Books

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  • In The Books

    800 CEO Read
    Jon
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:48 pm
    TweetIt’s that time of year again. We’ve compiled all the great books, ideas, and activities that 800-CEO-READ was involved in over the past year and published them in our annual In the Books publication. As the intro states: “At 800-CEO-READ, we don’t come to work everyday just to sell business books. We go to work to try to improve the way business is done.” This publication is the clearest example of that. Featuring the winners, shortlist, and candidates from the 2011 Business Book Awards, ChangeThis highlights, 8cr events and activities, 100 Best book…

  • ArtsBeat: Book Review Podcast: The Legacy of Henry Miller's 'Tropic of Cancer'

    NYT > Books
    By JOHN WILLIAMS
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:42 pm
    Jeanette Winterson reviews a new book about Henry Miller's controversial novel "Tropic of Cancer."

  • Charla Krupp, Self-Help Author on Women’s Looks, Dies at 58

    NYT > Books
    By NATASHA SINGER
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:18 pm
    The author dispensed down-to-earth style tips.

  • 8 Famous People You Never Knew Wrote Mysteries

    Book Dirt
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:33 am
    From strippers to TV stars to U.S. presidents, a collection of unlikely mystery authors that just might surprise you. Mystery novels sometimes take place in star-studded settings: the murder happens in a Hollywood movie studio or backstage in a Shakespearean theatre. Sometimes the victims themselves are rising starlets, news anchormen or notable politicians. But, in several cases, the famous folks have actually written mysteries themselves, trading the limelight for a backbreaking desk chair (or, at least in quite a few cases, their ghostwriters did).Abraham Lincoln, not long after his lawyer…

  • Amazing Stop-Motion Bookstore Video: How Many Titles Can You Spot?

    Book Dirt
    11 Jan 2012 | 2:52 pm
    Short film fans know that it’s usually toys that come to life after the shop closes up. At Type bookstore in Toronto, the books on the shelves have lives of their own after dark. This short video ‘Joy of Books’ was made by art director Sean Ohlenkamp, who teamed with the bookstore to painstakingly create the stop motion effects over four nights.‘Joy of Books’ has already gone viral (racking up 27,000 views in just one day), and part of the success seems to be its resonance with book lovers. The Joy of Books - Stop-Motion Bookshop VideoPart of the fun is in spotting book titles.
 
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    Books

  • 'How It All Began': A Lively Ode To Happenstance

    28 Jan 2012 | 5:18 am
    In her 20th work of fiction, Penelope Lively imagines a mugging that sets off a chain of events — and explores the role that chance plays in our lives. "You find yourself looking back over your own life and wondering about where it could have gone completely different," Lively says.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • 'Star'-Crossed: When Teens With Cancer Fall In Love

    28 Jan 2012 | 5:17 am
    You wouldn't necessarily think of a cancer support group as a place where teens meet and fall in love — but that's exactly what happens to Hazel and Augustus, the young protagonists in The Fault in Our Stars, the latest from author John Green.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Newspoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse

    27 Jan 2012 | 4:54 pm
    Tracy K. Smith is today's poet in residence at NPR's All Things Considered. She spent the day in the newsroom taking in the sights and sounds, and learning how the show comes together. Then she composed a poem about the day's headlines.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • Can Science Be Done Without Secrecy?

    27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    In his book, Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science, Physicist Michael Nielsen discusses why scientists jealously guard their data and are slow to adopt online tools for collaboration. Nielsen talks about why attempts to create science wikipedias have failed.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

  • 'Birmingham': A Family Tale In The Civil Rights Era

    26 Jan 2012 | 4:04 pm
    A road trip from Michigan to Alabama places the Watson family in Birmingham in 1963, just as racial tensions are roiling. Christopher Paul Curtis draws upon his own experiences growing up in the 1960s for this Newbery Honor-winning novel.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us
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    The New York Review of Books

  • Is Democracy Chinese? An Interview with Journalist Chang Ping

    27 Jan 2012 | 12:45 pm
    Ian Johnson This is the fourth in an NYRblog series about the fate of democracy in different parts of the world. Ian Johnson Chang Ping Chang Ping is one of China’s best-known commentators on contemporary affairs. Chang, whose real name is Zhang Ping, first established himself in the late 1990s in Guangzhou, where his hard-hitting stories exposed scandals and championed freedom of expression. As censorship has tightened in recent years, Chang’s pleas for openness and accountability have put him under pressure. The 43-year-old is currently living with his wife and daughter in…

  • Can We Have a Democratic Election?

    26 Jan 2012 | 3:30 pm
    Elizabeth Drew A still from King of Bain: When Mitt Romney Came to Town, a video released by Winning Our Future, the Super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich for president, which attacks Romney for firing people from their jobs while he was head of the private equity firm Bain Capital Beneath the turbulent political spectacle that has captured so much of the nation’s attention lies a more important question than who will get the Republican nomination, or even who will win in November: Will we have a democratic election this year? Will the presidential election reflect the will of the people?

  • The Kremlin Strikes Back

    26 Jan 2012 | 3:15 pm
    Amy Knight This is the third in an NYRblog series about the fate of democracy in different parts of the world. Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev attend the session of the State Council in the Kremlin in Moscow, December 26, 2011 Judging from his outburst last week during a televised meeting with Russian media chiefs, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is getting rattled by the increasingly vocal opposition to the Kremlin. In a tense exchange with Aleksei Venediktov, editor of the radio station Ekho Moskvy, a key forum for the…

  • How the Occupation Became Legal

    25 Jan 2012 | 3:45 pm
    Eyal Press This is the second in an NYRblog series about the fate of democracy in different parts of the world. Shark de Mayo/thelawfilm.com Justice Meir Shamgar In 1979, a group of Palestinian farmers filed a petition with Israel’s High Court of Justice, claiming their land was being illegally expropriated by Jewish settlers. The farmers were not Israeli citizens, and the settlers appeared to have acted with the state’s support; indeed, army helicopters had escorted them to the land—a hilltop near Nablus—bringing along generators and water tanks. The High Court of Justice…

  • How to Save the Euro

    25 Jan 2012 | 5:30 am
    George Soros Gero Breloer/AP Images Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin, January 11, 2012 My new book, Financial Turmoil in Europe and the United States, tries to explain and, to the extent possible, predict the outcome of the euro crisis. It follows the same pattern as my other books: it contains an updated version of my conceptual approach and the application of that approach to a particular situation, and it presents a real-time experiment to test the validity of my interpretation. Its account is not complete because the crisis is still ongoing.
 
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    Salon.com > Books

  • A designer of perfect homes no one can live in

    27 Jan 2012 | 1:45 pm
    Read this story at http://www.salon.com/2012/01/27/a_designer_of_perfect_homes_no_one_can_live_in/Continue Reading...

  • The strange, spiritual life of Leo Tolstoy

    26 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    Read this story at http://www.salon.com/2012/01/27/tolstoy_a_russian_life_rosamund_bartlett/Continue Reading...

  • Alt-rock hitmaker: Why I hate my band

    26 Jan 2012 | 1:06 pm
    Read this story at http://www.salon.com/2012/01/26/alt_rock_hitmaker_why_i_hate_my_band/Continue Reading...

  • Salman Rushdie, back on trial

    26 Jan 2012 | 10:10 am
    The Jaipur Literature Festival is a remarkable thing. It calls itself “the greatest literary show on earth.” In many ways, it is. Over 70,000 people show up. It’s organized by writers, not event managers. It’s free. Great crocodiles of school children in winter blazers crowd its sessions. Turbaned men with splendidly curled mustaches ladle out steaming hot chai into clay cups for the attendees. Parrots squawk in the trees. Chipmunks chase each other up and down the branches while Nobel laureates and Booker winners hold forth on the lawns. Indian grandmothers and blonde European expats…

  • Lessons from the paperback revolution

    25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    Read this story at http://www.salon.com/2012/01/26/paperback_publishing_imprint/Continue Reading...
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    book-blog.com

  • Goldberg, Lee: Mr. Monk on Patrol

    Debra Hamel
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:16 pm
    NAL, 3041st published: 2012 Mr. Monk on Patrol is the 13th book in Lee Goldberg's series of TV tie-ins featuring obsessive compulsive detective Adrian Monk. Unlike its predecessors, this installment is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it's heavy in character development. Monk and his assistant Natalie travel to Summit, New Jersey, to help out Randy Disher, former San Francisco homicide detective turned small-town chief of police. Monk is also reunited with his first assistant, Sharona, since she and Randy are now married (a plot development I still have trouble wrapping my mind around). Monk and…

  • Cumming, Charles: A Spy By Nature

    Debra Hamel
    22 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    St. Martin's Griffin, 368 pages1st published: 2007 Twenty-something Alec Milius is smart and heart-broken and headed nowhere in particular when a chance encounter leads him to interview with MI6. He winds up becoming an industrial spy, a life to which he's particularly suited--see the book's title--because he is naturally deceitful: he tends to fall into lying even when there's no particular reason to do so. The trait is handy in the spy business, if deadly for personal relationships. Admirably, the author takes his time with the story. The first 25% of the book details Alec's interviews with…

  • Berkun, Scott: Confessions of a Public Speaker

    Debra Hamel
    16 Jan 2012 | 2:50 pm
    O'Reilly Media, 240 pages1st published: 2011 I have no intention of doing any public speaking myself in the next, oh, decade or so, or if I can help it ever, but nonetheless, after picking up this book on a whim, I found it engrossing. The author is a professional speaker who has clearly thought a lot about what makes for a successful presentation and about how people learn. He offers the reader practical advice about how to do well in front of an audience, or at least better, and about how to respond when, inevitably, something goes wrong. A lot of the secret is simple hard work: if you're…

  • Eisler, Barry: The Detachment

    Debra Hamel
    15 Jan 2012 | 2:14 pm
    Thomas & Mercer, 324 pages1st published: 2011 The Detachment is the latest novel by Barry Eisler featuring John Rain, an assassin for hire who's been off the job for some four years when the book begins. He's lured out of retirement to take on a high-risk assignment, the assassination of a high-ranking U.S. government official. But the job soon morphs into a multi-hit deal and teams him with an old friend, Dox, and two new guys, linebacker-sized killers Rain can't trust not to turn on him when the time for teamwork is passed. This is the first John Rain novel I've read, and it won't be my…

  • Maslakovic, Neve: Regarding Ducks and Universes

    Debra Hamel
    24 Dec 2011 | 2:51 pm
    AmazonEncore, 344 pages1st published: 2011 Thirty-five years after the universe replicated, there are tens of portals through which the residents of one world can cross over to visit the other. The universes were initially identical, but small changes across the decades have added up: a car accident here but not there, a missed bus here, a chance encounter there. One can see the allure of visiting a world in which, say, the Golden Gate Bridge was not destroyed in an earthquake or one's family wasn't killed in a car accident, as things fell out in your universe. There's also the attraction of…
 
 
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    Chronicle Books Blog

  • From Blog to Book – How to Turn Your Ideas Into Reality

    Kate Woodrow
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:35 pm
    My Alt Summit panel mates were Chronicle author and artist Julia Rothman, Design*Sponge founder and author Grace Bonney, Chronicle author and artist Amy Butler, and Lia Ronnen, an executive editor at Artisan Books. Photo by Justin Hackworth. On Wednesday you heard from my colleague Guinevere about all the inspiration we unearthed at Altitude Design Summit, the design blogging conference we just attended. And if you follow me on Twitter, I apologize for bombarding you with Alt this and Alt that all week long. But I met so many smart, creative people—I’m exhilarated and exhausted all at…

  • Get Hooked Up with Girl Meets Boy!

