Archive for May, 2014

Maya Angelou Dies At 86

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Caged_bird2Tributes are beginning to pour in for author Maya Angelou, who died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina yesterday.

As NPR’s Lynn Neary recounts, “Angelou once said she believed that ‘life loves the liver of it’ and she did live it, to the fullest.”

USA Today lists 13 more of her “best quotes,” including, “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

May GalleyChat – A Few (out of many) Good Books

Tuesday, May 27th, 2014

Ed Note: To help you sort through (or add) to your TBR piles, below is GalleyChatter Robin Beerbower’s picks of the titles brought up during our most recent GalleyChat. Join us for the next GalleyChat, Tuesday, June 3rd, 4 to 5 p.m., EDT — #ewgc.

May 6th’s chat was chock-full of so many appealing books we may all need to take a long vacation this summer so we can read! Chatters brought up over 80 books in a variety of genres and since there is no way I can summarize everything, two collections were created on Edelweiss — one for titles with e-galleys, including new titles by Philippa Gregory, David Mitchell, Ann Hood, and Sarah Waters. (remember to log in. Otherwise, you won’t be able to see the download buttons).

List for May 6 GalleyChat with E-Galleys

The other list includes titles which are not available as e-galleys (this is fluid, however, so you may find that some now have download buttons).

List for May 6 GalleyChat without E-Galleys 

Below are a few titles that rose to the top of the GalleyChat pile:

that night

One of my “go-to” books for library patrons who want a thriller is Chevy Stevens’ debut, Still Missing, and her most recent book, That Night (St. Martin’s, June) has been mentioned multiple times over the past few GalleyChats. This is a top-notch psychological thriller that was so relentless I had to stop reading a few times to catch my breath. If you would like an e-galley, Talia (Talia.Sherer@macmillan.com) will hook you up.

Based on the 23 “much love” recommendations on Edelweiss, JoJo Moyes’ quirky love story One Plus One (Penguin/Pamela Dorman, July) is destined to be a summer “must-read.” Arizona librarian and regular GalleyChatter Melissa Samora said Moyes is quickly becoming a favorite author and loves the characters she creates.

How can a reader resist comments such as “I wonder how to describe The Quick without giving away the surprise?” (Marie Andrienne) and the reply “Know exactly whatquick you mean; it is a puzzlement for me as well.” (Lucy Lockley)? So it seems there is nothing else to say about the Victorian thriller The Quick by Lauren Owen (Random House, June) except to add that three librarians said it was a very intriguing and surprising book. It is also included the the just-published New Republic‘s Summer Reading Guide which also alludes to twists and turns and warns, “Read it with the lights on.”

GalleyChat regular Janet Lockhart, Wake County (NC) collection development librarian, brought up The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills, a memoir that recounts Mills’ friendship with the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. Janet said, “This is a fascinating peek into the life of a notoriously private person, done in a respectful and delicate manner.” Lee is currently in the news for reinstating her lawsuit against her hometown’s museum (and for finally approving the e-book release of To Kill a Mockingbird, which may bring interest in finding out she is “really” like.

I”m out of time but stay tuned for more amazing titles librarians have loved. Please friend me if you would like to keep in the loop of what I’m anticipating on Edelweiss.

Hoopla To Begin Offering E-Books

Tuesday, May 27th, 2014

NewImageHoopla will demo a new approach to library e-book lending during this week’s BEA (Booth # 1239), the pay-per-circulation model, already being used by the platform for video and audio.

Publishers Weekly quotes Hoopla founder and Midwest Tape v-p Jeff Jankowski, “We are totally against the one copy/one user platform.That platform, and the whole platform of the physical library business, or the old video rental store, was based on dissatisfaction—you almost never get what you want. If you want the new John Grisham, for example, chances are you’re going to have to wait three or four months.”

PW adds, “Jankowski acknowledges that, as with many new library products based on a transactional model, success can be the scariest prospect. If a product proves popular, it can complicate budgeting…” but that many librarians who were initially skeptical, have come to appreciate that it allows them to only pay for what is actually used.

The platform is to be released “later this year.” Meanwhile, one of Hoopla’s main tasks will be convincing publishers to sign on.

Official press release

LIFE OF CRIME Trailer

Tuesday, May 27th, 2014

9780062206138The trailer for Life of Crime, based on the late Elmore Leonard’s novel The Switch, (HarperCollins/Morrow), starring Jennifer Aniston, was released last week. The movie, which also stars John Hawkes, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), Isla Fisher and Tim Robbins, opens on August 29.

Director Daniel Schechter described his efforts to buy the rights to the novel in a story in The Rolling Stone last year, and expressed the hope that Leonard would have appreciated the outcome. With the exceptions of Jackie Brown, Get Shorty, and the FX series, Justified, Leonard wasn’t a fan of the majority of the many adaptations of his work.

The novel is one of a series of trade paperback rereleases of Leonard’s classic backlist published by HarperCollins/Morrow. It is also in the Library of America collection, Elmore Leonard: Four Novels of the 1970s, coming in September (Penguin/Library of America).

Trailer, below

FRESH OFF THE BOAT To ABC

Tuesday, May 27th, 2014

Fresh off the boatThe ABC TV series based on NYC restaurateur Eddie Huang’s memoir, Fresh Off the Boat, (RH/Spiegel & Grau; RH Audio; BOT), has been given the green light for the 2014/2015 season.

