Shelf Awareness for Monday, October 23, 2017


Atheneum Books for Young Readers: Dalmartian: A Mars Rover's Story by Lucy Ruth Cummins

Albatros Media: Caring for the planet on Earth Day and every day!

Bloom Books: The Dixon Rule (Campus Diaries #2) by Elle Kennedy

Holiday House: I Would Love You Still by Adrea Theodore, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max

Dial Press: Within Arm's Reach by Ann Napolitano

Soho Crime: Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime (Miss Sharp Investigates) by Leonie Swann, translated by Amy Bojang

Shadow Mountain: Millie (Best Friends Dog Tales) by McCall Hoyle, illustrated by Kevin Keele

News

B&N Bidding Aloha to Maui

Barnes & Noble will close its only Maui location, at the Lahaina Gateway Shopping Center, by the end of the year. MauiTime reported that December marks the end of B&N's 10-year lease, and even though "the bookseller apparently wanted to stay, the lender that controls the center (it was repossessed some time ago) would not negotiate a new lease."

"It hasn't even settled in," said store manager Cindy Mauricio. "Sales are excellent. This has nothing to do with the community. We are part of this community, and we've been supported by this community." She learned only recently about the impending closure, and is still informing employees. "It's heart-wrenching that we won't have our bookstore anymore."

MauiTime noted that moving the store to another part of the island "is a possibility, but it would apparently take a year or two to do so. While the outlook certainly looks bleak for the store, there's always the possibility that a significant outpouring of support from the community will light a fire under Barnes & Noble corporate management to fight for it."


Ballantine Books: By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult


At Tarcher, Fotinos Leaving, Newman New Head

Joel Fotinos

Joel Fotinos, v-p and publisher of TarcherPerigee, is leaving the company after more than 21 years at Penguin. With his departure, Megan Newman, v-p and publisher of Avery, will become publisher of TarcherPerigee as well, and the two imprints will continue as independent editorial entities. Tarcher and Perigee were combined two years ago, when longtime Perigee publisher John Duff retired.

In a memo to staff, Madeline McIntosh, president of Penguin Publishing Group, said that Fotinos "has been a great and valued member of the Penguin family" and "is leaving behind a wonderful legacy of great books and financial stability for his imprint.... he has always been focused on publishing books that strive to make the world a better place."

Fotinos is an author and co-author of books including The Prayer Chest, Multiply Your Blessings, A Little Daily Wisdom, My Life Contract, The Think & Grow Rich Workbook and The Think & Grow Rich Starter Kit. He also narrates audiobooks, is a consultant, is a minister with the Centers for Spiritual Living and gives talks and workshops on spirituality and inspiration. Before joining Tarcher in 1996, Fotinos was marketing manager at Harper San Francisco and worked at several bookstores, most notably as the religion and philosophy buyer at the Tattered Cover in Denver, Colo.

McIntosh also praised Newman and said that in her expanded role, her goal "will be to identify opportunities for continued growth in the categories in which these imprints excel: health, wellness, food, parenting, mindfulness, spirituality, and creativity."


G.P. Putnam's Sons: Hot Summer by Elle Everhart


Book Passage Partners with Alta Magazine

Book Passage, the Bay Area indie with stores in Corte Madera, San Francisco and Sausalito, Calif., is partnering with The Journal of Alta California, a new print and online magazine founded by William R. Hearst III earlier this month, for in-store author events and promotional campaigns under the name "Book Passage and Alta Present."

Elaine Petrocelli, co-owner of Book Passage, said that the partnership with Alta will complement her store's goal of "bringing writers and readers together to help grow the already vibrant literary community in the Bay Area." Book Passage hosts more than 800 author events annually at its three locations, along with a selection of writing classes and writing conferences.

"Alta's partnership with Book Passage matches up well with our plans to provide literate, interesting coverage for people who love California," said Hearst, Alta's founder and the grandson of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. The magazine's inaugural issue, which featured a cover interview with architect Frank Gehry, went on sale October 3. Alta's print edition will come out quarterly.


Viking: Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See by Bianca Bosker


Eisenbrauns Now a Penn State University Press Imprint

Eisenbrauns, the books and journals publishing program founded in 1975 by Jim Eisenbraun that focuses on ancient Near Eastern history, linguistics, archaeology and biblical studies, has become an imprint of the Pennsylvania State University Press. Jim Eisenbraun will work as a consultant with PSU Press to guide and expand the imprint.