    Lara Starr
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:27 pm
    He said/She said – isn’t it always the way? Can a guy ever know what a girl is really thinking? Can a girl really trust the words a guy says? Twelve of the most beloved and dynamic YA writers have hooked up in Girl Meets Boy to tell each side of a story – he tells it from the guy’s side, she tells it from the girl’s. Check out the video trailer for Girl Meets Boy. Read the first two stories. He Said/She Said – What do you say? Tell us and win! Chronicle is sponsoring a writing contest at Wattpad, the online community for writers and readers. Read the story by Chris Cutcher, and…

  • Planning a Pin-Worthy Wedding (A Hello!Lucky Giveaway)

    Lorraine Woodcheke
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pm
    In just six months my best friend Jen is getting married. We’ve known each other so long that I consider her family so, naturally, I’m beyond excited that she’s tying the knot. Living in San Francisco, I’m the friend (and bridesmaid) farthest away from the bride, who is back in our Long Island, New York hometown. But, thanks to Pinterest, I still feel like I’m part of the planning process! When we’re in between visits or phone catch-ups, I peek at Jen’s wedding inspiration boards to get an idea of what she’s been up to. But even though Pinterest is an incredible planning tool…

  • From the Chronicle Kitchen: The American Cocktail

    Peter Perez
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:29 pm
    I’m just getting over a seasonal cold, and have been craving a chest-clearing warm drink this evening as I ease out of my sickness. Here’s a recipe for the drink that will more than satisfy that desire, from The American Cocktail: 50 Recipes that Celebrate the Craft of Mixing Drinks from Coast to Coast, by the editors of Imbibe Magazine. Are you a hot alcoholic drinks fan? Are you down with maple syrup in your cocktail? Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a copy of the book we’ll be giving away to a randomly selected commentator. (Offer valid in the USA and Canada, you must…

  • Chronicle Books Heads to Alt Design Summit

    Guinevere de la Mare
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:34 pm
    Last week, my colleague Kate and I were lucky enough to attend the third annual Altitude Design Summit in Salt Lake City. The 3-day conference is a mecca for design and lifestyle bloggers, and the speaker roster was amazing. Many of our favorites were there, from well-established voices like Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan (Apartment Therapy), Pilar Guzmán (Martha Stewart Living), and Deborah Needleman (former editor in chief of domino magazine) to blogger celebrities like Grace Bonney (Design Sponge), Erin Loechner (Design for Mankind), and Heather Armstrong (Dooce). Bloggers at Alt rocking our…
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    Bookslut

  • Star-Crossed: Edith Wharton and Julian Barnes

    2 Jan 2012 | 2:09 pm
    Each issue the Star-Crossed column chooses two or more writers who were born during a particular month and talks about their work.  January Birthdays:  Edith Wharton – born January 24, 1863, New York City Julian Barnes – born January 19,...

  • Invisible Dragon: Reading the Culture Wars

    2 Jan 2012 | 11:17 am
    The crux of Dave Hickey’s The Invisible Dragon is rage. Fury that beauty, for centuries art’s cause and effect, was, at the end of the twentieth century maligned, neutralized and thus ineffective in its innately democratic purpose. “If you broached...

  • Amnesia

    2 Jan 2012 | 9:30 am
    Sometimes a small thing in a book--a picture, a few words--changes everything. On page 192, there’s an ink drawing of a black cat, looming, its eyes wide, its back arched. It’s hovering over a man in a single bed,...

  • The Family Doctor

    2 Jan 2012 | 9:02 am
    In the past eleven years I’ve lived in five cites, three countries, and my cat turns fourteen this summer, which is noted in her EU passport alongside her vaccinations, flea treatments, and teeth cleanings. I wish my own healthcare...

  • Going Sane, Going Soft: The Evolution of Adam Phillips

    2 Jan 2012 | 6:42 am
    Recent evidence suggests that Adam Phillips is worried about us. In the past few years the essayist and psychoanalyst has published books called things like Going Sane: Maps of Happiness, (2005), On Kindness (2009), and On Balance (2010). Judging just from these titles--as opposed...
 
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    800 CEO Read

  • In The Books

    Jon
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:48 pm
    TweetIt’s that time of year again. We’ve compiled all the great books, ideas, and activities that 800-CEO-READ was involved in over the past year and published them in our annual In the Books publication. As the intro states: “At 800-CEO-READ, we don’t come to work everyday just to sell business books. We go to work to try to improve the way business is done.” This publication is the clearest example of that. Featuring the winners, shortlist, and candidates from the 2011 Business Book Awards, ChangeThis highlights, 8cr events and activities, 100 Best book…

  • ChangeThis: Issue 90

    dylan
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:29 pm
    Tweet GROW: How to Change the Narrative of Business by Jim Stengel “The business case for brand ideals is not altruism. It’s self-interest and mutual interest. In addition to its wider positive impact, a devotion to brand ideals will do more for your own business and career than any other factor. Maximum business growth and high ideals are not incompatible. They’re inseparable.” Transcendent Leadership: How to Lead Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime by Les McKeown “What if each successive leadership role brought out more of what makes you you, rather than asking you to compromise your core…

  • Attention Business Authors!

    Jon
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:40 pm
    Tweet               The 800-CEO-READ AUTHOR POW WOW January 13-15, 2013 Austin, TX **REGISTER EARLY AND SAVE** NOW THROUGH APRIL 1: $1000 April 1 – October 1: $1250 October through event: $1500 REGISTER HERE! The Author Pow Wow will not only provide you with all the knowledge you need to do what works, but will also connect you to the people who can help you in the process. During an intimate and intensive two days, authors, soon-to-be authors, publishers, publicists, marketers, agents, speaking experts, social media strategists, and business people…

  • The End of Illness

    Jon
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:59 pm
    TweetOn one hand, this book is not our usual thing. On the other hand, nothing can move forward if our health isn’t in order. So, it’s completely worth pointing out Dr. David B. Agus’ new book, The End of Illness. The provocative title certainly draws our attention, and we might be expecting a “to-do list” of things we’ve heard before. Certainly, there are some universal truths in here that we’ve heard all our lives (the question is, are we adhering to them?), but also, there are more than a few discoveries in here that might surprise us, about the…

  • The Fear Index, a business thriller

    Sally
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:08 pm
    Tweet We’re thrilled (seriously!) to post an excerpt from Robert Harris (best selling author of Fatherland, Pompeii, and The Ghost Writer, which was made into a movie with Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, and many others) to showcase his new novel The Fear Index may not be our typical fare, but the novel appeals to us for many reasons: a master storyteller, the drama of hedge fund trading, a really creepy old book–Darwin in this case–, lots of money, and lots of thrills. To start the adventure, read below! The Fear Index Robert Harris Knopf | Hardcover | January, 2012 |…
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    Charles Petzold

  • Your Welcome

    11 Jan 2012 | 8:01 am
    Dear Spammer, ... more ...

  • Rick Santorum and Group Marriage

    7 Jan 2012 | 9:31 am
    One of the most common arguments against same-sex marriage is that it would open the floodgates to all sorts of other types of marriage. For example, James Dobson in his book Gay Marriage: Why We Must Win This Battle (Multnomah, 2004) writes: ... more ...

  • Parsing CSS for EPUB

    26 Dec 2011 | 12:33 pm
    I've been trying to build an EPUB viewer for Windows 8, mostly because I want to read books on the Windows 8 tablet I got at the Build conference, and it's more fun writing one's own application rather than using someone else's. This will obviously not be a commercial product or I would have thought of a snappier and less wonky name for the program than The New Epublic! [I've decided I don't want to distribute the code at this time. — Jan. 5, 2012] ... more ...

  • Windows 8 Dependency Property Strangeness

    5 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am
    If this blog entry popped up in a search engine because you're having problems with defining and/or animating dependency properties in the Windows 8 developer's pre-release, you might want to jump towards the end. The early paragraphs merely discuss some deadly boring Windows 8 program I've been developing. ... more ...

  • Very Bad Writing

    25 Nov 2011 | 6:00 am
    About 35 years ago I picked up a novel from the coffee table in my mother's house and started reading. This particular novel was a big bestseller at the time and I was curious what made it so popular. Sure enough, I discovered a story with the annoying addictiveness of potato chips, and I suspect I finished the whole puffy bag in one sitting. ... more ...
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    The Millions

  • Seven Reasons to Read A Dance to the Music of Time

    Marjorie Hakala
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    In the fall of 2009, I left the United States to spend a school year teaching English in China. There were many things to do before leaving, but one of the more pleasurable was choosing which books would see me through the year. When my friend Ellen suggested taking Anthony Powell’s series A Dance to the Music of Time, I felt a click, the sort you feel when someone suggests a thing and you realize that is exactly what you intended to do all along. I packed the whole series and spent the next nine months living in China but letting a great deal of my imaginative life take place in…

  • Shriver on Kids, Movies

    C. Max Magee
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    We once wondered if Lionel Shriver is America’s best writer, and she once shared with us her love for William Trevor. In an interview with The Atlantic, she talks about not having kids and says the adaptation of We Need to Talk about Kevin “is a far better film than I had any reason to expect them to be able to make.”

  • Hell on Mail

    C. Max Magee
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    At HTMLGIANT, Roxane Gay gets down to the details of everything she’s learned about the challenges and pitfalls, much of it shipping-related, of running a micropress. Essential reading for those dreaming of starting a small press one day.

  • ‘Some frankly tremendous trousers’

    C. Max Magee
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:34 am
    We never knew we wanted American Psycho told in the style of P.G. Wodehouse.