Looks like they are sticking with the memoir title for the series. Earlier we reported that the network had changed the title to Far East Orlando, which received protests for being racist from many, including Huang.

Now the original title is getting its own criticism via Twitter.

Trailer below:

Four Titles To Have On the Tip of Your Tongue, Week of May 26

Friday, May 23rd, 2014

Welcome to summer! Next week offers not only books from a multitude of Big Names, but two major debuts,  a second novel that is set to outshine the author’s well-received debut, as well as an intriguing LibraryRead pick.

All the titles mentioned here and more coming next week, are listed on our downloadable spreadsheet, New Title Radar, Week of May 26.

Heavily Promoted Debuts

quebertThe Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, Joel Dicker, (Penguin Books, trade paperback, $18; Blackstone Audio; Turtleback library binding)

A mystery novel, set in the U.S, written in French by a Swiss Law School grad, it was published in Europe in 2012 and sold 2 million copies. A hot property at the Frankfurt Book Fair, U.S. rights were won by Penguin. Adding extra sizzle, film rights were bought last month by Ron Howard (he may have noticed that, in France, it outsold another book he is adapting, Dan Brown’s Inferno).

It’s being promoted as the book of the summer, which is why it’s getting advance attention in the consumer media.The Washington Post was the first, last week with a middling review by novelist Dan Strachey (aka Richard Stevenson). He begins by calling it a  “Big Gulp of a pop novel that’s kind of enjoyable in a corn-syrupy way,” goes on to enumerate all that is wrong with it, but ends by admitting,

As maladroit as this novel is in so many ways, it churns along at such a good clip and is rendered with such high emotion and apparent deep conviction that it’s easy to see why it was a bestseller in Europe. It’s likely to be one in this country, too, where in the land of bestsellerdom, earnest lardiness counts for a lot.”

More middling reviews have followed (the lead in Entertainment Weekly’s Books section, it gets a resounding C). Today’s Wall Street Journal looks at its chances for success here (arriving at no real conclusion) and notes that it also received tepid reviews in the U.K., where it was released on May 1 but is now #1 on the best seller lists of both the Times of London and the Telegraph.

Curiously for such a major launch, Penguin has decided to publish the book in trade paperback (with French flaps, of course), perhaps to overcome price resistance to such a long novel (656 pages). It’s a hit with EarlyWord’s GalleyChatter, Robin Beerbower, which is good enough for us. By the way, author Joel Dicker is speaking at the AAP Librarian Dinner next week during BEA.

Fourth of JulyFourth of July Creek, Smith Henderson, HarperCollins/Ecco

Another big summer debut arriving this week, it is getting more positive critical response than Harry Quebert. The Wall Street Journal today quotes editor Lee Boudreaux, describing it as “writing by Richard Ford, characters by Richard Russo.” It gets a solid A in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly and was picked by booksellers for the June IndieNext list.

Poised To Breakout

The VactionersThe Vacationers, Emma Straub, Penguin/Riverhead

Following her 2012 debut, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures, which Janet Maslin dismissed in her NYT Summer Reading preview as “a benign but mannered Hollywood period piece,“ but praises this second effort as a total departure. It’s the lead review in People Magazine, with 4 of 4 stars; a ‘delicious, deceptively traditional domestic drama…[that] offers all the delights of a fluffy, read-it-with-sunglasses-on-the-beach read, made substantial by the exceptional wit, insight, intelligence and talents of its author.” Entertainment Weekly has it at #9 on the week’s “Must List,” saying, it “has all the hallmarks of a typical family-vacation romp; marital strife, a sunny location, long-held secrets exposed… What set the novel apart are it’s careful observations and poignant humor. Completely guilt-free resort reading.”

Library Reads Pick

The Lobster KingsThe Lobster Kings, Alexi Zentner, W.W. Norton

LibraryReads June Pick: “This well-crafted story truly captures the beauty and brutality of living by the sea. The characters show what it’s like to have saltwater in your veins and commitment to family and community. Zentner depicts a way of life that is fast disappearing. Perfect for summer reading.”  — Lisa Marie Joyce, Portland Public Library & South Portland Public Library, Portland, ME

Summer Previews Begin

Friday, May 23rd, 2014

jessica-alba-entertainment-weekly-cover-leadWith Memorial Day Weekend upon us, it’s time for summer previews.

