It takes a lot these days for a what-my-untrainable-dog-taught-me memoir to rise to the top of the category. Christian Science Monitor‘s book editor, Marjorie Kehe, dog lover herself, has seen them all, and, despite her vow to not be sucked in by another one, says that Martin Kihn’s Bad Dog (Pantheon/Knopf Doubleday, April) is just “too good to miss.”  The Book Beast lists it as one of this week’s “Hot Reads”.

But what convinced us is a ringing endorsement by EarlyWord Kids contributor, Lisa Von Drasek,

On the surface this is a twelve step recovery memoir with a nod to Caroline Knapp’s Drinking: A Love Story. In the dog book category, it is less Marley and more Knapp’s Pack of Two. But really, this story of a man who sobered up, fell in love with his exuberant Bernese Mountain dog, and worked really hard to win back the human love of his life, deserves its own category. Told with humor and humility, Marty relates his dog training struggles while referencing the famous and disparate schools of thought on the subject. Readers will be rooting for him. (Spoiler — the dog doesn’t die; phew!)

Kihn’s first memoir, House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time, (Business Plus/Grand Central) has been adapted for a half-hour comedy series, starring Kristen Bell and Don Cheadle. It’s set to air on Showtime and may debut this fall.

Bad Dog: A Love Story Martin Kihn Retail Price: $23.95 Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Pantheon – (2011-04-05) ISBN / EAN: 0307379159 / 9780307379153

OverDrive, ebook.

In case you’re wondering, USA Today reports that Elizabeth Gilbert’s next book, after Eat, Pray, Love and Committed, won’t be out for quite a while. She’s planning an historical novel about 19th C botanists, but hasn’t started work on it.

Gilbert says this is the last time she will talk about EPL. She is only doing it now to help her friend, featured in the Italian section of EPL, Luca Spaghetti (YES, that’s his real name), to promote his own book about that period. It’s not working out that well, however.  The USA Today story focuses on Gilbert, barely mentioning Spaghetti’s book, Un Amico Italiano: Eat, Pray, Love in Rome.

PW calls the book a “nice companion” to EPL; LJ says it’s “all good fun,” if an “opportunistic spin-off.”

Un Amico Italiano: Eat, Pray, Love in Rome Luca Spaghetti Retail Price: $15.00 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) – (2011-04-26) ISBN / EAN: 9780143119579 / 9780143119579

Today’s Morning Edition on NPR featured the re-release, in ebook, of the classic From Here to Eternity by James Jones (listen to the story here). More than a simple re-release, however, it is a “restored edition,” which includes sections that deal with homosexuality in the military, censored in the ’50’s.

Happily, tthe publisher, Open Road Media makes its titles available for library lending through OverDrive.

Erik Larson was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air last night (listen here), sending his book, released today, In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin, to #8 (from #36) on Amazon’s sales rankings.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin Erik Larson Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: Crown – (2011-05-10) ISBN / EAN: 0307408841 / 9780307408846

Available on OverDrive; Audio, Books on Tape; Large Print, Random House

Following close on the heels of the announcements of two other major mystery awards, the Edgars and the Agathas, the 25th annual Anthony Award nominees were announced last night.

Several titles crossed over from the other lists. One of the nominees in the Best Critical/ Non-Fiction category, Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, Yunte Huang, (W.W. Norton) has already won both an Edgar and an Agatha. The book received considerable attention when it was released last summer.

Winners will be chosen by the vote of attendees of the 2011 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in St. Louis (Sept. 15 – 18).

Below are the nominees in the book categories (for the short story category, go to the full list) as well as the Website/Blog category. We have noted titles that also recieved Edgar or Agatha nods, as well as information on other available formats.

Best Novel

Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny (Minotaur; Large Type, Thorndike) — Agatha Winner and ALA RUSA Reading List, Mystery Winner

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, Tom Franklin  (William Morrow; Large Type, Thorndike; OverDrive, audio and ebook) — Edgar Finalist

Faithful Place – Tana French, (Viking; Large Type, Thorndike; Audio, Recorded Books; OverDrive, ebook) — Edgar Finalist and ALA RUSA Reading List, Mystery Finalist

I’d Know You Anywhere – Laura Lippman, (William Morrow; Audio, HarperAudio; Large Type, HarperLuxe; OverDrive, ebook) — Edgar Finalist

The Lock Artist – (Steve Hamilton, (Minotaur/Thomas Dunne; Audio, Brilliance; Large Type, Center Point) — Edgar Winner. Also an Alex Award winner

Best First Novel

Damage Done – Hilary Davidson – (Forge/Macmillan)

The Poacher’s Son – Paul Doiron – (Minotaur/Macmillan; Audio, Macmillan Audio; Large Type, Center Point) — Edgar Finalist