  • The Millions Interview: Bradford Morrow

    Edie Meidav
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    “There are only three journals that matter and one of them is Conjunctions.” – Walter Abish, author of How German Is It Behold the man — Bradford Morrow, who spans in both biography and experience the best explorations of the teachers and writers of two centuries, the 20th and our new toddling era. Both a generous reader and writer, a community-maker in his years as founder and editor of the pioneering Conjunctions, bearing standards paradoxically rigorous, curious, and fluid, author of Giovanni’s Gift, among some other eight books, this year he came out with two new…
 
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    ReadersRead.com Book Blog

  • National Book Critics Circle Finalists Announced

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:44 pm
    The finalists for the 2011 National Book Critics Circle awards have been announced. The awards will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the New School's Tishman Auditorium in New York. Here is the list of finalists: Fiction Teju Cole, Open City (Random House) Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger's Child (Knopf) Edith Pearlman, Binocular Vision (Lookout Books) Dana Spiotta, Stone Arabia (Scribner) Nonfiction Amanda Foreman, A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War (Random)…

  • Cover Art for Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories Released

    26 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm
    Chris Colfer, known to many as Kurt Hummel on Fox's Glee, signed a two book deal with Little, Brown Books last June for a children's fantasy series. The cover for the first book in the series, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, has been released. The cover is illustrated by Brandon Dorman. The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner Bailey. The twins leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic. The characters come face-to-face with the characters they grew up reading about, including witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls. EW…

  • Jill Biden to Publish Children's Book in June

    23 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    Second Lady Jill Biden will publish an illustrated children's book, Don't Forget Nana, God Bless Our Troops, with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. The book will be illustrated by Raul Colon. The cover art has not yet been released. The book will arrive in stores on June 5, 2012. Dr. Biden is donating all net author proceeds to charities to support military families and children. She did not accept an advance for the book. Jill Biden says, "As a military mom and a teacher, I wanted to write this book to make all Americans, especially children, aware of the unique experience of…

  • DK Launches Electronic Textbooks for Apple's iBooks Platform

    22 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm
    Apple recently launched a new digital textbook platform as well as a partnership with major textbook publishers. DK is one of the educational publishers providing digital textbooks for Apple's iBooks, which can be purchased on iTunes. DK's four new titles include My First ABC, Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Life, DK Natural History: Insects and DK Natural History: Mammals-Carnivores. Some of the interactive highlights of these new digital textbooks include: A 3-D model of a velociraptor skeleton An animation showing the step-by-step formation of a fossil A movie of a tiger hunting and a brown bear…

  • HarperCollins to Publish Burt Bacharach's Memoir

    19 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    HarperCollins has announced plans to publish songwriter Burt Bacharach's memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart. The book was written with Robert Greenfield. The book is tentatively scheduled for publication in November 2012. Bacharach has had seventy Top Forty hits in his career. He has won three Academy Awards, eight Grammys, an Emmy, and been nominated for a Tony Award. Along with his longtime songwriting partner Hal David, Bacharach was recently named the winner of the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an award previously given to Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and Paul…
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    Book Brat 98

  • Beastly by Alex Flinn

    23 Jan 2012 | 7:53 pm
    Summary: Everyone has heard of Beauty and the Beast, right? Well, pretty, rich, and ever-so popular Kyle Kingsbury is the Beast. His life was perfect, until he attempted to embarrassed the mystically scary Kendra the "witch" by extending her a fake invitation to a dance. Kyle's life turns upside-down when Kendra unleashes the magic on him... turning him into a hairy, disgusting, frightening beast. Kendra tells Kyle that the Beast is his true form, that being ugly on the inside is worse than being ugly on the outside, and that he must find someone to love him within…

  • Ruthless by Sara Shepard

    21 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm
    Summary: For years scandal has rocked Rosewood, Pennsylvania—and high school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have always been at the center of the drama. They’ve lost friends, been targeted by a ruthless stalker named A, and narrowly escaped death. And it’s not over yet. Aria’s love life is on the fritz. Emily’s exploring her wild side. Hanna’s kissing the enemy. And someone from Spencer’s past—someone she never thought she’d see again—is back to haunt her. But none of that compares to what happened last spring break. It’s their darkest secret yet and guess who…

  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

    17 Jan 2012 | 4:31 pm
    Summary: In Clockwork Prince, with the Magister vanished and the clock counting down on how long Charlotte can keep control of the Institute away from Benedict Lightwood. Will, Jem and Tessa must dig into the Magister's past to predict what he will do in the future, But secrets about the Magister aren't all they find buried — Tessa begins to uncover the truth about her own birth, and the ghosts of Will's past return to haunt him. As Tessa grows closer to Jem, and Will is driven further toward the brink of madness by jealousy and guilt, will they discover the truth in time to halt the next…

  • Legend by Marie Lu

    10 Jan 2012 | 9:52 am
    Summary:Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being created for success in the Republic’s highest military circles.Born into the slums of the Republic’s Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother is murdered and Day becomes placed as the murderer. Now,…

  • Awakened by P.C. & Kristen Cast

    30 Dec 2011 | 4:58 pm
    Summary: Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey.  Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z.  But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there.  Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it?  Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark,…
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    Eye on Books

  • Walter Mosley “All I Did Was Shoot My Man”

    Bill Thompson
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    A few years back, in a different life, Leonid McGill framed Zella Grisham and helped send her to prison for a crime she didn’t do. Now, as the story begins in Walter Mosley‘s fourth McGill novel “All I Did Was Shoot My Man,” McGill is hired to help Zella get her life back after prison. Trouble is, there are those who are, shall we say, very uncomfortable that Zella is free. And Leonid’s plate is full of personal problems, as well, all of which challenge him on every page to stay the new course he has so earnestly set for himself. Listen to Walter Mosley Download…

  • What an Author Tour Looks Like From the Inside

    Bill Thompson
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:52 am
    I’ve long said there isn’t enough literature about the author tour. For some 27 years I’ve been interviewing authors on tour, and have always been curious about what it is really like to travel from one city to the next, one bookstore or library or book club to the next, one hotel to the next – and trying to sound really smart and clever all along the way. Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley, authors of “Sinners and Saints,” have now posted a short video. Granted, it’s way too short to really show what the tour is like. But…

  • Serious Charges Face Author of CIA Memoir

    Bill Thompson
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:56 am
    His 2010 memoir was called “The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA’s War on Terror.” But now the federal government charges that John Kiriakou didn’t keep enough of his life in the CIA secret. Kiriakou told Eye on Books in 2010 that he is “just an ordinary guy.” But federal prosecutors say he violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and the Espionage Act. They say he illegally disclosed the name of another covert CIA officer to a reporter, and separately that he lied to the CIA’s Publications Review Board to persuade them to let him…

  • Brad Taylor “All Necessary Force”

    Bill Thompson
    20 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    Somewhere in America, there’s about to be a terrorist attack, a blockbuster assault on a critical homeland resource that could cripple the nation — unless Pike Logan and his super-secret Taskforce can stop it, in Brad Taylor‘s new thriller “All Necessary Force.” Taskforce’s job is to obtain the crucial information that America’s better-known and more high-profile intel operations can’t. As Logan and partner Jennifer Cahill get deeper into their mission, however, it turns out there are two plots in the works. And they don’t have much time…

  • Thomas Caplan “The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen”

    Bill Thompson
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    A former covert operative turned movie star returns to the life of espionage once again — and with a huge, world-saving mission — in Thomas Caplan‘s thriller “The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen.” Ty Hunter is a strong, handsome, charismatic star. But the task before him is a lot tougher than acting. There are some stolen nuclear warheads, which are about to be acquired by some very, very bad people. Hunter must stop them. Tommy Caplan is a lifelong thriller reader, as is his college roommate, and the man who contributed the introduction to this novel, former…
 
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    The Book Deal: A Publishing Blog for Writers and Book People

  • The new author pitch: Show, don’t sell

    Alan Rinzler
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:58 pm
    Authors today need a whole new attitude toward the all-important pitch. Until now, the author pitch was defined as a hard-sell verbal punch to persuade agents and editors to take on their book. It was typically brief, high-concept, often hyperbolic and was designed to convince the agent standing there that the book was fabulous and so was the author. But as with everything else in the book business, pitching too has changed, evolving with the times into something different and actually much more interesting. Choosing the right pitch for the job Like all good pitchers on the mound, authors…

  • Grand finales: Tips for writing great endings

    Alan Rinzler
    31 Dec 2011 | 8:38 pm
    Writing a great ending for your book is just as important as a dynamite opening that rivets our attention and compels us to keep turning those pages. A well-written book requires some kind of symphonic climax that resonates in our heads and hearts like the famous 40-second E major chord at the end of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band. Our response may be filled with joy, hope, and happiness, or it may lead us to feel uncomfortable, to frown, scratch our heads, and worry about the unknown mysteries of life. I’ve worked with many fiction and narrative nonfiction…

  • Fear of editors

    Alan Rinzler
    20 Dec 2011 | 2:48 pm
    Are you a writer who worries about working with a developmental editor for fear of losing control over the project? You’re not alone If so, you’re not the only one. One writer put it this way recently on an online forum: “I worry that an editor will erase my voice.” Another said, “I fear I’ll end up with a book I no longer recognize as my own.” At the same time, authors are discovering that agents and publishers now insist on a polished manuscript that’s ready for production, and won’t accept a draft that still needs work. And since most big-company acquisition editors…

  • When do you need an editor?

    Alan Rinzler
    26 Nov 2011 | 2:20 am
    Writers often ask me when they should consult a developmental editor.  The concerns go something like this: I’ve heard that literary agents and commercial publishers don’t want to see a book until it’s already edited and ready for production. And if I decide to self-publish, I’m out on a limb by myself. So when during the process of writing a book do I need an editor? Three phases of writing There are three distinct phases of the writing process when a developmental editor can make a big difference in the outcome of your book: In the planning stage, while you’re writing, and once…

  • Great book jackets: Tips from 4 design pros

    Alan Rinzler
    10 Nov 2011 | 1:46 am
    Every good book needs a great cover. It’s a powerful billboard for conveying the spirit and content of your book. An eye-catching cover can persuade readers to pick up and buy a book. But a jacket that’s confusing or boring or worse, can stop a potential buyer from giving that same book a second glance. Covers also need to pop as thumbnails, for all those online shoppers. Publishers rely on talented jacket designers to create great covers. These specialized graphic artists are either on staff or hired as freelancers.  Staff designers frequently cross over, creating a jacket for their own…
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    Personanondata

  • MediaWeek (V5, N4): Research Works Act, Aussie Fiction + More

    PersonaNonData
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:24 pm
    The Chronicle of Higher Ed looks at the Research Works Act: (Chron) Whatever the executive branch decides to do about open-access mandates, it's not at all certain that the Research Works Act stands much chance of becoming law. In 2009, a similar bill, called the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, failed to make it out of committee. This is an election year, which makes it "a very difficult year to move any sort of legislation, let along legislation that has acquired a certain amount of controversy," Mr. Adler said. A lot of Congress's attention has been absorbed by higher-profile…

  • An Apple for the Teacher

    PersonaNonData
    19 Jan 2012 | 9:26 pm
    To the average Apple aficionado, today’s spectacle on Apple’s entry into the education space would have seemed just par for the course.  Hype is about everything Apple does in these coordinated announcements and today was no different.  To the average textbook publisher today’s hype would have seemed of another world; that another entity – Apple yet? - would view the staid, traditional and, let’s face it, relatively small textbook publishing business as an opportunity to do big things must seem odd. I also thought, there was some irony today because a company I recognize…

