Shelf Awareness for Monday, March 3, 2014


Margaret Quinlin Books: Who Owns the Moon?: And Other Conundrums of Exploring and Using Space by Cynthia Levinson and Jennifer Swanson

Frances Lincoln Ltd: Dear Black Boy by Martellus Bennett

Soho Crime: Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon

Holiday House: When I Hear Spirituals by Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by London Ladd

Mira Books: Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan

News

And the Bookish Oscar Goes to... 12 Years a Slave

At last night's Academy Awards ceremony, 12 Years a Slave, based on the autobiography by Solomon Northup, was by far the biggest winner in the unofficial book-to-film Oscar category. Directed by Steve McQueen, the movie won for best picture, actress in a supporting role (Lupita Nyong'o) and adapted screenplay (John Ridley).

Other book-related Oscar winners included Frozen, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Snow Queen," which took honors for best animated feature film and original song ("Let It Go"); and The Great Gatsby, adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, which earned Oscars in the costume design and production design categories.

The Great Beauty was named best foreign-language film. Although this isn't a book-to-film adaptation, Film Comment noted that director Paolo Sorrentino's novel Everybody's Right "is everywhere in Sorrentino's world because literature has always been his true calling."

Another winner: Following up on their triumphant Super Bowl commentary, In Other Words, Portland, Ore. (@IOWbooks), the inspiration for Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen's Women & Women First Bookstore on the IFC series Portlandia, live tweeted the Oscars last night (@ifcPortlandia):

"Hugging, cheering, glitter. This is starting to feel like the #SuperBowl all over again. #feministbookstoresayswhat #Oscars #AcademyAwards."

"If #Oscars were hosted in #Portlandia, someone would invent rain gear that exposed cleavage. We would protest it. #feministbookstoresayswhat."


NYU Advanced Publishing Institute: Early bird pricing through Oct. 13


Second Tattered Cover Lands at DIA

The second of four Tattered Cover bookstores planned for Denver International Airport has opened in the center of Concourse A, Airport World reported. Tattered Cover is working in association with Hudson Booksellers. The last two stores will open this year.

"Our customers have been delighted by the addition of the Tattered Cover," Kim Day, the airport's manager of aviation, told Airport World. "This Colorado brand brings a specially curated selection of reading material that raises the bar for airport book stores, and continues our efforts to offer a better variety of shops and amenities for our customers."

The new store is celebrating its opening with an event on March 11 featuring Dave Barry, whose new book is You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About.


GLOW: Graydon House: The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay


Shiretown Books in Vt. Is Closing

Shiretown Books, Woodstock, Vt., will close "in the next few weeks," Valley News reported, adding that owner Ron Miller said the store, which he bought in 2011, was the "victim of a sluggish economy and electronic book sales."

"It's been a long time coming," he noted. "The independent book business has gotten more and more difficult with so many books on Kindle and Nooks and people buying online. It's gotten harder for someone like me to sell books, and the economy is not so robust either."

Miller added that he "didn't expect to make a lot of money. I saw it more as a way to get established in town and to get to know people here. In that sense, it has been very successful." He serves on the board of the Bookstock festival and is the new director of the Woodstock Learning Collaborative, where he also teaches history, Valley News wrote.

"It's hard to sustain two bookstores in a small town," he observed. "Yankee Bookshop (Woodstock's other store) is well established and has a large loyal following. They will do well."


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UConn Co-op Bookstore Celebrates Grand Opening

The UConn Co-op Bookstore at Storrs Center in downtown Storrs, Conn., celebrated its grand opening Saturday, along with its partners the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and Le Petit Marché Café. More than 500 people attended, including authors Wally Lamb, Ellen Litman, Barbara McClintock, David Johnson, Sam Pickering, Wendell Minor, Florence Minor, Heather Webb, Ron Mallett and Bruce Cohen. Illustrator David Johnson, who is working on a project to draw 2,000 portraits of authors, exhibited his drawings of Connecticut authors.

Suzy Staubach, head of general books at the UConn Co-op, with Ron Mallett, author of Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.

There was music, treats from the café, exhibits, two performances of the puppet show Reverse Cascade and giveaways. Posting from the grand opening, blogger Edmund Chibeau wrote, "Rumors of the death of the codex have been greatly exaggerated. Books are thriving at the UConn Co-op."

In November, the bookstore opened in this new 15,000-square-foot space, which features general books and art books. Textbooks, clothing, computers and art supplies remain in the old, on-campus location.


