EarlyWord

David Angus’ book, The End of Illness, hardly needs more attention. It’s been at #1 on the NYT Hardcover Advice & Misc. best seller list for the last two weeks. Several features on ABC News in mid-January, sent it to the top ten on Amazon for a week. It settled back down in to the 100’s, and shot back up again, after Jon Stewart issued the magic words during his talk with the author on The Daily Show, “The book is phenomenal. For anyone who is up at night, looking at WebMD…you should get this.”

(UPDATE: some health web sites, including HealthNewsReview.org, have criticized some of Dr. Angus’ recommendations).

Libraries are showing heavy holds in most areas.

——

The End of Illness David B. Agus Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: S&S/Free Press – (2012-01-17) ISBN / EAN: 1451610173 / 9781451610178

S&S Audio

SAG Best Actress Award winner (and Oscar nominee), Viola Davis has been signed for two book-to-movie projects; Beautiful Creatures (see previous story) and the movie based on Orson Scott Card’s sci fi classic, Ender’s Game.

The movie already has a strong cast, with rising young actors Asa Butterfield (Hugo) and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) as well as veteran, Harrison Ford.

According to Variety, Ender’s Game will shoot first. If that’s true, it will start soon; other sources report that Beautiful People is scheduled for shooting in April.

Fox has acquired John Green’s new book and #1 NYT Best Seller, The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton; Brilliance Audio). Variety reports that Twilight producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen have signed on to do the adaptation.

John just wrapped a 17-city tour for the book. He talks about how it felt, below.

Technically, it’s true, as we reported earlier, that a Hunger Games teaser won’t air during the Super Bowl — however, one will appear during the pregame show.

Trying to stay current with this is dizzying. A teaser for the teaser appeared on Entertainment Tonight, briefly on the Web before it was yanked by the studio. As of now, it’s back up:

Finally, an answer for all the teens who have been anxiously awaiting news about the film version of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Hachette/LBYR, 2009). Movie news sources, including Entertainment Weekly‘s blog, report that it now has financing from Warner Bros. and the first cast member has been named, Oscar nominee, Viola Davis. Filming is scheduled to begin in April in New Orleans. UPDATE: The movie is now scheduled for release on Feb. 1, 2013.

Davis will play Amma, referred to by some sites as a librarian. However, in the book is Amma is a housekeeper. There is a librarian in the book, but she is called “Marian” (of course).

The filmmakers may have been waiting for the full series to be complete before moving ahead. Since it was signed in 2009, the two more titles have been published, Beautiful Darkness (2010) and Beautiful Chaos (2011). Hollywood loves teen franchises. UPDATE: The final book, Beautiful Redemption has been announced for release on Oct. 23.

Coming from RH/Knopf in April in print and ebook

Top executives from ALA visited New York publishers this week to present the case for making ebooks available for library lending. When librarians found out that Random House had asked to be included, fears grew that the one house that has stood firm in making their titles available was about to change that policy.

The rumor was completely unfounded, however. RH told both Library Journal and Publishers Weekly that they simply wanted ALA to know that, “Our commitment to libraries, as imperative to our momentum, if not to our existence as publishers, is greater than ever.”

One small hitch, however, a price increase will take effect March 1.

Librarian response has been positive, since this model is preferable to windowing (not making ebooks available until a year or more after release), limiting the number of circulations, or not making ebooks available at all. As a result, publishing news aggregator, Publishers Lunch “Automat,” commented in its link to the PW story, “It’s Interesting Times When Random House Raising Prices On Library eBooks Is Celebrated As Good News.”

Several libraries immediately placed orders on Random House titles to beat the price increase.

The second trailer for HBO’s Game Change, based on the book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (Harper), has just been released, giving us a longer look at Julianne Moore’s portrayal of Sarah Palin. The movie debuts on cable March 10. It also stars Woody Harrelson as campaign strategist Steve Schmidt and Ed Harris as John McCain.

The book was a best seller in 2010; many libraries have copies on their shelves.
 

Book Expo announces the first speaker for the Book & Author events; Michael Chabon will be featured on Thursday, June 7 at the Book and Author Breakfast.

