EarlyWord

In the Best Books sweepstakes, Amazon is next up after Publishers Weekly, with their list of editors selection of the Top 100 for 2011.

At number one is one of the most celebrated of the fall debuts, The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, (Little, Brown, 9/7, Hachette Large Print, 9780316204729).

Amazon presents separate lists this year, for print and one for Kindle titles. The differences in the Top 100 are slight, however and a result of a few heavily illustrated print titles, like Alexander McQueen: A Savage Beauty (Metropolitan Museum of Art) not being available for the Kindle.

Amazon has an active publishing program. Did their books receive special attention? Only one of the Top 100 titles is published by an Amazon imprint. Carry Yourself Back to Me, by Deborah Reed was released in September from AmazonEncore (which was founded in May, 2009) and is at #56 on both the print and Kindle lists.

Amazon publishing does get special attention in a separate list for the Best Kindle Singles, shorter works published by Amazon and only available in Kindle editions.

The inner workings of skyscrapers were revealed on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday during an interview with expert Kate Ascher. Her forthcoming book rose on Amazon’s sales rankings as a result.

The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper Kate Ascher Retail Price: $35.00 Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The – (2011-11-10) ISBN / EAN: 1594203032 / 9781594203039

Her previous book, on the inner workings of cities, also received a boost.

The Works: Anatomy of a City Kate Ascher Retail Price: $20.00 Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) – (2007-11-27) ISBN / EAN: 0143112708 / 9780143112709

Based on Mary Norton’s classic children’s tale, The Borrowers, (Harcourt, 1953), the Japanese film The Secret World of Arietty was the third-highest-grossing movie of 2010 in Japan, after Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3.

The U.S. version, which opens here February 17, uses the voices of American actors including Amy Poehler and Will Arnett as Arrietty’s parents and Carol Burnett as the housekeeper.

When the British version opened in the UK, it received kudos for its hand-drawn elegance.

Trailer for the American version:

VIZ Media is releasing tie-ins:

The Art of The Secret World of Arrietty Hiromasa Yonebayashi Retail Price: $34.99 Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2012-01-03) ISBN / EAN: 1421541181 / 9781421541181

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The Secret World of Arrietty (Film Comic), Vol. 1 (Arrietty Film Comics) Hiromasa Yonebayashi Retail Price: $16.99 Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2012-01-03) ISBN / EAN: 1421541165 / 9781421541167

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The Secret World of Arrietty (Film Comic), Vol. 2 (Arrietty Film Comics) Hiromasa Yonebayashi Retail Price: $16.99 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2012-01-03) ISBN / EAN: 1421541173 / 9781421541174

Kirkus said of the true crime story, The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal (Viking, 6/2/11), “Patricia Highsmith couldn’t have written a more compelling thriller.” Director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) has been in talks to direct a movie based on this unlikely tale of a man who managed to con people into believing he was a member of the Rockefeller family, helping him to land prestigious jobs on Wall Street. He was sentenced to jail after kidnapping his own daughter and is now facing charges that he murdered his former landlord in 1985.

The movie may be on the back burner for a while, however. Cooper’s next project is likely to be the adaptation of the Claire Messud novel, The Emperor’s Children (Knopf, 2006), replacing Noah Baumbach. It’s set to star Keira Knightley, Michelle Williams, Eric Bana and Richard Gere.

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter Mark Seal Retail Price: $26.95 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: VIKING ADULT – (2011-06-02) ISBN / EAN: 0670022748/9780670022748

Thorndike Large Print

The Financial Lives of the Poets by cult favorite Jess Walters (Harper, 2009) is being adapted for a movie titled Bailout, directed by independent filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. First announced back in the spring, it’s now scheduled to begin shooting in January.

The novel satirizes the economic meltdown by following a man who becomes a pot dealer after his idea for a Web site that reports financial news in the form of poetry fails (unsurprisingly). Reviewing it in the NYT, Janet Maslin said, “Mixing financial advice with poetry is a terrible idea. But combining the elements of tragedy with a sitcom sensibility is a good one. And it’s what Jess Walter continues to do best.”

The Financial Lives of the Poets Jess Walter Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Harper – (2009-10-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061916048 / 9780061916045

Publishers Weekly released its Best Books selections today (100 adult titles in various categories and 40 in childrens). The new “interactive” format features each book’s cover, an annotation and link to the original PW review.

