The Clint Eastwood movie American Sniper, based on Chris Kyle’s autobiography, was a big winner at the box office this weekend, giving the movie industry much-needed hope.The timing of the film’s wide release, immediately after the Oscar nominations were announced, is considered a big factor in its success.

Another is the film’s patriotic appeal, although that is being question by several who object to the movie making a hero of a man who said in his book, “The enemy are savages and despicably evil,” and his “only regret is that I didn’t kill more.”

The movie’s subject, the late Chris Kyle is getting renewed attention, including this story on NBC’s Nightly News:

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As a result, his book, which has been a long-running best seller, now occupies three spots on the Amazon top 10, with another editions is at #64:

#1 —   Mass market ed. with original cover, (Harper, 2013)
#5 —   Trade pbk tie-in (HarperCollins/Morrow Paperbacks, 2014)
#8 —   Hardcover memorial edition (HarperCollins/Morrow, 2013)
#64 — Mass market. tie-in, (Harper, 2014)

The debut on Friday of the Syfy Channel’s new series 12 Monkeys, based on Terry Gilliam’s 1995 movie, is part of the cable network’s plan to lure back its audience by returning to its roots in scripted, hard-core science fiction.

Other upcoming series are based on books. Just released is a trailer for The Expanse, based on James S.A. Corey‘s series of the same title that begins with Leviathan Wakes, (Hachette/Orbit, 2011). The 10-episodes series, aims, says Entertainment Weekly to be “the next great Star Trek/Firefly/Farscape space drama” or “Game of Thrones in space.”

The date for the series has not yet been announced, but the release of the trailer indicates it is not far off.

Also on tap are adaptations of  two Arthur C. Clarke novels, 3001 The Final Odyssey, (RH/Del Rey, 1997) in development with Ridley Scott as the executive producer and Childhood’s End, (RH/Ballantine, 1953), currently being cast, as well as  Hunters, based on Whitley Strieber’s novel Alien Hunter, (Macmillan/Tor, 2013) and the just-announced adaptation of Robert Charles Wilson’s 2005 novel Spin. (Macmillan/Tor, 2005).

The second title in Mark Zuckerberg’s new Facebook book club, Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, (Penguin/Viking, 2011; trade pbk, 2012; Brilliance Audio  OverDrive Sample), announced on Saturday, immediately moved up Amazon’s sales rankings, and is now at #307 from a lowly #7,514.

The selection may seem at odds with the times, but Zuckerberg insists, “Recent events might make it seem like violence and terrorism are more common than ever, so it’s worth understanding that all violence — even terrorism — is actually decreasing over time. If we understand how we are achieving this, we can continue our path towards peace.” He adds, “A few people I trust have told me this is the best book they’ve ever read.”

As to the length, it is 800 pages. Zuckerberg admits he will need a month to finish it, so he promises to pick a shorter book in two weeks so club members can read both at the same time.

One of those people is Bill Gates, who has called The Better Angels of Our Nature his “favorite book of the last decade” and “a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time.”

The rise in sales was not quite as great as for the first selection, Moisés Naím’s The End of Power, which climbed to #10 on Amazon’s rankings and also just debuted at #14 on the Jan. 25 New York Times combined nonfiction best seller list. Ironically, as The Washington Post reported, Facebook proved to not be a conducive platform for the book discussion.

The attention also generated holds in libraries. Given the brief two-week window for these selections, however, it will be a losing proposition for libraries to try to meet the demand. We can just hope Zuckerberg’s discovery that books can be “very intellectually fulfilling … in a deeper way than most media today” has resonance.

Debuting on the Jan. 25 NYT hardcover fiction best seller list at #6 is the second in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising trilogy, Golden Son, (RH/Del Rey; Recorded Books; Thorndike; OverDrive Sample), surpassing the first book, which spent three weeks on the extended list.

Librarians have been big supporters of the series, making the first title the #1 LibraryRead pick last February. Golden Son is on the current list, with the following recommendation:

“After reading Red Rising, I was looking forward to seeing more of the politics of this world. Darrow has infiltrated the Golds and works to bring them down from the inside, end their tyranny, and free his people. There’s so much political drama and action. Brown does a wonderful job describing it all through Darrow’s eyes. It’s exhausting, thrilling, and heart wrenching!”

Nita Gill, Brookings Public Library, Brookings, SD

Entertainment Weekly calls it the “gripping follow-up to last year’s should-have-been-huge debut.”

It is the lead in this week’s NYT BR “Inside the List” column.

The Jan. 25 New York Times best seller lists are studded with new titles, but the real surprise is a book that has already been on the hardcover fiction list for 36 weeks. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (S&S/Scribner; Thorndike; S&S Audio), remarkable for its tenure on the list, but also for its gradual rise to number one.

In December, the New York Times examined the factors that went in to making this “unexpected breakout bestseller.” At that point, it had just climbed from #6 to #2. As S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy observed, “An awful lot of titles drop off the best-seller list after four months, and it’s a miracle if it lasts more than four months,” but even more surprising, this one, “not only kept going, but the longer it went, the bigger it got.”