Entertaiment Weekly‘s “Summer Must List” issue looks at what will be big this season in movies, tv, music and supposedly in books, but they give them short shrift (too bad, that cover is going to sell copies, but maybe not to the book reader demo), fitting them awkwardly into various categories — “Sin” (amazingly, no books in this section), “Destruction” (Chesea Cain’s One Kick, S&S, 8/8, clearly belongs here), “Love” (featuring Diana Gabaldon, as much for the upcoming Outlander series adaptation on Starz, as for her forthcoming Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, RH/Delacorte, 6/10). The category of “Survival” is broadly interpreted to include 6 titles, such as Amy Sohn’s The Actress, S&S, July 5 and Rufi Thorpe’s The Girls from Corona Del Mar, RH/Knopf, 7/8

In today’s NYT, critic Janet Maslin casts her eye on 14 summer titles (and goes to lengths to avoid the phrase “beach read”), commenting, “if there’s one overriding motif, it’s this: the crazier, the better.” She is lukewarm about most of the titles she mentions except for The Fever by Megan Abbott (Hachette/ Little, Brown, 6/17), “a hot new entrant in the ‘Is it the next Gone Girl’?’ sweepstakes,” the “astringent wit of Joshua Ferris’s To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, (Hachette/ Little, Brown, 5/13) and Emma Straub’s The Vacationers, (Penguin/Riverhead, 5/29), “a scrappy portrait of a family bringing its Upper West Side troubles to Mallorca for repair,”

Her favorite is the nonfiction debut, Factory Man, (Hachette/ Little, Brown, 7/15) by Beth Macy, which Maslin calls “a big surprise” for finding “a terrifically rich subject” in “a family-run Virginia furniture company that was being put out of business by cheap Chinese knockoffs, and happened to find an owner determined to fight back.”

We’ll let you know as more previews arrive.

Hot in Cleveland

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

When Wendy Bartlett, head of collection development at Cuyahoga P.L, Ohio, has a gut feeling about a title, she buys it in quantity, to be ahead of the demand curve. She lets the staff in on her thinking through her “Hot Title Thursdays” posts on the staff intranet, a clever way of ensuring the success of these titles, as staff in turn recommends them.

Conversely, Wendy relies on staff response when she just doesn’t see the potential in some heavily-promoted title (not a fan of The Night Circus when it was first announced, she asked staff to read galleys to tell her if she was nuts. They told her she was. She ordered more. Good thing; it went on to be a best seller).

We’ve asked Wendy to begin sharing her Hot Title Thursdays posts on EarlyWord. Below is the first, about a book that’s also been generating enthusiasm on GalleyChat. It’s coming out the end of July and is now available via NetGalley and Edelweiss (sounds perfect for the Memorial Day weekend).

Fortune HunterThe Fortune Hunter, Daisy Goodwin, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike)

Wanna find out how the 1% lived back in the day?

Here’s your chance!

If you don’t think “gossipy page turner” when you think of historical fiction, you clearly haven’t read Daisy Goodwin. Her previous title, a debut novel, The American Heiress also did very well for us.

I’m happy to report that her new novel, The Fortune Hunter, is even stronger, particularly in terms of pacing, and will again appeal to a wide range of readers, from romance to historical fiction, to royal watchers, to the Downton Abbey crowd, and even to people who love travel.

Part of the fascination is that Goodwin has based the novel on actual historical figures in Victorian-era Europe, including Victoria herself. The main characters are Elizabeth “Sisi” Winterhalter, the Empress of Austria, Bay Middleton (yes, a distant relative of the current Princess of Wales), the Earl of Spencer, as in Diana’s great-great-grandfather……..you get the idea. Sisi, a legendary beauty, travels Europe to alleviate her boredom. (The cocaine mixture administered by the Hungarian lady-in-waiting doesn’t hurt either.) She decides she wants handsome Bay Middleton, the best rider in England, to be her personal assistant for hunting season. But Middleton is in love with the heiress to the Lennox fortune—a young woman not wise at all in the ways of the world. It’s a love triangle, but also a clash of societal roles, classes and cultures. Fun, fun, fun. I read it in two sittings.

This one has a street date of July 29th. Get those holds in now! ENJOY!

MOST DANGEROUS Publicity

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

The Most Dangerous AnimalIf you were blindsided by the news about a book published on Tuesday, The Most Dangerous Animal of All, by Gary L. Stewart (Harper), you’re not alone.  As Newsweek reports, HarperCollins worked to keep the story under wraps.

If that was an effort to insure that all the publicity hits at once, it’s working. The news about the author’s search for his biological father, which led to the chilling discovery of a man, now dead, who might have been the infamous Zodiac Killer, first broke in New York magazine’s “Intellingencer” blog and was picked up by dozens of other news media. Next up, it is featured in the new issue of People magazine (on newsstands tomorrow; available digitally now).

The Zodiac Killer was believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least five people in the San Francisco area in the late 1960’s. That story was the basis of David Fincher’s 2007 movie, Zodiac.

Penguin Young Readers Live Chat

Wednesday, May 21st, 2014

Below is the most recent chat from the Penguin Young Readers Author Program. To become a member of the program, sign up here.

