EarlyWord is the home of GalleyChat, monthly online discussions where library staff share excitement about upcoming books. More information here.
Summaries of chats and announcements are posted to the right. Use them to add to your own TBR piles and for collection development.
Links on the far right of the site offer information useful to readers advisors.
Hope to see you during our next chat,
GalleyChatters
News for Collection Development and Readers Advisory Librarians
March 4th, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
You just knew it had to happen. The Carrie Diaries, Candace Bushnell’s YA prequel to Sex and the City, is being made into a pilot by the CW network. Austin Butler (Life Unexpected, Switched at Birth) has just been cast as Sebastian Kydd, the male lead. AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer) is already in place as Carrie the Younger.
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HarperChildrensAudio; UNAB; 978-0061983948; $25.99
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March 4th, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
The media went on red-alert last week about an erotic fiction trilogy.The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Fifty Shades of Grey by first-time British author E.L. James “has NYC moms reading like never before.” Apparently, they are also talking nonstop to each other about what they are reading. So much sharing is going on that one woman called it “the new kabbalah for female bonding in this city.”
Canada’s Globe and Mail gives the publishing background,
Through an independent publisher in Australia [The Writer’s Coffee Shop is based in New South Wales, Australia; the company’s US address is in Waxahachie,Tex] the trilogy has sold more than 100,000 copies, the bulk of them e-books…First time-author E.L. James, a television executive living in London, honed her erotica chops penning BDSM-themed Twilight fan fiction. She has said that the bondage opus was her “midlife crisis.”
The story was picked up by several other news sources, culminating on the Today Show on Friday.
WorldCat indicates that a handful of libraries own or have ordered the print version of the book. Most are showing a modest number of holds. The first title in the series hit the NYT best seller list in ebook format last week (#24, rising to #23 this week).
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
March 2nd, 2012 By: Charlotte Abbott
Lots of buzz on next week’s titles, including two novels that are the #1 and #2 Indie Next Picks for March: Carol Anshaw‘s Carry the One and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles. Literary favorites Kathryn Harrison and Jeanette Winterson are back too – Harrison with a novel of the Romanovs and Winterson with a memoir of overcoming her difficult relationship with her adoptive mother. Usual suspects include Clive Cussler, Patricia Briggs, Thomas Perry and a tie-in to the second season of the George R.R. Martin HBO TV series.
Carry the One by Carol Anshaw (Simon and Schuster; Tantor Audio; Thorndike Large Print) begins with a fatal car crash after a wedding reception that haunts the bridal party for the next 25 years. Booklist‘s starred review sums up the universally positive trade reviews: “masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humor, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory.” It just received an “A” rating from Entertainment Weekly and is the #1 Indie Next Pick for March 2012.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (HarperCollins/Ecco Press) retells Homer’s epic from the point of view of Patroclus, an exiled Greek prince taken in by the father of Achilles. Over the years, the two boys’ tentative friendship grows into a deep and passionate love that stands firm despite disapproval of the elders and the gods. The #2 Indie Next Pick for March, the annotation says, “Miller’s homage to The Iliad is sharp and strengthened by her knowledge and exquisite prose.” It’s also on Oprah’s Must-Read List for March.
Monday Mornings by Sanjay Gupta (Grand Central Publishing; Hachette Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is a debut novel by CNN’s chief medical correspondent, also the host of TV’s House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and author of the best-selling Cheating Death. It pulls back the curtain on the Morbidity and Mortality conference at Chelsea General, where surgeons answer for bad outcomes. LJ says, “Anyone who enjoys medical fiction should like this novel, despite a few less-than-realistic plot developments. Gupta keeps his numerous characters and their intermingled lives and crises in play and convinces readers to care about each one.”
Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison (Random House; Center Point Large Print) is set in the final days of Russia’s Romanov Empire, as the Bolsheviks place the royal family under house arrest and Rasputin’s 18-year-old daughter, Masha finds solace with the Czar’s son, Prince Alyosha. LJ says, “though the narrative can be confusing as Masha’s tales move rapidly from reality to fantasy, the ever-fascinating story of the fall of the Romanov dynasty will appeal to readers of historical fiction.” The author will appear on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered on March 4, and the book will be covered in the New York Times Book Review on March 11. It’s also on Oprah’s Must-Read List for March.
Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru (RH/Knopf; Thorndike Large Print) follows a husband and wife after their son, Raj, vanishes during a family vacation in the California desert and reappears inexplicably unharmed—but not unchanged. This one is also on Oprah’s Must-Read List for March, which says “at its core, this thrill ride of a novel is about searching for truth, even as wife Lisa finally comes to realize, ‘at the heart of the world…is a mystery into which we are not meant to penetrate.'” Reviewed in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, it gets a B+, with points off for not always being “narratively satisfying,” although “it’s still a compelling exploration of cosmic-American weirdness.”
The Thief by Clive Cussler (Penguin/Putnam; Wheeler Large Type; Penguin Audio) is set on the ocean liner “Mauretania,” where two European scientists with a dramatic new invention are barely rescued from abduction by the Van Dorn Detective Agency’s intrepid chief investigator, Isaac Bell.
Fair Game (Alpha and Omega Series #3) by Patricia Briggs (Ace Books) is the third book in the popular urban fantasy series.
Poison Flower: A Jane Whitefield Novel by Thomas Perry (Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press; Tantor Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is the seventh novel in this series about a Seneca woman who helps abused women and other victims disappear. Here, Jane spirits James Shelby, a man unjustly convicted of his wife’s murder, out of a criminal court building, and must endure the torment of men posing as police who kidnap her.
Everlasting by Elizabeth Chandler (Simon Pulse) finds fallen angel Ivy reunited with her her formerly dead boyfriend Tristan. But he has been cast down in the body of a murderer, and they must clear him before they can be together.
A Clash of Kings (HBO Tie-In Edition): A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two by George R.R. Martin (RH/Bantam; Random House Audio) is a tie-in to the HBO series that begins April 1.
Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson (Grove Press) is a memoir about this accomplished author’s life work to find happiness, after growing up in a north England industrial town with an abusive Pentacostal adoptive mother. But getting herself into Oxford and becoming an acclaimed literary author doesn’t satisfy her quest for love. Kirkus says, “this is a highly unusual, scrupulously honest, and endearing memoir.” It’s also on Oprah’s Must-Read List for March.
Shades of Hope: A Program to Stop Dieting and Start Living by Tennie McCarty (Penguin/ Amy Einhorn Books; Penguin Audio) offers advice breaking the diet cycle, by one of the foremost experts on eating addiction who has a famous retreat center, Shades of Hope. This is the first foray into self-help for star editor Amy Einhorn, who is better known for fiction (The Help, The Postmistress, The Weird Sisters).
March 1st, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
You’ve undoubtedly seen a trailer or two for John Carter, Disney’s $250 million 3-D sci-fi epic, opening on March 9.
Not that the heavy promotion matters; the Daily Beast reports that it’s expected to tank at the box office.
One of the problems is that people can’t grasp what it’s about, even though a new trailer, which arrived this week, is less murky than the others (two fans were so disgusted with the SuperBowl trailer, that they pieced together their own from available clips).
Junot Diaz might have helped clear up some of the questions; he’s written the introduction to the Library of America version of A Princess of Mars, the Edgar Rice Burroughs’s book the film is based on.
Library of America? The folks whod do “authoritative texts of great American writing…printed on premium acid-free paper”? Yes, them.
Unfortunately, however, the book won’t be available until after the movie releases.
Meanwhile, we have just this quote from Diaz to go on; “A Princess of Mars is singularly important… in that it innovated the grammar for the American version of the lost world romance.”
Another major author is taken with the book; Michael Chabon worked the screenplay.
For more tie-ins, go to our listing of Upcoming Movies — with Tie-ins
Not that you really need to stock up.