The book emerged last February as a favorite among librarians on GalleyChat, and went on to become a May LibraryReads pick and a LibraryReads Favorite of Favorites.

Many libraries continue to show heavy holds (we issued a holds alert for it back in April last year). One large system expects interest to continue, having just entered a substantial reorder. The trade paperback is currently scheduled to release in June, but don’t count on that if the hardcover continues selling.

Next week, we’ll see if it continues at number one, or whether The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, (Penguin/Riverhead) takes that spot.

With no blockbuster names arriving next week, readers advisors can concentrate on the many picks by colleagues.

All the titles covered here, and several more notable titles arriving next week, are listed, with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of Jan. 26, 2015

Advance Attention

Leaving Before the Rains Come, Alexandra Fuller, (Penguin Press, Penguin Audio; OverDrive Sample)

Fans of Fuller’s previous autobiographies, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, will want to know whether this new one is as good. Entertainment Weekly‘s top book critic Tina Jordan, clearly a Fuller fan, says in the new issue’s lead review it is even better than the others and gives it a resounding A. It also received an early review in last week’s NYT BR, and the author is profiled in Home & Garden section.

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Fans of Fuller’s African adventures will be thrilled to find she is back with another engaging memoir, and new readers will want to read her previous works. In Leaving Before the Rains Come, Fuller tells of her unraveling marriage and her realization that she is a person truly between countries, living in the U.S. with her husband and children while her heart and soul remain in Africa. Her experiences in the States change her, and when she returns to Africa she discovers that she no longer fits in as she previously had. Fuller must face some tough questions about who she is and where she belongs, and she does so with her usual intelligence and wit.” —Liz Heywood, The Babbling Book, Haines, AK

Fear the Darkness: A Thriller, Becky Masterman, (Macmillan/Minotaur; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive Sample);

Janet Maslin gives Fear the Darkness early attention in the daily NYT this week. Clearly expecting a winner, based on the authors previous title, Rage Against the Dying, she calls this one “another strong display of the author’s ingenuity” but seems let down by the book’s “involving, if not electrifying, first half.”  In the end, however, she says the “book’s later stages are easily its best and well worth waiting for.”

Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, Eric Foner, (Norton)

The NYT covers this book by the Pulitzer Prize winner in a story that should fascinate anyone interested in research.

People Picks 

Etta and Otto and Russell and James, Emma Hooper, (S&S; OverDrive Sample)

People Pick of the Week, 1/26/15;  ” … a lovely book you’ll want to linger over.”

Also an Indie Next pick:

“Eighty-three-year-old Etta Vogel quietly sets out one day to walk 3,200 kilometers to the coast of Canada for her first view of the ocean. As Etta travels, author Hooper gently and poignantly reveals a lifetime of morally charged events that shaped Etta as well as her husband, Otto, and her lifelong friend, Russell. This is a beautiful and sometimes hauntingly stark portrait of three WWII-generation lives, sprinkled with the wise counsel of a loyal coyote named James. I loved it!” — Susan Tyler, The Book Bin, Onley, VA

See How Small, Scott Blackwood, (Hachette/Little, Brown; OverDrive Sample)

People Pick, 1/26/15:

‘This strange and mesmerizing novel begins with the murder of three teenage girls in an Austin ice-cream shop, then traces the crime’s impact on survivors, including a mother, a witness and an accomplice to the crime. In lyrical, often dream-like prose, Blackwood illuminates the nature of grief and the connections among the living and the dead.”

The Man Who Couldn’t Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought, David Adam, (Macmillan/FSG/Sarah Crichton; Recorded Books; OverDrive Sample)

People Pick, 1/26/15:

”One day David Adam was a regular guy; the next he scraped himself on a screw and panicked that he’d contracted AIDS. For more than a decade that thought dominated his life. Part memoir, part exploration of the science behind OCD, The Man Who Couldn’t stop is an obsessive read and one with heart.’

LibraryReads Pick

First Frost, Sarah Addison Allen, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press; OverDrive Sample)

Both a LibraryReads and Indie Next pick

LibraryReads recommendation:

“First Frost is a great continuation of the stories of sisters Claire and Sydney, and Sydney’s teenage daughter, Bay. Each of the Waverlys has their own somewhat supernatural gift, and all of them struggle with issues of identity and family. As with Allen’s previous works, this novel will appeal to fans of Alice Hoffman and readers who enjoy family stories that are not overflowing with angst and drama.” — Lauren Mitchell, Pima County Libraries, Tucson, AZ

GalleyChat Pick

Before He Finds Her, Michael Kardos, (Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press)

GalleyChat Fave, Sept:

“I loved Michael Kardos’s The Three-Day Affair (2012) and was sorry it didn’t get the attention it deserved, so I’m keeping fingers crossed that his newest will find a bigger audience. This fast moving plot about a man who murdered his wife and may be looking for his missing daughter is told from multiple viewpoints and is perfect for Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay readers.” — Robin Beerbower, EarlyWord

