting for ‘Superman': How We Can Save America's Failing Public Schools edited by Karl Weber (PublicAffairs, $15.95, 9781586489274/1586489275)

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Today on NPR's All Things Considered: Steven Rattner, author of Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry (Houghton Mifflin, $27, 9780547443218/0547443218). He will also appear today on CNBC's Power Lunch.

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Today on NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Scott Peterson, author of Let the Swords Encircle Me: Iran--A Journey Behind the Headlines (Simon & Schuster, $32, 9781416597285/141659728X).

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Today on the Rachael Ray Show: Amy Yasbeck, author of With Love and Laughter, John Ritter (Gallery, $26, 9781416598411/1416598413).

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Today on Tavis Smiley: Arianna Huffington, author of Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream (Crown, $23.99, 9780307719829/0307719820).

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Tonight on the Daily Show: Jimmy Carter, author of White House Diary (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30, 9780374280994/0374280991). Carter will also appear today on the View and tonight on Larry King Live.

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Tomorrow morning on Imus in the Morning: Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, authors of Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders (Threshold Editions, $15, 9781451607345/1451607342).

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Michele Norris, author of The Grace of Silence: A Memoir (Pantheon, $24.95, 9780307378767/0307378764).

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Tomorrow on NPR's Fresh Air: Robert B. Reich, author of Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future (Knopf, $25, 9780307592811/0307592812).

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Tomorrow on Oprah: Jon Stewart, author of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Grand Central, $27.99, 9780446579223/044657922X).

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Tomorrow night on ABC's 20/20: Mike Capuzzo, author of The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases (Gotham, $26, 9781592401420/1592401422).

 


G.P. Putnam's Sons: Take Me Home by Melanie Sweeney


Television: Trailer for HBO's Mildred Pierce

 

HBO has released a trailer for the miniseries Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet. The project, adapted from a novel by James M. Cain, was also a classic Hollywood movie from 1945 featuring Joan Crawford. The Atlantic reported that after Winslet won an Oscar for her performance in The Reader, "she was in a rare position for an actor of her caliber: she had no upcoming projects on the docket. So she certainly raised more than one eyebrow last August when she announced that her first post-victory role wouldn't be a baity feature film or a sprawling movie epic, but a miniseries on TV."

 

 


Movies: Everything Must Go

At last week's Toronto International Film Festival, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions joined forces to acquire Everything Must Go, adapted from the short story by Raymond Carver. Dan Rush wrote the screenplay and directed the movie, which stars Will Ferrell. Deadline.com reported that "the deal was north of a $3 million minimum guarantee. I've heard that dealmakers at ICM and CAA had about five offers, but finally closed with Lionsgate and Roadside."

 



Books & Authors

Awards: PEN USA Literary; Edna Staebler Shortlist

Winners of the 2010 PEN USA Literary Awards, which honor outstanding work by writers in several genres--including a new award for graphic literature--are:

Fiction: Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato (FSG)
Poetry: Multiversal by Amy Catanzano (Fordham University Press)
Creative nonfiction: This Lovely Life by Vicki Forman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Research nonfiction: Leaving India: My Family's Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents by Minal Hajratwala (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Children's/young adult literature: The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman (Candlewick Press)
Journalism: "Julius Shulman in 36 Exposures" by Mary Melton (Los Angeles Magazine)
Translation: Fady Joudah for If I Were Another by Mahmoud Darwish (FSG)
Graphic literature: Matt Fraction for his outstanding body of work
Exceptional first book: The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession along the Rio Grande by Angela Garcia (University of California Press)
Drama: Tree by Julie Hebert
Screenplay: Up in the Air by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Teleplay: House: "The Tyrant" by Peter Blake
 
The awards  will be presented November 17 at the 20th Annual Literary Awards Festival (LitFest) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

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Finalists for the 2010 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction, which recognizes Canadian writers of first or second works of creative nonfiction with Canadian significance, are:

Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada by Allan Casey
A Very Capable Life: The Autobiography of Zarah Petri by John Leigh Walters
Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper Explores the Behaviour and Emotional Life of Bears by Else Poulsen

The winner will be announced October 11, Quillblog reported.

