... h20boro lib blog

Labels: fiction, king, maine author, maine writer, publishing, stephen king

Some of the books due out next Tuesday and Wednesday, October 9 and 10, per Shelf Awareness:

I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert: "Colbert's hilarious patriotic vision for America."

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A. J. Jacobs

A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren

Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley, the 10th in the Easy Rawlins crime fiction series.

World Without End by Ken Follett, "follows four children from 1327-1361 as they grow up and deal with such traumas as the Black Death and wars."

The Gift: A Novel by Richard Paul Evans, about "a security guard with Tourette's who is cured by a boy with leukemia."

Mark's Story: The Gospel According to Peter by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family by Lynne Cheney, memoir

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness

Exit Ghost by Philip Roth, the last of his novels to star Nathan Zuckerman. (Good interview with Roth on public radio's 'Fresh Air' last night.)

The Worst Thing I've Done: A Novel by Ursula Hegi (Stones from the River), exploring the dynamics of a love triangle.

A Christmas Visitor by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer, the eighth Cape Light novel.

Dark of the Moon by John Sandford, 'follows a criminal investigator as he attempts to solve a series of murders in a small town.'

Down River by John Hart: A man returns to his hometown, where his family still believe him to be guilty of a crime for which he was acquitted.

Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith by Beth Holloway: Natalee Holloway disappeared while vacationing in Aruba more than two years ago.

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 by Rick Atkinson, 'chronicles the American forces operating in Italy during WWII.' (Nice accompaniment to Lynn Novick and Ken Burns' The War, airing on PBS now.)

Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You by Deborah Norville (the science of gratitude??)

Beyond the White House by Jimmy Carter

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness

• Dead Heat by Dick Francis and Felix Francis, featuring a chef-sleuth
• The Art Thief: A Novel by Noah Charney: Investigator Gabriel Coffin solves a series of connected art thefts.
• Dexter in the Dark: A Novel by Jeff Lindsay, third in a series about a Miami cop who is also a serial killer.
• Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism by celebrity mom Jenny McCarthy.
• The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World by Alan Greenspan: His experiences as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness

Labels: books, fall fiction, forthcoming, non-fiction, publishing, seasonal previews

CA Barron in the Guardian blog suggests that book publishers dispense with uniformly hyperbolic blurbs on their books and instead move to a rating system like that of Rotten Tomatoes for films or Robert Parker for wines: "To have 2005's 206,000 books published in the UK, and 172,000 in the US, all shrieking superlatives at us seems counter-productive. Let us first savour and judge books -- like films and wine -- with our own brains, hearts and palates."

Commenter BillyMills likes the idea, and also suggests more honest blurbs, such as: "This is XXX's second novel. Due to contractual stipulations, it's much like his/her first novel" and "This is our entry in the great 9/11 novel sweepstakes." He also finds refreshing the candidness of some historical reviews, as "'One would imagine this piece to be the work of a drunken savage'. -- Voltaire, 1768 (of Hamlet)."

Labels: book reviews, book selling, guardian, publishing, rankings, ratings

• Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel: A suburban wife and mother makes it big as a Hollywood screenwriter.
• The Double Agents by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV: Sixth installment of the Men at War series.
• New England White by Stephen L. Carter: New novel from the author of The Emperor of Ocean Park
• Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz: Memoir about the adventures of farm life from the host of the Northeast Public Radio show 'Dog Talk.'

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness, to be published

• Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell. Romantic suspense.
• The Lady in Blue by Javier Sierra. Story set in U.S. and Spain about centuries-old enigma.
• Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich, in the Stephanie Plum mystery series; she's the prime suspect in her ex-husband's alleged murder.
• Secret Asset by Stella Rimington, follow-up to her debut thriller, with MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle.
• The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen.

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness

• Michael Ondaatje's Divisadero, his first novel in six years.
• The Good Guy by Dean Koontz, a dark suspense tale.
• Maximum Ride #3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson, the last in his YA suspense trilogy.
• Richard M. Nixon by Elizabeth Drew, "a provocative and revelatory assessment" of the former president.