 Live Chat with Piers Torday, THE LAST WILD(05/21/2014) 
4:38
Nora - EarlyWord: 
We will begin our live online chat with Piers Torday, author of THE LAST WILD in about 15 minutes.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 4:38 Nora - EarlyWord
4:39
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Meanwhile, here’s the cover of the book…
Wednesday May 21, 2014 4:39 Nora - EarlyWord
4:39
Nora - EarlyWord
THE LAST WILD, Cover
Wednesday May 21, 2014 4:39 
4:42
Nora - EarlyWord: 
It's received many admiring reviews. Booklist gives a good summary -- "In a world where there are no more animals (only a few rogue varmints ), Kester Jaynes finds himself in an unusual position: a cockroach is asking him for help. Kester, who hasn't spoken since his mother died, answers the entreaty of the cockroach (and some persuasive pigeons) and escapes to the forbidden wild, where a few animals have been hiding ... an enchanted adventure with a message of empowerment and hope that ought to sweep readers along to the planned second volume."
Wednesday May 21, 2014 4:42 Nora - EarlyWord
4:56
Nora - EarlyWord: 
It’s great to see our chat participants gathering. You can send your questions through at any time. They'll go into a queue, and Lisa will submit as many of them as we can to Piers before the end of the chat. Don’t worry about typos – and please forgive any that we commit!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 4:56 Nora - EarlyWord
5:02
lisa von drasek: 
tech difficulties!!! here I am!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:02 lisa von drasek
5:04
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Hurrah! Welcome Lisa!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:04 Nora - EarlyWord
5:04
Nora - EarlyWord: 
The clock has struck the magic hour. I see that Piers is here from the U.K. -- say hi to everyone, Piers!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:04 Nora - EarlyWord
5:04
Piers Torday: 
Hi everybody! Great to be here
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:04 Piers Torday
5:04
lisa von drasek: 
Hello Piers!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:04 lisa von drasek
5:04
Piers Torday: 
Hi Lisa!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:04 Piers Torday
5:05
Nora - EarlyWord: 
I see some others out there -- say hi to Piers!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:05 Nora - EarlyWord
5:06
Piers Torday: 
Please feel free to ask me anything
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:06 Piers Torday
5:06
[Comment From MD LibrarianMD Librarian: ] 
Looking forward to getting WILD, today, Piers!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:06 MD Librarian
5:06
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
::waves:: Hi, all three of you.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:06 sdn
5:06
lisa von drasek: 
Piers, can you say a few words about the response that middle graders have been having to The Last Wild?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:06 lisa von drasek
5:06
Piers Torday: 
Great MD Librarian - hope you enjoy - and hi sdn!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:06 Piers Torday
5:07
lisa von drasek: 
sdn- would that be Sharyn November Piers' editor?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:07 lisa von drasek
5:07
Piers Torday: 
Lisa I've had the most phenomenal response from middle graders - beyond what I expected. I think I had forgotten how powerful animal stories can be for younger children
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:07 Piers Torday
5:08
lisa von drasek: 
... what do kids like best about the book?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:08 lisa von drasek
5:08
[Comment From Michy FishMichy Fish: ] 
Greetings from the wilds of Michigan!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:08 Michy Fish
5:09
lisa von drasek: 

Although this book is dystopian, there is an undercurrent of humor.... especially the Wild...I love the white pigeon and the wolf pup
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:09 lisa von drasek
5:09
Piers Torday: 
I think they find the beginning - which we find quite bleak as adults - very exciting and then are thrilled when some humble cockroaches and pigeons break our hero out of his horrible prison. And they really respond to the humour in the characterisation of the animals, absolutely
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:09 Piers Torday
5:09
[Comment From PDLibFanPDLibFan: ] 
Not surprising that this was a big hit at the Texas Library Association convention last month!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:09 PDLibFan
5:09
Piers Torday: 
Hello Michigan and thanks PDLIbfan, that's great to hear!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:09 Piers Torday
5:09
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
(It would indeed be Sharyn November, Piers's editor!)
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:09 sdn
5:09
lisa von drasek: 
We got this advance question from one of the program members:

How did you choose the animal that would save the little boy?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:09 lisa von drasek
5:10
Piers Torday: 
The one and only SDN!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:10 Piers Torday
5:10
Piers Torday: 
Great question Lisa. I chose animals that I felt were neglected and taken for granted by us - the cockroach and the pigeon. Because I wanted animals that any child who has felt that way could identify with and also make a point about biodiversity.

In the 19th century the passenger pigeon was the most prolific bird in the US. Their flocks went up to 3.5 billion in size and when they flew the sky went black. But following the commercialization of pigeon meat and massive deforestation, by 1914 there was only one left alive and she died in captivity.

Not many of us like cockroaches but they are nature’s garbage collectors and recyclers – the world wouldn’t function without them.

So I guess I'm saying - you can't take things for granted!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:10 Piers Torday
5:11
lisa von drasek: 
Sharyn, I noticed in my reading that you and Piers left "British" English alone. can you comment on that?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:11 lisa von drasek
5:13
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
Sure! Whenever possible, I prefer to keep the original flavor of a book when it comes to language usage and spelling -- it makes for full-story immersion, if you will.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:13 sdn
5:13
Piers Torday: 
As Sharyn has said, she had no desire to Americanise more than necessary, which I really appreciated - but this wasn’t just her choice, it was borne out by all the responses from her test readers.

And as a result I think if anything the story is how many English words young American readers weren’t troubled by. I was allowed to keep ‘torches’ rather than change to ‘flashlights’ , ‘rubbish’ rather than ‘garbage’ or ‘trash’, and so on.

Not only that, there were a number of words that some young English readers might not get which their US counterparts had no problem with -like ‘bally’ - meaning ‘bloody' and ‘chuffed’ - meaning ‘delighted’.

Of course, I did have to make some changes. As Sharyn says, ‘Trackies’ (sweatpants) and ‘Trainers’ (sneakers) just make no sense at all over in the States, so they had to go.