Indie Next Picks

Sweetland, Michael Crummey, (Norton/Liveright)

Indie Next recommendation:

“Crummey takes readers into the heart of the insular fishing community of Chance Cove, Sweetland Island, Newfoundland. Sixty-eight-year-old Moses Sweetland’s family founded the town, and he is the only holdout when the government offers the residents a generous cash settlement to relocate to the mainland that is effective only if everyone signs on. Told in sparse, beautiful prose with generous helpings of the local dialect, Sweetland is a requiem for the intimate knowledge of place that a transient society can just barely remember.” —Sarah Goddin, Quail Ridge Books & Music, Raleigh, NC

Migratory Animals, Mary Helen Specht, (Harper Perennial; OverDrive Sample)

Indie Next recommendation:

“Specht’s novel weaves together stories of science and art, friends faraway and family returned. Migratory Animals is a coming-of-age tale for grown-ups, a reminder that growing pains don’t stop as we age and change and become who we’re supposed to be — or who we hope to be. Flannery and her friends will grab hold of you and not let go until the last page has been turned.” —Annie B. Jones, The Bookshelf, Thomasville, GA

Unbecoming, Rebecca Scherm, (Penguin/Viking, BOT Audio; OverDrive Sample)

Indie Next:

“Julie rents a room in a dilapidated house outside of Paris. She repairs antiques, mostly things no one else wants, and is a loner with no friends or social life. In her room at night, she reads the news from Garland, Tennessee, her hometown, where two men are about to be let out on parole for a crime for which she was the mastermind. Julie is terrified of being found and is just trying to survive. This is an exhilarating page-turner with multi-layered characters and several good twists. Once you hit the halfway point, it’s a race to the finish to find out what’s going to happen.” —Amanda Skelton, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, TN – See also, our chat with the author, Rebecca Scherm. 

Morte, Robert Repino, (Penguin/Viking; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample)

Indie Next:

“Ants conquer the world and pets overthrow their masters in this smart, gripping novel. House cat Sebastian becomes Mort(e), a fearsome warrior for the animal cause. Battling across a dystopian landscape, flushing out the few human survivors, Mort(e) can never quite forget his domesticated past and lost friend, the dog Sheba. A crisis of conscience ensues. What is good? Who is evil? Are the dictatorial ants truly better than the humans with their germ warfare? Laced with humor, this action-packed thriller is thought-provoking.” — Mariga Temple-West, Big Blue Marble Bookstore, Philadelphia, PA

Best Picture, Actor (Bradley Cooper), Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing

Kyle, Chris, AMERICAN SNIPER, (HarperCollins/Morrow, 2012)

Hodges, Andrew, ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA, (S&S, 1983; re-released by Princeton U. Press, 2012)

Best Picture, Director, Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Film Editing, Production Design

Pynchon, Thomas, INHERENT VICE, (Penguin Press, 2009)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Hawking, Jane, TRAVELING TO INFINITY: MY LIFE WITH STEPHEN, (Alma Books, 2007)

Best Picture, Actor (Eddie Redmayne), Actress (Felicity Jones), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score

Schultz, Mark & David Thomas, FOXCATCHER, Penguin/Dutton, 11/4/14)

Best Director, Actor (Steve Carell), Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Original Screenplay

Genova, Lisa, STILL ALICE, (S&S/Pocket Books, 2009)

Best Actress (Julianne Moore)

Flynn, Gillian, GONE GIRL, (2012)

Best Actress (Rosamund Pike)

Strayed, Cheryl, WILD, (RH/Knopf 2012)

Best Actress (Reese Witherspoon), Supporting Actress (Laura Dern)

Commenting on the slate of Oscar nominations announced yesterday, Entertertainment Weekly notes,

“Well, it’s certainly going to be one white, male Oscars.

With no people of color nominated in the acting categories, no stories about women included in the best picture race, and even Gone Girl novelist/screenwriter … Gillian Flynn omitted from the best adapted screenplay category, the Academy demonstrated its lack of diversity today in a big way.”

Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand, was not nominated for either Best Picture or  Best Director. It only received nominations for Best Cinematography, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.

Neither is Unbroken nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. The nominees in that category are:

American Sniper, Jason Hall — based on Kyle, Chris, American Sniper,  (HarperCollins/Morrow, 2012)

The Imitation Game, Graham Moore — Hodges, Andrew, Alan Turing: The Enigma, (S&S, 1983; re-released by Princeton U. Press, 2012)

Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson — Pynchon, Thomas, Inherent Vice, (Penguin Press, 2009)

The Theory of Everything, Anthony McCarten — Hawking, Jane, Traveling To Infinity: My Life With Stephen, (Alma Books, 2007)

Whiplash, Damien Chazelle

If you’re wondering about the latter, so are many others, including the film’s creators. The Academy decided that since writer/director Damian Chazelle released another short film on the same subject in 2013, also called Whiplash, the feature film technically falls into the category of being “based on material previously published or produced.”