  • MediaWeek (Vol 5, No3) JStore, Reg Hill, Hockney, Research Works Act + More

    PersonaNonData
    16 Jan 2012 | 8:29 pm
    JStore is experimenting with a new access model (IHeD) Under the new program, unsubscribed visitors will be allowed to check out three “items” from the JSTOR archive every two weeks, which they will be able to read for free. In order to prevent piracy, the texts will be displayed as image files (so that text cannot be copied). Users will not be able to download the files. The depletion of the traditional professoriate has produced a new demographic of unmoored scholars who might not have “the consistency of access that they want,” says Heidi McGregor, a spokeswoman for JSTOR. The goal…

  • Predictions 2012: The Search for Attention

    PersonaNonData
    11 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am
    There’s little more to say about eBooks these days: The migration is now embedded into business operations across the industry. Yes, there remain some issues and problems day-to-day but it would seem that the issue of most concern to publishers for the past five years (trade particularly) is now subsumed under business operations as usual.  And that bores me. Sure, we could argue about the future purpose and value of a publisher but most (if not all) the big trade houses are doing better now than they were three years ago and continue to sign the big authors and sell lots of…

  • AcademicPub Announces Large Roster of Publishing Partners

    PersonaNonData
    10 Jan 2012 | 1:53 am
    Note - I'm Chief Revenue Officer for SharedBook & AcademicPub.  This is our most recent press release announcing how successful we have been in building our content library. AcademicPub™, a dynamic online platform that enables college professors to create custom print or e-books quickly and cost effectively, today announced 22 additional partnerships with trusted publishing partners, accelerating in the New Year the progress it has made since launch. Feeding a burgeoning collection of disaggregated content from the world's most prominent academic publishers, AcademicPub revealed…
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    Books: Books blog | guardian.co.uk

  • Oscars' big winners will be books

    John Dugdale
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:06 am
    Literary adaptations look set to sweep the board in Hollywood this yearSix of the nine nominations announced this week for Best Picture are based on books, reflecting a recent pattern in which the Oscar lists have consistently and gratifyingly affirmed cinema's dependence on literature. Apart from a modest lurch towards originality in 2010, the previous five years saw line-ups in which half or more of the shortlistees were adaptations, including the winners No Country for Old Men (2008), Slumdog Millionaire (2009) and The King's Speech (2011).It's not classic novels that attract movie-makers.

  • Scottish independence won't cut off British literature

    Stuart Kelly
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:29 am
    English and Scottish literature have always been complicated hybrids, and separating the nations won't change thatJust before Alex Salmond gave the Hugo Young lecture, I received an email from the Scottish government announcing their plan to make it compulsory for every schoolchild doing "English" in Scotland to study at least one "Scottish text". Although Robert McCrum wrote, a propos of the lecture, that "if the politics of the United Kingdom become fragmented, then culture will surely follow", I'd suggest that the culture has already fragmented. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was commonplace…

  • What are you reading today?

    Hannah Freeman
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:22 am
    It's an endlessly interesting conversation-starter, and we'd like to record your answers on a Flickr galleryWhat are you reading? is often the start of a great conversation. We swap book recommendations and write about the books we've just read on the site, but now we'd like to invite you to answer the question in pictures – don't tell us, show us.To do this we have started a Flickr group called What are you reading today? where we invite you to upload your photos and share with us what you are reading. You can post up to seven photos a week in the group, so if you like, you can share what…

  • The future of books, today

    Richard Lea
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:06 am
    There is much talk of bright tomorrows for publishing at New York's Digital Book World expo, but how optimistic are readers?While we've all been thinking about Andrew Miller and the Costa's new enthusiasm short stories and Rushdie's troubles in Jaipur, in New York, publishers have been looking to the future.Many reports from the Digital Book World conference are brimming with positivity, with the independent publisher Dominique Raccah singing the praises of books created "at the end of a community-building process", the author and futurist David Houle celebrating the astonishing fact that…

  • François Hollande's Shakespearean faux pas

    Sarah Crown
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am
    The French presidential hopeful has been busy quoting Shakespeare. Question is: which Shakespeare?Had to post this in case anyone has yet to see it (in which case: you're welcome!). Attempting to sum up his anti-Sarkozy message in a speech to his party faithful yesterday, France's presidential frontrunner François Hollande decided to reach for Shakespeare to bolster his rhetoric. The bard, he told his supporters, put it best when he said "They failed because they did not start with a dream."Oh, no he didn't. Turns out the Shakespeare to whom Hollande was referring wasn't the matchless author…
 
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    ReadySteadyBlog

  • Why is Wikipedia blacked-out?

    18 Jan 2012 | 1:41 am
    Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the English Wikipedia for 24 hours: Wikipedians spend thousands of hours every week working tirelessly in reviewing and removing infringing content. Wikipedia talk pages show tremendous care about protecting copyright and sophisticated study on the many nuances of what constitutes infringement as opposed to legitimate speech. Wikipedia is based on a model of free licenses. Every Wikipedian is a rights owner, licensing their work under free licenses. Infringement harms our mission; free licenses do not work with infringement.

  • Organizing the Bookcase: a short film

    11 Jan 2012 | 1:02 am

  • Peter May's The Lewis Man

    10 Jan 2012 | 6:13 am
    Just commissioned this for work (at Quercus) and am very proud of it – so thought I'd share here!

  • The Situation in American Writing: Lars Iyer

    6 Jan 2012 | 4:54 am
    There’s a gap between literary and political responsibility, there must be. But literary responsiveness has ethical and political stakes of its own. Here, it is not a matter of producing particular values or norms, not a matter of producing a morality, but literature can enlarge the scope of what we call ethics and politics. What does this mean with respect to the Arab Spring, and to the protests in Greece, Spain, Britain and the U.S.? These revolts all ask a question about what is allowed to count as politics, about the political as such. This question is posed by way of what you call a…

  • David Graeber interview

    3 Jan 2012 | 7:28 am
    Debt is the most effective way to take a relation of violent subordination and make the victims feel that it’s their fault. Colonial regimes did this all the time; they would charge people for the cost of their own conquest, via taxes. However, using debt in this way also has a notorious tendency to rebound, because the subtle thing about debt relations is that, on a certain level, they are premised on equality—we are both equal parties to a contract. This both makes the sting of inequality worse, because it implies you should be equal to your creditor but you somehow messed up, but also,…
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    Litopia

  • Snow Business

    Litopia Writers' Colony
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:30 pm
    One hundred years ago, on January 17th, 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott's five-man team reached the South Pole: only to find Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it more than a month earlier. Scott's ill-fated expedition is the stuff of legend. This week's Litopia After Dark has two legendary guests: Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones, formerly Curator of Art at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, and Kari Herbert, daughter of polar explorer, Sir Wally Herbert. Kari spent the first few years of her life living on a remote island in the Arctic with the Polar Inuit…

  • Apple Pwns Education

    Litopia Writers' Colony
    19 Jan 2012 | 5:27 pm
    Today, Apple made a grab at the education market. Not at part of it. No. All of it. As authors, we've become quite accustomed to extremely large companies appropriating things. Think about Google unilaterally grabbing eBook rights. Or consider Amazon giving away our eBooks. You get the picture. Apple, however, are going beyond all that with their educational product launch today. They're aiming to own education. In this special edition of Litopia After Dark, we've assembled a word-beating team of panellists to cut through the hype. Industry professionals all, they will clearly explain exactly…

  • I Wish I'd Written It

    Litopia Writers' Colony
    9 Jan 2012 | 7:25 am
    The new year is a time to make dreams come true... and if you could make one authorial wish come true, what might it be? Perhaps you'd like the ultimate rave review from a legendary author such as Stephen King, along these lines: "this one gets the writer's ultimate bit of praise: I wish I had written it". That's exactly what happened to our guest Erin Kelly tonight; her first novel The Poison Tree found its way onto Mr. King's desk, and that is what the great master wrote. With an endorsement like that, who needs reviews? Jill Wolfson's latest YA book, the deeply emotional Cold Hands, Warm…

  • Peter Englund: The Beauty and the Sorrow

    Litopia Writers' Colony
    3 Jan 2012 | 5:42 am
    His origins were humble; a working-class boy from a small military town in northern Sweden, not far from the Arctic Circle. Today, he is one of the most influential figures in the world of literature, because Peter Englund is Permanent Secretary to the Swedish Academy, the body that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature. For someone who has within his power the making or breaking of international writing careers, Peter, as you'll hear, is remarkably unassuming. Perhaps one reason for this is that he's still a writer himself; he understands the writing process profoundly, and his own books have…

  • Sam Leith: You Talkin' To Me?

    Litopia Writers' Colony
    2 Jan 2012 | 1:49 pm
    What's it like to receive 300 books to review for a major national newspaper - every week? That is but one of the more-or-less impossible tasks that befalls a typical literary editor - which is what Sam Leith did as Literary Editor of the Daily Telegraph. Highly regarded in the publishing business, Sam talks with us today about good reviews and bad reviews, about publishing and publishers, and about the future of the newspaper business. In fact, Sam is the scion of a newspaper dynasty. Grandson of Sir John Junor (editor of the Sunday Express for 32 years) and son of journalist and author…
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    Omnivoracious

  • Graphic Novel Friday: X-Man vs. X-Man

    Alex Carr
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:35 am
    As if the title weren’t enough of a clue, X-Men: Schism spotlights a pivotal moment in X-Men history: a rift in ideology between its two biggest guns--Cyclops and Wolverine. In the wake of a mutant extinction-level event, perennial team leader and wet blanket, Cyclops, rallies the X-Men to an island dubbed “Utopia” in order to establish a sense of community. His plan, however, doesn’t account for any villain who might want to wipe out mutantkind in one fell swoop and who possesses enough skill to hit a target the size of a giant island. And that’s exactly what happens in Schism. As…

  • "Control Point" by Myke Cole: Black Hawk Down Meets the X-Men

    Jeff VanderMeer
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:46 pm
    Ever wondered what “Black Hawk Down meets the X-Men” might look like? According to bestselling author Peter V. Brett, that’s exactly what readers get in Myke Cole’s debut novel Control Point the first in his Shadow Ops series from Ace. The praise doesn’t end there, with another bestseller, Ann Aguirre, calling Control Point “hands down the best military fantasy I’ve ever read.” In Cole’s novel, people are waking up with magical talents—- storm-summoning, raising the dead, and fire-starting—- and creating chaos because of it. Army officer Oscar Britton, a member of the…

  • What Question Would You Ask John Green?