Once again this year, we are collating the titles from various lists into a spreadsheet, with ISBNs, so you can check the titles against your collection and place orders for those you may be missing. UPDATE as of 12/21, all the lists to date have been collated:

• 2011 Adult Fiction
• 2011 Adult Nonfiction
• 2011 Childrens and Young Adult

As we’ve come to expect, there is little overlap between the lists (last year, of the 228 titles that appeared on 12 childrens and YA lists, two-thirds of them were picked by just one publication).

We will update the spreadsheet as new lists appear. Look for the spreadsheet for adult titles later this week.

Former President Bill Clinton will appear on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart tomorrow night to promote his new book on economic policy, Back to Work.

Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy Bill Clinton Retail Price: $23.95 Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2011-11-08) ISBN / EAN: 0307959759 / 9780307959751

Also available on OverDrive, RHAudio and RH large print.

The book is generating news stories. USA Today reports it suggests everything from “from granting property tax breaks for investments that create jobs to painting every flat tar roof in U.S. cities white for the energy savings.”

The New York Times focuses on what it means for Obama, saying that it, “marks a new and somewhat warmer stage in the [Clinton and Obama] rivalry and relationship…The awkward twist: the former president has been so frustrated at what he sees as the current one’s failure to explain his economic policies that he has literally decided to write his own version of the story.”

Next week, watch for Nancy Jensen‘s debut The Sisters, much anticipated fiction titles from Stephen King, Umberto Eco, and Christopher Paolini, and a book about the Osama Bin Laden raid which may be controversial.

Watch List

The Sisters by Nancy Jensen (St. Martin’s Press; Blackstone Audio) is a debut novel about two girls separated by a tragic misunderstanding in 1920 Kentucky, affecting four generations of women. It’s had strong support on GalleyChat. Some libraries report it’s getting an unusually large number of holds for a midlist debut. It’s also the #1 Indie Next pick for Dec and was featured as one of the Hot Fall titles for book clubs at BEA.

Heavily Anticipated

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King (Scribner; S&S Audio; Thorndike Press) finds the horror master venturing in science fiction, with a Maine restaurant owner who asks the local high school English teacher to grant his dying wish, to enter a time portal to 1958 in his diner and go back in time to prevent the 1963 assassination of JFK. Janet Maslin gave it gave it a glowing review in Monday’s NYT. Unsurprisingly, it’s been in Amazon’s Top 100 for months.

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Audio, Recorded Books) pivots on the creation of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the discredited document used by anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists as proof of a worldwide Jewish cabal, by a fictional main character, Simone Simonini – a spy, a forger, a murderer, and a misanthrope. Kirkus says, “Simonini keeps good and interesting company, hanging out with Sigmund Freud here, crossing paths with Dumas and Garibaldi and Captain Dreyfus there, and otherwise enjoying the freedom of the continent, as if unstoppable and inevitable. What does it all add up to? An indictment of the old Europe, for one thing, and a perplexing, multilayered, attention-holding mystery.” 200,000 copy first printing.

Young Adult

Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini (Knopf; RH Audio; Books on Tape) finds the young Dragon Rider Eragon in a final confrontation with the evil king Galbatorix to free Alagaesia from his rule once and for all. It has been on Amazon’s top 5 for months.

Nonfiction

SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden by Chuck Pfarrer (St. Martins Press; Macmillan Audio) is based on a series of interviews with SEAL Team Six [UPDATE: CNN reports that the SEALs deny speaking to Pfarrer] by a former commander of the group. The Hollywood Reporter, in a story about film and tv rights being shopped, says it disputes the Obama Administration’s official account of the Bin Laden raid.
Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie (Random House) is the biography of a minor German princess, Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, who became Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796), by the Pulitzer-winning biographer of Nicholas and Alexandra and Peter the Great. PW calls it “a masterful, intimate, and tantalizing portrait of a majestic monarch.” It broke into the Amazon Top 100 earlier this week.

War Room: Bill Belichick and the Patriot Legacy by Michael Holley (It Books; HarperLuxe) is “a deeply reported, thoroughly engaging look at what it takes to succeed in the NFL–and a perfect complement to the NFL Network’s compelling miniseries Bill Belichick: A Football Life,” says Kirkus.

