EarlyWord is the home of GalleyChat, monthly online discussions where library staff share excitement about upcoming books. More information here.
Summaries of chats and announcements are posted to the right. Use them to add to your own TBR piles and for collection development.
Links on the far right of the site offer information useful to readers advisors.
Hope to see you during our next chat,
GalleyChatters
The London premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (opening next week in the US) proved that the franchise still has a strong fan base.
The Telegraph gives an assessment of the UK reviews.
The Tattoo Chronicles may be a NYT best seller, but the REAL deal is Literary Tattoos, featuring inked librarians and other “Bookworms Worldwide.” They’re more fun than Kat’s tatts because they offers insight into books people are passionate about (one woman’s entire back is covered in the last lines from On the Road, in typescript, with a superimposed portrait of Kerouac at his typewriter).
But our favorite is this tribute to a librarian, by a librarian:
Danielle, a librarian from Indianapolis has the Dewey number for poetry inked on her wrist. Ben Rubinstein Library Marketing Assoc. at Macmillan (where he works with Talia Sherer) sports this line from Margaret Atwood’s poem, Asparagus.
Please, Ben, why did you choose this particular quote? (UPDATE: Ben spills the beans in the comments section!)
See more literary tattoos at The Word Made Flesh web site.
By the way, we think the EarlyWord bird would make a great tattoo.
Just sayin’.
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The New York Times will leap into the eBook fray, with fiction and nonfiction best seller lists as an “an acknowledgment of the growing sales and influence of digital publishing.” The lists launch next year.
The NYT added Graphic Books best seller lists a couple of years ago. To date, however, they have ignored audiobooks, a format that accounts for greater sales than eBooks.
As expected for an author whose first book was an enormous success, Laura Hillenbrand is getting attention for her next title, Unbroken. And, as expected by most who have read it, it’s poised to do even better than Seabiscuit.
It’s a People Pick in the 11/22 issue. About a little-known WWII hero, who survived on a life raft in the middle of the ocean, only to be “rescued” by the Japanese and put in to a brutal POW camp for two years, Caroline Leavitt (frequent reviewer for People and the author of Pictures of You, Algonquin, Jan) says it is,
… as mesmerizing as it is gut-wrenching. And Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page…a devastating story of the unforgivable, and of one extraordinary man who forgave.
Hillenbrand is also featured on the cover of USA Today‘s “Life” section today, the book is excerpted in the December issue of Vanity Fair and more publicity is coming, including appearances on the Today Show and NPR.
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RH Large Print; 9780375435010
RH Audio; 9780739319697
Is Angelina Jolie going to play Cleopatra in a 3-D movie directed by James Cameron, based on the book by Stacy Schiff?
The answer is unclear. On NPR’s Morning Edition today, Tina Brown raved about the book in a “must-reads” segment and casually stated that Cleopatra “is about to be played by Angelina Jolie.” However, just last week, Cameron told the Fox News entertainment blog, PopTarts, “I am not doing Cleopatra. That has been decided.” Yet, in an interview in WSJ’s entertainment blog Speakeasy (don’t you just love these blog titles?), Stacy Schiff said, “Angelina Jolie is immensely interested in playing Cleopatra.”
So, maybe the answer is that Jolie is still in and producer Scott Rudin is looking for another director.
But, what does it matter, if the rumors bring people to read the book. On NPR, Brown said, “I just love this book…it is so well-written that it’s almost like a novel in its juicy literary flair…Schiff’s portrayal of Alexandria, turns the city itself into a kind of siren.” She’s so taken with it that she read from the book.
The book is piling up fans among book critics and is currently at #16 on Amazon’s sales rankings, where it has been for almost a week, so we can expect to see it on the upcoming NYT list. Holds are growing and are heavy in some libraries.
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Hachette LARGE PRINT; Hdbk; 9780316120449; $31.99
Hachette Audio; UNABR; 9781607887010; $34.98
Is Mia Wasikowska the next Gwyneth Paltrow? Like her predecessor, she is taking on classic heroines. Last year she starred as Alice in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and now she’s Jane Eyre (coming March 11).
Looks like this adaptation will capture all the spookiness of the book (and then some).
To help promote breast cancer awareness Penguin is reissuing classic romances by Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz and others, featuring pink ribbons on the covers, to underline Penguin’s support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
This is a good opportunity to replace worn-out titles. Eloisa James in her “Reading Romance” column in the Barnes and Noble Review, looks at several of them. She was “delighted to find romances with no relation to cotton candy. These are books that tackle life’s toughest issues head-on, that depict men and women in hardship, in pain, and in love.”
