Several libraries show growing holds on modest quantities of The Wild Truth, by Carine McCandless, (HarperCollins; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe).

The author is the sister of Chris McCandless, a man who seemingly had everything, but ended as an emaciated corpse discovered in a bus in the Alaskan wilderness after giving away most of his money and breaking with his family.

The story was featured in Jon Krakauer’s 1996 best seller, Into the Wild, which was adapted into a 2007 movie adaptation, starring Emile Hirsch and directed by Sean Penn. In her book, Carine McCandles, who was 21 years old at the time, gives more insight into her brother’s seemingly erratic behavior. A new documentary about him, Return to the Wild, will air on PBS on Nov. 25.

Reviewed this week on the NPR web site, it was also featured on ABC’s 20/20 and on the People magazine web site.

In today’s New York Times, Dwight Garner opens his review of Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish (Tyrant Books, original trade pbk., Nov. 11) with this attention-getting phrase, “Unlike any American fiction I’ve read recently in its intricate comprehension of, and deep feeling for, life at the margins” and goes on to describe it in increasingly glowing terms, winding up with, “The final chapters of this indelible book pulled my heart up under my ears.”

The publisher is the indie press Tyrant Books, which was profiled in The Los Angeles Review of Books last year.

Preparation for the Next Life was one of 35 titles on Publishers Weekly‘s list of “The Big Indie Books of Fall 2014,” also receiving a stellar review in that publication, as a “stunning debut novel that plumbs the underbelly of New York City … Lish’s prose is at once raw and disciplined, and every word feels necessary. “

New cast members have been announced for the film adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s award-winning best seller, Room  (Hachette/Little,Brown, 2010).

Brie Larson was cast earlier this year in the role of a woman only known as Ma in the book. Kidnapped as a teenager, she lives in a tiny room with her 5-year-old son, Jack and the story  is told through his eyes. Jacob Tremblay (Surfs 2 — shown here at the premiere of that movie) has been hired for that key role.

Also joining are William H. Macy, presumably as Ma’s captor, Old Nick and Joan Allen in an unspecified role. It is being directed by Lenny Abrahamson from a script written by Donoghue. and is expected to be released in 2015.

The latest Best Books list is the Amazon Editors picks of 100 favorites of 2014, in ranked order, as well as their picks in Kids and Teens and Cookbooks.

CBS This Morning featured the top ten on Saturday.

The number one title is a debut that has not appeared on any other best books lists yet, but will be familiar to librarians who are members of First Flights: The Penguin Debut Authors program (if you’re not, you can join here), Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng,  is described as, ” ‘kind of a ‘sleeper’ in that it got less attention initially than other novels, but Ng’s debut is a sad and moving story that we all fell in love with from the first line. Deeply felt and searingly emotional, Everything I Never Told You is the kind of novel that people say doesn’t get published any more. We’re so happy it did.”

Below is the video the author created for First Flights members (read our chat with the author here).

Several “non-sleeper” titles are also on the list, including Stephen King’s just-published novel, Revival, (S&S/Scribner; S&S audio; Thorndike), which comes in at #6.

It seems Amazon’s ongoing battle over terms with Hachette has not affected the editors. Four titles from Hachette imprints are on the top 100 list, beginning with Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta at #29 (Hachette/ Little, Brown).

For those betting on the National Book Award winners, which will be announced next week, three of the fiction finalists are in the top ten, with Anthony Doerr’s  All the Light We Cannot See, (S&S/Scribner; S&S Audio; Thorndike), at #2, Phil Klay’s Redeployment, (Penguin Press; Penguin Audio; Thorndike) at #5 and Emily St. John Mandel’s  Station Eleven (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; Thorndike), at #10.

On the other hand, the winner of this year’s Man Booker Award, The Narrow Road To The Deep North, by Richard Flanagan (RH/Knopf) just squeaks in at #93.

We have updated our downloadable Best Books spreadsheets with the Amazon selections:

Adult Fiction, V.3, Downloadable Spreadsheet

Adult Nonfiction, V.3, Downloadable Spreadsheet

Childrens and Young Adult, V. 4, Downloadable Spreadsheet

Dominating the media next week will be two quite different books about the current and former residents of the White House … librarians recommend three titles for fellow readers advisors … Stephen King returns to the horror genre while James Patterson explores India.