The other major nominations for book adaptations are:

American Sniper, Best Picture, Actor (Bradley Cooper), Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing — based on Kyle, Chris, American Sniper, (HarperCollins/Morrow, 2012)

The Imitation Game, Best Picture, Director, Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Film Editing, Production Design– Hodges, Andrew, Alan Turing: The Enigma, (S&S, 1983; re-released by Princeton U. Press, 2012)

The Theory of Everything, Best Picture, Actor (Eddie Redmayne), Actress (Felicity Jones), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score — Hawking, Jane, Traveling To Infinity: My Life With Stephen, (Alma Books, 2007)

Still Alice, Best Actress (Julianne Moore) — Genova, Lisa, Still Alice, (S&S/Pocket Books, 2009)

Gone Girl, Best Actress (Rosamund Pike) — Flynn, Gillian, Gone Girl, (2012)

Wild, Best Actress (Reese Witherspoon), Supporting Actress (Laura Dern) — Strayed, Cheryl, Wild, (RH/Knopf 2012)

The following has a book tie-in, which was released around the same time as the movie:

Foxcatcher, Best Director, Actor (Steve Carell), Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Original Screenplay — Mark Schultz & David Thomas, Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother’s Murder, John du Pont’s Madness, and the Quest for Olympic Gold, (Penguin/Dutton, 11/4/14).

Why is Foxcatcher getting a nomination for Original Screenplay? It’s a complicated story, but it seems that Schultz sent the unpublished book to the filmmakers. The movie they made was based on the story, with Schultz consulting, but not technically the book, which was published later.

For Best Animated Feature, three of the nominations are adapted from print sources:

Big Hero 6 — Seagle, Steven T. and Duncan Rouleau, comics (Marvel)

The Boxtrolls — Alan Snow, Here Be Monsters!, (Atheneum, 2008, rereleased 8/5/14)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 — characters by Cressida Crowell

Never underestimated the importance of the Oscars to a movie’s bottom line.

Just a few months after the release of the first trailer for Ron Howard’s adaptation of  Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea and the announcement of a March 13 release, comes a change in date to, you guessed it, one that falls right in the awards season sweet spot, Dec. 11, 2015.

As a result, the tie-ins are likely to be moved to a later release date.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (Movie Tie-in)
Nathaniel Philbrick
Penguin, Trade Paperback Feb. 24, 2015
9780143126812, 0143126814

Audio: Feb. 24, 2015
Nathaniel Philbrick, Scott Brick
9781611763577, 1611763576

The live chat is now a wrap — see what you missed, below.

Live Chat with Caroline Starr Rose, BLUE BIRDS

(01/14/2015)

  

Close

4:42	Nora - EarlyWord:  We'll begin our chat in about fifteen minutes. Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:42 Nora - EarlyWord

4:44	Nora - EarlyWord:  We'll be chatting with Caroline Starr Rose, author of BLUE BIRDS. Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:44 Nora - EarlyWord

4:44	Nora - EarlyWord Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:44

4:49	Nora - EarlyWord:  Here's a quick plot summary: Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:49 Nora - EarlyWord

4:50

Nora - EarlyWord:  Plot summary: It’s 1587 and twelve-year-old Alis has made the long journey with her parents from England to help settle the New World, the land christened Virginia in honor of the Queen. And Alis couldn’t be happier. The streets of London are crowded and dirty. But this new land, with its trees and birds and sky calls to Alis. Here she feels free. But the land, the island Roanoke is also inhabited by the Roanoke tribe and tensions between them and the English are running high, quickly becoming deadly. Amid the strife, Alis meets and befriends Kimi, a Roanoke girl about her age. Despite not even speaking the same language these girls form an impossible bond becoming as close as sisters, willing to risk everything for the other. Finally, Alis must make an impossible choice when her family resolves to leave the island and bloodshed behind. With a beautiful, tender story of friendship and the meaning of family, Caroline Starr Rose delivers another historical gem. Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:50 Nora - EarlyWord

4:50

Nora - EarlyWord:  Kirkus reviewed it earlier this month: “Composed in varying formats, the descriptive and finely crafted poems reveal the similarities the two girls share, from loved ones lost to hatred between the English and the Roanoke to a desire for peace… Fans of Karen Hesse and the author's May B. (2012) will delight in this offering.”— Kirkus Reviews Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:50 Nora - EarlyWord

4:52	Nora - EarlyWord:  I see chat participants gathering! We'll begin chatting at 5:00, EST, but you can send your questions through at any time. They'll go into a queue, and we'll submit as many of them as we can to Caroline before the end of the chat. Wednesday January 14, 2015 4:52 Nora - EarlyWord

5:01	Nora - EarlyWord:  Our moderator is Lisa Von Drasek, curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota, one of the world’s largest collections of children’s literature manuscripts and original art. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:01 Nora - EarlyWord

5:02	Nora - EarlyWord:  Say hi to everyone, Lisa! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Nora - EarlyWord