The discussion about the price of picture books rages on. In response to my defense of current prices on a cost-per-use basis, one person replied,
Yes, books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar may get read over and over again to a child, providing hours of entertainment for a reasonable price. But a parent might just as easily spend the $20 on a book that their child has no interest in whatsoever. Perhaps they’ll sit through one read if you’re lucky, but still you’ve just spent that $20.
Yes, librarians and other knowledgeable advisers can steer a parent towards more likely contenders, but even in those cases the book may not appeal to your child. There are probably some kids out there in the world who won’t like that Caterpillar (though I find it hard to believe!) and thus each purchase becomes a riskier proposition for a parent.
Playing picture book roulette when buying for a kid is asking for heartache. Fortunately, you don’t have to resort to that. Good children’s librarians know what to recommend because they actually read the books.
A grown-up who wants a book on spiders can just be directed to the spider book section to pick for himself, but a children’s librarian needs to conduct an interview. First we judge development; “What is the child reading right now?” Then, we probe a little further…
My go-to for recommendations that I trust (and that that parents and teachers can access) is The Cooperative Children’s Book Center, (CCBC). It offers well thought-out, current, diverse, developmentally appropriate recommendations. My favorite list is Ten Author’s Every Childcare Provider Should Know.
In addition, I also regularly refer to these resources:
What are your recommended children’s book lists or awards that I should be looking at?
Unfortunately, Depression era stories have particular resonance right now. A philanthropist from Canton, Ohio, gave away money anonymously, usually in the form of just $5, to those in need in the 1930’s.
On Friday, many of the living recipients of those gifts, gathered to talk about what those small gifts meant to them, reports the NYT. They were brought together by the donor’s grandson, Ted Gup, who discovered their letters in an old suitcase. Gup, a journalist, also used the letters as a basis of a book.
Most libraries own the hardcover; few have ordered the audio or the large type versions.
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Large Print; Center Point; 9781602859258; 12/01/10
Random House Audio; 9780307578037; 11/09/10
How many people will be interested in reading a 592-page book on a dreaded disease by a first-time author? Scribner is placing a 125,000-copy bet on a “biography of cancer,” The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, arriving next week.
The author and the book are profiled today in the New York Times. Mukherjee explains why he wrote the book,
“I was having a conversation with a patient who had stomach cancer and she said, ‘I’m willing to go on fighting, but I need to know what it is that I’m battling.’ It was an embarrassing moment. I couldn’t answer her, and I couldn’t point her to a book that would. Answering her question — that was the urgency that drove me, really. The book was written because it wasn’t there.”
For a sample, read Mukherjee’s article in the Oct. 31 New York Times Magazine (“The Cancer Sleeper Cell“), which is based on the book.
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Picture books were dissed by the daily NYT recently (“Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children“), but the NYT Book Review clearly still believes in their importance. The 48th annual “Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2010” is featured in the current issue. Many other picture books get attention in the special Children’s Books section (including a piece by EarlyWord Kid’s writer, Lisa Von Drasek on “Absurd Picture Books“).
Commenting on the Best Illustrated selections, Lisa says,
I am pleased, delighted and surprised that Bink And Golly by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee is on the list. I can’t remember an easy-to-read book making the list before. By definition, these books usually have very literal illustrations that do not reach “best illustrated” heights. I have adored that book since I first read it standing in a booth at ALA. The art, by Tony Fucile, is sweet, stunning and as the kids say…”the pictures go with the words” It is this kind of easy-to-read book all publishers should strive for…a limited language book that respects kids. It presents big ideas about friendship with art that not only illuminates the story but goes further (check out the one that shows Fred, the goldfish, in a barely visible in a frozen pond).
The book is also reviewed in the issue.
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Excerpts of Matt Lauer’s interview with George W. Bush, to air this evening, are being heavily promoted on The Today Show. Bush will also appear on the Oprah Show on Tuesday, the day of the release of his book, Decision Points.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jon Stewart will interview the current Republican Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, one of the leaders of the call to repeal health care reform. Some say he has been using his book tour as a leadup to running for President.
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On Wednesday, Stewart talks to pro wrestler Mike Foley about his new memoir. Foley’s previous book, Have a Nice Day!, was a #1 NYT Best Seller.
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On Monday, Stephen Colbert explores twentieth century Middle Eastern literature with the editor of an anthology. Tablet and Pen.