 


Shelf Starter: Tengo Sed

Tengo Sed: A Novel by James Fleming (University of New Mexico Press, $16.95 trade paper, 9780826349538/0826349536, September 16, 2010)

 

Opening lines from a book we want to read:

 

Prelude to Morning

I never thought I would know how long a day was. Now I do. Down to the minute. My Jolly Rancher melting away in my mouth at 5:31, followed by a slurp of coffee. Good morning, New Mexico!

I have been up all night with the sick and the lame. They have tubes in their mouths. I don't. I look at them. They're too tired to roll over and look away.

Day creeps into day. The movement is invisible. Sleep ordinarily breaks the monotony of our lives, gives a false sense of renewal, but really we are there all along. My duties will end with rounds, a presentation of all the patients in the ICU, a good morning and farewell all at once.

While most of the world thinks of rounds as something circular or a cut of steak, here in the medical world it is actually linear. We take the flesh and line it up (that is when the intern updates the list of patients), prepare it (that is when the intern pre-rounds), talk about it (that is when the intern presents the patient), make a plan (this is when the intern learns humility), and then execute it (this is when the patient's head, with any luck, stays attached and we learn something). This is called rounds.... And you keep going. Your mouth moving too fast over words you're too tired to say. And the wind blows, and it does not matter what kind of hellfire your boss breathes forth or how starched his pantaloons are, nor what brand of coffee he guzzles before he spits on you. You will push through and find yourself on the other side of the day. You are an Israelite in the middle of a psalm. And morning in its mercy always comes.

--Selected by Marilyn Dahl

 

 


Book Review

Book Review: Al Jaffee's Mad Life

Al Jaffee's Mad Life: A Biography by Mary-Lou Weisman (It Books, $27.99 Hardcover, 9780061864483, October 2010)

Born in Savannah, Ga., and raised there by parents who had emigrated from Lithuania, Al Jaffee (later to be celebrated as one of the funniest creators with MAD magazine) remembers a home echoing with endless un-funny arguments. Traveling with his mother and younger brothers on a trip back to Lithuania in 1927 was no great shakes, either: she left her four boys unattended in a Hamburg, Germany, railway station as if they could handle themselves in a foreign country in her absence. That was not funny at all to six-year-old Al. "I realized [then] that I must not rely on this woman for my survival," Jaffee confides to Mary-Lou Weisman in this authorized biography that traces his rise from this chaotic, disconcerting childhood.

Al and his brothers would be fought over and dragged back and forth from Zarasai, Lithuania, to the United States. During his time in Zarasai, though, Jaffee escaped into the comics that his father faithfully sent from the United States; obsessively copying them, he perfected his eye and drawing line. (The many illustrations Jaffee has drawn for the biography vividly evoke daily life in Zarasai, a village still operating within 19th century traditions.) His trademark adolescent humor burgeoned there.

When he finally landed for good in New York City in 1933, Al was taunted by schoolmates as a "greenhorn." What good would it do him to argue that he was no "greenhorn" and had been born in Savannah, Georgia, when by that time he spoke English with a Yiddish accent? The whole situation would have been hilariously ridiculous, except that it was extremely painful for Al. Years later, Al's colleagues from MAD magazine would praise him as a "natural born satirist and humorist," whereas Al himself would argue, "Oppressed people resort to humor. They can't afford to get angry."

Funny and popular with his classmates at Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Art in New York, Jaffee hid his pain and insecurity exceedingly well. He continued to mask inner turmoil through most of his adult life with a workaholic dedication to his own unique brand of zaniness; for 55 years MAD magazine provided the perfect environment for him and his off-the-wall sense of humor. As Weisman notes, a compliment to Al Jaffee about his life's work should always include the words "sophomoric" and "tasteless." Accepting such compliments with grace, the tough survivor who has brought us so much antic entertainment over the years admits in Weisman's loving biography, "My whole life has been about dealing with things over which I have no control." --John McFarland

Shelf Talker: A loving and affecting biography of a deeply scarred man who made all readers of MAD magazine roar with laughter.

Watch a video of Al Jaffee's process for creating his famous fold-ins here.


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