5:02	lisa von drasek:  Hi Everyone! Caroline are you here? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 lisa von drasek

5:02	Caroline:  I am. Hello, all! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Caroline

5:02	[Comment From Pam, Public LibrarianPam, Public Librarian: ]  Hi, Caroline, thanks for BOTH your beautiful books Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Pam, Public Librarian

Caroline:  Thank you, Pam.   Caroline

5:02	[Comment From Lila, NewportLila, Newport: ]  I’ve lurked on many of these chats. Now I’m out of the shadows! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Lila, Newport

5:02	[Comment From Junie BJunie B: ]  Ready to chat! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:02 Junie B

5:03	lisa von drasek:  I have a great Question form Deborah Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:03 lisa von drasek

5:03	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Do you have any Teacher Guides or extension activities available for "Blue Birds?" Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:03 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  Not yet. But things are in the works!   Caroline

5:03	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  Can’t wait to share this book with my kids! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:03 Julie Wolf

5:04	lisa von drasek:  Julie, How old are your kids? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 lisa von drasek

5:04	[Comment From Reads for a livingReads for a living: ]  Let’s get this party started! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 Reads for a living

5:04	[Comment From Janice P.Janice P.: ]  Looking forward to the chat. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 Janice P.

5:04	lisa von drasek:  Caroline , Can you talk a little about what inspired you to write this book? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:04 lisa von drasek

5:05	[Comment From Jonas P.Jonas P.: ]  Thanks for taking the time to chat with us , Caroline Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:05 Jonas P.

Caroline:  Happy to be here!   Caroline

5:05	Caroline:  Absolutely. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:05 Caroline

5:05	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  My kids are all ten year olds. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:05 Julie Wolf

5:06

Caroline:  In 2008 I was teaching fifth-grade social studies. We’d gotten to those textbook paragraphs about England’s first colony in the Americas. Not Jamestown, the Virginia settlement started in 1607. Roanoke, the community established twenty years before… Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:06 Caroline

5:07	Caroline:  … Reading about the Lost Colony along with my students, I remembered the fascination I’d felt the first time I’d encountered the story: 117 missing people. The word CROATOAN the only clue left behind. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:07 Caroline

5:07	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Where did you get the idea for the character names and spelling? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:07 Deborah Baldwin

5:08	lisa von drasek:  were you at a reader as a kid? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:08 lisa von drasek

5:08	Caroline:  In reading first-hand accounts from the 1500s, it didn't take long to notice nobody consistently spelled their names the same way... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:08 Caroline

5:09	Caroline:  ...Sir Walter Raleigh ususally spelled his name Ralegh... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:09 Caroline

5:09	Caroline:  ...Alis was one of many variations of Alice.... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:09 Caroline

5:10	Caroline:  ...So little is known about the Roanoke, I ended up taking both Kimi and Alawa's names from an Algonquin name list I found on-line! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:10 Caroline

5:10	[Comment From Jonas P.Jonas P.: ]  This is your second book and both have been in verse form. Why do you like that form? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:10 Jonas P.

Caroline:  Verse is as close to the bone as I can get.   Caroline

5:10	[Comment From Jonas P.Jonas P.: ]  Are there any drawbacks to the form? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:10 Jonas P.

Caroline:  I see verse as a collection of snap shots and prose as a running movie. There isn't always a lot of room to work within a snap shot, but you can certainly evoke emotion and really focus on the moment.   Caroline

5:13	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Verse form seems to really place an emphasis on choosing your words carefully and helps to get to the heart of the thought. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:13 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  Yes. Exactly. Drafting can be very slow work!   Caroline

5:13	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Your book is spot on for fifth graders. It works well as a mentor text for creating "aged" journal entries. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:13 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  I love hearing this, especially because the book started for me when I was teaching fifth grade. A circle completed.   Caroline

5:13	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  Did you come across any great discoveries in your research? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:13 Julie Wolf

Caroline:  One thing that didn't make the book but I found to be both interesting and a cruel irony: The day Gov. White returned to Roanoke in 1590 was his granddaughter, Virigina Dare's, third birthday.   Caroline

5:16	lisa von drasek:  I noticed that you had a very specific sense of place. Did you think about including maps? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:16 lisa von drasek

5:17	Caroline:  I hoped Putnam would choose to include a map. So happy they did... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:17 Caroline

5:18	lisa von drasek:  whoops I missed it Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 lisa von drasek

5:18	lisa von drasek:  it is right in the front! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 lisa von drasek

5:18	Caroline:  ...It required a flurry of emails and conversations with rangers at Ft. Raleigh. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 Caroline

5:18	lisa von drasek:  Can you tell us a little about your own childhood reading? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:18 lisa von drasek

5:19	lisa von drasek:  Any authors who inspired you? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:19 lisa von drasek

5:19	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  The map is very helpful! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:19 Deborah Baldwin

5:21	Caroline:  My computer froze! Sorry about that. Trying again. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:21 Caroline

