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
July 27th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Rights to he best selling oral history of the all-sports network, ESPN, Those Guys Have All The Fun are in the process of being sold to 20th Century Fox, according to Deadline.
Coincidentally, today’s NYT story about early release of paperback reprints mentions that the book will arrive in paperback on Dec. 1, just over six months after the hardcover release.
Libraries are showing heavy holds.
July 27th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
After the author’s appearance on the Rachel Ray Show yesterday, Syndrome W: A Woman’s Guide to Reversing Weight Gain, by Harriette R. Mogul, rose to #18 on Amazon’s sales rankings.
 |
|
July 27th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Good news for books groups. Publishers are speeding up the release of paperback reprints, which traditionally arrive a year after the hardcover, reports the New York Times. The wait for Room by Emma Donoghue took only eight months. Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! (Vintage Contemporaries) arrives in trade paperback this week, with new cover art, a mere five months after its hardcover publication in February.
When a book is doing well in hardcover, however, publishers still hold off. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest has been out for a year and is not yet in paperback. It was more than two years before The Help arrived in softcover.
July 26th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Librarian favorite Patrick deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers is one of the thirteen books on the longlist for the Booker Prize, just announced in London. The author currently lives in Oregon, but was born in Canada, making him eligible for the prize.
The short list will be announced on Sept. 6th and the winner on Oct. 18.
 |
|
Audio, Dreamscape; Large Print edition from Thorndike in August. ISBN 9781410439567, $30.99.
Below are the other twelve titles on the list, with U.S. publication information:
Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending, Knopf, 1/24/12
Sebastian Barry, On Canaan’s Side, Viking, 9/8/11; Large Print, Thorndike, Dec., ISBN 9781410443465; Blackstone Audio
Carol Birch, Jamrach’s Menagerie, Doubleday, 6/14/11; UPDATE: Thanks to AudioFile for pointing out that BOT has the audio of this title.
Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues, Serpents Tail in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet
Yvvette Edwards, A Cupboard Full of Coats, Oneworld, 6/16/11; Debut
Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger’s Child, Knopf, 10/11/11; RH Audio
Stephen Kelman, Pigeon English, HMH, 7/19/11; Debut
Patrick McGuinness, The Last Hundred Days, Seren Books in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet; Debut
A.D. Miller, Snowdrops, Doubleday, 1/22/11, Anchor Pbk, 2/7/12; Debut
Alison Pick, Far to Go, Harper Perennial, Orig. Trade Pbk, 3/31/11
Jane Rogers, The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Headline Review in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet
D.J. Taylor, Derby Day, Chatto & Windus in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet
July 26th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
USA Today quotes Kansas bookseller Vivien Jennings about Doubleday’s big debut novel of the fall, The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern (9/13),
Let’s say The Help and The Da Vinci Code were high-water marks in our bookselling history. My prediction is The Night Circus is the 200-year flood. I loved (those books), but this is better…It’s a whole different level of writing…this book is going to be a best seller right out of the shoot.
Hollywood is also a believer. Summit, which produced the Twilight movies, bought the rights in January and is in talks with David Heyman (Harry Potter) to produce. The over-the-top success of the final Harry Potter movie has studios rushing to find more fantasy titles; A Discovery of Witches, (Viking, Feb) last season’s big debut, has been signed by Warner Bros. Deadline reports that the studio plans to put a writer on it immediately. Discovery is the first in a trilogy. Author Deborah Harkness is at work on the second book, Shadow of Night, coming from Viking next summer (no ordering information available yet).
EarlyWord GalleyChatters have been excited about the The Night Circus since galleys began appearing in March (if you didn’t get one, digital copies are available through NetGalley or Edelweiss).
Will it be as big as The Help or The Da Vinci Code? Collection Development Coordinator Wendy Bartlett at Cuyahoga is dubious. While she thinks it will be a best seller, she’s putting her money on another major debut, The Language of Flowers, ordering ten times more copies of it than of The Night Circus.
 |
|
Large Print; Thorndike, ISBN: 9781410441713, $34.99, 9/7/2011
July 25th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
No less a critic than the Washington Post‘s Jonathan Yardley calls Turn Right at Machu Picchu, (Dutton, June 30) an “entirely delightful book.” Author Mark Adams decided to celebrate the centenary of the “discovery” of Machu Picchu by following the trek himself, a challenge he was not fully prepared for.
He was interviewed on NPR Weekend Edition Sunday. The book is also on NPR’s list of the “Summer’s Biggest, Juiciest Nonfiction Adventures,” which calls it, “as close to an armchair vacation as you’ll get all summer long.”
 |
|
July 25th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Dorothy Wickenden, author of Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West (Scribner, 6/21) was interviewed on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday.” The book has been receiving a steady stream of attention since its publication last month, including this assessment from the 6/24 NYT Book Review,
At its best, this book can recall Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s classic A Midwife’s Tale, [Vintage, 1990] which pioneered the method of teasing out an expansive story from the record of “unremarkable” women’s daily lives. Individual scenes emerge with a lovely, almost pointillist clarity — like a Christmas party at the schoolhouse in the midst of a blizzard, with rustic dancing and gifts for the dazzled children sent by Dorothy’s and Ros’s families — while we never lose track of the larger forces at work, including the removal of the Indians and the brutal fights for mining and railroad riches.