A few others:

We ‘click’ our fingers to make a point, American readers ‘snap’ theirs, so I changed that.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:13 Piers Torday
5:14
lisa von drasek: 
what is the difference between a rabbit and a hare?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:14 lisa von drasek
5:14
Piers Torday: 
Lisa the difference between a rabbit and a hare is chiefly in the ears. The hare has longer ears and longer legs, which mean they can run much faster. The hare sleeps above ground, unlike rabbits in their burrows. Rabbits tend to breed like, well, rabbits – which hares don’t.

A hare being pursued or “harried” by a dog (hence their name) can make an awful cry which sounds like a baby in distress, which rabbits can’t do.

Hares can make tremendous pets, being very happy on duvets and armchairs, rather like cats.

And… they box, which rabbits don't!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:14 Piers Torday
5:15
lisa von drasek: 
You're pulling my leg! Like a Kangaroo?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:15 lisa von drasek
5:15
Piers Torday: 
Absolutely - do you want to see a photo?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:15 Piers Torday
5:15
lisa von drasek: 
yes, please!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:15 lisa von drasek
5:16
Piers Torday
Boxing hares
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:16 
5:16
lisa von drasek: 
wow!

Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:16 lisa von drasek
5:16
Piers Torday: 
They do this every March... Hence the rather prickly “March Hare" in Alice in Wonderland
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:16 Piers Torday
5:17
lisa von drasek: 
I read that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of your favorite books to recommend. Did I hear that you met Roald Dahl?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:17 lisa von drasek
5:17
Piers Torday: 
I did meet the great man, Lisa. When I was growing up my mother ran a children's bookshop, and she invited Roald Dahl to speak at a book week event...
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:17 Piers Torday
5:18
Piers Torday: 
...And a few days later a mysterious brown envelope arrived addressed to me and my mum. Do you want to see what was inside?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:18 Piers Torday
5:18
lisa von drasek: 
yes, please.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:18 lisa von drasek
5:19
[Comment From Michy FishMichy Fish: ] 
Wonder why rabbits don't do that?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:19 Michy Fish
5:19
[Comment From Boston Lib.Boston Lib.: ] 
Piers -- did you draw your avatar?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:19 Boston Lib.
5:19
Piers Torday: 
Michy Fish - I don't know - think they're happy to let the hares go for it!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:19 Piers Torday
5:19
Piers Torday
Miranda Mary Piker
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:19 
5:20
Piers Torday: 
This is the note I got from Roald Dahl when I was little - an Oompa Loompa Song he cut from the first draft of Charlie - about the character Miranda Mary Piker, also cut, because his daughter didnt like her
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:20 Piers Torday
5:20
lisa von drasek: 
OMG! you really know your way to a curator's heart
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:20 lisa von drasek
5:20
Piers Torday: 
I keep it as a reminder that even the very greatest writers make big mistakes
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:20 Piers Torday
5:20
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
I have never seen that in color, I don't think. WOW.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:20 sdn
5:21
Piers Torday: 
Hi Boston Lib - yes, I did!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:21 Piers Torday
5:21
lisa von drasek: 
Do you save all your drafts? Do you show them to kids?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:21 lisa von drasek
5:21
lisa von drasek: 
when you were writing did you have pictures of all the animals at your desk?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:21 lisa von drasek
5:21
[Comment From HCLibrarianHCLibrarian: ] 
I wondered if Roald Dahl was an influence. I was reminded of Dahl quite a bit when I read The Last Wild--in very good ways.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:21 HCLibrarian
5:22
Piers Torday: 
Lisa I save all my drafts - I don't show them to kids but when I do talk to kids I really try and get them to enjoy the process of writing and not worry too much about getting perfect end results straightaway
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:22 Piers Torday
5:22
lisa von drasek: 
do you have a day job or are you a full time writer
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:22 lisa von drasek
 
Piers Torday: 
Lisa - I used to work in TV as a producer but now I divide my time between writing full time and speaking to children in schools and libraries.
  Piers Torday
5:22
Piers Torday: 
HCLibrarian - thank you, he was a massive influence hopefully not too much!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:22 Piers Torday
5:23
lisa von drasek: 
-- Can you talk about your writing process? Do you get up at 4:00 am to write?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:23 lisa von drasek
 
Piers Torday: 
cant write till after breakfast - about 9am, and I think and write till about 1pm, and then try and tidy up what I've done after lunch. It's quite haphazard. as long as I get my 750 words a day, I'm happy. But no work after 7pm!
  Piers Torday
5:23
Piers Torday: 
Hi Lisa Lisa no I didn't keep photos of the animals on my desk because I wanted to keep the characters in my head and not get too waylaid by the actual everyday animal.

But I did do a lot of library research to make sure that – other than talking – none of the animals did anything they wouldn’t or couldn’t do in real life. And I stored a lot of photos to make sure physical details were correct.