All the titles covered here, and several more notable titles arriving next week, with ordering information and alternate formats, are listed on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of 11/1014

Holds Leaders

Revival, Stephen King, (S&S/Scribner; S&S audio; Thorndike);  OverDrive Sample; Rolling Stone book and audio excerpts

This is King’s second novel of the year, following Mr. Mercedes, which was called his first hard-boiled detective novel.  The Guardian  hails the new one with the headline, “Stephen King returns to the horror genre.” Interviewed in The Rolling Stone last week, King took a major swipe at the NYT critic, Michiko Kakutani. Any bets on whether she’ll review this one?

Private India: City on Fire, James Patterson, Ashwin Sanghi, (Hachette/Grand Central; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print); OverDrive Sample

In spinoffs from his Private series, Patterson’s character Jack Morgan has opened new offices in Europe (PrIvate London and Private Berlin) and Autstralia (Private Down Under). Now he adds another continent in a title written in collaboration with Ashwin Sanghi, known in his own country as “the Dan Brown of India.” In a Times of India interview Sanghi said Patterson’s publisher contacted him, because Patterson wanted to write a book set in India, but didn’t want to write it on his own, fearing “he would lose its flavour.” Like the others in the international Private series, Private India was published originally in the U.K, Random House, followed by a U.S. release by Hachette/Grand Central in trade paperback. In just a couple of weeks, Patterson’s next Alex Cross novel arrives, Hope to Die (Hachette/Little, Brown).

Readers Advisory

Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble, Marilyn Johnson, (Harper), OverDrive Sample

Johnson endeared herself to librarians with her 2010 title, This Books is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. She shines a light on another profession in this LibraryReads pick for November,

“Johnson takes a fascinating look at the field of archeology, profiling a number of archaeologists at work. She visits sites as diverse as an army base, Rhode Island, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Peru, but the best part of this book is learning about the archaeologists and their passions. A fun, interesting read that may cause an uptick in field school applications.” — Jenna Persick, Chester County Library, Exton, PA

The Wild Truth,Carine McCandless, (HarperCollins; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe), OverDrive Sample

GalleyChatters have been enthusiastic about this book for months. Giving further insight into the story that John Krakauer told in the bestselling Into the Wild, about Christopher McCandless’s mysterious disappearance into the Alaskan wilderness, it is written by his sister.

The Heart Has Its Reasons, Maria Duenas, (S&S/Atria; S&S Audio), OverDrive Sample

Also popular on GalleyChat, this was selected by independent booksellers as a top pick for December:

“Blanca Perea is a college professor in Madrid. Her life seems perfect — she is successful and happy, with a husband and two grown sons. When her husband announces that he is in love with another woman and is leaving her, Blanca’s perfect world is shattered. Desperate, she flees Madrid and takes a position at a university near San Francisco. It is her job to probe into the history of a long-deceased writer and former professor, Andres Fontana. As Blanca immerses herself in Fontana’s life, she becomes captivated by the things that drove him — his ambitions, his relationships, and his ill-fated lost love. As she untangles hidden agendas and lies, Blanca finds a strength that enables her to pursue a new life with new possibilities.” — Nancy Nelson, Sunriver Books, Sunriver, OR 

Media Attention

41: A Portrait of My Father, George W. Bush, (RH/Crown; RH Audio, read by George W. Bush; RH Large Print)

George W. Bush turns from painting to writing portraits. This one, undoubtedly in rosy tones, is titled simply 41: A Portrait of My Father (RH/Crown). Publicity includes a three-generational sit down on the Today Show as both author and subject are interviewed by correspondent Jenna Bush Hager.

The Stranger: Barack Obama in the White House, Chuck Todd, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio)

There’s no rosy glow in Chuck Todd’s sharply critical look at the current resident of the White House, as evidenced by Michiko Kakutani’s embargo-breaking review in yesterday’s New York Times

No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL, Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer, (Penguin/Dutton; Penguin Audio; Thorndike)

In his first book, the long-running 2012 best seller, No Easy Day, Mark Owen wrote about the killing of Osama bin Laden. He is still under investigation for allegations that the book disclosed classified information. Owen made sure that his second book, No Hero, was vetted by the Pentagon. He appeared on 60 Minutes last week. According to the story, a sections was cut, “but the reader can infer this is about [the rescue of] Captain Phillips – also the subject of a movie. And then there’s ‘SEAL team blank.’ Owen is not allowed to use the number ‘six.'” Holds in libraries are light, despite advance publicity.

Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film “The Imitation Game,” Andrew Hodges, (Princeton University Press)

The 1983 book, rereleased as a tie-in with a new preface by Douglas Hofstadter. The movie, which opens on 11/28, stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, has Oscar buzz.

During his interview with John Cleese, author of the new memoir, So, Anyway … (RH/Crown), Jon Stewart achieved a career high by making him laugh.

There was’t much talk about the book, but Stewart did say, “So, Anyway … is on the bookshelves now.” Nevertheless, the book roses to #152 (from #411) on Amazon’s sales rankings.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is making the leap from big screen to small screen. All 13 titles in the book series have been acquired for adaptation by Netflix.

The first book was adapted as a movie  in 2004, starring Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and Jude Law. It was originally planned as the beginning of a  film franchise, but that never materialized.

There’s no news yet on who will star, or when it is likely to debut.

The press release quotes the author,

“I can’t believe it,” Mr. Snicket said in a statement from an undisclosed location. “After years of providing top-quality entertainment on demand, Netflix is risking its reputation and its success by associating itself with my dismaying and upsetting books.”

That sense of humor will serve Snicket, (aka Daniel Handler), well when he hosts the upcoming National Book Awards.

The trailer for the movie, below:

Of course, author and exec. producer John Green is VERY excited that filming has begun for the adaptation of Paper Towns.

He’s coy about the specific location, but it’s already been reported that the shoot is in Charlotte, N.C.

The movie is scheduled for theatrical release on June 19, 2015.

Good news for those who enjoyed HBO’s adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge. The director, Lisa Cholodenko, is gearing up for another TV adaptation, this one for NBC, of a complex, award-winning novel, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, (Penguin, 2010).

It was just announced that Uma Thurman will star, replacing Mary Louise Parker, who recently had to drop out to recover from pneumonia.

The controversial Australian novel, about the shock waves set off after a man, having had it with an obnoxious four-year-old boy at a barbecue, ends up slapping him. It was a hit in both Australia and the U.K., where it became a reading group staple.

When it was released here as an original trade paperback, it received a strong endorsement in the Washington Post.  Noting that the book switches back and forth among various characters and their reactions to the events, the reviewer says,

It’s a potentially confusing structure, but Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas is a master of seamless joints … He gets so close to his characters that the reader almost pleads with him to treat them more kindly.

While it gives American readers a sense of life in Australia, it also resonates here,

In The Slap we live for a few short weeks in suburban Australia, learning the language, becoming intimate with the characters and experiencing their customs. But finally the novel transcends both suburban Melbourne and the Australian continent, leaving us exhausted but gasping with admiration.

It was made into a popular Australian TV series in 2011 (as a result, some reports cite the new adaptation as a remake of that series, without noting the original source material).

Below is a trailer for the Australian version:

Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall series, recently told an audience that she will not appreciate it if the BBC indulges in the kind of “nonsense” that the Americans brought to history in The Tudors TV series on Showtime.

American audiences will be able to judge for themselves this spring. PBS just announced that they will air the series as part of  “Masterpiece,” beginning April 5. The six-part series stars Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis, known to many American primarily as Brody in the first three seasons of Showtime’s Homeland, as Henry VIII.

In an odd bit of timing, the TV series begins after the Broadway opening on March 20th of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theatrical adaptation, which has been a hit in London (view Act 1, Scene 1). The text of the play will be published in two versions:

Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies: (stage version)
Hilary Mantel, Mike Poulton
Theatre Communications Group; December 16, 2014
Ship Date: November 24, 2014
9780007549894, 000754989X
Trade Paperback, $22.95 USD

Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies: The Stage Adaptation
Hilary Mantel, Mike Poulton
Picador: February 24, 2015
9781250064172, 1250064171
Trade Paperback, $16.00 USD

As to when the third book in the trilogy, The Mirror and The Light will appear, Mantel said it is “unlikely to be ready until 2016.“

Twelve thousand teens have voted and selected their favorite 2013 books for the YALSA Teen’s Top Ten. The winners are announced in the video below, by Willow Shields (aka Primrose Everdeen of The Hunger Games). The number one title is Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin).

The author is clearly a librarian favorite, as well. Her YA title Fangirl topped the very first LibraryReads top ten list, as a crossover title for adult readers, and the author’s adult title, Landline, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin), was on the July list.

The winners are also announced in more prosaic list form.

