It’s gone from whispered conversations and furtive downloads to best seller lists and mainstream coverage. The erotic novel dubbed “Mommy porn,” Fifty Shades of Grey, hits the upcoming NYT Trade Paperback Fiction Best Seller list at #1 (the ebook version continues at #1 on that list after its debut last week; the other two books in the trilogy are also on the lists in both formats). Entertainment Weekly gives it a surprisingly high B+  (the review is by a woman; it seems that men have more problems with the book  than women– see “It’s All Porn to Me, One Man’s Review of 50 Shades of Grey,” Jesse Kornbluth’s article,  “S&M for Dummies” in the Huffington Post and Dr. Drew repeatedly shaking his head over it — has Rush Limbaugh weighed in yet?).

It’s also featured as a “Buzz Book” in the new issue of People, which notes the author’s “clunky writing,” NPR examines into the book’s origin as Twilight fan fiction, Hollywood is buzzing about a movie rights auction (causing Entertainment Weekly‘s “PopWatch” blog to speculate on casting — Rupert Friend as the billionaire with a bondage fixation who seduces an innocent  young women played by Rooney Mara).

Those libraries that have ordered it are now showing heavy holds. The RH/Vintage print edition is listed as releasing on April 3 and  is currently available in ebook from OverDrive. The original print edition, from the small Australian publisher The Writer’s Coffee Shop is POD, ISBN 9781612130293. It’s been difficult to obtain, raising the question of how the it landed on the NYT list (UPDATE: the NYT list is now posted; Fifty Shades, at  #1, is followed by the second and third titles in the trilogy, at #17 and #18. All are listed as the Vintage print editions, which supposedly are not available yet. Curiouser and curiouser.)

A panel entitled “Redefining the Dialogue between Libraries and Publishers” at the Association of American Publishers annual meeting yesterday featured ALA President Molly Raphael; Jim Neal, Columbia University libraries; and Tony Marx, NYPL.

Reportedly, Marx “generated the most drama” (the UK’s trade publication, The Bookseller), giving an “impassioned address,” (Publishers Lunch). The audience included John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan and David Young, CEO of Hachette Book Group, two of the houses that do not currently sell ebook to libraries for lending,

The other librarians were not in agreement with Marx’s suggestion that libraries should consider introducing more “friction” into the lending of ebooks to address publishers’ fears that library lending will destroy the nascent consumer market for ebooks. Raphael objected to his idea that libraries could stop lending ebook best sellers, focusing instead on “the backlist; on how we can promote people to read…. Books that might not be producing much revenue to your industry. As an educator, I know how much valuable information is stored there.” (Publishers Lunch)

Neal “vociferously opposed” Marx’s suggestion that NYPL would be willing to force users to come to the library to download ebooks (Publishers Lunch).

The reports don’t indicate if anyone pointed out that  library budgets already impose a great deal of “friction” into the process, limiting the number of copies of ebooks libraries can buy.

Library Journal reports that a lawyer in the audience noted that “anti-trust concerns might hamper publishers in collaborating to develop a business model and suggested that these could come from the library side instead; Raphael responded that ALA already had a working group in place to develop such options.”

Debuting on the Indie Fiction Best Seller list at #10 is The Expats by Chris Pavone (it is also lands at #47 on the USA Today list; you can expect it to appear on the upcoming NYT list).

The author’s first novel, about Kate, a CIA agent who packs it in to be a stay-at-home Mom when her husband moves the family to Luxembourg, is a March 2012 Indie Next List Great Read. It got strong pre-pub reviews, but the NYT‘s Janet Maslin nearly damned it with faint praise, noting its “well-calibrated monotony. This book’s abundant treacheries and tricks arise from the fact that its heroine, Kate Moore, is bored stiff.”

As Kate’s husband begins to behave strangely, her instincts go on red alert. In the NYT Book Review‘s mystery columnist Marilyn Stasio says,

Pavone is full of sharp insights into the parallels between political espionage and marital duplicity, and he understands the disorientation Kate shares with other expats — including Pavone himself, who joined that community when he gave up a career in publishing after his wife took a job in Luxembourg.

The UK’s Guardian, calls it “Expertly and intricately plotted, with a story spiralling into disaster and a satisfyingly huge amount of double crossing, The Expats certainly doesn’t feel like a first novel. This is an impressively assured entry to the thriller scene.”

Several libraries are showing holds as high as 20/1 on fairly strong ordering.

The Expats Chris Pavone Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: RH/Crown – (2012-03-06) ISBN 9780307956354

RH Audio; Thorndike Large Print; OverDrive eBook and audio

MTV’s “Inside Movies” blog tells Twilight fans to mark their calendars for the release of Bel Ami, a “sexy period piece” starring Twilight heart throb Robert Pattinson on June 8th (ahead of Breaking Dawn, the final movie of the series, which opens in Nov). Based on a novel by Guy de Maupassant, Pattison plays a young social climber who seduces, blackmails & charms his way to the top in 19th century Paris. The film also stars Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci.