Ron Hogan Joining Regan Arts

Shelf Awareness contributing editor Ron Hogan is joining Regan Arts, Phaidon Global's new imprint led by publishing veteran Judith Regan, where he'll be acquiring both fiction and non-fiction titles, covering a wide range of subjects. "This is such a fantastic opportunity, both professionally and personally," he says. "My time with Shelf has been an invaluable education in the contemporary book market, and that knowledge will guide me in my new editorial role. I'm looking forward to finding great voices in any format--novels, memoirs, essays, comic books, and other creative forms--and working with them to bring their stories to readers." Agents and authors can send queries to ron@reganarts.com starting today.


Obituary Note: Phyllis Krasilovsky

Children's book author Phyllis Krasilovsky, whose works included The Very Little Girl (illustrated by Ninon), The Man Who Didn’t Wash His Dishes (with illustrations by Barbara Cooney) and The Cow Who Fell in the Canal, died Wednesday, the New York Times reported. She was 87.


Notes

Images of the Day: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

To celebrate Dr. Seuss's 110th birthday yesterday, the Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C., hosted a Dr. Seuss storytime on Friday that drew more than 40 young fans (above). The group enjoyed listening to Dr. Seuss stories, creating birthday crowns and meeting the Cat in the Hat.

Meanwhile, in Madison, Conn., R.J. Julia Booksellers celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the most Cat in the Hat hats worn at one gathering (previous record: 287). While the record hasn't yet been verified, 1,000 people showed up. The event was free, with participants encouraged to make donations to Read to Grow.


Sanj Kharbanda Promoted at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Sanj Kharbanda has been promoted to senior v-p, digital markets, for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and will be responsible for digital market strategy for all the company's consumer businesses, including trade publishing, k-12 and consumer markets. He has been v-p of digital strategy of HMH trade and reference, and joined the company in 2005. Before that, he was a bookseller at WordsWorth Books for more than 15 years and developed the indie bookseller list that was a forerunner of the Book Sense bestseller lists.


Read It Again Books: 'It Really Is Like Family Here'

Read It Again Books, Suwanee, Ga., "has a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books--new and used... an 'eclectic' selection of gifts, cards and novelties" and "plenty of staff to point patrons in the right direction," the Johns Creek Herald reported in its profile of the bookshop founded in 2002 by Della and Kim McNamara.

"We pride ourselves on our customer service," said Kim. "Most of our staff have been here five years or more. And two of them are just in their 20s. They even come over and hang out on their days off. It's their passion for books.... We enjoy talking to our customers about books. It is always a thrill to introduce a reader to a new author. It really is like family here."


Midpoint Making Move to Ingram

Distributor Midpoint Trade Books is beginning its move to Ingram, which is providing logistics, POD and digital product services.

Midpoint returns should now be sent to the company c/o IPS at 1210 Ingram Dr., Chambersburg, Pa. 17202. Beginning April 1, purchase orders should be sent to Midpoint. For mail, e-mail, phone and fax orders: Midpoint Trade Books, 12460 West 62nd Terrace, Suite B, Shawnee, Kan. 66216; 212-616-2020; fax 888-391-8595; orders@midpointtrade.com. Checks will continue to be sent to: Midpoint Trade Books, 27 West 20th St., #1102, New York, N.Y. 10011.

For more information, contact Midpoint sales reps or Julie Hardison at julie@midpointtrade.com or 212-616-2021.


Book Trailer of the Day: elBulli 2005-2011

elBulli 2005-2011 by Ferran Adriá (Phaidon Press) completes a seven-volume set chronicling the famed Spanish restaurant, with 750 recipes, 1,200 color photographs and Adrià's personal insights into the creative processes of his team.


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Mark Harris on Fresh Air

This morning on the Today Show: Glennon Melton, author of Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed (Scribner, $25, 9781451697247).

Also on Today: Dave Barry, author of You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About (Putnam, $26.95, 9780399165948). He will also appear on Dateline.

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Today on Fresh Air: Mark Harris, author of Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War (Penguin, $29.95, 9781594204302).

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Today on Dr. Phil and HLN's Dr. Drew: Lisa Bloom, author of Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It (Counterpoint, $25, 9781619023277).

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Today on the View: Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet: Activate Your Body's Natural Ability to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Fast (Little, Brown, $28, 9780316230025).

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Tonight on the Daily Show: Seth MacFarlane, author of A Million Ways to Die in the West (Ballantine, $23, 9780553391671).

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Melanie Notkin, author of Otherhood: Modern Women Finding A New Kind of Happiness (Seal Press, $24, 9781580055215).

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Tomorrow morning on NPR's Morning Edition: Phil Klay, author of Redeployment (Penguin Press, $26.95, 9781594204999).

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Tomorrow morning on CBS This Morning: Dan Riskin, author of Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World (Touchstone, $24.99, 9781476707549). He will also appear on MSNBC's the Cycle.