It’s difficult to imagine someone thinking “Steve Carell” when reading Carolyn Parkhurst’s unusual debut, The Dogs of Babel, (Little, Brown, 2003; hardcover jacket above left; paperback on the right). Nonetheless, its reported that he plans to produce and star in the film version. Carrell has many projects in the fire, but this one may have an edge because John Carney just signed on as director. He is regarded as the perfect person for the project, based on his art-house hit, Once. He  signed Scarlett Johansson in June for  the follow-up, Can a Song Save Your Life?

The novel, about a grieving widower who tries to his wife’s dog to speak, so he can find out how she died. It was described by Janet Maslin in the NYT as a “captivatingly strange book.”

It’s been reported for over a month that HBO is planning to produce a pilot for a possible series based on Jonathan Franzen’s novel, The Corrections. Now it’s official. UPDATE: Project cancelled.

Dianne Wiest and Chris Cooper will play the parents of the dysfunctional Lambert family, but no word on who will play their three children (offering a great opportunity for speculation). Noah Baumbach will direct from the script he is co-writing with Franzen.

Kenneth Branagh may have abandoned plans to direct an adaptation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. In August, Variety reported that he was planning to begin production on Guernsey in the spring of 2012. Now, that publication announces that Branagh is set to direct Italian Shoes, based on the book by Swedish writer Henning Mankell (New Press, 2009). Branagh starred in the English-language adaptation of the author’s crime-thriller series Wallander for the BBC.

Italian Shoes is decidedly not a crime thriller, however. It’s the story of an aging former surgeon, living alone on a remote island. Various women from his past come to visit and help him regain the desire to live. Reviewing it, the Boston Globe noted, “…if the plot seems like something out of a film by Mankell’s father-in-law, the late Ingmar Bergman, the prose isn’t any sunnier.” Even so, the reviewer was amazed to report, “But you know something? Italian Shoes is a good read.”

Branagh continues his career in front of the camera, playing Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn, based on the book by Colin Clark, released for the first time here as a tie-in. The Oscar buzzed movie opens this Thanksgiving. Two new clips, featuring Michelle Williams as Marilyn, were released yesterday.

My Week with Marilyn Colin Clark Retail Price: $16.00 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Weinstein Books – (2011-10-04) ISBN / EAN: 1602861498 / 9781602861497

Also on audio from Dreamscape and on OverDrive.

The understated picture book, I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, (Candlewick Press9/27/11) is one of the ten titles on the just-released list of the New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Books.

Illustrator Klassen’s first effort as both author and illustrator, it was one of EarlyWord Kid’s correspondent, Lisa Von Drasek’s Picks of BEA. It is also featured as a PW Editors’ Favorite of the year.

The list will be featured in the special Children’s Book section in the 11/13 NYT Book Review.

NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 2011

Along a Long Road Frank Viva Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2011-06-28) ISBN / EAN: 0316129259 / 9780316129251

A Ball for Daisy Chris Raschka Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Schwartz & Wade – (2011-05-10) ISBN / EAN: 037585861X / 9780375858611

Brother Sun, Sister Moon Katherine Paterson Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 36 pages Publisher: Chronicle Books – (2011-06-01) ISBN / EAN: 0811877345 / 9780811877343

Grandpa Green Lane Smith Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Roaring Brook Press – (2011-08-30) ISBN / EAN: 1596436077 / 9781596436077

Ice (Stories Without Words) Arthur Geisert Retail Price: $14.95 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books – (2011-03-29) ISBN / EAN: 1592700985 / 9781592700981

I Want My Hat Back Jon Klassen Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Candlewick Press – (2011-09-27) ISBN / EAN: 0763655988 / 9780763655983

Me . . . Jane Patrick McDonnell Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2011-04-05) ISBN / EAN: 0316045462 / 9780316045469

Migrant Maxine Trottier Retail Price: $18.95 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Groundwood Books – (2011-03-01) ISBN / EAN: 0888999755 / 9780888999757

A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis Matt de la Pena Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Dial – (2011-01-20) ISBN / EAN: 0803731671 / 9780803731677

A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story Li Qiong Yu Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Candlewick Press – (2011-12-27) ISBN / EAN: 0763658812 / 9780763658816

The cover for the movie tie-in editions of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo is much darker and moodier than the original, although still retaining a bit of that distinctive yellow. It is being released in trade pbk (9780307949493), mass market (9780307949486) and audio (UNABR., 9780307989550). The movie adaptation arrives Dec. 21.

To bring to life the look of Stieg Larsson’s goth punk computer hacker heroine, Lisbeth Salander, director David Fincher chose rock star stylist Trish Summerville. Soon, you, too, can get that look. Summerville has designed a “Dragon Tattoo” line of clothing for the Swedish-based (how appropriate) retail chain H&M. The line launches online and in stores on December 14th.