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February 29th, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
Yesterday, Penguin announced that Junot Diaz’s next book, a collection of short stories, This Is How You Lose Her, will be published by the Riverhead imprint in Sept. The story was picked up by several news sources, including the NYT and Entertainment Weekly
This will be the authors first book since his debut novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Entertainment Weekly notes that it “was a literary sensation upon its release in 2007, topping several year-end best lists and racking up major prizes, including the Pulitzer.” It is his second short story collection (Drown was released in 1996 and was an ALA Notable Book).
It will also be released in audio.
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February 28th, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
In our story about Oscars based on books, we overlooked one — the Best Animated Short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, based on the book by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg.
The trouble is, there is no book yet. Ironically, the story, which celebrates the joys of the printed page, is currently only available as a storybook app (it was was the top-grossing book app last year and received admiring reviews from both SLJ and Kirkus) and as the animated short.
The print book won’t be released until July by S&S/Atheneum. Joyce who was a formerly a Pixar designer as well as a children’s book author, is the film’s co-director, so he doesn’t have to follow the traditional sequence of book, followed by film adaptation, and then a tie-in edition. As Joyce told Variety last week, his two-year-old company Moonbot Studios sees things differently,
Our properties … our stories — we don’t see them as just one thing in one medium. We sort of sit there and go: “Is this a great movie? Is this a great book?” And if the answers are “yes,” then we think of them in whatever different (form is applicable).
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Joyce and Oldenburg have just released a second app, The Numberlys, which they describe in an Oscar’s backstage interview as “a remake of Metropolis but for kids.” The Variety story says it will also become a printed book, but no news yet on publication date.
Joyce is the executive producer for the Dreamworks feature film, Rise of the Guardians, coming Nov. 21, which involves a complex book publishing program, including picture books and chapter books.
The second title in the chapter book series was published last week:
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The poster for the movie was just arrived online.
February 27th, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
UPDATE: OverDrive just announced that the Harry Potter titles are available now for pre-order through Content Reserve.
At this point, none of the Harry Potter books are available digitally, but when they are, libraries will be able to buy them to circulate.
When J.K. Rowling announced plans for the web site Pottermore.com, she also announced that it would be the exclusive seller of Harry Potter eBooks. Today, OverDrive announced that they have entered into a deal for both eBook and digitial audio distribution of the titles to schools and libraries.
In the press release, Charlie Redmayne, Pottermore’s CEO, underlined the company’s belief in the important role of libraries;
We are keen to support public and school libraries, and OverDrive, as one of the leading suppliers in this market, provides us with a global network that helps us achieve this, as well as encouraging the discovery of these amazing books across the world.
In addition, the books will be offered in several languages, beginning with English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
The only hitch is that this won’t begin until Pottermore.com, which is still in Beta, is launched. However, this announcement may be a signal that it is coming soon.
February 27th, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
A large number of this year’s Academy Award nominees were based on books, thirteen in all, but only four went home with statues last night. In fact, the big winner this year was a movie that rejected words, The Artist.
The second biggest winner, in terms of number of Oscars, was Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.
The Help, The Descendants, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo each won a single Oscar
The film business could use the box office boost that the Awards bring; as CBS Sunday Morning reported, theater attendance in 2011 was the lowest in 15 years.
February 24th, 2012 By: Charlotte Abbott
Next week, St. Martin’s republishes Torn, the second title in Amanda Hocking’s previously self-published ebook series, barely two months after the first one, Switched. They will be arriving quickly; the third title, Ascend, is scheduled for April. The second title in another YA series, Pandemonium, by Lauren Oliver, also arrives this week. Both series, of course, have been optioned for film adaptations. Among the big names, Jodi Picoult’s new book features real (not supernatural) wolves and Lisa Lutz’s sly humor is on display in the fifth in her Spellman series.
Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung (Penguin/Riverhead) is the story of two sisters with very different reactions to their Korean parents and heritage, by one of Granta magazine’s “New Voices.” Kirkus says, “despite some missteps into cliches about abuse, Chung delves with aching honesty and beauty into large, difficult questions–the strength and limits of family, the definition of home, the boundaries (or lack thereof) between duty and love–within the context of a Korean experience. Chung’s limpid prose matches her emotional intelligence.” A syndicated Reuters Q&A with the author appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Blue Monday by Nicci French (Penguin/Pamela Dorman) is the first in a series of psychological thrillers by the husband-wife writing team of Sean French and Nicci Gerard, and involves the solitary psychotherapist Frieda Klein in modern London. PW says, “with its brooding atmosphere, sustained suspense, last-minute plot twist, and memorable cast of characters, this series debut will leave readers eager to discover what color Tuesday will be.”