Rogue Island, Bruce DeSilva, (Forge/Macmillan; Audio, Tantor; Large Print, Thorndike) — Edgar Winner

The Sherlockian – Graham Moore, (Twelve/Grand Central; Large Print, Thorndike; Audio, Hachette Audio; OverDrive, audio)

Snow Angels – James Thompson – (Berkley Prime Crime/Putnam; Large Print, Thorndike;  Overdrive, ebook) — Edgar Finalist

Best Paperback Original

Drive Time – Hank Phillippi Ryan, (Mira/Harlequin; Large Type, Thorndike; Overdrive ebook); — Agatha Finalist for Best Novel

Expiration Date – Duane Swierczynski, (Minotaur/Macmillan) — Edgar Finalist

The Hanging Tree – Bryan Gruley, (Touchstone /S&S; Audio, Recorded Books)

Long Time Coming – Robert Goddard, (Bantam; OverDrive, ebook)– Edgar Winner

Vienna Secrets – Frank Tallis, (Random House; OverDrive, ebook) — Edgar Finalist

Best Graphic Novel

Beasts of Burden – Jill Thompson/Evan Dorkin, (Dark Horse)

The Chill – Jason Starr, (Vertigo Crime)

Richard Stark’s Parker, Vol. 2: The Outfit – Darwyn Cooke, (IDW Press)

Scalped Vol 6 – The Gnawing – Jason Aaron, (Vertigo)

Sickness in the Family – Denise Mina, (Vertigo Crime)

Tumor – Joshua Hale Fialkov/ Noel Tuazon, (Archaia Studios Press)

Best Critical /Non-Fiction

Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: 50 Years of Mysteries in the Making, John Curran (Harper; OverDrive, ebook) — Edgar Finalist; Agatha Winner

Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, Yunte Huang, (W.W. Norton)– Agatha and Edgar Winner

Sherlock Holmes for Dummies – Steve Doyle  (Dummies Series/Wiley; OverDrive, ebook) — Agatha and Edgar Finalist

Thrillers: 100 Must Reads – David Morrell, (Oceanview) — Edgar Finalist

The Wire: Truth Be Told – Rafael Alvarez, (Grove Press)– Edgar Finalist

Best Website/Blog

Jen’s Book Thoughts – Jen Forbus

The Rap Sheet – J. Kingston Pierce

Sirens of Suspense – Chantelle Aimée Osman

Spinetingler – Sandra Ruttan

Stop. You’re Killing Me – Surber/Ulrich

Indie booksellers and indie publishers face many of the same challenges; one is getting recognition. So, the Brooklyn-based independent publisher and bookseller, Melville House joined with Shelf Awareness, the indie bookseller newsletter, to create the first award open only to books by independent publishers, the Indie Booksellers Choice Awards.

Independent booksellers from around the country voted and thirteen finalists have just been announced. The publisheres range from larger independents, like W.W. Norton and Grove/Atlantic to the very small, like The Dorothy Project and Two Dollar Radio.

Below are the finalists:

The Black History of the White House by Clarence Lusane  (City Lights)

Contingency Plans by David K Wheeler  (TS Poetry)

The Instructions by Adam Levin (McSweeney’s)

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall (W.W. Norton)

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes  (Grove/Atlantic)

Nox by Anne Carson (New Directions)

The Orange Eats Creeps by Grace Krilanovich  (Two Dollar Radio)

Orion You Came and Took All My Marbles by Kira Henehan (Milkweed Editions)

The Report by Jessica Francis Kane (Graywolf)

The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel (Unbridled)

Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns (Dorothy)

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books)

Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr (Akashic)

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York on May 23rd.

Topping the June Indie Next List of independent “bookseller-recommended handsells,” is a novel that has also been getting buzz on GalleyChat, Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (Algonquin, 5/24; Audio, Audiogo; Large Print, Thorndike).

The story is about two African-American half-sisters in Atlanta in the 1980’s, only one of whom is aware of the other. Their father is a bigamist, and one of his families is secret.

The Indie Next endorsement reads:

The unconventional, morally troubling relationships at the core of Jones’ Silver Sparrow illustrate the universality of the human quest for acknowledgment, legitimacy, love, and loyalty. As Chaurisse and her secret half-sister, Dana, move toward adulthood, they must shed idealistic notions of romantic and familial love to face difficult truths. A complex family drama, a richly crafted coming-of-age story, and a meditation on the nature of love and forgiveness, this is a gripping story with characters you will not soon forget.

Silver Sparrow Tayari Jones Retail Price: $19.95 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Algonquin Books – (2011-05-24) ISBN / EAN: 1565129903 / 9781565129900

Jones was interviewed in BookSlut last month.