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness

Labels: crime novels, debuts, mysteries, publishing

• Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk, a novel by the Fight Club author.
• All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris, the seventh "vampire-themed novel starring Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress in small-town Louisiana."
• The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, novel that "is equal parts whodunit, love story, homage to 1940s noir and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption."
• Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage by Dina Matos McGreevey, about her marriage to ex-governor of NJ Jim McGreevey.
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver, nonfiction narrative about "her family's year-long effort to live off the land at an Appalachian farm."
• At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA by George Tenet. To be published on 30 May.
• A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary, by Carl Bernstein, a biography of Senator Hillary Clinton, for sale on 19 June.

Labels: forthcoming, new books, publishing, shelf awareness

Hey, we still have snow here in Maine! Nonetheless, Publishers Weekly asked folks at four bookstores to choose 25 books that will be hits this summer; you can read the full list here.

Titles include:

• Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union(May), on the top of everyone's list
• Don DeLillo's Falling Man (June), a novel about 9/11.
• Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns (May 22), his second novel following The Kite Runner (the film version of which is due out in late 2007).
• Ian McEwan's short novel On Chesil Beach (June), set in early 1960s England.
• Maine author Kate Braestrup's book, Here if You Need Me (Aug.), about losing her husband, a Maine state trooper, in an accident and becoming a Unitarian Universalist chaplain on search-and-rescue missions.
• William Gibson's Spook Country (Aug.)
• Psychological thriller In the Woods by Tana French (May), set in a suburban Dublin neighborhood in 1984.
• Michael Ondaatje's Divisadero (May), set in Northern California in the 1970s and in France before that.
• Armistead Maupin's Michael Tolliver Lives (June), featuring a key character from Tales of the City.
• Günter Grass's memoir, Peeling the Onion (June 25), where he reveals that he was drafted into the Waffen-SS.
• Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Year of Food Life (May), "memoir of a year spent procuring and cooking local food."

Labels: bestsellers, forthcoming, publishing, summer books

Books due out Tuesday next week:

The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien: A stand-alone that "reunites Lord of the Rings fans with elves and men, dragons and dwarves, eagles and orcs."

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith, next in his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

The Woods by Harlan Coben: "A New Jersey county prosecutor looks to solve a case that has haunted him for 20 years."

The Marriage Game by Fern Michaels: A newlywed returns from her honeymoon to divorce papers, seeks revenge.

Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve by Bernard Goldberg: Political views of a former CBS News reporter.

via ShelfAwareness

Labels: bookselling, forthcoming, publishing, shelf awareness

Labels: christian fiction, jenkins, lahaye, left behind, publishing

These books are due out on Tuesday of next week:

Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods: 13th in series featuring lawyer Stone Barrington, involving underworld of the New York mafia.

The Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Benton Frank: "A middle-aged Manhattan socialite embarks on a journey of self-discovery" in novel set partly in the South Carolina low country.

Obsession by Karen Robards: Suspenseful tale of a woman who's a pawn in a CIA ploy.

The Quilter's Homecoming: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini: 10th in the series, set on a ranch in southern California.

Sleeping with Strangers by Eric Jerome Dickey: "Steamy, fast-paced novel."

We Shall Not Sleep by Anne Perry: 5th and last in her World War I series featuring the Reavley family.

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson: By the author of Benjamin Franklin. Biography is based on recently released letters.

Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance that Make the Difference by Cal Ripken, Jr.: Orioles baseball legend's guide to "overcoming challenges and building a life you love."

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston: Profile of botanists and amateur naturalists who go into the treetops of Northern California's redwoods.

via ShelfAwareness

Labels: bookselling, forthcoming, publishing, shelf awareness

"Little Pink Slips (Putnam, $24.95, out April 12) is part of a new wave of workplace novels written by former insiders in publishing, modeling and Wall Street who dish dirt and gossip about their old jobs," similar to Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada (2003) and The Nanny Dairies by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (2002).

Other titles mentioned are A Model Summer (out April 10), by former supermodel Paulina Porizkova; Mergers and Acquisitions (out Thursday), by former investment banker Dana Vachon; Falling Out of Fashion (April 24), by Karen Yampolsky, a former assistant to Jane editor Jane Pratt; and Because She Can (2007, out now) by Bridie Clark, former editor at ReganBooks.

Apparently, with the new crop of books, "The story itself isn't the star. It's not the quality of the writing or the remarkable characters. Rather, the hook is the inside-the-workplace angle."