    Chris Schluep
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:12 pm
    On Monday, January 30th, John Green is coming to Amazon for an interview. Needless to say, we're excited to talk to him-- but we've been talking amongst ourselves, and he's got such a vibrant and involved fan base, we thought we'd ask our readers a question first: what question would you like to ask John Green? Leave a question (or two, or three) in the comments below. We'll collect them and ask as many as we can. Then we'll put the video up on Omnivoracious a week or so later. Please, don't be shy. How many chances do you get to interact with a bestselling,…

  • YA Wednesday: More Young Adult Award Winners

    Jessica Schein
    25 Jan 2012 | 1:40 pm
    Earlier this week, the winners of the American Library Association (ALA)'s top children's and teens awards were announced at their annual midwinter conference. It's the most exciting day of the year for those of us who love kid's lit as the Caldecott, Printz, and Newbery are akin to the film industry's Oscars®. However above and beyond these three awards, the ALA also recognizes a number of other authors/titles for their recent contributions to the young adult genre. While perhaps less recognizable they're no less important. These honors include: The Stonewall Book Award recognizes…

  • The Demi-Monde: A High Concept Sci Fi Thriller for Fans of Neal Stephenson

    Jeff VanderMeer
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:42 am
    The just-released The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees comes complete with a frothing blurbalicious frenzy courtesy of Book Reporter: “A brilliant, high concept series that blends science fiction and thriller, Steampunk and dystopian vision. If Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, James Rollins, and Clive Cussler participated in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, the result might be something akin to [this novel’s] dark and ingenious madness.” While that description may be over the top, The Demi-Monde: Winter does seem destined to be one of January’s more original reads. The Demi-Monde<…
 
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    Fresh Fiction

  • Natasha Hoar | The mysterious power of plastic ponies

    FreshFiction
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:18 pm
    I rediscovered My Little Ponies in my early twenties. My folks were going through a divorce, and I wasn’t taking it too well. If I had to sit down and do a bit of self-analysis, I guess I could say I it was a subconscious need to reconnect with happier times that drew me to eBay, and that first fateful search for My Little Ponies from the eighties. I proceeded to get into not one, but two bidding wars, the second one a little more dramatic than the first. However, I wasn’t going to let that never-removed-from-box baby sea pony get away. No sir! (Especially not when I hadn’t…

  • Fresh Pick | DREAMING OF MR. DARCY by Victoria Connelly

    FreshFiction
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:25 pm
    Austen Addicts #2 January 2012 On Sale: January 1, 2012 Featuring: Adam Craig; Oli Wade Owen; Kay Ashton 352 pages ISBN: 1402251351 EAN: 9781402251351 Kindle: B0068N4DBU Trade Size $14.99  Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com For every Austen lover Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly Heroes aren’t always what they seem… Fledgling illustrator and Darcy fanatic, Kay Ashton, buys a B&B in the seaside town of Lyme so she’ll have a quiet place to finish her book, The Illustrated Mr. Darcy, and she’s delighted to discover that a film company is in…

  • THE STORY GARDEN: I Got a Humungous Bookshelf For Christmas!

    FreshFiction
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:42 am
    Would it surprise you to know that it’s been 18 years since the birth of the e-book forced the RWA Board of Directors to decide what the organization meant by “book”? You aren’t a published author unless you’ve published a book. As it turns out, not only do writers refuse to be boxed in by paper or even covers, but so do readers. Who knows what a book is anymore, never mind a cover? And a publisher? Can’t anyone be a publisher? One thing the writers at The Story Garden know for sure is that we grow stories. And we’re going to draw readers into our…

  • Sky Robinson | What’s the Sexiest Profession? Win a copy of DOUBLE DARE

    FreshFiction
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:39 am
    Sky’s talking about sexy loggers and is giving away a copy of DOUBLE DARE, her steamy novella available from Red Sage. I have a thing for loggers. To me they’re kind of like another version of the modern day cowboy, working hard every day from before the sun comes up until dark. All that physical labor guarantees a sexy body rippled with muscles, solid and strong. They are men who know how to work hard and love even harder. My infatuation with the profession started when I worked for a summer for the Forest Service and we would run into loggers, out in the middle of nowhere. They…

  • Stephanie Rowe | Writing in Different Genres

    FreshFiction
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am
    What do the following all have in common? SATIRICAL FUN: The Soulfire Series (HOLD ME IF YOU CAN, Jan 2012): A satirical, outrageously fun paranormal romance series in which a group of delectable warriors have been tortured for 150 years by Death’s grandma in the Den of Womanly pursuits. During their hellacious incarceration, they were tortured into becoming the “perfect” mates: deadly enough to take down a posse of demons while finishing their latest cross-stitching sampler and writing poetry (much to their dismay). EMOTIONAL SUSPENSE: The Alaska Heat series (ICE, Jan…
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    YA Books Central Blog

  • Review: Showoff by Gordon Korman

    Miss K
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:07 pm
    Gordon Korman’s Swindle team is back and in Showoff, they’ve gone to the dogs. When Luthor, the massive Doberman, destroys a dog show and injures a champion dog, his family faces a massive lawsuit and are forced to take him to the pound. Griffin and his friend Ben can’t let Luthor be left there—but the only way to keep the dog safe would be for him to win Best In Show at a national championship. Is it possible to do this before Luthor eats his competition?Click here to read my full review.

  • The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story

    Jill
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pm
    I really appreciate the fact that there are books out there that help make Jesus' death and resurrection easier for children to understand. This book does just that. It opens the door for family discussion, and even have discussion questions and activities in the back that the entire family can do together.   To read more of my review, click here.

  • The Berenstain Bears All Things Bright and Beautiful!

    Jill
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Brother Bear, Sister Bear and their Sunday School class go out on a Nature Walk to enjoy God's creation. From the small animals in the forest to the homegrown watermelons, they children and their teacher, Missus Ursula, sing and enjoy the beautiful world around them.  My boys and I really enjoyed reading this book. We loved the song the children and teacher sang, and we also loved how the authors described everything they saw.   To read more of my review, click here. 

  • Hugs & Kisses, God from Kids Around the World

    Jill
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Read the rhymes, lift the flaps, and let little ones discover God as the source of every good thing as children from around the world recognize God's everyday gifts---from yummy pancakes to daisies on the hill and rainbows in the sky. It's time to cuddle up together and count our blessings.  To read more of my review, click here. 

  • I Hate Bullies!

    Jill
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:30 am
    Noodles has a tasty bone.  But then a bully takes it!  How will he get it back?   This is a cute, easy reader, for young children. It is also a great book to use to start talking about bullies with young ones. To read more of my review, click here.
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    The Horn Book

  • Must-see TV

    Katie Bircher
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:05 pm
    This morning, shrieks of laughter filled our normally quiet office as the Horn Book staff watched The Colbert Report‘s Maurice Sendak interviews. If you haven’t seen these, head right over to Comedy Central’s website; they’re not to be missed! Here’s Night 1 and Night 2.

  • Appily ever after

    Katie Bircher
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:55 pm
    Developer Nosy Crow just won a Publishing Innovation Award for their app-only fairy tale retelling Cinderella: A 3-D Fairy Tale (September). Like their Three Little Pigs, this digital interpretation has plenty of charm. The app’s “read to me” and “read and play” options are refreshingly narrated by a cast of British child actors, with dialogue appearing in speech bubbles as it’s read. Additional speech bubbles pop up when a character is tapped, revealing more information about his or her personality and motivations (e.g., tapping the Prince in a pre-ball scene prompts him to say…

  • Big Deal in Big D

    Robin Smith
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pm
    I know you have all heard the Youth Media Awards compared to the Oscars, but that has never been how I felt. I mean, we are all wearing convention-wear (sensible shoes and the like), toting bulging cloth bookbags, gripping paper, pen, various electronic devices and  our boarding passes for the post-announcement sprint to Love Field or DFW. Nary a plunging sparkly neckline was in sight. I don’t recall any foreign press either. But, excitement? Check. Anticipation? Check. Usually the announcements are held in a gigantic ballroom. This time, it was more like a very large high school…

  • Review of The One and Only Ivan

    Jonathan Hunt
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:57 am
    The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate; 
illus. by Patricia Castelao Intermediate    Harper/HarperCollins    305 pp. 1/12    978-0-06-199225-4    $16.99    g e-book ed.  978-0-06-210198-3    $9.99 “I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. / It’s not as easy as it looks.” In short chapters (the book has an open layout and frequent illustrations) that have the look and feel of prose poems, Applegate has captured the voice of Ivan, a captive gorilla who lives at the “Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade.” When a new baby elephant, Ruby, arrives, Ivan promises the old…

  • Caldecott post mortem

    Lolly Robinson
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:10 am
    Or, as Roger Sutton said in his blog post today, “Tuesday-morning quarterbacking.” Robin and I will each write one more post this week, then Roger will tie up the first Calling Caldecott season with a guest post. Unlike Robin who went to the actual press conference at 7:45 a.m. Dallas time, I just had to get to work by 8:30 to access ALA’s URL for streaming video. By the time the last awards were being announced, we had all left our individual computers and rolled chairs up to Cindy Ritter’s. We’re an opinionated bunch and there were plenty of cheers, “Oh,…
 
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    The Fine Books Blog

  • The Collective

    Rebecca Rego Barry
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:54 am
    Catalogue Review: The Collective, Seven Booksellers of Uncommon Ability and Perception to be Found in San Francisco and PasadenaFor this week's catalogue review, something a little different as we lead into the California book fair(s). The slim but beautifully designed list provides a sampling of offerings from seven ABAA booksellers: Book Hunter's Holiday, The Book Shop LLC, Lux Mentis Booksellers, Ken Sanders Rare Books, Anthology Rare Books, B&B Rare Books, and Tavistock Books. To give a fair representation of its contents, I've chosen one favorite (not at all easy) from each…

  • Bright Young Things: Brian Cassidy

    Nate Pedersen
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm
    Our series profiling the next generation of antiquarian booksellers continues today with Brian Cassidy, proprietor of Brian Cassidy, Bookseller in Silver Spring, Maryland:  NP: How did you get started in rare books?BC: Like a surprising number of rare book dealers, I started out as a poet. I earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop in 1996. After graduating, I planned on teaching and writing. But as teaching positions were often part-time, I began supplementing my income by working in bookstores, the longest (almost five years) at Denver's Tattered Cover. And it was…

  • Audrey Niffenegger Talks Book Design, Art & Collecting

    Rebecca Rego Barry
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:56 am
    When I saw the news bit earlier this week that artist and novelist Audrey Niffenegger will be publishing a short story titled "The Wrong Faerie" in the upcoming anthology, Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane, I was beyond excited. The story is about Charles Altamont Doyle, "a Victorian artist who was institutionalised for alcoholism. He was also the father of Arthur Conan Doyle, and he believed in fairies." In short, it sounds fabulous already. Maybe I'm biased. As FB&C readers know, I traveled to Chicago this past summer to meet Niffenegger and discuss books, art, fame, and…

  • Poe Toaster Returns Nevermore

    Nate Pedersen
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:57 pm
    A 60 year tradition came to an end last week when the famous Poe Toaster failed to show for the third year in a row at Edgar Allan Poe's grave in Baltimore.  Since at least the 1940s, the secretive visitor appeared annually on January 19th, Poe's birthday, to leave three roses and a half full bottle of cognac beside the tombstone of the famous author.  The tradition continued through 2009, Poe's 200th birthday, before ending as mysteriously as it began.  A vigil of faithful fans kept watch for the Poe Toaster all through the night this year but again returned home…