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Tomorrow morning on Morning Joe: Russell Simmons, author of Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple (Gotham, $20, 9781592408658). He will also appear on Imus in the Morning, CNBC's Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo and Bethenny.

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Tomorrow on CBS Sports Radio's Jim Rome Show: Jeff Pearlman, author of Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s (Gotham, $30, 9781592407552).

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Tomorrow night on the Daily Show: Jim DeMint, author of Falling in Love with America Again (Center Street, $25, 9781455549801).

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Tomorrow night on the Colbert Report: Jaron Lanier, author of Who Owns the Future? (Simon & Schuster, $17, 9781451654974).


TV: Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

David Walliams (Little Britain) "will play one half of married detective duo Tommy and Tuppence Beresford in Partners in Crime," a new BBC adaptation from the works of Agatha Christie. The Telegraph reported that the six-part series is scheduled to run during the 2015 Christmas season "as part of a new deal to bring some of the best-selling writer's works to the BBC on the 125th anniversary of her death."

"In bringing these thrilling stories to the screen, it is our ambition for Tommy and Tuppence to finally take their rightful place alongside Poirot and Marple as iconic Agatha Christie characters," said Walliams. "I was first drawn to the delicious notion of a married couple solving crimes together, and the more I read of the Tommy and Tuppence novels and short stories I realized they are among Christie's very best work."



Books & Authors

Awards: Bram Stoker Lifetime; ComicsPro Appreciation

Stephen Jones and R. L. Stine are receiving the Horror Writers Association's Lifetime Achievement Award this year, "in recognition of the recipient's overall body of work." The awards will be presented May 10 as part of the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet at the World Horror Convention 2014 in Portland, Ore.

Speaking about Jones, HWA president Rocky Wood said, "This is the second year in three we have recognized an editor with the Lifetime Achievement Award--editing is a crucial skill in our genre, where anthologies regularly showcase the best of horror writing. Stephen Jones, in his capacity as editor of both the annual Best New Horror series and as editor of dozens of stand-alone anthologies and author of nonfiction titles, has had a profound impact on the genre and we are pleased to recognize him with our genre's highest award."

Wood said that "for millions of young readers, R. L. Stine IS horror. His books have shared the fun and thrill of being scared with children, teenagers, and adults worldwide for the past twenty-five years. Whether his readers went on to become lifelong fans of the genre or eventually moved on to books with fewer evil living ventriloquist dummies, the influence of Mr. Stine is vast and undeniable. His efforts to thrill generations are greatly appreciated by the Horror Writers Association."

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Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson has won the 2014 ComicsPRO Industry Appreciation Award, honoring individuals who have shown "particular support of the direct market in the comic industry." He received the award last Friday at the annual Comics Professional Organization convention, the trade group for direct-market comic book retailers.


Book Review

Review: A Circle of Wives

A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante (Atlantic Monthly Press, $25 hardcover, 9780802122346, March 4, 2014)

After her stunning debut novel, Turn of Mind, Alice LaPlante is back with A Circle of Wives--an engrossing psychological thriller where almost nothing is as it seems.

Dr. John Taylor, a well-known California plastic surgeon who eschews cosmetic surgery for the more important reconstruction of the disfigured, especially children, is found dead in a hotel room--in his own home town. Palo Alto detective Samantha Adams--whip-smart but at a disadvantage because she looks even younger than her 29 years--is assigned to the case. At first, it looks like a straightforward heart attack in an overweight, middle-aged man who worked too hard, but then the autopsy reveals he died from an injection of potassium chloride. For a detective accustomed to investigating bicycle thefts, this is a major step up.

At the funeral, we find out that there is no shortage of suspects. Dr. Taylor's three wives--concurrent, not sequential--were all neatly located in different cities, instructed as to when and where they might call him, under the careful orchestration of Wife #1, Deborah. She long ago discovered his dalliance with a nurse, confronted him and scared her off. "John was in despair," she explains. "You may indulge yourself if you like, I told him. But nothing that threatens our marriage.... He wanted the real thing. And I wanted to continue being Mrs. John Taylor... we worked out a deal. He could seek true love. He could even get married again, if he found someone who loved him back. But she was not to know about me. And he had to be home at 5:30 a.m. every morning." His first conquest was MJ, a hippie gardener. They were married for six good years; then John wandered again and he married Helen, a pediatric oncologist. Six months later, he was murdered.

Told in alternating voices by Sam and the three wives, the labyrinthine path to murder, the intricate stories of three women and their relationship to the same man, and Sam's discovery that her own love affair is bankrupt all play out in an exploration of the nature of love, marriage, trust and expectation. --Valerie Ryan

Shelf Talker: A psychological thriller about a prominent surgeon who keeps his three lives, and wives, separate--until he is murdered.


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