Labels: gossip, hollywood, insider fiction, publishing, roman a clef, wall street, workplace novels

• FANTASY: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's DRAGONSHIPS series, featuring 'Viking-like warriors, three opposing groups of Gods, ships powered by dragons and the ultimate quest for salvation and survival.'
• SUSPENSE: The next two books in Karin Slaughter's Grant County series, plus a stand-alone
• THRILLER: Kimberly Scott's first novel, UNDERTOW, 'a legal thriller set in Boston, and the first in a series' (previously published in Australia under a pseudonym)
• FICTION: NYT writer Hilary de Vries's THE COOKING LESSONS, about 'four sisters negotiating their relationships after the death of their mother'
• FICTION: Brendan McNally's GERMANIA, debut novel 'about the last days of the Third Reich, when Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and friend, embarks on a foolhardy rebellion'
• MEMOIR: Former Mexican president Vicente Fox's memoir REVOLUTION OF HOPE, 'covering his relationships with many world leaders, including Castro and Bush,' in Oct. 2007.
• MEMOIR: Richard Rushfield's DON'T FOLLOW ME, I'M LOST: A MEMOIR OF HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE AT THE TWILIGHT OF THE 80S, about an LA teen at this Western Massachusetts campus as slacker culture and political correctness meet
• CURRENT EVENTS: National Journal investigative reporter Murray Waas's THE UNITED STATES v. I. LEWIS LIBBY, 'drawn from the transcript of the trial of Scooter Libby,' with original reporting and an introductory essay, in April 2007
• CURRENT EVENTS: Journalist Laura Secor's FUGITIVES FROM PARADISE, 'about the last ten years of reform and democracy movements in Iran'
• CURRENT EVENTS: Former CIA director George Tenet's AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM, to be published on April 30, 2007.
• SOCIOLOGY/POP CULTURE: The English translation of Pierre Bayard's HOW TO TALK ABOUT BOOKS YOU HAVEN'T READ, with examples from works by Graham Greene, Umberto Eco, Paul Valéry, et al.
• HISTORY: Joe Flood's THE FIRES, 'exploring the hidden history of the fires that ravaged New York City in the 1970s, long blamed on arson but actually the result of the intentional withdrawal of government services from poor neighborhoods'
• ART/HISTORY: Ulrich Boser's MISSING: THE UNTOLD STORY BEHIND THE WORLD'S LARGEST ART THEFT, attempting to 'unravel the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery ... and exploring the world of art, theft and obsession'
• CHILDREN: Jenna Bush's ANA'S STORY: A JOURNEY OF HOPE, 'based on her experiences working with UNICEF in Central America, focusing on a seventeen-year-old single mother who was orphaned at a young age and is living with HIV', in Fall 2007. Proceeds to UNICEF.

Labels: bookselling, forthcoming, publishing, to be published

Are marketing departments, publishers' narrow focus on the bottom-line, and chain booksellers seeking to please the masses keeping good writing from being widely published? Prolific fiction writer Fay Weldon thinks so.

Weldon writes that "'Best selling' should not be an accolade so much as a warning. Today the danger for writers who continue to aspire to 'good' in the old sense [i.e., not necessarily selling the most books or winning a prize] is that they won’t get published at all, or it will be with miserable print runs. The synopses they must have approved before they begin a commissioned book will please marketing rather than the editorial department.

"Caution is the death of creativity. ... As the sequels and prequels take over -- if they liked that one, surely they'll like this one -- the creative imagination withers. "

Scott Pack (previously head buyer for UK bookselling giant Waterstone's, now commercial director of The Friday Project, a web-to-print publisher.) somewhat agrees, at least about which books are good and which aren't, but he contradicts some of Weldon's arguments: "A good book is a good book no matter what the genre or how many copies it sells. And a bad book remains bad, whatever the pedigree of the author or how many critics fall over each other to praise it. Quality is not always in inverse proportion to the number of copies sold. ... Publishing is a commercial industry and should not have to apologise for it. ... The money a publisher makes from the fast turnover of John Grisham or Patricia Cornwell allows them to invest in less popular titles that won’t sell anywhere near as well."

Labels: bestsellers, bookselling, publishing, weldon