  • Four Centuries of Collectors at Cambridge

    Rebecca Rego Barry
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:02 am
    Last week the Cambridge University Library in Cambridge, England, opened an exhibition dedicated to individual book collectors. Shelf Lives: Four Centuries of Collectors and their Books "allows us to observe the changing motives, fashions and tastes of book-collectors over the course of four hundred years." Spanning the sixteenth to the twentieth century, the collector/donors include manuscript collector George Lewis, music collector Marion Margaret Scott, map collector Alfred Harker, and bindings collector Samuel Sandars, along with ten others. Seen here at left are volumes from the…
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    Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

  • Thanking the January Advertisers

    sarah@smartbitchestrashybooks.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:30 pm
    Many thanks and high fives to the January advertisers. These are the lovely folks whose support helps underwrite the mayhem and insanity here, and without them there wouldn't be as much Bitchery to go around. Thanks for advertising with us, and thank you to everyone who has clicked on an ad and learned more about a book being advertised here. You're helping support advertisers who want to reach romance readers directly, and that's excellent. They, and I, thank you big heaping amounts. You rule. Categories: General Bitching

  • So, What Are you Reading This Weekend?

    sarah@smartbitchestrashybooks.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:24 pm
    Time again for me to be nosy and ask, what are you reading this weekend? I have a list of things to try out, as I just read Truths and Roses in a marathon sprint. I also have a nonfiction book about storytelling arts that I want to read.  While I was loving At Home in parts, I had to stop reading it for awhile, because the discussion was often so bleak. Here are all these amazing people who invented amazing things that we now take for granted and who have been entirely forgotten by history! Oy. So that'll sit for awhile until I feel like picking it up again.  What about…

  • Feel Like Party Planning?

    sarah@smartbitchestrashybooks.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:18 pm
    I received the following very sweet inquiry this week, and thought maybe you'd have some good ideas to help Val out. Val wants to throw a surprise party for her mother in law, and center the party on a romance-novel theme. Here's her message:  I have no idea how to give my Mother-in-law a surprise 80th birthday party in April with a romance novel theme. This has been her quiet hobby for at least the last 4 decades that I have known her. She's a widow with eight grown (obviously) children, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and almost all of us have given her…

  • Friday Videos Wish You Wonderful Music

    sarah@smartbitchestrashybooks.com
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:09 pm
    I found this on Tumblr, and it's an advertisement for the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. Let's all go to Zurich!  If you can watch it in fullscreen mode, definitely do it. It'll blow your eyeballs and eardrums in a happy way.  Link!  There is also a making-of video which is SO COOL. I hope your weekend is full of creativity that makes you feel like you're flying.  ZKO Rollercoaster // GREAT EMOTIONS from virtual republic on Vimeo.   Categories: Friday Videos, General Bitching

  • Truths and Roses by Inglath Cooper

    sarah@smartbitchestrashybooks.com
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:19 pm
    Grade: B Title: Truths and Roses Author: Inglath Cooper Publication Info: Fence Free Entertainment, LLC 2011 ISBN: 9780615505732 Genre: Contemporary Romance I found this book because of a Facebook ad. If you follow me on Twitter or are subscribed to the SBTB Facebook page, you saw me talking about it yesterday. Here's the ad:   This ad worked for me so well I was astonished. Hero description, heroine description, briefest plot summary with hints at the tropes to be used. I WAS SO THERE. Then I got a look at the cover. Beautiful! Looks…professional! Add to that the .99c price,…
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    carpelibrisreviews.com

  • Herbs Gone Wild Goes Free for One Day!

    Diane
    6 Jan 2012 | 1:44 pm
    I’m doing a bit of an experiment today and have decided to make my ebook Herbs Gone Wild free, one day only, 01/06/12, through midnight PST. Almost halfway through the day so far, and already over 1,300 people have snagged themselves a copy of herbal deliciousness! You, too, can enjoy this healthy ebook treat. Doesn’t your Kindle deserve it? Yes, it does. It follows you everywhere, even has to sit in that big ugly bag all day waiting for your lunch break. I know because it told me so. It wants herbs. Greenery. Natural remedies, not the artificial stuff. I think what your Kindle…

  • Herbs Gone Wild! Ancient Remedies Turned Loose by Diane Kidman

    Diane
    11 Aug 2011 | 11:21 am
    That’s right, “Herbs Gone Wild: Ancient Remedies Turned Loose” has been written by yours truly, Diane Kidman.  Much thanks to those of you who have given me input over the years, inspiring me to go a step further in writing. “Herbs Gone Wild!” offers a wide variety of simple remedies, giving everyone the chance to be their family’s home herbalist.  You’ll learn how to naturally deal with cold and flu viruses, how to lower blood pressure, fix a migraine, even make your own salves and tinctures.  And occasionally I’m funny. You can find my…

  • You Do Understand by Andrej Blatnik

    Diane
    28 Oct 2010 | 7:55 am
    The short short. I’ve come to love that form. It takes a talented writer to cram a novel’s journey into a mere page or two. Slovenian writer Andrej Blatnik seems to have the knack for this concentrated form of art. You Do Understand is 112 pages of short shorts that, if you’ve not tried them before, are sure to make you a fan. As a grouping, Blatnik’s stories have a strong undercurrent of relationships – what makes them tick, what breaks them, what makes them make us lonely within them. One thing’s for sure, you’ll enjoy pausing between each to…

  • The Little Giant of Aberdeen County – A Novel by Tiffany Baker

    Diane
    5 Aug 2010 | 7:17 am
    Fairy tale, comedy, drama, mystery. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is all that and more. Truly Plaice is the giant, the fairy princess, and the witch of the story all at once. Born unbelievably large, she continues to grow even larger than her beautiful sister, two years older than her. Truly’s life is riddled with bad luck and heartbreak, and she sticks out like a sore thumb in small Aberdeen County. The question throughout the book seems to be “Will she find revenge or forgiveness in her giant heart?” Baker’s style although compared to greats like John Irving…

  • The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews – A Book Review

    Diane
    19 Jul 2010 | 7:09 am
    It all starts with an author’s note.  ”Yes, it’s true” is the message Andy Andrews shares with his readers before they even get to the first page.  Otherwise you’d think you were reading a work of fiction – a story that could only come from the deep imaginings of Hollywood’s best.  Instead, The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances brings forth an extraordinary true story about World War II, German U-Boats, Nazis, mystery and intrigue – and the whole thing takes place on the Gulf Coast of America. Most Americans have no idea that German…
 
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    WriteBlack

  • WriteBlack’s Twitter updates for the week for this week

    21 Jan 2012 | 4:50 am
    Photo: Check it: An interview with flaw-free, amazing bass-baritone Eric Owens in Opera News magazine http://t.co/YNF6sVHv # Photo: sweepmeup: Want. http://t.co/2EJduHGy # "Perhaps the most important thing we have to remember about the black tradition is that Africa and its…" http://t.co/R7RPJDq0 # Video: shortformblog: http://t.co/aZiNhi5h # m4tt: Valentine’s Day is my birthday, so if anybody’s looking for something to get me… http://t.co/djUnUwzV # fuckyeahawesomehouses: Gorgeous. http://t.co/33D7vzRb # Photo: http://t.co/yO9hQsbi # Photoset: scissorsandthread:…

  • WriteBlack’s Twitter updates for the week for this week

    14 Jan 2012 | 4:50 am
    Photo: detailsofthecatwalk: http://t.co/FlohUMfY # Photo: daughtersofdilla: http://t.co/Lhhiwlni # Photo: dishabillic: [sigh] http://t.co/bQJe6Mic # @bryantterry's 'Vegan Soul Kitchen' will help. RT @lovelustbianca: New goal: learn how to make vegan soul food. # Congrats! And welcome to the world, Zuri-Siale! RT @staceyannchin: For my Daughter http://t.co/JtfcmWiS # Photo: scissorsandthread: http://t.co/yWGVcsSh # Video: str8nochaser: This is the best part of any movie in the history of movies. With the right beverages… http://t.co/5xtroe3C # whispersinyourneck:…

  • WriteBlack’s Twitter updates for the week for this week

    7 Jan 2012 | 4:50 am
    David Anthony Durham's 'The Sacred Band' (part of his Acacia trilogy) RT @FridayReads: What will you read once you get home? #fridayreads # Photo: Ha! http://t.co/LZ0P70md # "Disdain for “political correctness” is often positioned as a concern that some important truth is not…" http://t.co/4xiMJx2q # Photo: siphotos: Hoya Saxa, y’all. http://t.co/dcsCrQ9u # Dump him. See, that was easy. RT @goodenufmother: Ask Rene: My Boyfriend Doesn't Want Me To Breast-Feed! – http://t.co/4B0LVG1g # This. RT @luxnightmare: Whenever someone refers to women as…

  • WriteBlack’s Twitter updates for the week for this week

    31 Dec 2011 | 4:50 am
    Photo: jonubian: #awesomepeoplehangingouttogether http://t.co/0X74wPga # scottycrowe: http://t.co/PfoJAi6X # He was probably thinking it. Photo: http://t.co/uCi9zMHG # Photoset: theskinnyblackgirl: :-) http://t.co/aroKhiPx # Stripping Dominicans of Haitian descent of their citizenship is unjust http://t.co/lcHd4mPI # Photoset: scissorsandthread: http://t.co/9vhLx5Q7 # Photoset: › It’s a strange thing, but you get this click in your brain; the wonderful feeling that the… http://t.co/m1sh9KiY # dcwomenkickingass: http://t.co/vKqAPY9U # Photo: bbook: http://t.co/wRhq8sjL # Photo:…

  • WriteBlack’s Twitter updates for the week for this week

    24 Dec 2011 | 4:50 am
    Photoset: I don’t care what anyone thinks; this movie is now part of my family’s Christmas film canon. http://t.co/TSfPEBGe # Photoset: zerolee: I submit that people who *don’t* love NdT should be thoroughly investigated by the… http://t.co/5s3vp39U # Video: luvvdivine: Ha! “Trash. Tuh-rash.” “Work.” “SickeNING.” I’ve heard most of these a time or two from… http://t.co/7lGFLwow # Photo: afrodiaspores: http://t.co/303h5IRj # But… RT @Floridaline: Meghan McCain rips Gingrich’s wife, Callista, for being ‘icy,’ ‘mistress’  http://t.co/cMS7Z5dM #…
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    McSweeney’s

  • Draft of a Public Service Anouncement for the Fair Housing Alliance by Andrew Golden

    27 Jan 2012 | 6:01 am
    SON: Wow, mom! That was awesome—so many different kinds of people, talking all kinds of languages, and all different races! MOTHER: I’m happy you’re mature enough to appreciate that, Jack. There are so many different people in the world and you should respect all of them for their differences and for our common humanity. Now let’s head back to Munson. SON: Well, if there are so many different people in the world, how come everyone from our town looks the same? MOTHER: W-w-well, um, Jack… I guess that’s because, well, what do you mean? SON: People here in…

  • Open Letters: An Open Letter to My Dad Before He Began Taking Zoloft by Vivian Chum