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A Woman in the Top Ten
Publishers Weekly‘s selection of 2010’s Top Ten books arrives today, joining Library Journal‘s and the Amazon editors’ lists announced last week.
Unlike last year, when PW‘s Top Ten did not include a single woman, half of the titles this year are by women.
As we have come to expect, there is very little consensus. Just three titles appear on all three lists. Moreover, only one of the National Book Award finalists made these lists; the title by PW’s cover author, Patti Smith.
Below are the titles, followed by links to EarlyWord stories about them.
ON ALL THREE LISTS
ON TWO LISTS
ONLY ON AMAZON’s TOP TEN
ONLY ON PW‘s TOP TEN
ONLY ON LJ‘s TOP TEN
When the NYT comics reporter, George Gustines recently asked, “What is Manga?“, the comics community groaned, “What? Have we gone back to 2000? Do we really need to define manga yet again?”
Hetalia, manga by anyone's definition.
Folks who read past the headline discovered this was not another attempt to explain Japanese comics to the masses but instead an examination of how the definition of manga has changed. Gustines interviewed Tokyopop Senior Vice President Mike Kiley who sees it this way,
“It used to be fairly straightforward to say that manga were black-and-white comics originating in Japan. But for many years now, there have been manga ‘variants’ in many places around the world…In my humble opinion, while my roots are in Japan and my first love of ‘comics’ really comes from Japan, I think a lot of these distinctions have become meaningless.”
In my work collecting and discussing manga with readers, I have been careful to maintain the following distinction: manga are comics from Japan, whereas manga-style comics are works produced outside Japan that with varying degrees of intent and success integrate that country’s traditions into their storytelling. Over the years I’ve made that distinction in direct response to my readers. Manga readers wanted only titles from Japan while the non-manga readers steered clear of Japanese origin titles.
The suggestion that these distinctions are now meaningless made me wonder how true this is from the reader’s point of view. As a publisher of both manga and manga-style works, Tokyopop and Mr. Kiley benefit if readers no longer judge titles by their origins. How do the readers rather than the publishers feel?
Librarians I asked both supported Kiley’s claim for younger readers and deflated the idea that the divisions are a thing of the past.
Koontz's Odd series, manga style.
Esther Keller, a school librarian in New York, reports that younger readers don’t particularly care:
I work in a middle school, so at times, the kids are less sophisticated in their reading choices than high schoolers, but they gravitate to titles that are familiar to them, whether it’s from TV or some other media tie-in. In fact, recently, I overheard a group of students talking as they were thumbing through a volume of One Piece. “You know,” one said, “All these comics are from China.” I did correct them and I explained a little more about manga. But to these kids, it didn’t matter where the comics came from, just that it’s a format they enjoy reading.
Michelle Chrzanowski, from the Chesapeake Public Library in Virginia, reports that the divide is alive and well:
…For my readers, there is a definite divide. Some of the younger readers will call everything either manga or graphic novels. They are mostly the ones who read titles based on their popularity (i.e. they are on TV – Cartoon Network, Nick, etc.). Then I have a group that are what I call the “manga snobs.” They will only read manga (comics from Japan) and if I attempt to get them to read an OEL [Original English Language title], they inform me that they do not read “non-manga.” Personally, I think the definition depends on the reader; it is more blurry for the casual manga or graphic novel reader. However, if the reader is a dedicated manga reader or someone who has been reading for a while, they will definitely know the difference and will not be afraid to let you know about it.
Gilles Poitras, librarian and author of key reference works on Japanese popular culture including The Anime Companion, is skeptical of Kiley’s motives and points out that using country-specific terms shows respect for the creating culture.
It sounds like the old “let’ -call-anything-manga” line where all sorts of non-Japanese books had manga tacked onto the title or ads just to make a buck.
Frankly, I like my definitions clear. Manga is made in Japan for a Japanese audience, manhwa is made in Korea for a Korean audience and manhua is the term for Chinese works.In the case of non-Japanese works like manhwa I find it disrespectful to the Koreans to call it manga. The Koreans, and other nations, deserve their own terms for their distinctive works.
Hilary Chang, hailing from McCully-Moiliili Public Library in Honolulu, finds her patrons agree with Gilles sentiment.
I personally feel “manga” means “Japanese comics” but know it has come to mean in the U.S. comic books with a certain art style. Of course, in Japan, “manga” just means “comics” and does not specify origin. However, my patrons (especially since we’re so much closer to Japan) feel if it isn’t from Japan, it shouldn’t be called “manga.” They feel even calling it “Original English Manga” is like saying “Russian Yakuza.” Just use the term “graphic novel” or “organized crime” rather than trying to create an association just because manga is popular now.