The movie premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Reviews have not been strong (Rotten Tomatoes gives it a rating of just 45%). The Times of London said,

A cornucopia of cleavages and lingering close-ups of Robert Pattinson’s trouser department. For some readers, that may be a strong recommendation. Others may find this version of Guy de Maupassant’s 19th-century novel unintentionally hilarious.

The Twilight stars are sticking with literary adaptations. Pattison stars in the forthcoming Cosmopolis, based on the book book by Don DeLillo. Kristen Stewart (Bella) appears next in Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1), and On the Road, based on the book by Jack Kerouac (no date set).

–

Bel Ami (Vintage Classics) Guy De Maupassant Retail Price: $14.00 Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: RH/Vintage – (2010-10-05) ISBN / EAN: 0307740889 / 9780307740885

It seems unlikely, but the AP reports that a new study says Oprah’s endorsements suppressed the sales of books overall. Because “the books Oprah chose were longer and more challenging,” people ended up spending time with one book, when they might have been reading two or three less difficult books.

NPR’s Morning Edition examines Jodi Picoult’s popularity, pointing out that she is unusual among bestselling authors,

When you think about blockbuster bestsellers, genres like mystery, crime and romance typically come to mind. Ethical or moral fiction? Not so much. But that’s how Jodi Picoult, who has 33 million copies of her books currently in circulation, describes her novels. So how did an author who writes about divisive issues get so popular?

Picoult’s latest book, Lone Wolf, debuted at #1 on the NYT Fiction Hardcover best seller list this week.

Lone Wolf Jodi Picoult Retail Price: $28.00 Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: S&S/ Atria/Emily Bestler Books – (2012-02-28) ISBN / EAN: 1439102740/9781439102749

If you are going to PLA, do NOT forget to add the following events to your schedule:

The Best in 2012 Debuts

Thursday, March 15; 10:45 am to noon; Rm 120 ABC, Philadelphia Convention Center

Four major debut authors; The Lifeboat, Charlotte Rogan; A Land More Kind than Home, Wiley Cash; Living Proof, Kira Peikoff; The Book of Jonas, Stephan Dau

Mystery Authors Revealed!

Friday, March 16, 10:45 am to noon; Rm 121 ABC, Philadelphia Convention Center

Featuring — Charles Todd, An Unmarked Grave; Lisa Unger, Heartbroken; Lars Kepler, The Nightmare; Sophie Hannah, The Other Woman’s House; Lisa Lutz, Trail of the Spellmans

The word-of-mouth success of Fifty Shades of Grey, the first title in a trilogy of erotic novels, has been covered by news sources from The New York Post to the Today Show. It is now #1 on the NYT Combined Print & E-Book Fiction best seller list.

Libraries trying to fill the demand have had difficulty ordering it; it’s published by a small Australian press and print runs are sold out quickly. That will soon be solved; according to the NYT, RH/Knopf/Vintage has won a bidding war to republish the book and 750,000 copies of the redesigned paperback edition will be available within “weeks” (the Amazon database lists the release date as April 3).

Libraries aren’t the only ones who have had trouble ordering the book, NYC’s McNally Jackson bookstore tweeted  “Thanks to today’s Times, I’m down to explaining our lack of 50 Shades of Grey to customers only a single time an hour.”

Baker and Taylor replied to our inquiry that they will make the Random/Vintage editions available for ordering once the publisher supplies the data and will continue to supply the Australian version (POD, via Lightning Source; ISBN 9781612130293).

OverDrive confirmed that the Random House eBook edition will be available to libraries soon; it is in their metadata feed from Random House. They plan to make it live later today or by tomorrow at the latest.

Former publisher Judith Regan, who published several controversial titles in her time at HarperCollins, called the book “really badly written” on the Dr. Drew show on CNN on Thursday (after the ad; 1:19 minutes in to the show).

The Justice Department has issued a warning to Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, Macmillan and HarperCollins as well as Apple, that it may sue over the “agency model” for pricing ebooks to consumers, which Justice says may violate anti-trust laws.

The story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Justice declined comment, but later confirmed to the Washington Post that “the matter is open.”

The “agency model” (publishers set the price and the seller takes 30%) was introduced to counter Amazon’s approach of selling ebooks for $9,99, often at a loss, which publishers regarded as an attempt to establish a monopoly. The publishers who adapted the agency model, then told Amazon that they would only sell them ebooks under that model.