    27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Dear Dad Before You Began Taking Zoloft,   Don’t break that out of frustration and anger. You’ll regret it later, especially when you have to make a special trip to Wal-Mart just to buy a new one. Your Asian-American immigrant sense of thrift will make you regret having smashed that wall clock when you realize how much the price of wall clocks has increased since 1978, when you purchased the perfectly good one you now have in your hands.   You and I both know that in just a few hours Mom will come home from her errands and say, “Oh, what happened to the wall clock?” because nothing…

  • Dendrophilia and Other Social Taboos: One Settled Comfortably In the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dani Burlison

    27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    No one wants to talk about Uncle Bob’s chronic depression or why it is that Aunt Sue refuses to travel anywhere by boat. Grandpa’s electric shock therapy and Grandma’s time in the state mental hospital are seldom the focus of conversation. On rare occasions, a distant cousin will hint to some less-than-glamorous faction of family history after one too many wine spritzers at the annual family reunion. A new, married-into-the-family member will allude to the fact that someone has “issues,” the comment delivered with a tinge of sarcasm, as humor is always easier to stomach…

  • New Hire Form Letter For the Modern American Worker by Christian Lynch

    26 Jan 2012 | 6:01 am
    Dear NEW HIRE, Welcome to Glavco Industries, the second largest widget manufacturer in the United States of America. As our newest employee, we would like to officially thank you for not complaining during the orientation meeting this morning. You wouldn’t believe how many people moan about being immediately stripped of their business clothes and covered in massive quantities of delousing powder mid-Powerpoint presentation. No matter how many times we menacingly shout it over the PA system, one simple fact never sinks into the brains of our ungrateful new hires: this is a standard business…

  • The Long Walk: A Column About Washington: “Ha Ha,” He Stated by Alec Bings

    26 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    A good many animals announce their displeasure by baring their fangs, and the species “Mitt Romney” is one of them. Take for instance a moment during the final South Carolina debate, in which Romney was asked if he’d release multiple years’ worth of tax returns. Romney pulled back the corners of his mouth, and flashed a smile wide and luminescent. The transcript shows a simple, evasive answer: “Maybe.” But the audience heard something more—something sour, macabre in its unpleasantness: Mitt Romney’s fake-laugh. There may not be characters on the…
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    Podiobooker

  • New and COMPLETE! Awaken Your Italian! Risveglia il tuo Italiano! by Antonio Libertino

    Evo
    25 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    What if you could learn something useful for yourself and your life while learning a new language? With Awaken Your Italian! you will: * Finally set your goal of practicing the language * Learn how to relax at will before speaking Italian * Relax while learning new empowering words and techniques as well as the Italian language that conveys them * Have fun with five key lessons in mental training where the main character is YOU! Awaken Your Italian features: * in this podcast only the Italian version, in the textbook English and Italian parallel texts * accelerated learning methods to help…

  • False Alarm by Heather Stallings is COMPLETE!

    Evo
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:44 pm
    The final back-half of False Alarm by Heather Stallings. That makes this serialized audio book complete at 15 episodes!

  • Audible and ACX’s message to indie authors – F*#@ off!

    Evo
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am
    That’s my summation of conversations I’ve had with Nicole Op Den Bosch, Associate, Content Acquisition, Business Development and Jennifer Bassuk, Senior Director, Content Acquisition and Business Development for the company. I spoke with Nicole via telephone Thursday morning, and then with her and Jennifer Monday morning. All after recommending hundreds of indie authors explore ACX as a possible revenue source for their independently produced audio books. Even though the ACX website clearly states they offer non-exclusive terms and are actively seeking authors who narrate their…

  • Now releasing The Price of Friendship by Philip ‘Norvaljoe’ Carroll

    Evo
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:51 pm
    Chad Baker is in love with Amy Snider, though he doesn’t know it. He thinks they’re just friends like the rest of the kids in eighth grade. But as the school year is coming to a close a mysterious boy shows up to complicate this ordinary teenage boy’s life. Derrick claims Chad has broken his father’s proprietary hand held game player. The price to replace it can’t be paid in dollars and cents, but in lives. Chad must travel across dimensions and learn the ways of bending time and space by manipulating sound. The mysteries pile up as he meets the residents of the…

  • Dragon Ash by Charlie Brown is COMPLETE!

    Evo
    6 Jan 2012 | 5:33 pm
    The final three episodes of Dragon Ash by Charlie Brown have been added. That makes this book complete at 16 episodes!
 
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    Bookshop Blog

  • Stephen Colbert Vs Maurice Sendak, or Vice Versa

    Diane Plumley
    25 Jan 2012 | 1:41 am
    Once again, I tripped over an episode of mock conservative Stephen Cobert’s show, and low and behold, he’s interviewing the famous children’s writer and illustrator–Maurice Sendak. If you’ve not seen Colbert–think of a fake sincere ...

  • Don’t Invite a Brush-Off!

    Pamela Grath
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:34 pm
    Don’t Invite a Brush-Off! “Do you have that new book by So-and-So?” In my shop, the answer to that question will usually be no unless So-and-So is an outstanding northern Michigan author. New books are a small percentage ...

  • The Old Book Shop

    Diane Plumley
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:39 pm
    Sometimes the urge comes on me, and I desperately need to be among old volumes. The scent of fine aged paper, unopened boxes of new acquisitions, rows of superior bindings and dust jackets, ordinary reading ...

  • International shipping: how long will it REALLY take to get there?

    Nora O'Neill
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:13 pm
    The shipping estimate on the USPS website is lovely, but its not actually guaranteed for most shipping classes.  For First Class mail, estimating when it will ACTUALLY arrive vs when the the USPS says it ...

  • How technology can help your bookstore grow

    Bruce K. Hollingdrake
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:37 am
    a guest post by Jacob Thompson A lot of news organizations love to run stories complaining about how technology and the internet have contributed to the decline of the brick and mortar bookstore. A lot of the ...
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    Berkeley Heights Public Library Book Blog

  • Mystery Series Worth Reading

    Anne
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am
    Sometimes a book series starts with a bang, ends in a whimper and dodders around in the interim, but readers are loyal and will wait out a few weak entries if they like the characters and setting and mood. Looking at my reading journal for 2011, I noticed that I read several continuations of mystery series that have mostly stayed strong from the first book. For "cozy" mystery fans, I recommend Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayle series, set in Texas and featuring herb-growing sleuth China Bayles. In Mourning Gloria (2011), the series is at top form. For fans of the British cozy, try Alan…

  • Teach Yourself to Knit

    Ellen
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:49 am
    1. You need needles and yarn. Since 50 million people make stuff out of yarn, it's very possible that you could borrow some. Eventually you will need to go to the knitting shops in Chatham, Madison or Westfield or to Michael's in Watchung.2. Judy of YouTube will show you, very slowly, and over and over again if you like, how to cast on and how to do the knit stitch.3. Once you have got those basics down, try the purl stitch, how to add a new ball of yarn and how to bind off.4. The Knitting Answer Book will teach you how to fix your mistakes. Yarn Harlot will teach you that it's OK to just…

  • Making the Internet Easier to Use on the Kindle Fire

    Ellen
    21 Jan 2012 | 1:19 pm
    The other evening I was helping a patron who wanted to learn how to download eBooks to her Kindle Fire. Not only did she want to download the eBooks to her Fire, she wanted to use the web browser on her Fire to check them out. But eLibraryNJ.com is so graphics-heavy we could never get it to finish loading on the Fire.If you are having problems like this, or even if your fingers just always click on the wrong thing when you're on the Internet, consider changing your Kindle Fire's settings to show you the mobile version of web sites:Go to the "Web" tab on the home page.Tap the symbol at the…

  • Ten Most Circulated 10 Biographies of 2011

    Ellen
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:28 am
    Yesterday's post about BHPL's top-circulating nonfiction of 2011 did not include books shelved in the library's biography section. It's an interesting group of books about presidents, aristocrats, and entertainers, plus a few perennial favorites.1. Decision Points by George W. Bush2. Cleopatra: a Life by Stacy Schiff3. American Rose : a Nation Laid Bare, the Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbott4. Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley5. Night by Elie Wiesel6. (tie) Wait for Me! : Memoirs by Deborah Mitford, the Duchess of Devonshire6. (tie) Growing Up…

  • BHPL's Top 10 Most Popular Titles in 2011

    Ellen
    17 Jan 2012 | 3:29 pm
    The 10 most-circulated fiction titles at Berkeley Heights Public Library in 2011:1. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese2. Room by Emma Donohue3. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich4. Now You See Her by James Patterson5. Hell's Corner by David Baldacci6. (tie) The Paris Wife by Paula McLain6. (tie) Tick Tock by James Patterson8. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult10. (tie) Don't Blink by James Patterson10. (tie) Buried Prey by John SandfordAnd the 10 most-circulated nonfiction titles in 2011:1. Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue2. Kitchen and Bath Ideas published by Better Homes and Gardens3.
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    Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog

  • iBooks Author: Appreciating Apple's Intent

    Joe Wikert
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am
    Apple's recent announcement and release of their iBooks Author tool was met with plenty of controversy. This HuffPost article pretty well sums things up. My question is simply this: Why all the fuss? Apple's intent has never been to improve the book publishing industry. Just like Amazon and any other ebook vendor, Apple's goal is to capture share of this rapidly growing segment. In Apple's case, they've simply decided to offer an authoring tool that's capable of creating some pretty darned cool products. If Amazon were to do the same thing and create a terrific…

  • Jason Calacanis Shares His Thoughts on Amazon's Dominance

    Joe Wikert
    20 Jan 2012 | 7:23 am
    Jason Calacanis, co-founder of Weblogs, Inc. and currently host of This Week in Startups is never afraid to voice his opinions. One of his recent articles entitled The Cult of Amazon Prime caught my eye because it paints such a vivid picture of Amazon's growing market dominance. I appreciate the leadership role Amazon has played over the years but I'm also concerned about the dangers of one vendor controlling too much of the market. Jason agreed to discuss my concerns in this interview. Key points include:  Does Amazon Prime spell the end of the local mall?  -- It…

  • Tools of Change (TOC) Executive Roundtable

    Joe Wikert
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:24 am
    Large conferences like Tools of Change (TOC) New York are a wonderful way to learn about new developments in publishing as well as spend time with many of our peers. And while the networking and idea exchange that happens at TOC is second to none I believe there's an opportunity for us to do more, especially for the executive community. That's why TOC is about to launch a new series of periodic meetings for publishing executives. We're calling these the TOC Executive Roundtables and they're a way for CxO's and other senior level leaders to discuss and, more…

  • Kindle Fire Lessons Learned

    Joe Wikert
    9 Jan 2012 | 11:43 am
    I don't regret spending the $200 I paid Amazon for my Kindle Fire. I tried it out and decided it wasn't for me, so I gave it to my daughter instead. Even though I no longer use the Fire I wanted to share the things I learned about the device and myself over the past several weeks. Let's start off with the good side of things. Kindle Fire Pros Form factor -- I prefer the Fire's size to the iPad's. It's nice being able to wrap your hand around the entire device and the lighter weight is a big plus for the Fire. Of course, it's the same form factor as…