A new extended movie trailer gives a sense of the movie’s mood.

Rooney Maura, who plays Lisbeth Salander, adopts a softer style for the Nov.Vogue cover and photo shoot (we detect a dragon cleverly embroidered into the back of her dress).

The story explores how she won the role, despite strong objections from studio execs. (they thought she was “too sensible”).

Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, his first film based on a children’s book and his first foray into 3-D, arrives in theaters this Thanksgiving. Bets are now being taken on what he will direct next.

According to Variety, he is “seriously considering” jumping on another bandwagon — Scandinavian crime fiction, in the form of Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman (Knopf, May, 2011), book #7 in the Norwegian author’s Harry Hole series.

It won’t be the first adaptation of a Nesbo title. A Norwegian-language film based on Nesbo’s standalone, Headhunters recently broke Scandinavian box office records (explaining why the cover of the U.S. edition, released in Sept., bears the words “Now a Major Motion Picture”). Summit is planning on an English-language version of Headhunters, following in the footsteps of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was originally adapted into a Swedish-language film, followed by David Fincher’s English-language version coming Dec. 21.

Scorsese, however, has many possible upcoming projects, most of them based on books:

Furious Love — based on the book about the Burton/Taylor love affair by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger (Harper, 2010). Deadline reported in June that Paramount was finalizing a a deal to produce the movie, with Scorsese directing.

The Irishman — based on “I Heard You Paint Houses”: Frank “the Irishman” Sheeran and Closing the Case of Jimmy Hoffa by Charles Brandt (Steerforth, 2004). Back in March, stories quoted Robert De Niro saying he was “fully committed” to starring in this movie, along with Joe Pesci and Al Pacino. No news since, however.

The Gambler — based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The film journal, The Moving Arts, recently published a story about Scorsese’s fascination with the Russian writer (Taxi Driver, “clearly owes [a debt] to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and, more notably, Notes from the Underground“). In August, Deadline wrote that Leonardo Di Caprio was set to star (and mistakenly referred to it as a remake of the 1974 movie of the same title starring James Caan).

Silence — In February, The Playlist confidently proclaimed this would be Scorsese’s next film after Hugo, calling it the director’s “passion project that’s been percolating since early 2006.” Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro were attached to star. It’s based on the Japanese writer, Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel Chinmoku. The 1980 English translation, titled Silence, is still in print.

The Wolf of Wall Street — based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort (Bantam, 2007), head of a notorious investment firm in the 1990’s. In May, it was announced that, after a long delay, the movie was back on track again, to star Di Caprio, but it would have to wait until the actor completed filming of The Great Gatsby with Baz Luhrman.

Sinatra — the one directorial project Scorsese is attached to that is NOT based on a book (although he was once planning to direct a film based on Nick Tosches’s book about Dean Martin, Dino). No news on this one since March.

Many have tried, and most have failed, to predict what Scorsese will tackle next. Rather than joining that pointless exercise, tell us, which would you most like to see him do?

Our vote? Furious Love. Angelina Jolie was once rumored for the role of Elizabeth Taylor. How about Scorsese’s favorite actor, Di Caprio, for Burton?

Library Journal‘s Top Ten Books of 2011 will be unveiled on Nov. 17. Counting down to the big day, daily guest posts by librarians of their own top picks are being featured on LJ‘s refreshingly readable new Reviews site. In the first post, Lauren Gilbert, head of community services at the Sachem Public Library, NY, gives a passionate recommendation for National Book Award Finalist, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt, (WW Norton, 9/26).

Will the librarians’ picks differ from the editors’? We suspect they will skew more towards titles that are fun to read and recommend.

The official LJ Best Books list will debut in two installments on the 11/17 and 12/1 LJBookSmack newsletter, followed by Best Media (audiobooks, DVDs, games, and music) in the 12/15 issue.

On the Publishers Weekly‘s site, the editors are blogging about their favorites, leading up to the release of their list on Monday.

UPDATE, 12/21:

We’re happy to announce that our annual spreadsheets, rounding up all the titles in the national best books lists, with ISBN’s and information on additional formats — audio, large print, and eformats from OverDrive — are now available for downloading and checking against your collections.

• 2011 Adult Fiction
• 2011 Adult Nonfiction
• 2011 Childrens and Young Adult