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult (S&S/ Atria/Emily Bestler Books; Center Point Large Print) focuses on prodigal son Edward Warren, who has been living for five years after an irreparable fight with his father, a wolf expert. But he must return to New Hampshire, where his dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara. Kirkus says, “the thoroughly researched wolf lore is fascinating; the rest of the story is a more conventional soap opera of hospital, and later courtroom histrionics. Readers will care less about Luke’s prospects for survival than they will about the outcome for his wild companions.” Attention ALA Annual attendees; Picoult and her daughter will speak during the ALA President’s Program.
Victims by Jonathan Kellerman (RH/Ballantine; RH Audio; Thorndike Large Print) finds L.A. psychologist Alex Delaware stymied by a string of seemingly random slayings with only one clue left behind — a blank page bearing a question mark. PW says, “Too many plot contrivances make this one of Kellerman’s weaker efforts, but the usual effective interplay between Alex and [his pal Lt. Milo Sturgis] should satisfy series fans.”
Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5 by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster; Thorndike Large Print) is the fifth installment in the popular Edgar- and Macavity-nominated series about San Francisco PI Isabel Izzy Spellman and her eccentric sleuthing family. PW says “Lutz’s dry, biting humor is in full force, yet theres more than a hint of melancholy to be found in Izzys increasingly solitary pursuits.”
Torn by Amanda Hocking (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin; Brilliance Corporation) is the second paranormal romance in the paperback Trylle Trilogy, after Switched. Kirkus says, “while the writing certainly lacks the depth and polish it takes to win major literary awards, there is no denying that Hocking knows how to tell a good story and keep readers coming back for more.” Hocking was picked up by St. Martin’s after she hit the Amazon bestseller list as a self-published author.
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins) is the sequel to the YALSA Best Teen title, Delirium, with heroine Lena now living the Wilds, having evaded the required government procedure that eliminates amor deliria nervosa (a.k.a love). Kirkus says, “the novel’s success can be attributed to its near pitch-perfect combination of action and suspense, coupled with the subtler but equally gripping evolution of Lena’s character.”
Ripper by Stefan Petrucha (Penguin/Philomel) is the story of orphan Carver Young, adopted by a detective who investigates a vicious serial killer in New York City, with what appear to be uncanny ties to Young. PW: “Petrucha’s story hits the ground running and doesnt let up, the brisk pace making the inevitable twists effective; he also incorporates some fun steampunk-style gadgetry. Appearances by the Pinkertons, Jack the Ripper, and then New York City police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt add flair to the historical setting.”
Movie Tie-in
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (Hachette/Grand Central) is the mass market edition that ties in to the film releasing on April 20, 2012, starring Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner.
February 23rd, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
The book hasn’t been officially announced yet, but Stephen King keeps teasing his fans by reading from Dr. Sleep, the sequel to The Shining.
He first mentioned the book back in 2009 and even asked fans to vote on which they wanted him to write next; Dr. Sleep, or another Dark Tower novel. The vote marginally favored the latter and The Wind Through the Keyhole (S&S/Scribner) is coming April 24th.
So, now it’s back to Dr. Sleep.
Below, King reads from the first chapter at the Savannah Book Fair (via Daily Dead). This is a different segment than the one he read last fall at George Mason University.
February 23rd, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
Image From The Blair Partnership, Rowling’s Agent
Harry Potter’s author is abandoning Hogwarts, childrens books and her UK publisher Bloomsbury for her next book. Earlier today, Little, Brown announced it will publish J.K. Rowling’s next title, a book for adults (via the NYT Arts Beat blog). According to the release, “The title, the date for the worldwide publication and further details about the novel will be announced later in the year.”