Booksellers were also concerned about Amazon’s approach. As The Wall Street Journal notes,

William Lynch, chief executive of Barnes & Noble, gave a deposition to the Justice Department [last december]in which he testified that abandoning the agency pricing model would effectively result in a single player gaining even more market share than it has today, according to people familiar with the testimony.

The trailer for the film adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal Beat Generation book, On the Road, is finally here.

Francis Ford Coppola bought the rights over 30 years ago. After several attempts to bring it to the screen, he hired  Brazilian filmmaker, Walter Salles to direct. As the director of another road trip movie, The Motorcycle Diaries, Salles is seen as the ideal choice.

Star power comes from Kristen Stewart (who plays Bella in the Twilight saga) in a supporting role as Dean Moriarity’s 16-year-old bride. She has also starred in indie movies and was particularly powerful portraying Joan Jett in The Runaways.

No US date has been scheduled yet, but, according to reports, it is likely to premiere at Cannes, followed by a release in the fall.

Penguin has published several editions of the book, including Kerouac’s original manuscript, which the author typed onto a continuous scroll, so he could work faster.

Many libraries own ebook editions of both versions, and downloadable audio editions (those libraries that haven’t already purchased the digital editions are out of luck, since Penguin stopped selling digital editions to libraries last fall).

Penguin made a stir when they published an “amplified edition” of On the Road as an app  in June, which became one of Apple’s top-grossing book apps.

For the book’s 50th anniversary in 2008, NYPL, which owns the Kerouac archives, held an exhibit, Included in the display was the original scroll, now in the collection of James Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts. The library published a companion volume to the exhibit, Beatific Soul (not listed on wholesaler sites, but still available through the library shop).

Beatific soul: Jack Kerouac on the road Isaac Gewirtz Retail Price:  $15 Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: New York Public Library; In association with Scala Publishers, London – (2007) ISBN / EAN: 1857594975 / 9781857594973

Ewan McGregor recently wrapped filming for the pilot of The Corrections based on Jonathan Franzen’s 2001 novel for HBO. Directed by Noah Baumbach, it also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dianne Wiest, Chris Cooper and Rhys Ifans.  UPDATE: Project cancelled.

No news on when the pilot will air, but presumably it will be soon. If it is successful, the series will begin filming in New York in June. The plan is for an ambitious four seasons of ten episodes each.

MacGregor stars in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, based on the novel by Paul Torday, which opened in seven cities on Friday.

The press is speculating on whether the four-hour ABC mini-series Titanic (April 14 and 15) will live up to James Cameron’s hugely successful 1997 movie (which returns to the big screen in 3-D in April).

The real question may be whether it lives up to Downton Abbey; Julian Fellowes created both for the UK’s ITV (The Guardian refers to it as “Downton-on-Sea”).

A flood of Titanic-themed books is on its way (when James Cameron’s movie came out fifteen years ago, it was credited with selling thousands of books on the subject; the joke in publishing circles was that Titanic was the “tide that raised all boats”).

Cameron will lead a new two-hour special called Titanic: The Final Word With James Cameron on The National Geographic Channel on April 8th.

Next week, Lyndsay Faye‘s historical novel about a serial killer in 1845 New York, The Gods of Gotham, builds on her breakout debut, while Mark Allen Smith‘s debut thriller The Inquisitor features a professional torturer who unexpectedly breaks character. There are also two notable magical realist novels: Tiffany Baker‘s The Gilly Salt Sisters and Heidi Julavit‘s The Vanishers. And in nonfiction, Marilynne Robinson returns with an essay collection about her Christian faith and “Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond delivers a new recipe collection.

Watch List

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Penguin/Putnam/Amy Einhorn Books; audio from Dreamscape is also downloadable from OverDrive) is set in 1845 New York, where an officer in the newly organized police force, encounters a blood-soaked girl who leads him to evidence of an anti-Irish serial killer at work. Library Journal raves, “vivid period details, fully formed characters, and a blockbuster of a twisty plot put Faye in a class with Caleb Carr. Readers will look forward to the sequel.” PW adds, “this one “improves on her impressive debut, Dust and Shadow.”

The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker (Hachette/Grand Central Publishing; Thorndike Press) follows two sisters whose family has always harvested salt and who that may or may not have magical powers over their Cape Cod community, and the wealthy bachelor who forces his way into their lives. LJ says, “fans of Baker’s acclaimed The Little Giant of Aberdeen County won’t be disappointed with this quirky, complex, and original tale. It is also sure to enchant readers who enjoy Alice Hoffman and other authors of magical realism.”