And…I did got to meet a real wolf. Want to see a picture of that?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:23 Piers Torday
5:24
lisa von drasek: 
yes , please
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:24 lisa von drasek
5:24
[Comment From Boston Lib.Boston Lib.: ] 
I'm fascinated by you're not wanting to be overly influenced by the actual animal -- can you elaborate on that?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:24 Boston Lib.
5:25
Piers Torday
Tala the 18-month wolf cub who inspired the one in the book
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:25 
5:26
lisa von drasek: 
wow. that cub is really big. I imagined it to be the size of a golden retriever puppy all bouncy and loose.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:26 lisa von drasek
5:27
Piers Torday: 
Boston Lib - what I mean is that although I want them to look and feel like real animals, there is a danger that when you look too much at photos of "real" animals there is nothing behind the eyes, and so when you are trying to use them in ways which draw on their symbolic, poetic, mythological - or simply comic - potential, too much reality can deaden it for me. I really care about them from an eco point of view in the real world, but in the study I need to see them more figuratively
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:27 Piers Torday
5:27
Piers Torday: 
Lisa - maybe this is the size Kester's wolf cub grows into!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:27 Piers Torday
5:27
lisa von drasek: 
-- I read that you were friends with Eva Ibbotson. Had you read Secret of Platform 13 before Harry Potter came out?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:27 lisa von drasek
5:27
[Comment From Boston Lib.Boston Lib.: ] 
Thanks for that -- makes sense.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:27 Boston Lib.
5:28
Piers Torday: 
Eva was my mum's greatest friend and she'd just started writing books when my mum opened her shop. She used to record them on cassette (remember those?) and send them to us for our thoughts. So yes we had read Platform 13 and were, ahem, as surprised as anyone when HP came out..
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:28 Piers Torday
5:28
[Comment From MG LibrarianMG Librarian: ] 
Sorry; I'm not familiar with Secret of Platform 13 -- is it like HP?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:28 MG Librarian
5:30
Piers Torday: 
MG - the big deal is the secret hidden platform at Kings Cross station in London in both books
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:30 Piers Torday
5:30
Piers Torday: 
But hey - I clearly borrow from lots of other writers.. I think these things are overplayed and so did Eva
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:30 Piers Torday
5:30
lisa von drasek: 
To me they were alike in that they were both really fabulous fantasies with a lot of humor, really bad guys and adventure and magic from authors that I wasn't familiar with. I read both of them aloud to 4th graders
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:30 lisa von drasek
5:30
Piers Torday: 
Exactly Lisa!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:30 Piers Torday
5:30
lisa von drasek: 
When I was book talking the Last Wild, I had trouble coming up with comparable titles. Sharyn...what did you tell the sales reps?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:30 lisa von drasek
5:31
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
I told them exactly what my first US reader -- Alice, who was 11 at the time -- said: "It's like sci-fi Roald Dahl!"
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:31 sdn
5:31
Piers Torday: 
Still my favourite blurb ever, sdn
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:31 Piers Torday
5:31
lisa von drasek: 
I love that! Can I use it?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:31 lisa von drasek
5:32
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
Oh, feel free! It's on the jacket.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:32 sdn
5:32
lisa von drasek: 
oh now you all know that I don't read book jackets!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:32 lisa von drasek
5:32
Piers Torday: 
It's a great book - the secret of platform 13... and everything Lisa said about is true
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:32 Piers Torday
5:33
lisa von drasek: 
Piers, speaking of villains -- I really really really hated Captain Skuldiss. I wanted to kill him with my own bare hands.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:33 lisa von drasek
5:33
Piers Torday: 
Lisa, sorry but thank you! Now he is inspired by The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, only as an animal catcher
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:33 Piers Torday
5:34
lisa von drasek: 
Piers, I read that you had a pet monkey. picture please
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:34 lisa von drasek
5:34
Piers Torday: 
You mean Basil? Hang on, I just need to try and get him to sit still for a moment...
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:34 Piers Torday
5:34
Piers Torday
Basil, my pet monkey
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:34 
5:34
lisa von drasek: 
thank you.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:34 lisa von drasek
5:35
lisa von drasek: 
I loved Kester's scarf. Do you have a favorite piece of clothing that is also an object of comfort?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:35 lisa von drasek
5:37
Piers Torday: 
I'm not sure as much as him, but I was sent some great fan art of his scarf
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:37 Piers Torday
5:37
lisa von drasek: 
can I see it?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:37 lisa von drasek
5:37
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
(I want someone to knit you that scarf.)
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:37 sdn
5:38
lisa von drasek: 
Sharon, I will. are you okay with wool? Piers, I will need some measurements.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:38 lisa von drasek
5:39
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
I love you, Lisa Von Drasek.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:39 sdn
5:39
Piers Torday: 
Boston Lib - Monkeys are not only difficult pets, they are a nightmare and forever throwing coconuts at my neighbours head, not recommended
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:39 Piers Torday
5:39
lisa von drasek: 
Where in the world would you like to travel?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:39 lisa von drasek
5:39
Piers Torday
The scarf I would like SDN to get me knitted
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:39 
5:40
Piers Torday: 
Lisa I would like to travel to the Antarctic before it disappears
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:40 Piers Torday
5:42
lisa von drasek: 
Do you have plans to visit the united states?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:42 lisa von drasek
5:43
Piers Torday: 
I would love to come. I have so many friends over there from my time at school in USC, working in LA and New York, and now lots of new friends from the books, so perhaps once The Last Wild is out in soft cover and the Dark Wild is out in hard cover I can come and meet some of them!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:43 Piers Torday
5:44
Piers Torday: 
Lisa - you also asked about my working process, what time I get up and so on. I cant write till after breakfast - about 9am, and I think and write till about 1pm, and then try and tidy up what I've done after lunch. It's quite haphazard. as long as I get my 750 words a day, I'm happy. But no work after 7pm!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:44 Piers Torday
5:44
lisa von drasek: 
What are you reading now?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:44 lisa von drasek
5:45
Piers Torday: 
I am currently reading a million books - a book on the sea, a book on making my handwriting better, a book on extinction, a novel from the 1970's by Anita Brookner, a fabulous MG adventure called Ironheart and some very old Balzac tales. Oh and I just started a book called Grasshopper Jungle today as well.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:45 Piers Torday
5:45
lisa von drasek: 
I am dying to read the sequel The Dark Wild. When can I get my hands on it?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:45 lisa von drasek
5:45
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
(Viking will be publishing THE DARK WILD in Winter 2015 -- the season one year from now.)
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:45 sdn
5:46
Piers Torday: 
Can't wait!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:46 Piers Torday
5:46
Nora - EarlyWord
The U.K. cover of THE DARK WILD, the sequel to THE LAST WILD. To be published in the U.S., Winter, 2015
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:46 
5:47
lisa von drasek: 
Have you had any surprising reactions to your book?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:47 lisa von drasek
5:47
Piers Torday: 
A mysterious white dog, a needy rat and a bossy starling...
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:47 Piers Torday
5:47
lisa von drasek: 
no that is just mean...teasing us like that!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:47 lisa von drasek
5:47
Piers Torday: 
Lisa I’ve mainly had the most lovely reactions – so many emails and letters from children who it has really touched, and you can’t ask for better than that.