His next book is Telegraph Avenue (HarperCollins, 9780061493348, on sale 9/11/12).

More author announcements will be coming soon.

The effect of the Newbery and Caldecott awards on book sales is seen in the Feb 12 NYT Best Seller list; both the medalists and one of the honor books make their debuts.

Sales are for the week ending Saturday, January 28, the week of the awards, which were announced that Monday.

NYT Children’s Picture Books

#3 — Caldecott Medal

A Ball for Daisy, by Chris Raschka

RH/Schwartz & Wade – (2011-05-10)

ISBN/EAN: 037585861X/9780375858611

NYT Description: Daisy’s favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog; a 2012 Caldecott winner.
 

#8 — Caldecott Honor

Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith,

Macmillan/Roaring Brook, 8/30/11

ISBN/EAN: 1596436077/9781596436077

NYT Description: In a topiary garden, a boy narrates the story of his great-grandfather’s life.

NYT Children’s Chapter Books

#6 — Newbery Medal

 Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos

Macmillan/FSG, 9/13/11

ISBN / EAN: 0374379939 / 9780374379933

NYT Description: Typing obituaries for a neighbor lands Jack in a string of comic adventures; a 2012 Newbery winner.

Good news — the deadline to apply to give out books on World Book Night, Monday, April 23rd, has been extended.

Organizer Carl Lennertz says they’ve received hundreds of applications, with every state, city and town covered, but “the more the merrier” and he’s heard there are still people out there who want to be part of this program. The applications have been inspiring, he says,

 …the places the book givers are suggesting for their giveaway are as varied as America itself, from schools to nursing homes, coffeeshops to a soup kitchen. My favorite so far?  At a Little League game. And while I always knew in my heart, being a small town kid myself, that World Book Night might skew from big city and towards smaller cities and towns, one of my favorite suggestions so far is for someone to give away their books on the Staten Island Ferry.

Click here for more information on the program. The librarian’s signup page is here.

Help spread the word via Twitter. Below is suggested 140 character text:

Hey book lovers, be a volunteer book giver on World Book Night, April 23, 2012. Sign up at www.worldbooknight.org by Feb. 7

OR

Want to participate in a million book giveaway to promote reading? Sign up at www.worldbooknight.org by Feb. 7

Yesterday’s rave from reviewer Janet Maslin in the New York Times, helped to boost Katherine Boo’s book about a slum in Mumbai Behind the Beautiful Forevers into the top 100 on Amazon sales rankings. Libraries are beginning to show heavy holds on modest ordering (most libraries have bought one copy for their largest branches; holds are as high as 12:1)

Holds are likely to grow; both NPR’s Fresh Air and Morning Edition are scheduled to feature it next week, the author will be profiled by Chip McGrath in the NYT and it is scheduled for review in the NYT Book Review. It is also tops O Magazine‘s “17 Books to Watch for in February.”

Our crystal ball? It will be this year’s Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

In addition to the audio and large type editions of the book, there is an enhanced ebook version (included the WSJ‘s guide to the best forthcoming enhanced books) which features videos of daily life shot by some of the slum children using the author’s camera.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity Katherine Boo Retail Price: $28.00 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Random House – (2012-02-07) ISBN 97814000-67558

BOT Audio; Thorndike Large Print; OverDrive ebook and audio

Hilma Wolitzer’s new novel got a strong review from Fresh Air‘s Maureen Corrigan yesterday, calling it a “droll novel of manners” (the publisher compares it to the word-of-mouth success, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand). As a result, the book up to #381 (from #1,251) on Amazon sales rankings. Several libraries are showing holds as high as 10 to 1.

An Available Man Hilma Wolitzer Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: RH/Ballantine – (2012-01-24) ISBN / EAN: 9780345527547/0345527542

AudioGo; ebook and audio on OverDrive

GalleyChat regulars sported their new GalleyChat buttons at ALA Midwinter. Below in the Macmillan booth,

Standing, from L to R — Talia Sherer, Macmillan Library Marketing, mugging for the camera; Stephanie Chase, Multnomah PL; Ali Fisher, Macmillan Library Marketing.

Seated, Alene Moroni, King County P.L.