Holds are heavy in many libraries. Nothing Daunted is one of O magazine’s “16 Books to Watch for in August 2011“
July 25th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Holds are 10:1 in many libraries on the debut Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante (Atlantic Monthly, 7/5; Audio, Brilliance; Large Print, Thorndike). Yesterday’s L.A.Times echoes a string of other strong reviews:
Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t seem like a great subject for a page-turner…And yet a page-turner is exactly what Alice LaPlante has crafted.
It’s the #1 Indie Next selection for July and one of O magazine’s “16 Books to Watch for in August 2011.”
July 25th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
People magazine’s 3.5 (of a possible 4) star review of the debut Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking, 7/26; Penguin Audio) begins with this irresistible invitation,
Put on some Billie Holiday, pour a dry martin ig and immerse yourself in the eventful live of Katy Kontent, as smart you woman trying to fin herself in Manhattan in the lat 1930’s.
It is also one of O magazine’s “16 Books to Watch for in August 2011.” Holds are growing in libraries.
July 25th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Word of mouth is growing for S.J. Watson’s debut psychological thriller about a woman trying to piece together her life after losing her memory. Before I Go To Sleep (Harper. 6/14; HarperLuxe, 9780062060556) debuts on the 7/31 NYT Hardcover Fiction list at #7 (it’s been on the Extended list for four weeks). Libraries are showing heavy holds.
John Hart achieves new heights with Iron House (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s St. Martins, 7/12; Macmillan Audio; Large print, Thorndike), which arrives on the list at #10 in its first week of publication.
The heavily promoted and well-reviewed The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan (Knopf, 7/12) just makes the Extended List at #32 in its first week. Word of mouth may yet work its magic on this one.
A Dance With Dragons, by George R. R. Martin. (Bantam, $35; RH Audio and BOT Audio) debuts at #1, proving that the fantasy category is stronger than many realized. The first in the series, Games of Thrones is #1 on Mass Market Fiction list and #6 on Trade Fiction, due to the HBO series.
July 22nd, 2011 By: Charlotte Abbott
Next week brings a stylish debut set in 1930s Manhattan, the sophomore effort by the author of Alice I Have Been, a fresh caper from Peter Spiegelman and a sequel to Jonathan Burnham Schwartz’s Reservation Road. In nonfiction, NPR-correspondent turned Fox News host Juan Williams has his say about honest debate in the media. And there are plenty of usual suspects to keep the pages turning.
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking; Penguin Audio) is a debut novel about an upwardly mobile young secretary making her way though 1930s New York Cafe Society. According to the UK’s Telegraph, “the best feature of Rules of Civility is its fast pacing and irresistible momentum. The language is snappy, too, full of period idiom and witty one-liners… Katey Kontent has the brains of a bluestocking with the legs of a flapper and the mores of Carrie Bradshaw.” And here’s the buzz from our own GalleyChat on Twitter: “So much fun! Mad Men set in the 30s!”
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (Delacorte; Random House Audio) is a fictional exploration of a 19th century icon, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump – all of 32 inches tall – who joined the circus and married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, orchestrated by impresario P.T. Barnum. Popular with indie booksellers, this one also got some mentions on our Twitter Galley Chat. It’s the the sophomore effort of the author of the national bestseller Alice I Have Been, about the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland.
Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwartz (Random House; Large Print, Thorndike) is a sequel set 12 years after the tragic events of Reservation Road, turning the focus from the father of a boy who was killed in a hit-and-run accident to the perpetrator of that crime and his long-estranged, now-grown son. On the NPR website, critic Sarah Weinman calls it “one of the most emotionally commanding novels of the year. ” PW says that “[despite] a sanctimonious streak… Schwartz is otherwise exceptional at describing the chemistry of desire, creating emotional tension, and making his characters feel more like flesh and blood than fictional constructs.”
Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman (Knopf) is an Ocean’s Eleven-style caper story by the author of Black Maps, which won the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel, as well as Death’s Little Helpers and Red Cat. This one gets a B+ from Entertainment Weekly: “Spiegelman weaves a complex, satisfying tale around gang leader Carr, a onetime CIA trainee with a level head and an increasingly untrustworthy bunch of co-conspirators. Though the end has perhaps one too many surprise! moments, Spiegelman’s sharp prose and deft plotting elevate this [effort].”
Bannon Brothers: Trust by Janet Dailey (Kensington; Large Print, Thorndike ) starts a new series with this well-paced but unremarkable love story between an injured cop and the artist who inspires him. PW says, “Dailey’s prose is lovely, with imagery that clearly evokes the setting, but the contrived plot never overcomes its formulaic pattern, and readers will figure out the solution long before Bannon does.”