Some parents have said they were animal lovers and appalled by the fact it is about some animals dying...which is a little ironic as really it is about animals surviving and encouraging us to look after our fellow creatures a little better!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:47 Piers Torday
5:48
Piers Torday: 
Ok... and some mean foxes too!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:48 Piers Torday
5:49
lisa von drasek: 
Do you have more than one story going at once?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:49 lisa von drasek
5:49
Piers Torday: 
Lisa I have more than one story going in my head, sure, but not on the page. I’ve learned that focus really pays dividends. I do write around in a book though, I’m not always strictly chronological.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:49 Piers Torday
5:51
lisa von drasek: 
What did you eat for breakfast? Sharyn?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:51 lisa von drasek
5:52
Piers Torday: 
Today it was porridge which means tomorrow it will be boiled eggs!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:52 Piers Torday
5:52
lisa von drasek: 
what is porridge made of?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:52 lisa von drasek
5:52
Piers Torday: 
Rolled oats and water stirred over a gentle heat + milk/honey/fruit/whatever takes your fancy. Scottish!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:52 Piers Torday
5:53
lisa von drasek: 
Any last questions for Piers? I have one- do you ever Skype an author's visit?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:53 lisa von drasek
5:53
[Comment From Boston LibrarianBoston Librarian: ] 
Was just browsing your site -- very nice by the way -- and I see THE DARK WILD is already out in the UK! http://www.pierstorday.co.uk
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:53 Boston Librarian
5:53
Piers Torday: 
Hi Lisa - I have never Skyped an author's visit before but totally up for that
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:53 Piers Torday
5:53
lisa von drasek: 
Boston Librarian, Are you going to wait for the US edition or get a UK bootleg?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:53 lisa von drasek
5:54
lisa von drasek: 
tempting isn't it?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:54 lisa von drasek
5:54
Piers Torday: 
Boston Lib - thank you! Yes it is and I've had some lovely feedback, mainly -- Hurry up and finish the 3rd!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:54 Piers Torday
5:54
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
Hey, Lisa! NOT FAIR. ::grins::
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:54 sdn
5:55
lisa von drasek: 
oh right. please forgive me. sigh. Can you at least simultaneously publish number 3?
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:55 lisa von drasek
5:55
[Comment From Boston LibrarianBoston Librarian: ] 
I would try to get a bootleg edition, but don't know how!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:55 Boston Librarian
5:55
[Comment From sdnsdn: ] 
No, wait for the US version. Signed, US publisher and editor
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:55 sdn
5:56
[Comment From Boston LibrarianBoston Librarian: ] 
THANKS for that, Lisa!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:56 Boston Librarian
5:56
Piers Torday: 
Gladly Lisa if you can not only get me a scarf knitted but invent a time machine so I can finish it quicker!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:56 Piers Torday
5:56
Piers Torday: 
Boston Lib - I promise you will be the first to get the US signed TDW, right sdn?!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:56 Piers Torday
5:57
lisa von drasek: 
I will knit you AND Sharon scarves. just tell me the colors that you want.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:57 lisa von drasek
5:58
lisa von drasek: 
Thank you everyone for joining us.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:58 lisa von drasek
5:58
Piers Torday: 
Red and blue as in the book please!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:58 Piers Torday
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Thanks to you and Piers, Lisa -- this was really fun.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:58
Piers Torday: 
Thanks for having me everybody and for all your support, this has been great
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:58 Piers Torday
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 
And thanks to those of you who joined us today.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:59
Nora - EarlyWord: 
I want you to know that, offline, Lisa is finding out what kind of wool Piers peters!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:59 Nora - EarlyWord
5:59
Piers Torday: 
I'm not revaling the answer!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:59 Piers Torday
5:59
Nora - EarlyWord: 
This chat is now archived on the Penguin Young Readers page on EarlyWord -- http://penguinyrauthors.earlyword.com/last-wild-live-chat/
Wednesday May 21, 2014 5:59 Nora - EarlyWord
6:00
Nora - EarlyWord: 
The next book in our program is THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY. If you are not already a member of the Penguin Young Readers program, you can sign up here:

http://penguinyrauthors.ear...
Wednesday May 21, 2014 6:00 Nora - EarlyWord
6:00
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Goodbye, Piers, Lisa and the Penguin Young Readers Program members!
Wednesday May 21, 2014 6:00 Nora - EarlyWord
 