Characteristically, Rowling’s statement was vague,
Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life.
In addition, sister company, Hachette Audio, announced it will release an audio edition.
Another Rowling project, Pottermore.com, which was supposed to launch in October, is still in beta.
February 23rd, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
If you haven’t already, you will soon begin seeing the ad on the left in magazines and on billboards.
What does GCB stand for? Originally, it was Good Christian Bitches, from the book this new tv series is based on. ABC got cold feet, however, and changed it to Good Christian Belles and, then, in a burst of creativity, reduced it to textese.
The network says the plot “Centers on Amanda Vaughn, a recently divorced mother of two who, to get a fresh start, moves back to the affluent Dallas neighborhood where she grew to find herself in the whirling midst of salacious gossip, Botox, and fraud.”
Starring Kristin Chenoweth and Annie Potts, it premieres Sun., March 4, 10 p.m. EST on ABC. It is the network’s attempt to replace the lucrative Desperate Housewives, which ends in May.
The book, originally published by Brown Books in Dallas, was reissued last month by Hyperion. Booklist, reviewed it, saying, “Chick lit tackles the Christian Right, with amusingly predictable results in Gatlin’s solid freshman effort,” but LJ Express said, “The characters are obsessed with labels and bank balances, and the book is a tiresome exercise in unfettered consumption. Of possible interest to Texans who may enjoy identifying the thinly veiled Dallas environs. Other than that, there’s nothing to like here.”
Some libraries are showing holds on light ordering.
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February 23rd, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
Retired lobsterman, Jim Henry, now 98, was illiterate until two years ago. Not only did he learn to read and write, he became a published author. In a Fisherman’s Language: An autobiography was released late last year by the local Fowler Road Press, and became a best seller in Henry’s home town of Mystic, CT, outselling Steve Jobs’ book. Sales are about to get a boost; the book is featured in new issue of People (March 5).
Henry is getting used to media attention; his story was covered late last year by the local CBS News station, USA Today, CNN and even The Daily Mail in the UK.
Amazon has republished the book in a Kindle edition. In hardcover, it is still available through In a Fisherman’s Language web site. The first printings sold out, but a new shipment has arrived yesterday, just in time for this new round of publicity.
Henry says he was insipred by George Dawson, who learned to read at 98 and wrote a book called Life Is So Good at the age of 101.
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February 22nd, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
Most of the five nominees for the 2012 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction, announced yesterday, are veteran writers with strings of awards attached to their names. The relative newcomer is Julie Otsuka, nominated for The Buddha in the Attic (RH/Knopf; Thorndike large print; Books on Tape; OverDrive ebook and audio), her second book after When the Emperor Was Divine (Knopf, 2002). It was also a National Book Award finalist.
The other nominees are:
Don DeLillo, The Angel Esmeralda, (S&S/Scribner; Recorded Books; S&S Audio) — the author’s first volume of short stories. He won the Pen/Faulkner in 1992 for Mao II.
Russell Banks for Lost Memory of Skin (HarperCollins/Ecco; Recorded Books; HarperLuxe; OverDrive ebook) — the author’s earlier novels, Affliction and Cloudsplitter were both Pen/Faulkner Nominees.
Steven Millhauser, We Others: New and Selected Stories (RH/Knopf; OverDrive ebook) — Millhauser won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel Martin Dressler.
Anita Desai, The Artist of Disappearance (HMH; Dreamscape Audio; OverDrive ebook and audio) — the author has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times.
The winner, to be announced March 26, receives $15,000.
February 22nd, 2012 By: Nora Rawlinson
Author Ann Patchett appeared on The Colbert Report on Monday night to talk about her new bookstore, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN, and why independent bookstores are superior to online stores.
Colbert worried that she might suffer repercussions from Amazon head, Jeff Bezos, calling him a “vindictive man,” and saying he slashed Barnes and Noble’s tires.
Ironically, Patchett’s most recent book, State of Wonder, which has been on the NYT best seller list since its publication, received a bump on Amazon as a result of the mention (from #367 to #197).
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