5:21

Caroline:  I was a voracious reader! Reading was a huge part of my life. I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder, LM Montgomery, Beverly Cleary, Mary Poppins, Doctor Dolittle, Cheaper by the Dozen, Ginger Pye, The Railway Children, Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, the Shoe books (Ballet, Dancing, etc.) and so many more… Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:21 Caroline

5:22

Caroline:  … My school librarian used to host a "kite contest" every year. She hung a kite on the ceiling and attached a long tail. When a child finished a book, a paper bow was added to the kite. This was magical to me. I read like crazy to get my bows added. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:22 Caroline

5:22

Caroline:  Authors that inspire me: Katherine Paterson. I want to be her when I grow up. She writes with such compassion. I feel the same way about Beverly Cleary. Is there a more human character than Ramona Quimby in all of children's literature? Karen Cushman has taught me so much about historical fiction. Karen Hesse so much about verse... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:22 Caroline

5:23	Caroline:  ...And here are the books that inspired me to write historical fiction: Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman Our Only May Amelia - Jennifer Holm Fever 1793 - Laurie Halse Anderson Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:23 Caroline

5:23	[Comment From Josie, School LibrarianJosie, School Librarian: ]  I'm SO stealing the kite idea! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:23 Josie, School Librarian

Caroline:  Your kids will love your for life! I'll come be a student in your library.   Caroline

5:23	[Comment From Reads for a livingReads for a living: ]  I'm always curious about the editing process. What was it like for you? Do editors need any special skills to deal with books in verse? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:23 Reads for a living

Caroline:  This was my editor's first verse novel and only my second. I am generally an under writer (not the insurance company type...the kind that needs to flesh things out). We talked a lot about things I would suspect would be true of any book: rising tension, believable character development.   Caroline

5:26	lisa von drasek one map from the front of the book Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26

5:26	[Comment From FranFran: ]  You certainly seem drawn to young women who are living in difficult circumstances! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 Fran

Caroline:  It's kind of funny, actually. I'm a self-proclaimed wimp. I think that's why I'm fascinated with these strong girls living in challenging times.   Caroline

5:26	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  I love the kite idea too! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 Deborah Baldwin

5:26	[Comment From Blue StockingBlue Stocking: ]  In both your books, the main characters are 12-year-old girls. Are you just a 12-year-old at hearts, or is there some other reason you pick this age? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:26 Blue Stocking

Caroline:  Twelve feels like a middle grade sweet spot to me. I taught sixth and seventh grade for most of my teaching years. It just feels like a good fit for me.   Caroline

5:28	[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ]  The Roanoke story seems to be ones that kids are fascinated by, as you were. I wonder if it's because it's one of the few historical stories where text books just admit nobody now for sure what happened? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:28 Jane Doe

Caroline:  I think that's a huge part of it. There are still debates now. No one really knows. Did they go inland, as a recent map seems to indicate? Did they go to the Chesapeake, as planned? Some surely went to Croatoan. Jamestown settlers spoke of possibly seeing white-skinned men working Native copper mines. It is fascinating!   Caroline

5:28	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  How long did it take for you to write this book? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:28 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  The first niggling idea came in 2008. I sat down to research in 2010. Drafted 2011-2012. Sold it in 2013. Worked and reworked and reworked until last summer, 2014.   Caroline

5:29	[Comment From Blue stockingBlue stocking: ]  Good answer about 12-year olds -- I agree. It's old enough for middle graders to look up to, but not so old that they can't relate. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:29 Blue stocking

Caroline:  Yes! Exactly.   Caroline

5:32	[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ]  Thanks for understanding my question -- ugh, typos! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:32 Jane Doe

Caroline:  :) Didn't even notice.   Caroline

5:32	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Do you do author visits or Skype with schools? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:32 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  I do both and absolutely love it...   Caroline

5:33	Caroline:  ...I feel like I get to pretend for an hour that the students are mine. I also really love seeing kids get excited about reading and history all at once. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:33 Caroline

5:33	[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ]  Have kids every asked you questions out of left field? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:33 Jane Doe

Caroline:  Yes. And they're extra fun. If you've read May B., they're often about the fate of Mrs. Oblinger. Sometimes they get gruesome.   Caroline

5:34	lisa von drasek:  Have the kids made you think any differently about your writing? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:34 lisa von drasek

5:35

Caroline:  Yes. I realize how different our world is today. Things like the responsibilities a young person might have. I want kids to really feel those differences. With May B., which is a frontier story, I have kids think about all the ways they've used water up to that point in the day… Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:35 Caroline

5:35	Caroline:  ...and all the ways they'll use it later. Then I tell students pioneers in the 1870s didn’t have running water. If they were really lucky, they had a well. It’s one of many ways to show how different life is now… Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:35 Caroline

5:37	Caroline:  ...But I also love talking about the similarities... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:37 Caroline

5:38	Caroline:  ...Those come in an emotional connection. We have all felt anger, sadness, joy, or fear. These are the timeless things that connect us. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:38 Caroline

