Here’s your chance to read the SECOND book in a trilogy, just as excitement begins to build for the first.

The books in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy are arriving in such quick succession that the galley for the second book, Authority, (Macmillan/FSG, May 6), is available now (if you’re at PLA, Talia Sherer from Macmillan says they have it at their booth; it’s also available as an e-galley on Edelweiss). The publishing schedule is so accelerated, that it was the springboard for a NYT publishing story.

The first in the trilogy, Annihilation, (Macmillan/FSG, Feb 4), gets a remarkable review in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly. While the reviewer only gives it a B+, he is clearly captivated beyond that rating, saying it’s “one of the weirdest books” he’s ever read and that, “Like all the great weird books, Annihilation will scare you and move you, and you might never know why.” The Washington Post reviewer echoes that sentiment, “Annihilation is successfully creepy, an old-style gothic horror novel set in a not-too-distant future. The best bits turn your mind inside out.” For more on what inspired the author, read his interview in Wired.

It’s also received buzz from librarians on GalleyChat, as Robin Beerbower reported earlier this week.

The third in the series, Acceptance, is set to arrive in Sept. Happily, the series are in trade paperback, lowering the risk to try them. Several libraries we checked are showing holds.

A former Paris Reviw editor pays tribute in Wired this week to the “dazzling oddball masterpiece,” Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn (Knopf, 1989), on the 25th anniversary of its release, citing its many well-known fans. Author Karen Russell recalls discovering it at 15, “I felt electrocuted when I read that first page with Crystal Lil and her freak brood. I stood there in the bookstore and my jaw came unhinged. No book I’ve read, before or since, has given me that specific jolt.”

Although it had success in its day (it was a National Book Award finalist), the novel brought in more royalties for Dunn last year than in any year before.

The piece also includes some lore for publishing geeks; it was legendary editor Sonny Mehta’s first acquisition for Knopf and was designed by the then little-known Chip Kidd’s.

All copies are out in circulation at the libraries we checked.

The U.K. trailer for Half Of A Yellow Sun has just been released, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). As yet, it has not been scheduled for release in the U.S.

When it premiered at the Toronto International Film festival, Variety damned it with faint praise, calling it an “attractive adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s bestseller … a diverting but surface-level saga that, true to its title, feels less than whole.”

The novel it is based on, Half Of A Yellow Sun, (RH/Knopf, 2006), fared much better with the critics. It won the Women’s Prize for Fiction (then called the Orange Prize) and the author was selected as one of the best writers under 40 by The New Yorker.

In a live interview in the Huffington Post last week, Adichie says her most recent novel, Americanah, (Knopf, 2013), is quite different from her earlier works, calling it her “middle finger” book, the one in which she does not “follow the rules.” It was just released in paperback and in audio (Recorded Books). UPDATE, 3/13/14: The book has won the NBCC prize for fiction

The producers behind The Hunger Games announced that they have acquired the option to adapt Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, possibly as a TV mini-series. According to The Wrap, the producers are currently looking for a director and no stars have been named.

The novel, Tartt’s third, was named as one of the best books of the year by multiple sources and is on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Seller at #3 after 19 weeks.

Says producer Nina Jacobson: “We’ve been thinking we are more likely to make a limited series for TV. There’s so much scope to the book. At the same time, a film-maker could come in with a perspective that changes our mind.”

Some of you may have taken our advice to seek out the galley for Walter Kirn’s Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade, (Norton/Liveright).

On NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday, Kirn talked to Terry Gross about his fascinating memoir, released last week, of how he was drawn in by a master manipulator who passed himself off for fifteen years as a member of the Rockefeller family. The book originated from a story Kirn published the New Yorker last year.

Another book about the story,  Mark Seal’s The Man in a Rockefeller Suit is in development as a movie by Walter Selles (The Motorcycle Diaries). It also inspired the well-received novel, Schroder by Amity Gaige.

Many libraries are showing heavy holds.

The Fox/National Geographic reboot of the 1980 PBS phenomenon, Cosmos, has plenty of star power to bring to its goal of “making science cool again.” Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is behind it along with the “Hollywood cool” astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is also the host. The first episode on Sunday was introduced by President Obama. It even got the ultimate in cool promotions, its own Superbowl commercial.

Reviews of the first show are mixed, but cautiously optimistic for the rest of series. Unfortunately, as the L.A. Times reports, the ratings indicate that it drew “only” 6 million viewers and was “trounced by ABC’s premiere of Resurrection,” (reminder: that series is based on the book The Returned by Jason Mott, Harlequin/MIRA).