Our next GalleyChat is Tues., Feb. 7 at 4 p.m., Eastern, (social networking begins at 3:30).

We’re also debuting a YA GalleyChat on Feb. 14 at 4 p.m., Eastern, with a get-to-know each other session at 3:30. How-to here.

If you join five or more sessions, you are eligible for your very own button.

Yesterday, we wrote that this year’s Super Bowl ads bring new twists; advertisers are using social media both to tease the ads and to make them interactive.

A good example of both trends just appeared on the interwebs; a teaser trailer for the longer Super Bowl teaser trailer (calling M. C. Escher!) of the movie John Carter (based on the first book in the classic series by Edgar Rice Burroughs). The interactive part is signaled by voice-over proclaiming, “For a chance to win tickets to next year’s Super Bowl, look for the exclusive code in the John Carter commercial at this year’s big game!” Viewers can then rush to their computers, pick up their tablets or smart phones to enter the code.

Clearly Disney is pulling out all the stops for John Carter. The first trailer had a “world premiere”  on Good Morning America, in early December.

The movie arrives on March 9, with a wide range of tie-ins. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic pulp fiction John Carter series, also referred to as the Barsoom series, predates his Tarzan series, and was the basis of several graphic novels. The series began with A Princess of Mars, which was first published as a book in 1917 and is the basis for the movie.

There are numerous movie tie-ins (including coloring and activity books, indicating it’s expected to attract kids).

Disney Book Group is releasing a novelization, which also includes the original text of A Princess of Mars, for ages 13 and up.

John Carter: The Movie Novelization: Also includes: A Princess of Mars Stuart Moore, Edgar Rice Burroughs Retail Price: $9.99 Paperback: 560 pages Publisher: Disney Editions – (2012-02-07) ISBN / EAN: 1423165586 / 9781423165583

Marvel is releasing a “prequel” (ages “13 to 99” — if you’re 100 or over, you’re out of luck),

John Carter: World Of Mars Peter David Retail Price: $14.99 Paperback: 112 pages Publisher: Marvel – (2012-02-15) ISBN / EAN: 0785160418 / 9780785160410

Plus a new graphic novel version (also ages “13 to 99”),

John Carter: A Princess of Mars (John Carter of Mars) Roger Langridge Retail Price: $14.99 Paperback: 120 pages Publisher: Marvel – (2012-02-15) ISBN / EAN: 0785160426 / 9780785160427

Aimed at collectors, Marvel is also releasing a pricey omnibus of various classic 1970’s graphic novels based on the series, (ages “13 to 99”),

John Carter, Warlord of Mars Omnibus Marv Wolfman, Chris Claremont, Peter Gillis, Bill Mantlo Retail Price: $99.99 Hardcover: 632 pages Publisher: Marvel – (2012-02-22) ISBN / EAN: 0785159908 / 9780785159902

Disney Book Group is releasing collections of the original novels (the series is in the public domain, so there are several other editions as well as audio versions available. Ebook versions are available from OverDrive.)

Collected John Carter of Mars, The (A Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, and Warlord of Mars) Edgar Rice Burroughs Retail Price: $16.99 Paperback: 768 pages Publisher: Disney Editions – (2012-02-07) ISBN / EAN: 1423154266 / 9781423154266

Other volumes in the series are:

Collected John Carter of Mars, The (Swords of Mars, Synthetic Men of Mars, Llana

Collected John Carter of Mars, The (Thuvia, Maid of Mars; The Chessmen of Mars

Disney is also realeasing an “art of the movie” tie-in,

Terry Brooks announced on his blog yesterday that Warner Brothers has optioned his Magic Kingdom of Landover series. He cautions, however, that he’s been down this route before with no result. As he said in his 2009 holiday letter, Universal had the rights to the series until April of 2010, but it went nowhere. Warner has had an option on his Shannara series for a while. In that case, a director was hired, but then moved on.

He seems more hopeful about Warner’s plans for The Magic Kingdom. He says there has been interest from “a major actor” and a screen writer is working on the adaptation, giving  “reason to believe after talking to the principals that this time we have more than words to suggest something might really happen.”

The first book in the series is Magic Kingdom for Sale – Sold! (RH/Del Rey, 1986).