5:38	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Those different perspectives and life experiences are so important to have represented. Thank you! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:38 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  Yes! I remember once telling children to imagine no cars, TV, computers, etc. I asked how they might spend their time. One boy told me he'd play Monopoly. I had to tell him even that wasn't around during pioneer times!   Caroline

5:38	lisa von drasek:  You really captured Alis's loneliness . Was there really only one girl in Roanoke? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:38 lisa von drasek

5:39

Caroline:  17 English women and 11 boys made the journey to Roanoke. No young girls were on the 1587 manifest. But with both the Dare and Harvie families having babies a few days apart, adding Alis to the Harvie family felt practical. She could serve as a nursemaid to both children. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:39 Caroline

5:40	[Comment From Jane DoeJane Doe: ]  I loved your comments about spelling. I've read that it was actually PRINTERS who made us regulate spelling. I always say I prefer the creative approach, rather to the tyranny of printers! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:40 Jane Doe

Caroline:  Preach it!   Caroline

5:40	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  How difficult was it to get your first book published? And, BTW, congrats on the success of it. I loved it and this one will be received at least as well. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:40 Julie Wolf

Caroline:  My goodness. Thank you! It took me a long time to sell a first book. May was novel number four (I also had written six picture books). Though I got some kind feedback from agents, most felt verse was a really hard sell, and literary historical MG was the trifecta of difficult.   Caroline

5:42	[Comment From Junie B., ChicagoJunie B., Chicago: ]  Do you have another book in the works, or do you need a break? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:42 Junie B., Chicago

Caroline:  I'm working on a prose novel, which is a new challenge for me. It's about the Klondike gold rush with a Huck Finn-like character. My sons (sixth and eighth grade) have wanted me to write about a boy for years.   Caroline

5:43	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Your writing lends itself to the reader to form "text to text" and "text to self" connections. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:43 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  Oh, I love this! One of my favorite moments is a small one: Alis talks about the "luxuries" of London. I wanted readers to really see and reflect on her concept of a luxury vs. their own.   Caroline

5:44	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  Thanks for saying that about literary historical MG being a tough sell. I wondered about that! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:44 Julie Wolf

Caroline:  It's too bad. BUT. I have to believe a good story will get its chance. My writing motto for years has been "maniacal optimism".   Caroline

5:44	lisa von drasek:  I was wondering what your writing day was like. Can you say a few words about that? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:44 lisa von drasek

Caroline:  I'm not sure if there is a typical day. I do almost always start with a trip to the gym or am out the door for a run. Then I settle in. I try to hold to Roald Dahl's philosophy: At least two hours a day with your work, whether or not you have something to say. Of course, some days it's much longer. Other times life butts in.   Caroline

5:46	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  But I haven't found it tough to sell to kids -- they open it and immediately see that it's easy to read (it doesn't hurt that there are fewer words on the page than in other books). Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:46 Julie Wolf

Caroline:  I am SO happy to hear this. There is sometimes resistence to verse...but to me it seems to be coming almost exclusively from adults. I think kids are very, very open and accepting and curious.   Caroline

5:46	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  My students enjoy reading verse as well! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:46 Deborah Baldwin

5:48	lisa von drasek:  Is there any questions you had wished I had asked? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:48 lisa von drasek

5:48	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Our Third Graders loved May B. I've introduced our fifth Graders to Blue Birds. Our Fourth Graders will most likely enjoy the Gold Rush book. All of them fit our history studies nicely. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:48 Deborah Baldwin

5:49	Caroline:  Let's talk about why I write children's books... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline

5:49	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  Going back to the issue of an MG historical novel in verse -- what on earth made you decide to do that? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Julie Wolf

Caroline:  What on earth indeed??? I didn't plan it at all. I had actually only read two verse novels before writing May. But as I started drafting, I was frustrated with the distance I felt between my ideas and the words on the page. I returned to my research and noticed the patterns frontier women used to communicate. Spare language. Everything contained. I realized if I could mirror this I could best show May's world and tell her story.   Caroline

5:49	Caroline:  These are the books I shared with my former students and the ones I read with my children. They're also the ones that have had a biggest impact on me in my reading life… Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline

5:49

Caroline:  …I love the way children's books validate children's lives and experiences. My older boy went into the hospital with a staph infection when he was ten days old. As nurses poked around on him, I remember them telling me he wouldn't remember the pain. So what? I wanted to say. He's feeling it right now!… Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline

5:49

Caroline:  … I think as well-meaning adults we do this sort of thing all the time -- downplay the moment for kids. The truth is those moments, all moments, are real. Children's literature provides an honest, safe place for kids to hear their big and small moments count. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:49 Caroline

5:51	lisa von drasek:  Do you have contact information for school that would like author visits either real or skyped? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:51 lisa von drasek

Caroline:  Yes! If you go to my website, click on the "author visits" option.   Caroline

5:51	[Comment From Julie WolfJulie Wolf: ]  You've just brought tears to my eyes! What a GREAT way of putting it! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:51 Julie Wolf