Full Black by Brad Thor (Atria; S&S Audio; Large Print, Thorndike) is a thriller about a former Navy SEAL and current counter-terrorism operative.
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (Roc; Penguin Audio; Large Print, Thorndike) is book 13 of the supernatural Dresden Files series featuring Chicago-based wizard Harry Dresden. PW finds it “less accessible to newcomers than many of its predecessors, though longtime fans will be gratified.”
Merciless by Diana Palmer (Harlequin; Audio, Brilliance; Large Print, Wheeler) is a romance about the spark that grows between a guarded FBI agent and his efficient assistant.
Spell Bound (Otherworld) by Kelly Armstrong (Dutton; Audio, Recorded Books) is the 12th and penultimate entry in Armstrong’s bestselling series. PW says, “Armstrong keeps the focus on hip, impulsive, and likable Savannah, building suspense with plenty of plot reversals and betrayals. Fans of the series won’t want to miss what is clearly the first battle in an Otherworld war.”
Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate by Juan Williams (Crown) explores what the Fox News analyst sees as political correctness in the media. Kirkus says, “much of the narrative is a long exercise in complaint about his bad treatment at the hands of NPR management, in which Williams overlooks, it seems, the Ailesian right-to-work credo, which holds that all employees serve at the pleasure of their bosses and there’s no such thing as tenure or appeal.” The author will be on The Daily Show on July 26 and the 700 Club on August 5.
The Real Girl Next Door by Denise Richards (Gallery) is a memoir by the reality show star and small-town girl who made it in Hollywood, only to find herself in a painful, high-profile divorce from Charlie Sheen, raising their two young daughters alone as her mother was dying of cancer.
The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck–101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers by Ron Clark (Touchstone; S&S Audio) makes the case for education reform. PW says, “Clark’s ode to his academy is overloaded with glowing testimonials, but educators and parents will find much to emulate in this passionate, motivating tool book.”
July 21st, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
We must be suffering from Hunger Games fatigue, a phenomenon identified by the L.A. Times. We didn’t post the admittedly cool flaming movie poster that appeared on the Web yesterday or the countdown widget (as of now, just 245 more days until the movie’s release on March 23).
Nevertheless, we were interested to learn that Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence may have another book-related project in the works. Deadline reports she is the leading contender for a coveted role in The Silver Linings Playbook, opposite Mark Wahlberg. The movie is based on the debut novel by Matthew Quick (one of Nancy Pearl’s picks for summer reading, 2009).
Production is set to begin this fall.
July 21st, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
NYT reviewer Janet Maslin proved herself a fan of crime writer Colin Cotterill in 2007, when she praised his Dr. Siri Paiboun books set in Laos during the turbulent 1970’s for their “wry, seasoned, offhand style…the secret weapon of this unexpectedly blithe and charming series.”
She is also a fan of the first book in Cotterill’s new Killed at the Whim of a Hat (featured on our Watch List for this week; coming in Large Print from Thorndike in Nov; ISBN 9781410441270), the first in a new series and the author’s first book with Minotaur. Set in southern Thailand, where Cotterill lives, it features “sardonic, self-important” female crime reporter, Jimm Juree.
Where does the title come from? A George Bush speech from 2004,
Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat.
 |
|
Soho will publish the eighth and final book in the Dr. Siri series, Slash and Burn, (9781616951160) in December. The full backlist is available in pbk. from Soho and Blackstone Audio is in the process of bringing out all the titles. Ebooks of the backlist are shown as “coming soon” on OverDrive.
July 21st, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Director Peter Jackson just released a video from the set of The Hobbit, which recently wrapped the first few months of shooting in New Zealand.
In the video, a cast member predicts that the movie will bring beards back in a big way. Get ready to see these on the street:
You have a while to prepare; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is scheduled for release on December 14, 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the following year, on December 13, 2013.
Below is the YouTube version of the vlog; watch the HD version here.
July 20th, 2011 By: Nora Rawlinson
Parade Magazine weighed in with their 12 picks for summer reading last week (distinguishing themselves by being the only ones to select Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River, getting strong critical acclaim and showing heavy holds in libraries). With the country in the midst of a seemingly endless heat wave, it seems appropriate to now call the summer reading lists of 2011 a wrap.
On the right side of the site, we’ve linked to the major lists, under “Previews — Summer ’11.” Browsing through the various list serves as a quick R.A. refresher.
For an exhaustive (and exhausting) list of nearly every guide, check out the blog Largehearted Boy. It’s interesting if your curious what books more specialized sources, like what Ad Age recommends.
Since it’s instructive to see how others hand-sell books, below are Harlan Coben and Jennifer Weiner (who is on several reading lists herself, for Then Came You, Atria, out this week), presenting their top picks on the Today Show earlier this month.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy