As expected, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle continues to rise on the NYT bestseller list; it is now at #2, up from #4 last week. Will it get to #1 next week? Hard to say, it’s got tough competition; Daniel Silva’s Moscow Rules came out on Tuesday and is currently higher than Sawtelle on Amazon’s list.

All but one of the fiction and nonfiction titles that debuted on Thursday’s USA Today bestseller list also make their first appearances on the Times lists. The exception is Six Disciplines Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier by Gary Harpst. It appeared on the Wall Street Journal Nonfiction list at #7, however.

Below are the titles that debuted on both the USA Today and the New York Times bestseller lists:

Fiction

#3 Rules of Deception, Christopher Reich, Doubleday (July 15, 2008)

#8 Just Too Good to Be True, E. Lynn Harris, Doubleday; (July 15, 2008)

#12 Say Goodbye, Lisa Gardner, Bantam (July 15, 2008)

#15 Killer View, Ridley Pearson, Putnam (July 15, 2008)

#26 Last Kiss. Luanne Rice, Bantam (July 15, 2008)

Nonfiction

#2  Life with My Sister Madonna, Christopher Ciccone and Wendy Leigh, Simon Spotlight Entertainment (July 14, 2008)

#4 (tied with #3) The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals, Jane Mayer, Doubleday (July 15, 2008)

Hardcover Advice

#3 The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life, Jim Tressel, Tyndale House Publishers (July 15, 2008)

Below are the titles that debuted on the Times lists but not on the USA Today list.

Nonfiction

#14 (tied with #13) Yankee for Life: My 40-Year Journey in Pinstripes, by Bobby Murcer, Glen Waggoner

Owned in small quantities in the libraries I checked, with comfortable holds to copy ratios.

• Hardcover: $24.95
• Publisher: Harper (May 20, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0061473413
• ISBN-13: 978-0061473418

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#17 My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays that Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face, by Michael Ian Black

Owned in modest quantities in some, but not all libraries I checked, with holds to copy ratios  5:1 in some area.

• Hardcover:  $23.95
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment (July 15, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1416964053
• ISBN-13: 978-1416964056

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#23 Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001), by Don Felder

On order, with 5:1 holds to copy ratios in some libraries.

• Hardcover: $25.95
• Publisher: Wiley (April 21, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0470289066
• ISBN-13: 978-0470289068

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Hardcover Advice

#8  The Smartest 401k Book You’ll Ever Read: Maximize Your Retirement Savings… the Smart Way!, by Daniel R. Solin

Owned by all libraries I checked; comfortable holds to copy ratios.

• Hardcover: $19.95
• Publisher: Perigee Trade (June 24, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0399534520
• ISBN-13: 978-0399534522

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Fiction

#33 Sleeping Arrangements, by Madeleine Wickham

Owned in most areas (some still have on order) with heavy holds to copy ratios (6:1 in some areas)

• Hardcover: $24.95
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (July 8, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0312383428
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383428

• Audio CD: Unabridged, $29.95
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio; (July 8, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 142720439X
• ISBN-13: 978-1427204394

• Large Print, Hardcover: $32.95
• Publisher: Gale Cengage (July 8, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1410408043
• ISBN-13: 978-1410408044

Havana Nocturne climbed on to the Amazon Top Ten for several days last week (it’s now at #11) after having been on the NYT Extended Nonfiction list two weeks ago.

Sharp-eyed Raine Sedore at Timberland Regional Library explains the renewed interest; author T.J. English appeared on the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Wednesday (the segment appears 13:34 minutes into the show). Stewart began the interview by declaring, “I love this book” and said the real Cuba as portrayed in the book is more colorful than the Cuba in Godfather II. Stewart described the books appeal,

Here’s how you know this is a fascinating book; JFK being set up for a three-girl orgy by a mobster is a throw-away line…you could have an entire book about that night. And there’s a two-way mirror and the two mobsters are watching and later on, they think, “Hey, we should have filmed that.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is recognized by publishers as being effective at promoting books. Not only is it clear that Stewart has read the books he talks about, but In the brief time that he can give to an author (in this case, over seven minutes, which is actually an eternity in television time), he manages to convey his own enthusiasm. And, although it may sound silly but it is nearly as important, he shows the book’s cover and repeatedly mentions its title.

By contrast, have you noticed how different he is with actors? With all the kibitzing around, they hardly get a chance to mention their new movies.

Thanks for the tip, Raine.

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution

T. J. English

• Hardcover: $27.95
• Publisher: William Morrow (June 3, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0061147710
• ISBN-13: 978-0061147715

• Audio CD: Unabridged, $37.95
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged edition (July 28, 2008)
• Reader: Mel Foster
• ISBN-10: 1400107695
• ISBN-13: 978-1400107698

Accepted wisdom in publishing is that it’s best if publicity hits at once, ideally, right at pub date. After all, you can’t count on the public to be able to remember a title unless they hear it repeatedly in a short time frame.

But, occasionally, a long slow build is equally effective.

This seems to be the case for The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, a true crime story published in April, which just recently shot to #47 on Amazon’s bestseller list, nearly three months after publication.

Libraries are showing heavy reserves, as high as 10 to 1 in some places.

The book is the story of a historic Victorian murder that was the sensation of its time. It became the model for detective novels, including Wilkie Collins’s Moonstone and Charles Dickens’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

So, for mystery fans, the book appeals on many levels. In addition, it reveals a great deal about the sociology of the time. This confluence of a mystery illuminating the issues of the day caused Library Journal to compare it to Devil in the White City.

As George Gibson, CEO of the book’s American publisher, Walker & Company, told Early Word, “mystery bloggers got onto this early and they’re a transatlantic group.” As buzz built in the U.K. where author Kate Summerscale is well-known, momentum began to grow here as well. In mid-April, Entertainment Weekly did a full-page review, (”A nonfiction history that moves with all the twists of a mystery novel,”), followed a couple of weeks later by a rave in Time magazine (”not just a dark, vicious true-crime story; it is the story of the birth of forensic science, founded on the new and disturbing idea that innocent, insignificant domestic details can reveal unspeakable horrors to those who know how to read them”). In early May, it was reviewed on NPR’s “Fresh Air“.

The book went onto the New York Times extended besteller list for one week at #34 in mid-May.

And then, last week, the book won the UK’s respected Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfcition which “celebrates diverse and thought-provoking writing in non-fiction.” Last week, Marilyn Stasio devoted her Crime column to it in the New York Times Book Review. It rose to  #47 on Amazon, which means it could very well reappear on print bestseller lists.

Walker says there are currently 40,000 copies in print.

THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER

A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective.

By Kate Summerscale.

• Hardcover: $24.95
• Publisher: Walker & Company (April 15, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0802715354
• ISBN-13: 978-0802715357

Many news organizations announced today that Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, died in his home in Virginia earlier today. 

• New York Times, ‘Last Lecture’ Professor Randy Pausch, 47, Dies

• Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Randy Pausch, noted CMU prof, succumbs to cancer

• USA Today, ‘Last Lecture’ professor, Randy Pausch, dies at 47

• MSNBC, ‘Last lecture’ professor dies of cancer

If you can use downloadable video to promote a movie, why not use it for a book?

This is what Stephen King and his publisher Scribner are doing for his forthcoming short-story collection, Just After Sunset (pub date, Nov 11). Marvel Comics is turning one of the stories, titled N, into a 25-episode downloadable video, reports the Wall Street Journal. Downloads will be available through iTunes and Amazon beginning Monday. A pass for all 25 episodes will cost $3.99 (episodes will also be free on Monday to some cellphone users and on CBS.com. CBS is Scribner’s parent company).

Scribner will sell a special edition of the book that includes a DVD of the entire video series. The ISBN for that edition is not yet available.

Just After Sunset

Stephen King

• Hardcover: $28.00
• Publisher: Scribner (November 11, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1416584080
• ISBN-13: 978-1416584087

Edgar Sawtelle has not peaked yet; it’s at it’s highest point to date on the USA Today list, rising from #41 last week to #26, after 6 weeks.  It’s also been rising steadily on the New York Times list, hitting #4 last week.

USA Today’s “Book Buzz” column notes the rise in sales of Batman books, as a result of the movie The Dark Knight and gives insight to why Batman; the Killing Joke, of all the various Batman titles, got the second largest boost in sales;

Published 20 years ago, Killing offers a terrifying back story for The Joker. (It also influenced Heath Ledger’s performance.) In March, DC Comics released a hardcover edition ($17.99) recolored by Brian Bolland. Says publisher Paul Levitz, “We’ve had spotty instances where particular retailers have run out, but we just keep printing and shipping them as fast as we can.”

There’s just a couple of surprises among hardcover debuts on the list:

#42 The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life, Jim Tressel

• Hardcover: $24.99
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (July 15, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 141432569X
• ISBN-13: 978-1414325699

• Hardcover: $12.95
• Publisher: Six Disciplines Publishing (July 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0981641105
• ISBN-13: 978-0981641102

• Hardcover: $24.94
• Publisher: Doubleday; (July 15, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0385492723
• ISBN-13: 978-0385492720

Publishers Weekly announces that A Thousand Splendid Suns will be released as a $16 trade paperback on November 25.

This just in — the publisher provided the ISBN’s:

9781594483851

(10-digit) 159448385X

The Gargoyle is getting more pre-pub attention. Today’s USA Today looks at the book’s chances to be “one of the year’s hottest books.” The Wall Street Journal examined the same question on June 30th. 

Before we go into what USA Today thinks, what do you think? Many of you picked up galleys at BEA and ALA. If you’ve read it, let us know your opinion.

At least one librarian is willing to publicly endorse the book. Jeanette Navia wrote about it on Williamsburg Regional Library’s site yesterday, saying it now rivals Aegypt by John Crowley as her all-time favorite book.

With just twelve days to go before pub date, booksellers tell USA Today that it’s a winner. A bookseller from Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA, says it’s “The Da Vinci Code, but 10 times better.” B&N’s head buyer, Bob Wietrak expects it to achieve bestsellerdom after the first week on sale.

Publisher Doubleday touts its online campaign which takes advantage of social networking (people are invited to post videos and stories of their own intense relationships). You can’t help but wonder, though, how clearly these stories relate to the book (www.burnedbylove.com).

USA Today echoes the earlier Wall Street Journal question, “will the book’s graphic details about the fiery accident and life on the burn unit turn off some readers?” A Borders bookseller says it would be a shame for readers to be turned off by that, because once you get past the first 100 pages, and “ hit the love story, it’s absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.” (For an interesting take on this question, check this Early Word comment.)

Libraries show light ordering, with an average of one to one holds to copy ratios.

If you compare current Amazon sales ranking of The Gargolye to titles coming from well-known authors in August, it’s clearly doing well for a debut novel:

#68  Acheron, Sherrilyn Kenyon, St. Martin’s Press 8/05

#591 Devil Bones, Kathy Reichs, Scribner, 8/26 

#1,795 The Mercedes Coffin, Faye Kellerman, William Morrow, 8/12

#3,291 Gargoyle, Andrew Davidson, Doubleday, 8/05 

#4,190 Smoke Screen, Sandra Brown, Simon & Schuster, 8/12

#5,679 Foreign Body, Robin Cook, Putnam, 8/05 

 

The Gargoyle

Andrew Davidson

• Hardcover: $25.95
• Publisher: Doubleday (August 5, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0385524943
• ISBN-13: 978-0385524940

• Unabridged Audio: $120.00
• Publisher: Books on Tape (August 5, 2008)
• Narrator: Lincoln Hoppe
• CD: 9781415956885
• Tape: 9781415959299

Often, publishers feel reviews have limited effect on sales. But it seems that Empires of the Sea, by Roger Crowley, is the exception to the rule. The Wall Street Journal ran a strong review by eminent historian John Julius Norwich on Monday and the book shot from #4,045 to #12. It’s now at #22.

The only other consumer review it’s received thus far is in the Christian Science Monitor (”A dramatic retelling of the 16th-century clash of Christian and Muslim armies”) on July 14.

Half of the libraries I checked have not ordered it. Those that own it, have small quantities, with reserves building. None have the audio

Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World

Roger Crowley

• Hardcover: $30.00
• Publisher: Random House (July 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1400066247
• ISBN-13: 978-1400066247

• Audio CD: Unabridged, $34.99
• Publisher: Tantor Media; (July 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1400107229
• ISBN-13: 978-1400107223

The media has already taken note of the fact that even an Oprah re-run can put books back on bestseller lists.

This was proved again this week, when You: Staying Young zoomed from a very respectable #349 to #5. What Oprah rerun aired yesterday? Yup; “Dr. Oz on Aging, How to Turn Back Time.” Library reserves shot up, too.

Last week’s rerun of a show with another Oprah regular, Dr. Christiane Northrup, sent her book The Wisdom of Menopause, up Amazon’s list to #21. The second edition of this title was released in 2006, but many libraries still own the 2001 edition. Given the number of changes in thinking about menopause, I wondered if that edition should be a candidate for withdrawal. I checked with the publisher, who provided this information on the updates:

The 2006 edition includes new information from the massive Women’s Health Initiative Study published in 2002. That study caused millions of women to abandon Prempro and other synthetic hormones. The new edition also includes information from another study released in early 2006 on the cardiovascular effects of HRT.

Other specific new features in the revised and updated edition include:

• Programs for enhancing sexuality and breast health and the reasons why sex can get better after menopause.
• Nutritional approaches to preventing osteoporosis and heart disease.
• Why maintaining a healthy insulin level is key to women’s health.
• The latest research on breast cancer and what you can do to prevent it.
• New ways to avoid hysterectomy, including innovative fibroid treatments.
• Understanding the hormone replacement controversy, how to take hormones safely, and a wealth of alternatives.
• New information on how to prevent dementia.

Rather than rely on old editions to help fill demand, it’s time to get rid of them and replace them with the new edition (the publisher says there are no immediate plans for a third edition).

The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change, 2nd Edition

Christiane Northrup

• Paperback: $20.00
• Publisher: Bantam; 2nd edition (October 31, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 0553384090
• ISBN-13: 978-0553384093