PSU Press director Patrick H. Alexander said Eisenbrauns' titles will complement the press's lists in the arts, humanities and social sciences. "We will be able to further expand our mission in these vital areas of research and will ensure that the invaluable Eisenbrauns publications will continue to serve a global audience."


Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore Receives $10,000 Grant

Marcia Lawrence, owner of Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore, Emporia, Kan., has received a $10,000 Jumpstart grant through a partnership between Emporia State University and the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Emporia Gazette reported. The grant will allow Lawrence to move ahead on the purchase of an Espresso Book Machine. The check was presented at the bookstore last Wednesday by ESU School of Business dean Ed Bashaw.

Bashaw said he met Lawrence shortly after he took his position at ESU last year: "When I first got here, I wanted to meet a lot of small business people and just hear what their stories are and talk about--what are the things School of Business could do."

Lawrence expressed her gratitude to the crowd of community leaders, readers and authors for their continued support of the bookstore. "A lot of you have been a part of the bookstore development from the very, very beginning," she said. "Ellen Plumb's is a community gathering place, and having the funds to be able to purchase a machine that enhances literacy and enhances creativity and celebrates writing and reading is about the best use I can think of for $10,000." She hopes to have a used Espresso Book Machine up and running in the store as early as next spring.


Obituary Note: Joan W. Blos

Children's book author Joan W. Blos died on October 12. She was 89. She wrote historical novels and picture books. Her best known title was A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 (Scribner), which in 1980 won the Newbery Medal and National Book Award. An advocate for children's literacy, she also taught at the University of Michigan and Bank Street College of Education.


Notes

Image of the Day: NCIBA: 'We're All Here'

The NCIBA Fall Discovery Show was bustling at the South San Francisco Conference Center last week. NCIBA executive director Calvin Crosby said that early registration for the show was ahead of projections and though the northern California fires caused some worry about attendance, "It doesn't appear to have affected us in the ways we thought it would. The panels were amazing: on paper they looked good, in reality they were beyond belief." Crosby also appreciated the representation of attendees and authors at the show: "Among all the talk of diversity, it’s nice to take a look around and know this is who we are: we are people of color, we are old and young, we are gay, we are straight, we are gender fluid, and we're all here."

At the NCIBA booth on the trade show floor, several of the contributing authors signed their collection All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World: Essays on Equality, Justice, and Freedom (Nothing But the Truth Publishing; January 30, 2018), edited by Deborah Santana. Seated at the table, r.-l.: Kira Lynn Allen, Samina Ali, Deborah Santana, Phiroozeh Petigara, Marti Paschal, Charina Lumley, Nayomi Munaweera.


Happy 25th Birthday, Dog Eared Books!

Congratulations to Dog Eared Books, San Francisco, Calif., which celebrated its 25th anniversary as "a cultural oasis," Mission Local reported, adding that the bookstore "has been at 20th and Valencia streets for 20 of those years." In addition, founder Kate Rosenberger operates Alley Cat Books on 24th Street and a second Dog Eared Books location in the Castro. She spoke with Mission Local about her bookselling life. Some highlights:

So, 25 years. How did you do it?
How did I do it? It's a combination of things: Certainly location, but also the fact that we've been willing to adapt with changes on the street and the changes in culture and the changes in the world, and readers' relationships to books and the written word. We have very dedicated managers and people at the store that believe in the books and believe in what an incredible world it is to live in.

How does a bookstore adapt?
Books have been around for a really long time and I think we're hard wired to be connected to them. I don't think the tipping point where we can completely disconnect--I don't think we've reached the tipping point yet.... I used to call us a cultural oasis 25, 30 years ago when I first started doing that. And I think we are still to a degree--it's definitely a different oasis.

So what's next? What is your dream for the future?
...There are more questions than answers, as far as the future.... I just really wish my best to this community and give out a big thanks to San Francisco for supporting me over these last 32 years of running five different bookstores in eight different locations. I have a lot of gratitude for that, and I think of San Francisco as the little city that could. And I appreciate that the people of San Francisco are still learning and growing and adapting and hopefully doing their best.


University Receives $10 Million Bequest from Bookseller

Paul Voertman

The University of North Texas "will receive the largest bequest in its history from the estate of Paul R. Voertman, the former owner of Denton's iconic Voertman's Bookstore," the Record-Chronicle reported. Voertman died June 21 at the age of 88.

The bequest, "projected to be at least $10 million, is designated to the colleges of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Music, and Visual Arts and Design," the Record-Chronicle wrote, adding that the funds will primarily support scholarships and fellowships, as well as research and creative activities such as the Opera Production Fund.