Voting was based on the following 25 nominees:

Following Library Journal‘s picks of the best books of the year, Publishers Weekly released their choices (with few overlaps), on Friday.

One of the few titles picked by both LJ and PW, as well as LibraryReads, is a book that began life in 2012 as a self-published e-original, The Martian by Andy Weir. It was then picked up for publication this year by RH/Crown (OverDrive Sample). Director Ridley Scott is currently at work on adapting it as a film, starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Pena, Kate Mara and Sean Bean. It is set for release in November, 2015.

This year, both LJ and PW picked several fiction e-originals, most of them romances.

We have updated our spreadsheets for your use in ordering and creating displays, including all 2014 LibraryReads picks, Library Journal Top Ten, More of the Best and Category picks, the  National Book Awards longlists and finalists, Publishers Weekly‘s Top Ten and bests by category, and, in childrens, the NYT Book Review ‘s Best Illustrated Books as well as the Man Booker lists for fiction.

• Adult Fiction, V.2, Downloadable Spreadsheet
• Adult Nonfiction, V.3, Downloadable Spreadsheet
• Childrens and Young Adult, V. 3, Downloadable Spreadsheet

The big fall book season is winding down, but there’s several LibraryReads picks to recommend … It’s been a busy season for offbeat celebrity memoirs … next week two older-school variety make their debuts.

All the titles covered here, and several more notable titles arriving next week, are listed, with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of 11/3/14

Holds Leaders

The Burning Room, Michael Connelly, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Large Print; Hachette Audio), OverDrive Sample

The latest thriller to feature Connelly’s favorite character, Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, is one of the last adult titles of the fall season to be drawing heavy prepublication holds (still to come Stephen King’s Revival, next week and James Patterson’s Alex Cross novel, Hope to Die, Nov. 24). Bosch is about to get his screen debut in Amazon’s 10-part series, Bosch coming mid-February (the pilot is available free online now). Connelly talks about the show in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. Readers advisory: the 11/7 issue of Entertainment Weekly revisits all of Connelly’s books in a “Binge” (not online yet) which includes a list of the essential titles for newcomers. A bit of “Connelly Trivia,” his book The Overlook is dedicated to “the librarian who gave me To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, Jeff Kinney, (Abrams/Amulet; Recorded Books)

The publisher says the latest in this mega-selling series will have a 5.5 million–copy first printing (remember when the 100,000 copy printing of the first Harry Potter title was considered a big gamble?)

LibraryReads Picks

In addition to The Burning Room, the following LibraryReads picks for November: are coming out next week:

Mermaids in Paradise, (Norton; Dreamscape Audio)

“This delightful book starts out as almost chick-lit, turns into a fantasy adventure, then leads into an underdog heist. The tone reminds me of Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens, with just enough absurdity in a tropical location to keep you on your toes. Protagonist Deb’s husband, Chip, is a total babe (in a nerdy way) and her BFF, Gina, is the best kind of snarky. A highly entertaining read!” — Amanda Monson, Bartow County Library System, Cartersville, GA — Also on the 11/9 Entertainment Weekly “Must List”

Mortal Heart, Robin LaFevers, (HMH Books for Young Readers; Recorded Books), OverDrive Sample

“Annith has been forbidden from leaving the convent of St. Mortain, so she breaks the rules to find out why. On her journey, she meets someone unexpected: the leader of the Hellequin, a group of dead souls repenting for their past wrongs and trying to track down those who are left wandering the earth in order to help them cross over. This is the best of all three books!”00 Hannah Berry, Aurora Public Library, Aurora, IL

The Forgers, Bradford Morrow, (Mysterious Press: Highbridge Audio)

“Narrator Will and Adam Diehl have something in common: they are both forgers, able to produce and sell authentic-looking inscriptions of Arthur Conan Doyle and Henry James’ books. When Adam is found bludgeoned and missing his hands, Will is inevitably drawn into the murder investigation. The clues and horror mount until realization bursts upon the reader at the end.” — Nancy Russell, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH

Eye On

Science…For Her!, Megan Amram, (S&S/Scribner), OverDrive Sample

“If you love feminism, hate ’50s gender norms, and find the tone of women’s magazines maddening, then you will love Megan Amram’s upcoming satirical book,” says Salon. One of the writers for NBC’s Parks and Recreation and a Twitter star, she is featured in New York Magazine and the book is one of three People picks for the week (of course, she posted the page on Twitter)

Sure to Get Review Attention

Let Me Be Frank With You: A Frank Bascombe Book, Richard Ford, (Harper/Ecco; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio), OverDrive Sample

Since we’re being frank, Richard Ford is one of the inspirations for EarlyWord. When I was a fledgling collection development librarian, his first Frank Bascome book, The Sportswriter, was published. The prepub reviews just didn’t sound that good, so I skipped it. One day, my boss came in brandishing a glowing Time magazine review and asked how many copies we had bought.  A great lesson about staying on top of what influences your readers (not to mention your bosses). The author is profiled in the Wall Street Journal and much more will be coming.