The original series made a best seller of Sagan’s  tie-in. With twelve more episodes to go, the new one could still do the same for the revised tie-in (RH/Ballantine).

It may also bring renewed attention to Tyson’s many books of his own, the most recent of which is Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier (Norton, 2012).

The man who, as the AP’s publishing reporter Hillel Italie puts it, was “the adventurous and news-making author and reporter” Joe McGinniss has died at 71.

He broke new ground with his book on Richard Nixon, The Selling of the President 1968, (Penguin), the first to look at the role of marketing in presidential campaigns. For his most recent book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, (RH/Crown), he angered his subject by actually moving in to a house next door to hers.

Editor’s Note: We’re delighted to welcome Robin Beerbower as the regular “GalleyChatter” columnist for EarlyWord. Robin’s day job is as the  readers’ advisor and homebound services coordinator for the Salem [OR] Public Library. She has been a supporter of GalleyChat from its inception, calling those discussions “pure gold for selectors and readers advisors.” She’s enthusiastic about the importance (and fun) of reading books ahead of publication and tirelessly tracks down galleys, making her the local authority on new books. She is also very active on the Edelwiss Community Board, using it to spot titles and gauge developing buzz among librarians (you can join in; just register on Edelweiss and “friend” Robin). She plans to write regular roundups on the titles she discovers through the monthly GalleyChats, with regular updates on books to watch for.

From Robin:
Thanks to everyone on GalleyChat for their warm reception about my contributions to EarlyWord, and thanks to Nora for giving me this opportunity. The chats are  fast and furious with tweets flying everywhere. I’ll do my best to summarize each chat (for a full transcript, check our board on Storify).

GalleyChats are held on Twitter the first Tuesday of each month. The next one is on April 1. Please join us (details here).

Below are the titles that rose to the top of the TBR lists as we chatted last week. If you haven’t received print galleys of these titles, check for e-galleys on NetGalley and Edelweiss.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Scribner, May 2014; Audio exclusive from MidWest Tape), a historical novel set in occupied France during WWII, received high praise from a couple of chatters including Susan Balla, who called it “A once-in-a-lifetime book.” The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (Algonquin, April 2014), a moving novel set in a small island bookstore, also received an outpouring of love from multiple chatters. Vicki Nesting said she wanted to reread it as soon as she finished, and it has received “Much Love” from 47 peers on Edelweiss. Scroll through those reviews; you’ll be convinced (UPDATE: it’s the #1 title on the just released April LibraryReads list). Selectors, stock up on this one.

 Kristi Chadwick said the intriguing novel set in a beehive, The Bees by Laline Paull (HC/Ecco, May 2014), was amazing, and during the January chat, Wilda Williams from Library Journal called it “a Watership Down for insects.”

Two science fiction/fantasy books received several mentions. The e-galley of Jeff VanderMeer’s second book in the Southern Reach trilogy, Authority (Macmillan/FSG, May 2014), was well received by Megan McArdle, who loved the first book,  Annihilation. The Macmillan rep reported the good news that the third book, Acceptance, will be released next September. Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor (Tor, April 2014) was mentioned by multiple members with Jane Jorgenson saying it was the best fantasy she’s read in years. Addison also writes the Doctrine of Labyrinth series as Sarah Monnette.

Suspense thrillers were popular during the exchange with the third in the Keye Street series, Don’t Talk to Strangers by Amanda Kyle Williams (RH/Bantam, July, 2014), at the top of the list. Jane Jorgenson said  “It’s got good, claustrophobic, small-town feel – kind of reminds me of the mood of  True Detective (love).”  This has been a popular readalike series for Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gardner fans. Chevy Stevens’That Night and Chelsea Cain’s departure from the Sheridan/Lowell series, One Kick,(Simon & Schuster, August 2014) received nods from fans of their earlier books.

My personal favorite of the past month was Robin Black’s Life Drawing (RH, July 2014), a gorgeously written suspenseful study of marriage and betrayal. Not exactly a Gone Girl readalike but just as compelling.

If you read any of these mentioned books, please let us know what you enjoyed by either entering your comments below or in Edelweiss.

Happy Reading!

The growing excitement about The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (Algonquin) has been quantified; it’s the #1 pick for the April LibraryReads list as well as #1 on the IndieNext list. The annotation makes it clear why:

“A middle-aged bookseller mourning his lost wife, a feisty publisher’s rep, and a charmingly precocious abandoned child come together on a small island off the New England coast in this utterly delightful novel of love and second chances.”

Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY

Also on both lists is Emma Dongohue’s Frog Music, (Hachette/Little Brown), which may surprise fans who came to the author via the wrenching contemporary novel, Room, as this one is a historical novel. Diane Scholl of Batavia [Il) Public library says it is “based on the unsolved murder of Jenny Bonnet, a cross-dressing frog catcher with a mysterious past. Set in 1870s San Francisco, this brilliant book includes impeccable historical details, from a smallpox epidemic to period songs.”

A thriller with a great title and clever cover (click on the cover an it to get a closer look at the skull; can’t wait to see it as a tattoo), The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn (Simon and Schuster), is also featured on both list. Nancy Russell, Columbus [OH} Metro Library, says it manages to be both “funny and romantic, too! In a totally quirky way, of course. You have to read it to believe it.”

Many of the April titles are available as e-galleys on Edelweiss and/or NetGally until publication date. Those of you going to PLA can also check for print galleys at the publishers’ booths.

If you’re a procrastinator (and, believe us, we KNOW who you are!), you don’t have time to hunt down dozens of sources to put together your schedule for PLA in Indianapolis.

The major programs are easy; they are on highlighted on PLA’s Daily Schedule, (Ann Patchett! David Sedaris! John Green!) but the session listings can be overwhelming. It helps that you can sort through by keywords and The Readers Advisor offers a handy rundown of R.A. programs.

Below are a our favorites.

Note: We’ve listed the children’s breakfast on Friday first because it REQUIRES advance registration, which you need to do NOW. The rest of our picks are in sequence by day and time.

Friday, March 14, 7:00 am – 8:15 am
Children’s Book And Author Breakfast
Convention Center, Sagamore Ballroom 6-7

Why this belongs on your calendar: For the free breakfast, but more importantly, because it features several children’s and YA superstars, including Rainbow Rowell and William Joyce. Full program listing after the jump. — SEATING IS LIMITED. RSVP HERE NOW. You will receive a confirmation email if there is space.

—-

Thursday, March 13th 10:45 a.m. – 12 noon
The Best in Debut Authors 
Convention Center, Room #103 – 104

Why this belongs on your calendar: All the authors featured on this panel are being published for the first time this spring, so this is an opportunity to learn about new titles and GET FREE GALLEYS. Several of these authors come with advance buzz. On GalleyChat, we’ve been hearing about  Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, (St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio) and we’re particular fans of Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar, one of the authors in our Penguin Debut Authors series (check out the enthusiastic Peer Reviews for it on Edelweiss). Full program listing after the jump. — RSVP HERE (for headcount purposes only; seating is not limited, but don’t be angry if you don’t RSVP and they run out of galleys!).

—-

Thursday, March 13th, 10:45am-12:00 noon
YA Crossover Panel
JW Marriott Indianapolis, White River Ballroom

Why this belongs on your calendar: Aren’t you dying to meet Gene Luen Yang, author of the graphic novel stunner, Boxers & Saints, (Macmillan/First Second), which was on the majority of the year’s best books lists? If that’s not enough, Laurie Halse Anderson is also on the panel. Full program listing after the jump. —  RSVP HERE. (for headcount purposes only; seating is not limited, but don’t be angry if you don’t RSVP and they run out of galleys!).

—-

Thursday, March 13th, 2:00 – 3:15 pm
ABC – Always Be Circulating: How Public Libraries Meet Demand and Increase Use
Convention Center, 500 Ballroom

Why this belongs on your calendar: The subject and the speakers promise a smash-up program. You’ll learn how to increase circ. through selection, RA and programming from a group of people who have enviable track records in this area — Robin Nesbitt, Wendy Bartlett, Stephanie Chase and Alene Moroni. Full listing in PLA programs.

—-

Friday, March 14th, 10:45 – 12 noon
Mystery Authors Revealed
Convention Center, Wabash Ballroom 3

Why this belongs on your calendar:  Features he buzzy debut The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh (RH/Spiegel & Grau, coming out this week, as well as favorite mystery authors Sophie Hannah and Jeff Abbott and FREE GALLEYS. Full program listing after the jump. — RSVP HERE (for headcount purposes only; seating is not limited, but don’t be angry if you don’t RSVP and they run out of galleys!).

—-

Friday, March 14, 2:00 to 3:15 pm
Doing Time with Sisters in Crime
Convention Center, Wabash Ballroom 3

Why this belongs on your calendar: For that clever title alone, but also to learn about trends in the hottest genre in libraries. This panel includes RA godmother Joyce Saricks and librarian (and GalleyChatter) Lesa Holstine, who writes the influential Lesa’s Book Critiques blog, as well as several Sisters in Crime authors. Full listing in PLA programs.