 

THE SLAP To NBC

Wednesday, May 21st, 2014

The SlapThe controversial Australian novel, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, (Penguin, 2010), may become an NBC eight-episode series. Lisa Cholodenko has signed on to direct. As The Guardian comments, “This is ideal ground for Cholodenko [The Kids Are All Right, and the HBO series, Olive Kitteridge, now shooting ] whose films explore the tensions, hypocrisies and foibles of liberal middle-class life,”

A hit in both Australia and the U.K., where it became a reading group staple, the novel is about the shock waves set off after a man slaps someone else’s 3-year-old at a barbecue. The author told The Guardian in January, “I wanted to write about complacency, the fact that Australia at the turn of the century had become one of the wealthiest and most prosperous nations on the planet. We had become richer, we had become fatter, but it also seemed that we had become less generous and less egalitarian because of this prosperity.” The same could be said of the U.S.

Below is the trailer for the Australian version:

Food, France, Mirren

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

Below, yet another attempt to try to make up for that creepy trailer we posted earlier, something to warm the heart and perhaps the stomach, the trailer for The Hundred-Foot Journey, based on Richard C. Morais’s novel about the rivalry between the owners of two restaurants that are just 100 feet away from each other in southern France. Helen Mirren appears to be at her haughty best (even with a rather uneven French accent), and director Lasse Hallström, (Chocolat), returns to the familiar ground of food and France.

The book is described on Oprah.com’s feature, “Books To Read Before The Summer Blockbuster Movies Come Out“:

In Richard C. Morais’ food-centric world, nights are as “black as a boudin noir”; the sun sets like “a mango sorbet dripping over the horizon.” If you love to eat—particularly French or Indian food—you’ll be right at home in that world, tagging along with Hassan Haji and his family, as they taste their way from India to England to rural France. There, they open Maison Mumbai and engage in a culinary culture war with a snooty French madame who runs the elegant, Michelin-starred restaurant across the street. The film version (produced by none other than Oprah, Steven Spielberg and Juliet Blake) delivers lush alpine landscapes and Helen Mirren as the prickly epicurean. But enjoying the fantastical nature of the dishes—for example, the roasted pigeon—takes a little imagination. Devour all 200-odd pages in one sitting.

Tie-in:

The Hundred Foot Journey

The Hundred-Foot Journey 
Richard C. Morais
S&S/Scribner
July 8, 2014
9781476765853, 1476765855
Paperback / softback
$15.00 US / $17.99 Can.

Hooked On A Raccoon

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

We feel bad about posting that creepy teaser for The Strain so early in the morning. Below is an antidote, the just-released second trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, to get you dancing:

This one gives a longer glimpse of Rocket, the raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), expected to be a particular hit with kids (commenting on the first trailer, Entertainment Weekly warned, “Hipster parents, stare into the eyes of your child’s next Christmas gift”).

Marvel, alert to the growing interest, recently announced the launch of their “first original prose novel,” Rocket Raccoon & Groot: Steal the Galaxy! by Dan Abnett (Marvel; ages 9 and up). Groot, by the way, is an extraterrestrial plant monster, voiced by Vin Diesel. Since his only words are “I am Groot,” sounds like an easy job, but Diesel claims a lot goes in to it.

For all the tie-ins, see our downloadable spreadsheet, Guardians-Movie-Tie-ins.

Collections of the original Marvel comics are also in print.

Another Week, Another Creepy Teaser for THE STRAIN

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

The creepy teasers have been piling up for The Strain, the 10-episode TV series based on the vampire novel trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The latest comes with a difference, a definite premiere date, July 13.

We’ll hold off on grossing you out further until the actual trailer arrives. Those with strong stomachs can watch all the teasers on The Strain’s official Web page.

Tie-in:

The Strain Tie-inThe Strain: TV Tie-in Edition

Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Harper, June 24, 2014

Mass market; 9780062344618,  $9.99

YELLOW BIRDS Closer to Screen

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

Yellow BirdsThe leads have been cast for Kevin Powers’ 2012 National Book Award finalistThe Yellow Birds, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Thorndike Press; Hachette Audio). Benedict Cumberbatch will play army Sergeant Sterling, who leads a platoon in Iraq. Will Poulter and Tye Seridan will play two Privates he takes under his wing (Entertainment Weekly).

David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) is set to write and direct.

When the book, a debut, was published, it received a great deal of press attention, including cover stories in both Parade magazine and the New York Times Book Review.

Powers published a book of poetry last month, Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting, (Hachette/Little, Brown).