Celeb Memoirs

True Love, Jennifer Lopez, (Amor Verdadero, Penguin/Celebra)

Making headlines because, Lopez reveals she has been the victim of abuse (People magazine and the New York Daily News).

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life, Sophia Loren, (S&S/Atria), OverDrive Sample

Photos from the book are featured in Entertainment Weekly, 11/7/14. Upcoming coverage:

USA Today feature, November 4

ABC-TV/’Good Morning America,’ November 12

ABC News-TV/’Nightline, November 14

New York Times Book Review, December 7

Tie-ins

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand, (Random House Trade Paperbacks; the RH Audio is also being released with tie-in cover)

It may seem that the whole world has read Unbroken, but copies are still circulation from libraries. The movie, directed by Angelina Jolie, arrives this Christmas.

The Red Tent, Anita Diamant, (Macmillan/Picador)

The book club favorite gets a stunning new cover for the tie-in to the Lifetime two-parter, scheduled for 12/7 and 12/8/14,

The new Disney adaptation of  the 1962 Ray Bradbury classic, Something Wicked This Way Comes (1999 hardcover reissue, Harper Voyager), has just completed the next step in becoming reality, with the hiring of a screenwriter.

It is set to be directed by first-timer Seth Grahame-Smith, who, as an author, has seen other directors adapt two of his books,  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, to midlling success and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which languished in  development for years until it finally began filming in September (see Entertainment Weekly‘s “first look”).

When the Bradbury project was first announced earlier this year, Grahame-Smith told Deadline, “I have been so crazy about this book, and it was such a formative title in my life that I actually wrote a piece on NPR about why it is so important for young males to read,”

Disney has adapted it before, into a 1983 movie, starring Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd and Pam Grier. Grahame-Smith said he doesn’t intend to remake that movie, “I want the haunted atmosphere that makes the book so chilling, and I want to reinstate some of the classic scenes from the book that were missing from the ’83 film.”

THE PILOT AND THE LITTLE PRINCE:
The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Written and illustrated by Peter Sis
Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
(Picture book; ages 5 to 12)

THE BABY TREE

Written and illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin
(Picture book; ages 5 to 8)

THE PROMISE

Written by Nicola Davies, Illustrated by Laura Carlin
Candlewick Press
(Picture book; ages 6 to 9)

WHERE’S MOMMY?

Written by Beverly Donofrio. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock
Schwartz & Wade
(Picture book; ages 3 to 7)

HERE IS THE BABY

Written by Polly Kanevsky. Illustrated by Taeeyun Yoo
Schwartz & Wade
(Picture book; ages 2 to 5)

TIME FOR BED, FRED

Written and illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail
Walker Books/Bloomsbury
(Picture book; ages 4 to 8)

HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS

Written by J. Patrick Lewis, Illustrated by Gary Kelley
Chronicle/Creative Editions
(Picture book; ages 9 and up)

HAITI, MY COUNTRY:
Poems by Haitian Schoolchildren

lllustrated by Roge
Fifth House Publishers
(Picture book; ages 4 to 12)

SHACKLETON’S JOURNEY

Written and illustrated by William Grill
Flying Eye Books
(Picture book; ages 7 to 11)

DRAW!

Written and illustrated by Raúl Colón
A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster
(Picture book; ages 3 to 9)

The New York Times Book Review‘s annual selection of the ten best illustrated books, chosen this year by judges Jennifer M. Brown, director of the Center for Children’s Literature at the Bank Street College of Education, and author/illustrators Brian Floca and Jerry Pinkney, has just been released online, in the form of a slideshow, with interior illustrations (our slideshow of the covers, above). The printed list will appear in the 11/9 issue.

Our downloadable spreadsheet rounds up the childrens and YA best books picks to date, 2014-Best-Books-Childrens-and-YA-V.2