(more…)

The log jam of book adaptations featuring Nicole Kidman is beginning to break up.

Of the several awaiting release, the first to hit theaters, Railway Man, just announced for April 11, may not be the one that people are most looking forward to. Reviews have been mixed (it has already appeared in the U.K.), with The Hollywood Reporter calling it “plodding” but The Independent saying co-star “Colin Firth gives one of his best performaces in this muted but very touching adaptation.”

The 1996 memoir fared better with reviewers. Firth himself says he is “overwhelmed by the story” of British POW Eric Lomax, who, during WW II, was forced into hard labor in Thailand by the Japanese on what was called the “Death Railway.”  His book is still in print in trade paperback, (Norton). UPDATE: We just got word from Norton that a tie-in is due to be released shortly; ISBN 978-0393344073. Thanks, Golda!

In December, Kidman appears as an evil taxidermist, again co-starring with Colin Firth, in the family movie, Paddington.

We’re still waiting to hear about the release of another adaptation co-starring Kidman and Firth, Before I Go to Sleep, about an amnesiac facing the terrifying prospect that she cannot trust those around her. Based on the domestic thriller by S.J. Watson, it is completed and has the potential of going head-to-head with the adaptation of another title in that genre, Gone Girl, coming October 3.

Also awaiting a U.S. release date, but this time not co-starring Firth, is a bio-pic about Princess Grace, based on Grace of Monaco by Jeffrey Robinson (Perseus/Da Capo; Audio, Dreamscape). Originally announced for a March release date and then inexplicably pulled, Grace of Monaco will open the Cannes film festival in May. A new trailer was just released, but no word on a theatrical release.

Also in the works is an adaptation of Kevin Wilson’s quirky The Family Fang, (HarperCollins/Ecco, 2011), which Kidman is producing and plans to star in. Jason Bateman (star of the cult TV show, Arrested Development) has signed to direct as well as co-star and has said he will begin working on it after he finishes directing another adaptation, This Is Where I Leave You, based on the book by Jonathan Tropper. Refreshingly, the latter has a release date of Sept. 12.

Featured on Morning Edition today is former Marine Phil Klay, whose first book, Redeployment, released on Tuesday (Penguin), is a collection of  “a dozen vivid stories about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspectives of the people who experienced it.” (listen to the show here).

The book is also featured on the cover of the upcoming NYT Book Review  (not yet online) and was reviewed by Michiko Kakutani in the daily NYT last week. Entertainment Weekly gave it an unequivocal  A. It comes with advance praise from an impressive range of writers, attesting to both the author’s authenticity and literary abilities, from Anthony Swofford (Jarhead) to  Colum McCann, (Let the Great World Spin).

It had to happen, of course. Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland, author of the ground-breaking 1994 National Book Award Winner and best seller, How We Die, (RH/Vintage), has died at 83.

The New York Times obituary describes the effect his book had on the medical establishment and the issues Nuland dealt with in his own life.

The news is bringing renewed interest in the book which is currently rising on Amazon’s sales rankings.

The following video is worth watching just to hear Matt Lauer bark at Jane Fonda, “Let’s talk about sex.”

Fonda’s new book, released yesterday, is the trade paperback, Being a Teen: Everything Teen Girls & Boys Should Know about Relationships, Sex, Love, Health, Identity & More, (Random House).

One simple piece of advice: “If you can’t talk about sex, you shouldn’t be having it.”

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The first official teaser trailer for the movie Paddington arrived via Yahoo yesterday. The actual movie is a ways off — it debuts on December 12.

Colin Firth is the voice of the animated bear. Playing live-action characters, Mrs. and Mrs. Brown, are Hugh Bonneville (known to Americans primarily as Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey), and Sally Hawkins, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Blue Jasmine. Nicole Kidman plays the evil taxidermist, bent on adding the bear to her collection. The producer is David Heyman, who, as the trailer proclaims, was the producer of the Harry Potter series  The company handling the special effects, Framestone, won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for Gravity.

The Paddington Bear series began in 1958 with A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond. It will be reissued in July by HarperCollins with illustrations by R.W. Alley (Peggy Fortnum illustrated the original books) and the shortened movie title of simply Paddington. The movie tie-in arrives on Nov. 4.

Baby Gap is also featuring tie-ins in the form of a clothing line.

Official Movie Site: Paddington.com

The trailer shows the UK’s Nov 28 release date; the movie opens here on Dec. 12