"This gift will have a tremendous impact on UNT, our students and their opportunities for research and creative exploration today and for future generations to come," UNT president Neal Smatresk said. "Denton was Paul's home, and he was a community-minded business owner who gave back to UNT and this community in so many meaningful ways."


S&S Expands Sales and Distribution of Printers Row Publishing Group

Simon & Schuster has expanded its sales and distribution agreement with Printers Row Publishing Group, a division of Readerlink Distribution Services, and will now add sales and distribution to the book trade in the U.S. and Canada for Printers Row imprints Silver Dolphin Books, Thunder Bay Press, Canterbury Classics and Portable Press. It will continue the existing agreement for Studio Fun. The changes will be effective on January 1 in Canada and on May 1 in the U.S.

Printers Row Publishing Group, San Diego, Calif., focuses on the trade, children's and special markets and publishes many educational and humorous books.

Simon Tasker, senior v-p and group publisher, Printers Row Publishing Group, commented: "With our recent publishing acquisitions, we needed to consolidate our distribution. Simon and Schuster has been a good partner in sales and distribution of our Studio Fun imprint, and we look forward to continued success as we expand with our other Printers Row Publishing Group imprints."


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Khirzr Khan on the Daily Show, CBS This Morning

Today:
CBS This Morning: Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way Down (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy, $17.99, 9781481438254).

Fresh Air: Matt Taibbi, author of I Can't Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street (Spiegel & Grau, $28, 9780812988840). He will also appear on Comedy Central's the Opposition with Jordan Klepper.

APM's Marketplace: Jeff Fager, author of Fifty Years of 60 Minutes: The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast (Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781501135804).

CNN's At This Hour: Jonathan Alpeyrie and Stash Luczkiw, authors of The Shattered Lens: A War Photographer's True Story of Captivity and Survival in Syria (Atria, $27, 9781501146503).

Daily Show: Khizr Khan, author of An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice (Random House, $27, 9780399592492). He is also on CBS This Morning today.

Late Late Show with James Corden: Gabrielle Union, author of We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True (Dey Street, $26.99, 9780062693983). She will also appear tomorrow on Steve Harvey.

Tomorrow:
CBS This Morning: John Grisham, author of The Rooster Bar (Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385541176).

Today Show: Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, authors of Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life (Grand Central, $28, 9781538711415). They're also on the Tonight Show tonight.

NPR's Morning Edition: Scott Eyman, author of Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart (Simon & Schuster, $29, 9781501102172).

Wendy Williams: Michael Rapaport, author of This Book Has Balls: Sports Rants from the MVP of Talking Trash (Touchstone, $26.99, 9781501160318).

Also on Wendy Williams: Lisa Lillien, author of Hungry Girl Clean & Hungry OBSESSED! (St. Martin's Griffin, $21.99, 9781250087256).

Tucker Carlson: Ainsley Earhardt, author of Through Your Eyes: My Child's Gift to Me (Aladdin, $18.99, 9781534409590).


Movies: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor's directorial debut, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, has started production in Malawi, Deadline reported, adding that Ejiofor "will star in the project he also adapted from the book written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer."

Potboiler Productions' Andrea Calderwood (The Last King of Scotland) and Gail Egan (A Most Wanted Man) are producing the film. Participant's Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King will executive produce with BBC Films' Joe Oppenheimer, the BFI's Natascha Wharton and authors Kamkwamba and Mealer.

In addition to Ejiofor, the cast features Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Noma Dumezweni, (Hermione in U.K. stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Aissa Maiga (Anything for Alice), Joseph Marcell (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and Lemogang Tsipa (Eye in the Sky).



Books & Authors

Awards: Warwick Women in Translation

A shortlist has been announced for the inaugural Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, which "aims to address the gender imbalance in translated literature and to increase the number of international women's voices accessible by a British and Irish readership." The winner will be named November 15. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Second-hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich, translated from Russian by Bela Shayevich
Swallow Summer by Larissa Boehning, translated from German by Lyn Marven
Clementine Loves Red by Krystyna Boglar, translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Zosia Krasodomska-Jones
The Coast Road by Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, translated from Irish by Michael Coady, Peter Fallon, Tom French, Alan Gillis, Vona Groarke, John McAuliffe, Medbh McGuckian, Paul Muldoon, Michelle O'Sullivan, Justin Quinn, Billy Ramsell, Peter Sirr and David Wheatley
Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg, translated from Polish by Eliza Marciniak
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada, translated from German by Susan Bernofsky 

The judges said they "hope that the prize will encourage publishers to be more serious about translating women writers. Without deliberately aiming to do so, our shortlist shows that there is much more to translation than is usually documented. Shifting borders in the east of Europe and the contraction of countries through history and geography was a real theme in the submissions for the prize, as was the experience of migration, and this is reflected in four of the six shortlisted titles."