The Inquisitor by Mark Allen Smith (Macmillan/ Holt; Macmillan Audio) is a thriller about a professional torturer in the “information retrieval” business, who instills fear rather than pain and has a gift for recognizing when he hears the truth. But this time, he must interrogate a 12-year-old boy, whom he decides to protect. LJ says “this is not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. But Geiger, who’s seeing a psychiatrist and suffers disabling migraines, is a fascinating protagonist with a revealing backstory. A compelling debut thriller that blurs the lines between the good and bad guys.”

Literary Favorite

The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits (RH/Doubleday; Audio, Dreamscape Media) is set at an elite school for psychics, where a young student surpasses her troubled mentor, unleashing much wrath, in this novel (after The Uses of Enchantment) by the editor of the literary magazine The Believer. LJ calls it “reminiscent of Arthur Phillips’s The Egyptologist: clever, humorous, with supernatural elements. While one can easily get confused about what is real and what is imagined, readers who surrender to the narrative may be rewarded with rich insights about losing a parent.”

Usual Suspects

Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press; Wheeler Publishing; MacMillan Audio) focuses on a just-married woman whose angry new stepdaughter is determined to undermine her, and what motherhood truly means. LJ says, “Green is at her finest with this compelling novel. Deeper, more complicated, and more ambitious than her previous books, it will keep readers on edge as they wait to see how these tense family dynamics play out.”

Deep Fathom by James Rollins (HarperCollins Morrow; Harperluxe) finds ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland surfacing from an aborted salvage mission to find the United States on the brink of a nuclear apocalypse.

Young Adult

Infamous(Chronicles of Nick Series #3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin; Macmillan Audio) follows the further adventures of teenager Nick Gautier, whose first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him. He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, as well as divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive and keep a girlfriend so hard, let alone survival? Kenyon’s books and fans keep mounting: there are 23 million copies of her books in print in over 30 countries,

Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls Series #5) by Ally Carter (Hyperion Books; Brilliance Corporation) is the latest installment in the popular spy-girl series, in which Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed since she left the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family, and her memory is a black hole.

Starters, Lissa Price, (RH/Delacorte Young Readers; Listening Library) is a new entry in the crowded field of YA dystopian novels. This one imagines a world in which teens rent their bodies to seniors who want to be young again. Kirkus wasn’t impressed with the writing, but predicted, “twists and turns come so fast that readers will stay hooked.” In its spring preview, the L.A. Times called it “the next, best entry” in the genre. It comes with a book trailer that makes you wonder how quickly it will be snapped up by Hollywood.

Nonfiction

When I Was a Child I Read Books:  Essays by Marilynne Robinson (Macmillan/FSG) is a new collection that returns to her major themes: the role of faith in modern life, the inadequacy of fact, and the contradictions inherent in human nature. Kirkus says, “Robinson is a splendid writer, no question–erudite, often wise and slyly humorous (there is a clever allusion to the birther nonsense in a passage about Noah Webster). Articulate and learned descriptions and defenses of the author’s Christian faith.”

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier by Ree Drummond (HarperCollins/Morrow) intersperses recipes with photographs of the author’s life on her ranch. Kirkus says, “some readers may delight in Drummond’s down-home way of speaking directly to the reader, while others may find the interaction a bit snarky and annoying. A collection of basic recipes to guarantee a full belly and an empty plate.”

ALA has created two new awards for adult books; the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. The first winners will be announced at the ALA annual conference in June. The selection committee is chaired by Nancy Pearl. A short list of 50 titles, drawn from the Booklist Editors’ Choice and RUSA CODES Notable Books lists will be announced in May.

The NBCC winners were announced last night (annotations are from the press release):

Fiction

Edith Pearlman, Binocular Vision: New & Selected Stories (U of N.C., Wilmington, Lookout Books); “a collection of 34 Chekhov-like short stories that was also nominated for the National Book Award. The publication is the first from Lookout Books and a triumph for Pearlman’s distinctive storytelling, bringing it to a larger audience.”

Nonfiction

Maya Jasanoff, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World (RH/Knopf);  “a book of fresh, original, and sprightly scholarship, by Harvard professor of British history Jasanoff, acknowledging colonists’ response to Loyalists during the Revolutionary War and the consequences for Britain’s entire empire thereafter.”

Biography

John Lewis Gaddis,  George F. Kennan: An American Life (Penguin Press); “a book that brings alive the remarkable American statesman while also delivering a profound understanding of U.S. foreign policy in the 20th-century.”

Poetry

Laura Kasischke, Space, in Chains, (Copper Canyon Press);  “a formally inventive work that speaks to the horrors and delights of ordinary life in an utterly original way.”

Autobiography

Mira Bartók, The Memory Palace: A Memoir (S&S/Free Press); “a book that rose to the formal challenge of blending her mother’s journals, reflections on her mother’s mental illness and subsequent homelessness, and thoughts on her own recovery from a head injury to create a heartfelt yet respectful work of art.”