Caroline:  Ramona Quimby and Anne Shirley taught me that.   Caroline

5:54	lisa von drasek:  Unbelievably the time has sped by and we must say thank you to Caroline. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 lisa von drasek

5:54	Caroline:  www.carolinestarrrose.com Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 Caroline

5:54	lisa von drasek:  Any last words from the peanut gallery? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 lisa von drasek

5:54	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  Thank you! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 Deborah Baldwin

5:54	Nora - EarlyWord:  Caroline just gave us the link to her Web site, where you can contact her for author visits. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:54 Nora - EarlyWord

5:55	Caroline:  My absolute pleasure. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:55 Caroline

5:56	[Comment From Julie+WolfJulie+Wolf: ]  This peanut loved the chat!! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:56 Julie+Wolf

5:56	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  What advice do you have for young writers? Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:56 Deborah Baldwin

5:57	Caroline:  Two things: You have something unique to say. Your writing can only get better if you keep trying. These sustained me in the almost fourteen years it took me to see my first book on the shelves. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:57 Caroline

5:57	Nora - EarlyWord:  That's a great place to end -- Thanks, Lisa and Caroline and all the rest of you -- this was so much fun! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:57 Nora - EarlyWord

5:58	Nora - EarlyWord:  The next title in our program is Ms. Rapscott's Girls, by Elise Primavera, coming in March. Click here to read more about it: Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord

5:58	Nora - EarlyWord:  http://penguinyrauthors.ear... Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord

5:58	Nora - EarlyWord:  Happy reading, everyone and thanks for joining. Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord

5:59	[Comment From Deborah BaldwinDeborah Baldwin: ]  So glad you persisted, Caroline! Wednesday January 14, 2015 5:59 Deborah Baldwin

Caroline:  Thank you. Me too.   Caroline

 

 

Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body by Martin Pistorius (Simon & Schuster, 2011; OverDrive Sample) is getting renewed attention after NPR featured it on its new program, Invisibilia, devoted to exploring the “intangible forces that shape human behavior.”

The show debuted on January 8^th and repeated on All Things Considered the next day. It sent Ghost Boy racing up Amazon’s sales rankings all the way to #2.

NPR may have created a new book bump vehicle. The story was picked up by The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor and the book is currently out of stock on Amazon. Few libraries bought Pistorius’s memoir at the time of publication. Those that did are showing heavy holds. One library we checked has 91 holds on 3 copies.

In June, Stephen King announced a followup to Mr. Mercedes, the second in a planned trilogy, titled Finders Keepers, (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio; 6/2/15).

Yesterday, it was announced that the first book is being developed as a limited series for the small screen, to be directed by Jack Bender who did the adaptation of King’s Under the Dome, that aired on CBS last year.

Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert is publishing a new book in September on creativity, which may be why she gave the exclusive announcement to the Etsy blog, which is written for craftspeople and craft buyers.

Titled Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, (Penguin/ Riverhead; 9781594634710), the announcement has been picked up by several news sources, including the New York Times (via the AP) and USA Today.

Talk about your moneyball. The film version of Michael Lewis’s best seller about the financial meltdown, The Big Short, (Norton, 2011).has attracted some big stars, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling, will star according to Variety. Pitt is producing.

Pitt, of course, starred in an adaptation of another title by Lewis, Moneyball, (Norton, 2003).

Before that, the movie based on his 2006 book,  The Blind Side, (Norton), was also a hit.

Aaron Sorkin, who was wrote the screenplay for  Moneyball, bought the rights to Lewis most recent title, Flash Boys, (Norton, 2014) and it was reported to be on his “front burner” after his success with Newsroon, but hacked Sony emails indicate he has passed on the project.

Amid protests that the “R” rating for the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey is too mild, a new trailer debuted during the broadcast of the Golden Globes awards. This one offers a glimpse of a new “Grey,” Marcia Gay Harden as Christian’s mother.

The movie, of course, will be released on Valentine’s Day weekend.

The trailer for four-hour mini-series adaptation of The Dovekeepers, (S&S/Scribner, 2012), Alice Hoffman’s historical novel about the Siege of Masada has just debuted online. The series will air in two parts on CBS, March 31 and April 1, 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.

Produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, dubbed by Deadline, “Hollywood’s It Couple when it comes to religious programming,” it stars Cote de Pablo, with Rachel Brosnahan, Kathryn Prescott, Diego Boneta and Sam Neill.

Speaking to TV critics on Monday during the Winter TV Press Tour, Downey explained why she wanted to adapt the novel, “What attracted me is it had these amazingly powerful and courageous women. For many years as an actress myself I was always looking for the story or scripts that really put women out front and center. This does that. It’s profoundly moving.”

Tie-ins (for tie-ins to all upcoming movies and TV see our catalog on Edelweiss):

The Dovekeepers, Alice Hoffman
S&S/Scribners, March 17, 2015
Trade Paperback

Mass Market, S&S/Pocket Book

Simon & Schuster Audio