Mr. Kiley concludes with the following sentiment:
At this point, it’s probably more helpful to consumers to ‘shelve’ (in a retail sense) comics by genre and by age range, rather than by minutely splitting hairs over whether a comics version of a British writer’s young adult novel illustrated by a Korean artist in a ‘manga’ style should be considered ‘manga’ or not. For me, it’s all about choosing and creating the best stories, and then making sure they get put in front of an audience eager to read them.
In spirit, I agree with Kiley’s point: the ultimate decision for any reader should be whether the story is any good. Dividing by age range and genre are tasks libraries are already tackling. The country of origin as a defining feature will matter less and less over time. Given that our youngest readers aren’t married to the distinctions older fans abide by, these lines may eventually disappear altogether.
At the same time, I see Gilles’s and Hilary’s point that works created in one culture have significant markers precisely because they are from that culture. You read them because of those trademarks. It feels awkward at best to drop or misuse a term that shows a sensitivity to that difference without having a good reason.
Until the distinctions truly fade away, I will continue using specific vocabulary and teaching it to readers.
After my rebuttal on the merits of picture books, I received this comment from a famous best-selling author by email,
Our publisher pals need to re-think ….the high prices they are charging…$18 for a book when you are struggling to keep/find a job is impossible.
The esteemed young adult author, Marc Aronson stated recently on CCBC_Net listserv (available only to subscribers), that these “books are so slim they disappear, a parent faces a relatively high cost (say $16) for a relatively short immersion experience (32, 40, 48 pages plus the effort the parent puts into engaging the child spread by spread).”
WHAT?!!!!!
Consider the Return on Investment
Rounding up, let’s say a hardcover picture book is twenty dollars. Let’s consider The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In many households, it is read every night for four months, or 120 hours. This experience is seventeen cents a reading.
“Plus the effort the parent puts in engaging the child spread by spread.” Is Marc Aronson looking for a fight? That “effort” is bonding with a young child, that “effort” is building early literacy skills, that “effort” will pay off in untold dividends in a stronger vocabulary, ability to track cause and effect, and create the beginning of the understanding that one can derive enormous enjoyment from the words on a page. Let’s add to this – shared meaning and fun.
A child who is having a whiny moment can be reminded of Llama, llama Red Pajama. A child inappropriately seeking attention can be distracted with a story on a bus or a train. Whether in hard copy, on a Nook or an iPad, a picture book can save a restaurant meal from a too hungry, too tired child meltdown.
Need a study?
“Children’s Access to Print Material and Education-Related Outcomes,” says that not having access to print materials (i.e., books) in the home is detrimental to a child’s ability to succeed in the elementary school years.
Want to talk money?
Let’s compare to other monetary wants of childhood…
Where is your $16 to $18 going? We can agree that the artist and the writer should get paid. How about the art director who created the object? The editor who discovered, nurtured the writer and championed the book? The publisher who produced the books, balanced the books, and kept things on schedule? The marketing people who had to shine a light on THIS book in a crowded market, let librarians, booksellers, and parents know about this fabulous new illustrator?
Mr. Aronson also suggests some ways to get books in the hands of parents and children for less money (for instance, creating subscription plans). Let’s not reinvent the wheel. There is a way. Paperback. The top selling paperback picture books on Amazon are $6.00 and $7.00. Scholastic Book Clubs distribute through classrooms and sell paperbacks at affordable prices. REading is Fundamental gives books away (www.rif.org).
Is there a place where a parent can go for expert advice on picture books for their child? A community center where professionals have selected the best of what is available and share this knowledge freely with anyone who walks through the door? A place where parents can borrow books read to their children?
Oh, right — THE LIBRARY.
How much will borrowing a pile of picture books cost? Nothing, nada (admittedly, that’s not really true. Tax dollars paid for them and for that expert). If the books for children in your local library are ratty and old, use your voice to demand a children’s librarian who is knowledgeable, to raise funds for new books.
Going without picture books is not an option. The loss to a child of not sitting with a parent or older sibling, turning those thirty-two pages, poring over the art, repeating joyfully those juicy words, cannot be replaced.
A week of Starbucks’ Lattes — $24.50
The cost of a Michael Jordan sneaker? — Seriously.
Snuggling with a five-year-old, laughing over John Scieszka’s Truckery Rhymes?
Priceless.