In today’s NYT, Michiko Kakutani reviews two new memoirs by former Navy Seals. She says “Both books will…leave readers with a new appreciation of the training that enabled Seal Team 6 to pull off the Bin Laden raid.”

Seal Team Six, by Howard E. Wasdin, (St. Martin’s; audio, Blackstone), a former member, comes tomorrow, in advance of its original May 24th publication date. Kakutani says it is as “visceral and as action packed as a Tom Clancy thriller,” giving readers “specifically interested in the Seals experience … a better sense of their tradecraft and day-to-day training.”

The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL, (HMH, 4/11/11; audio, Tantor), by St. Louis, Mo. native, Eric Greitens, who was a member of another team that targeted Bin Laden, “is more philosophical and big picture oriented” and “concerned with the evolution of [the author’s] larger vision of public service.”

In several libraries we checked, holds are running neck and neck on the two titles.

Diana Kennedy’s Oaxaca al Gusto (U. of Texas Press), was named the Best Cookbook of the Year by the James Beard Foundation in an award ceremony on Friday night in New York.

In General Cooking, the winner is Amanda Hesser’s The Essential New York Times Cook Book: Classic Recipes for a New Century,”

Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking (Scribner, originally published in 1984; revised edition in 2004) was placed in the Cookbook Hall of Fame.

The other winners are listed here; all the nominees are here.

The upcoming NYT BR features a title on the cover that has not been ordered heavily by libraries. The Boy in the Moon by Ian Brown (St. Martins) is a father’s account of raising his severely disabled son. The book was reviewed prepub by Kirkus and PW, both admiringly, but no stars.

The NYT reviewer is Roger Rosenblatt, who also wrote movingly about dealing with his own family tragedy, his daughter’s death and helping to raise her young children in a memoir, Making Toast.

The Boy in the Moon: A Father’s Journey to Understand His Extraordinary Son Ian Brown Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2011-04-26) ISBN / EAN: 0312671830 / 9780312671839

The lead-up to summer continues with more thrillers and series in fiction, Erik Larson’s latest, and the early release of a memoir by a former member of Navy Seals team that hunted Bin Laden.

Watch List

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø (Knopf) is a thriller about a Swedish expert (UPDATE; as is pointed out in the comments, that should be “Norwegian expert”) on serial killers in a country that prides itself on not having any – and a strong contender for the Stieg Larsson mantle. Library Joural raves “this work is being compared to Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow among others. Apt comparisons, but they don’t go far enough. This is simply the best detective novel this reviewer has read in years.” It’s also Nesbo’s first book since Stieg Larsson’s publisher picked him up. The Washington Post ran a major feature about him on Thursday, sending The Snowman up Amazon’s sales rankings (to #145 from #361). It’s also the #3 Indie Next pick for May.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh (HarperCollins) explores the impact of sexual misconduct allegations on a Catholic priest’s family. It’s the latest from the author of Mrs. Kimble, a debut that’s beloved by many librarians. The new novel has been eliciting strong enthusiasm on on our GalleyChat. People magazine gave it 3.5 of 4 stars in the 5/18 issue, calling it “haunting” and “heart-wrenching.” It gets a 150,000-copy first printing.

Usual Suspects

Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader (Forge) finds National security adviser Jack McClure and Alli Carson, the psychologically damaged daughter of the recently deceased U.S. President, in their third adventure, this time involving international terrorism and sex slavery. Library Journal says, “Buy a copy for the name recognition from the author’s work on Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series, but don’t expect rave responses from readers.”

Buried Prey by John Sandford (Putnam) is the 21st novel to feature Lucas Davenport of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and finds him reopening the case that made his name when new evidence emerges. PW says, “Expert plotting and a riveting finish make this one of Sandford’s best.”

Nonfiction

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson (Crown) is a work of literary nonfiction about the experiences of U.S. ambassador to Germany William E. Dodd and his family in Berlin in the early years of Hitler’s rule. Early reviews have been strong, but some librarians say it’s slower going than Larson’s beloved The Devil in the White City.

Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal by Howard E Wasdin (St. Martin’s) is by a former member of the counterterrorism unit that killed Osama bin Laden (see our earlier story). Unsurprisingly, publication was pushed up to make the most of the current news cycle. The author has been on several TV shows, including a Dateline special on NBC.

Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man by Chaz Bono (Dutton) is a memoir of the author’s 40 year struggle to reconcile his gender identity and the body he was born into, as the child of Cher and Sonny Bono. LJ notes that “interest will be sparked as much by Bono’s high profile as by his story.”

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea Handler is the latest from the stand up comedian and late-night talk show host on the E! network.

Movie Tie-in

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, the classic chidren’s story of  a house painter who receives a large crate of Antarctic penguins, is being made into a movie. In this incarnation, however, Mr. Popper (Jim Carey) is a modern day businessman with a swanky NYC apartment. The  movie opens 6/16 (trailer here).

We scoffed when the pregnancy bible, What to Expect When You are Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff (Workman), was optioned for a movie last fall. Looks like that unlikely project is going forward. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron Diaz is in final negotiations to star. Kirk Jones (Nanny McPhee) will direct.The description of the plot proves, as expected, it will be somewhat different from the book; “The story follows five couples who suffer the many joys of the childbirth process.”

Perhaps Diaz will be on the cover of the book’s next edition.

A year ago, we began an experiment in social media. Using Twitter, we invited librarians to come together once a month to talk about the galleys they’ve been reading. Called GalleyChat, it gets more interesting each month and has become a useful RA and ordering tool.

There’s one small snag, however; some librarians can’t join because they are not allowed to use Twitter or other social media at work.

It’s painful to hear that librarian creativity is being limited by shortsighted policies. In more enlightened areas, social media is used as another tool for reaching out to the community. The Kansas City Public Library, for instance, has an active Facebook page. During National Library Week, they posted this:

Looking for a great read? Just post the titles of the last 3 books you enjoyed on our Wall, and our readers’ advisory experts will suggest your next favorite book.

The community enjoyed challenging the staff and, as Kaite Stover attests on Booklist‘s “Book Group Buzz,” the librarians learned a lot.

Even library schools see the value of social media. As the Boston Globe recently reported last month, at Simmons GLIS, “Every student must create a website and wiki page within the first six weeks.” Unfortunately, those students may be in for a rude awakening once they land jobs.

Help us build the case for social media in the library; let us know in the comments section how you are using it and how you have fought off threatened bans.

According to WorldCat, very few public libraries have bought Modernist Cuisine, despite the heavy media attention (the NYT, The New Yorker, NPR, Time, even Popular Science) and a starred review from Booklist.

But why would they? It retails for $625, library budgets are strained, and the book features cooking tools and techniques only available to professionals.

One library did buy it and recently explained that decision to the local press. The San Francisco Public Library ordered two copies; one for reference, one to circulate from the main library, and are considering a third for the branches. Why? Public demand, Mark Hall, the library’s cookbook buyer, tells the San Francisco Weekly. He also points out that the price tag is not for a single book, but six volumes that will be circulated individually. Does he fear theft? Not really, says Mark, “Cookbook readers seem to be a pretty responsible group.”

One benefit; the library got good press for the decision. And, at a time when people are obsessed with digital books, they are giving the public access to a physical book that shows off the ultimate in modern printing technology (Booklist says, “Stunning, dramatic color photographs transform every page into a visual banquet”). Even though some of the cooking techniques may be beyond the home cook, as Time magazine says, “no serious student of food doubts that it will stand alongside Escoffier as one of the defining cookbooks in history.”

Modernist Cuisine has sold out its initial print run and is now going back to press. Because of the the intricate printing process, it will be a while before it is back in stock at wholesalers.

Thanks to hundreds of wonderful teachers and librarians, nearly ten thousand first- and second-graders voted on four finalists for the Irma Black Award and they chose How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills (Schwartz & Wade).

That so many of you read the finalists aloud to your students, led them in discussions, and encouraged them to vote, attests to the importance of the picture book format in supporting the development of critical thinking skills. As one of my second grade students put it, “Rocket should be the Irma Black winner because it tells the truth. You can’t learn to read in a day. It takes time. A lot of time. You can tell from the pictures; it takes seasons.”

Not only that, Rocket is a joy to read aloud, again and again.

Let the celebrating begin! Please join us:

May 19, 2011
Bank Street College of Education
610 West 112th Street
New York City

8:30 AM Light Breakfast | 9:00 AM Award Ceremony | 10:00 AM Book Signing

To RSVP or to make a contribution to the Irma S. and James H. Black Fund at Bank Street College of Education, please email Alesia Yezerskaya, or phone 212-875-4608.

Keynote Speaker: Perri Klass is a pediatrician who writes both fiction and non-fiction. She writes about children and families, about medicine, about food and travel, and about knitting. Her newest book is a novel, The Mercy Rule, and the book before that was a work of non-fiction, Treatment Kind and Fair: Letters to a Young Doctor, written in the form of letters to her son as he starts medical school.

Perri lives in New York City, where she is Professor of Journalism and Pediatrics at New York University. She is also Medical Director of Reach Out and Read, a national literacy organization which works through doctors and nurses to promote parents reading aloud to young children.