Top Library Recommended Titles for November

LibraryReads, the nationwide library staff-picks list, offers the top 10 November titles public library staff across the country love:

Favorite
Artemis: A Novel by Andy Weir (Crown, $27, 9780553448122). "Weir's second book does not disappoint! The setting is Artemis, a city on the moon where a young woman named Jazz is a smuggler and a courier trying to eke out a living. Adventure unfolds as Jazz is asked to do a different sort of job by her millionaire employer. He asks her to sabotage the mining operation that provides the city's entire oxygen requirements. She works out a plan, but several calamities befall and all is not what it seems. Jazz must risk her life to save the city that is her home. A fast paced adventure from start to nail-biting finish!" --Cynde Suite, Bartow County Library, Cartersville, Ga.

The City of Brass: A Novel by S.A. Chakraborty (Harper Voyager, $25.99, 9780062678102). "A wonderful fantasy debut set in an 18th century Cairo and featuring a young woman, Nahri, who has no relatives and who lives by her wits as a con artist. Her odd supernatural healing talents and ability to understand and speak languages come in handy as she struggles to survive day by day while trying to save up money for medical training. Unfortunately, during one job, she accidentally calls up inimical ifrits and a wily, handsome djinn that turn her life upside down. Action packed, with interesting folklore and an evocative setting." --Ann-Marie Anderson, Tigard Public Library, Tigard, Ore.

The Story of Arthur Truluv: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg (Random House, $26, 9781400069903). "Arthur meets Maddy when he's visiting his dead wife in the cemetery; he eats lunch there every day. Maddy is a high school senior who's got a hopeless crush on a jerk. Warm-hearted Arthur reaches out to Maddy in a totally open way, as Maddy's parents seem uninvolved at best. The Story of Arthur Truluv is one of those rare coming-of-age novels that is just as much about the end of life as it is about growing up." --Michelle Beckes, Tulsa City County Library, Tulsa, Okla.

The Library at the Edge of the World: A Novel by Felicity Hayes-McCoy (Harper Perennial, $15.99, 9780062663726). "Much like a cup of tea and a cozy afghan, The Library at the Edge of the World is the perfect book to hunker down with. Prepare to be transported to coastal Ireland with Hannah Casey as she moves back to her hometown after a wrenching divorce and becomes the local librarian. Hannah's daily challenges include dealing with an abrasive mother, an infuriating building contractor, and noise in the library. A series of events leads Hannah to help rally the community to come together, changing the town, the library, and Hannah. Hayes-McCoy does a fine job capturing the characters and the setting. I look forward to reading more in this series." --Elizabeth Angelastro, Manilus Library, Manilus, N.Y.

Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh (Berkley, $7.99, 9780399586064). "Someone to Wed is the third in Balogh's Regency era Wescott series. Wren has lived her life hiding from society due to a prominent birthmark. Alexander inherits a title and a pile of debts. Wren and Alexander decide to embark on a marriage of convenience as a way to resolve their issues. This is a charming story of two people falling in love and finding their happily ever after, while resolving emotional issues along the way. A well written story with glimpses of characters from previous books in the series." --Shayera Tangri, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, Calif.

The Midnight Line: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child (Delacorte Press, $28.99, 9780399593482). "Jack Reacher is an honorably discharged U.S. Army major who has a strong sense of justice. After the end of a romance, Reacher's response is to get on a bus and ride it to wherever it is going. At a rest stop along the way, he spots a small West Point class ring in the window of a pawnshop. His gut tells him the soldier who worked hard to achieve it wouldn't give it up easily. In search of answers, he discovers a drug ring, a disfigured woman, and a couple of murders in a desolate area of Wyoming. Like the other installments in the Reacher series, this is another page turner!" --Valerie Osborne, Bangor Public Library, Bangor, Me.

Future Home of the Living God: A Novel by Louise Erdrich (Harper, $28.99, 9780062694058). "Future Home of the Living God explores the possibility of evolution reversing and is told from the perspective of a pregnant woman who is writing a journal to her unborn child. Along the way we meet her adoptive parents, her birth mother, and she reports on society unraveling and detaining pregnant women. Erdrich provides compelling characters and a strong storyline about a near future in this piece of innovative dystopian fiction." --Ian Stade, Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis, Minn.

Heather, the Totality by Matthew Weiner (Little, Brown, $25, 9780316435314). "Mark and Karen start a seemingly charmed life that becomes even more so with the birth of their gifted daughter Heather. Things take an alarming turn when renovations begin in their building. They have always known how special their daughter is, but will Heather see that there is danger lurking outside the world they have created for her when others become captivated by her gifts? Weiner has an insight into human nature that most of us would rather not admit exists and he takes you down a dark road that you don't want to travel, but somehow can't turn back." --Selena Swink, Lake Public Library, Lake, Miss.

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser (Metropolitan Books, $35, 9781627792769). "This book, written by the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House books, is a thoroughly researched biography of not only Laura Ingalls Wilder, but of her daughter, Rose. Using unpublished manuscripts, letters, financial records, and more, Fraser gives fresh insight into the life of a woman beloved to many. Intensively researched, this is definitely a fascinating read, and one that I plan on reading again--maybe the next time I re-read the Little House series." --Jennifer Ohzourk, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Mo.

The Shadow District: A Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason (Minotaur, $25.99, 9781250124029). "Indridason introduces a new crime series featuring a retired detective. The Shadow District skillfully weaves two mysteries together. In present time, an elderly man's death, first thought to be due to natural causes, is later revealed as a murder. While unofficially investigating, Konrad discovers a link to a cold case involving the strangulation of a young woman and a surprising connection to Konrad's own childhood. With nicely tense pacing and a vivid portrayal of life in modern and wartime Iceland, fans of atmospheric investigations will undoubtedly welcome Indridason's latest offering." --Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, Huntington Station, N.Y.


Book Review

Review: Dark Asylum

Dark Asylum by E.S. Thomson (Pegasus, $25.95 hardcover, 384p., 9781681775395, November 7, 2017)

E.S. Thomson (Beloved Poison) unveils another gruesome chapter in the life of Jem Flockhart as she looks into a murder within the confines of a lunatic asylum. A female apothecary in Victorian London, she has lived her entire life disguised as a man. Jem has no love for Angel Meadow Asylum, a dark, hulking facility whose halls echo with the screams of its disturbed inmates. However, when abusive, phrenology-obsessed superintendent Dr. Rutherford is found dead with his ears removed and stuffed into his sewn-shut mouth, his own calipers sticking out of his head, Jem and her best friend and roommate, Will Quartermain, investigate.

Suspicion falls on beautiful, vivacious Susan Chance, a young woman who at the age of 10 killed the man her mother sold her to, and became the ward of another Angel Meadow doctor. Jem and Will remain unconvinced that Susan would kill again--Will troubled to think a woman would commit such a crime and Jem taking a compassionate view of the girl's original crime. As they unravel the truth, Jem and Will move through the filth and stench of London's Dickensian era, when women and children without protectors were destined for prostitution, or worse. The duo find that the staff of Angel Meadow have secrets as dark and dirty as the city itself, and Rutherford is not the only target. Amidst all this, a thread of scenes follows the tragic life a woman who grew up in London's slums and slowly illuminates her connection to the crimes.

Dark Asylum does for Victorian psychology (if such a word even applies to practices of the era) what Beloved Poison did for Victorian medicine, exposing the ignorant cruelty and indignities inflicted upon the mentally ill in a time when the idea of taking patients outside for leisure was revolutionary. To Thomson's credit, she does not cast the asylum's inmates as villains or cretins, but rather focuses on the inhumane conditions and barbarous treatments they suffer, including forced lobotomies and restraint, and punishment with devices now considered instruments of torture. Chills come from the oppressive, violent atmosphere, gruesome urban legends told by impoverished Londoners and visits to graveyards and other settings dank and grim. Jem is quick-witted and sympathetic to the plight of people deemed insane, as she is an outsider in danger of winding up in an asylum herself if the wrong person discovers her deception. Meanwhile, Will pines for the countryside as he faces the chaos of city life. Smart, spine-tingling and sprawling, this second outing shows Thomson has the staying power for a long and delightfully grotesque series. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Shelf Talker: In the return of Jem Flockhart, a British apothecary and Victorian woman living as a man, murder at an insane asylum pulls the sleuth into the seedy heart of London.


The Bestsellers

Top Book Club Picks in September

The following were the most popular book club books during September based on votes from book club readers in more than 48,000 book clubs registered at Bookmovement.com:

1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
2. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
3. Small Great Things: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
4. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
5. A Man Called Ove: A Novel by Fredrik Backman
6. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
7. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
8. Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly
9. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
10. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Rising Stars:
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

[Many thanks to Bookmovement.com!]


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