  • Scott Berkun on Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

    Joe Wikert
    3 Jan 2012 | 8:55 am
    Scott Berkun has enjoyed fame and fortune as an author working with a traditional publisher (O'Reilly), so why did he venture into the world of self-publishing for his latest book, Mindfire? Is he happy with the results and will he ever work with a traditional publisher again? Those are a few of the questions he answers in this TOC interview. Key points include: Self-publishing was a learning opportunity  -- Some authors are curious to learn the finer aspects of what goes into making a book and Scott quickly learned a lot with the Mindfire experience. [Discussed at 1:05] Blogging…
 
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    本気モードで自分磨き

  • お通じが良くなりたい

    ranrando
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    朝から気分が悪いのはどういうわけなのでしょうか？ それは、たぶんお通じがないからです。 朝から出すもの出さないと気持ちが悪いのです。（汚い話でごめんなさい(>_

  • 黒酢で虫歯になる！？

    ranrando
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    黒酢が体にいいということで、たまに飲んでいるのですが、朝早起きが苦にならないと聞いていたので。 しかし、この健康の為に飲んでいる黒酢が、歯をぼろぼろにするそうです。 何と！これは本当のことなのでしょうか？ 虫歯・歯周病の人が増加しているという日本で、栄養ドリンクを飲んだり、オレンジやレモン等の柑橘系を食べることもよくあると思うけど、それが逆に酸蝕歯になりやすいんだそう。…

  • ロデオカラコンの良い所

    ranrando
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:18 am
    視力の悪い私が使っているカラコンを母にも紹介しました。 ロデオカラコン通販のものなのですが、結構いいですね。これって。 割と格安だし、送料無料だし。 付けた感触も色合いもいいし、カラーも豊富だし、自然な感じででか目になるので、すっぴんでも大丈夫というのが、私が選んだ理由です。 色んな色合いがあるから、その場に応じて付け替えられるというのがすごく魅力的。…

  • 把瑠都の取り組み

    ranrando
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:04 pm
    相撲は好きだけど、相撲のことはよく分からない。 でも見ているだけでとても楽しい。 だから、把瑠都という新星が優勝したこともうれしいし、横綱昇進というのも夢ではないと思うけど、協会側としては、あまり乗り気ではないみたい。 それは、品格が指摘されているから。…

  • 若槻千夏の本音

    ranrando
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:10 am
    最近芸能界でも多い、できちゃった結婚について、自分もそうであった、タレントの若槻千夏は、自身のブログで、私のことは見本にしないでほしいと書いてる。 なになに何が？って思ったら、それは、一応自分は表に出ている人間だから、結婚と妊娠が前後してしまったことは良くない、でも結婚して生まれてくる赤ちゃんのことは大好きだけど。…
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    First Book Blog

  • MLK, The Obamas & First Book

    Rochee Jeffrey
    17 Jan 2012 | 2:52 pm
    “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King Jr. Every year, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day presents us with an opportunity to renew our commitment to serving our communities. Yesterday, President Obama, Michelle Obama and First Book helped to refurbish a local elementary school library in Washington DC.  Together with a large group of volunteers, they cleaned,…

  • “It was too noisy at my house and I knew if I came to school I could find a quiet place to finish it.”

    Brian Minter
    9 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  • We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You

    Kyle Zimmer
    5 Jan 2012 | 1:47 pm
    We had a great year at First Book, thanks to the help of supporters like you. Together, we’re transforming the lives of millions of children in need by ensuring they have new books of their own to read. I want to take a moment to say thank you, and tell you what’s in store for the year ahead. We’ve spent 20 years building First Book, creating a pipeline for getting books and educational resources to programs serving kids from low-income families. That pipeline is uniquely effective, connecting almost 30,000 local schools and programs across the country with new, high-quality books…

  • It’s Almost Friendiversary! Get Your Books Today!

    Brian Minter
    4 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    We see that you have a sad face, because the holidays are over. Luckily, you are as wrong as you could possibly be, because the biggest, best, most excellent, excitingest, fanciest, greatest holiday of them all is on its way. Friendiversary! Yes! It’s true! Friendiversary 2012 will happen on Feb. 7! Or, maybe Feb. 8. Really, any day that week is fine, because Friendiversary is all about doing things in the best way possible. A Friendiversary, of course, is the anniversary of a friendship. Think of one of your oldest and dearest friends. When did you first meet? How did you meet? That…

  • It’s Not Too Late to Give New Books to Kids in Need

    Brian Minter
    30 Dec 2011 | 10:00 am
    Sunday is New Year’s Day, which means a lot of taking stock, figuring out what you want to do and how to finish all the things you meant to do last year. We hope that one of the things you choose to do before the New Year is provide new books to kids in need by including First Book in your end-of-year giving. Click here to donate now, and provide new books to kids in need This year, with your help … First Book distributed 8 million books to kids in need. First Book added 7,000 new schools and programs to our national network. First Book started local volunteer chapters in over a…
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    University of Nebraska Press

  • Discover great new writers

    nebraskapress
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm
    Each year, the Discover Great New Writers Program from Barnes and Noble has introduced readers to up-and-coming new authors, many of whom have been from UNP. Past UNP winners include Ted Kooser (Local Wonders), Brandon Schrand (The Enders Hotel), Daryl Farmer (Bicycling Beyond the Divide) and most recently, Jon Pineda (Sleep in Me). Do you know an author (UNP or otherwise!) who you think should be considered for this honor?  If so, enter their works in the Facebook Sweepstakes here. You’ll be automatically in the drawing for a new NOOK Tablet. Check out Barnes and Noble’s website or stop…

  • A new year's resolution of reading

    nebraskapress
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:32 pm
    Inside In the United States of Africa (2009), French-speaking African writer Abdourahman A. Waberi turns the fortunes of the world upside down. On this reimagined globe a stream of sorry humanity flows from the West, from the slums of America and the squalor of Europe, to escape poverty and desperation in the prosperous United States of Africa. It is in this world that an African doctor on a humanitarian mission to France adopts a child. And this story is as deadly serious as it is wickedly satiric. Thanks to the translators, David and Nicole Ball, this tale was made available in an English…

  • An adventurer's delight

    nebraskapress
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:42 pm
    In a remote kingdom hidden in the Himalayas, there is a trail said to be the toughest trek in the world—24 days, 216 miles, 11 mountain passes, and enough ghost stories to scare an exorcist. Beneth Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World is Kevin Grange’s account of his journey across the country of Bhutan by taking on this infamous trail, the Snowman Trek. Seattle University Magazine’s Maura Beth Pagano called it “a treat for any adventurer.” She also said that “not only does the author let readers catch a glimpse into his time on the toughest trek in…

  • Win food from Negev Nectars

    nebraskapress
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm
    Get hungry because Zester Daily is having a “Nosh like a Pro” contest! Enter to win a box of Israeli foods from the company Negev Nectars. Five readers will also be picked to receive a copy of Jewish American Food Culture. Click here to enter now. Zester Daily is an award-winning online publication produced by an international collection of experienced journalists, food writers and wine experts who want to engage food and drink enthusiasts.

  • Pipeline denied through Nebraska Sandhills

    nebraskapress
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:16 pm
     Today, President Obama denies the Transcanada pipeline permit through Nebraska Sandhills protecting Nebraska’s watershed. Read the full story. UNP has two forthcoming titles you will want to check out, one that focuses on the Sandhills and one that is an exploration of America’s energy infrastructure. In David Owen’s book, Like No Other Place he focuses on the Nebraska Sandhills and the essence of its uniqueness and its people. Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism by Ozzie Zehner provides insight on why we should change our energy…
 
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    Pub Rants

  • Fridays With Agent Kristin

    Agent Kristin
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:57 pm
    STATUS: Through snow and more snow, the show must go on!What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? I FALL TO PIECES by Patsy ClineWithout further ado, I'm delighted to debut in 2012 a series of video blog rants called Fridays With Agent Kristin. And I hope you cut me some slack with this first one because let me tell you, this was hard to do.Let me take that back. It was really easy to do a crappy video clip. To do a decent one took me an hour and 15 or 20 takes to nail a clip that was even remotely worth taking on to the editing stage.I have a WHOLE new appreciation for anyone in the…

  • The AAR Makes 'Observations' On Agent Roles & ePublishing

    Agent Kristin
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:31 pm
    STATUS: I need to go home and eat dinner. What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? HOT HOT HOT by Buster PoindexterJust last week, The Association of Authors' Representatives sent out an email alert to all its members highlighting that the Board has been discussing the current AAR Canon of Ethics as it relates to agent members helping clients with ePublishing.To sum up, the AAR realizes that the role of literary agent is changing and that many author clients will be asking their agents for assistance in making backlist titles available in electronic form.For full disclosure, I am a…

  • When You Are A Beginning Writer, The Keyword is Focus

    Agent Kristin
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:10 pm
    STATUS: Snowy day in Denver so I definitely felt like working. What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? OUT OF TOUCH by Hall & OatesIt occasionally happens that when we request sample pages, read it, and then send a rejection letter, the writer will often approach us with another project. Nothing wrong with that!But here's what surprises me. Sometimes it's a story in the same vein (as in the same genre or it's also a young adult or what have you) but a lot of times it's not. I'm constantly amazed at how often the next project pitched is wildly different. Not even in the same ball…

  • Should Dorchester Remain on Probation? Yes.

    Agent Kristin
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:15 pm
    STATUS: Was all set to potentially launch something cool on Friday and lo and behold, ice storm in Seattle. Trust me, this makes sense because we are based in Denver but our tech person, who manages all things digital, is in Seattle. She had no electricity or internet for 3 days. Shudders. What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? FREE by Graffiti6Last week, the Vice President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America reached out to SFWA members about Dorchester Publishing.Dorchester's probationary period is scheduled to end on January 31, 2012 and SFWA would like to evaluate…

  • Weighing In On SOPA-PIPA

    Agent Kristin
    18 Jan 2012 | 7:12 pm
    STATUS: Rather a quiet week. I'm finally catching up since beginning of year. This might last a week or two but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD by Jimmy BuffettI love sopaipillas! Add a little honey and powdered sugar and you've got yum. Truly one of my fav desserts.But SOPA-PIPA, not so much.As most of you have probably heard by now, there is an internet strike occurring and thousands of sites have gone dark (such as boing boing and wikipedia) in protest.Both Acts have lovely-intention sounding names: Protect IP Act…
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    800 CEO Read

  • In The Books

    Jon
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:48 pm
    TweetIt’s that time of year again. We’ve compiled all the great books, ideas, and activities that 800-CEO-READ was involved in over the past year and published them in our annual In the Books publication. As the intro states: “At 800-CEO-READ, we don’t come to work everyday just to sell business books. We go to work to try to improve the way business is done.” This publication is the clearest example of that. Featuring the winners, shortlist, and candidates from the 2011 Business Book Awards, ChangeThis highlights, 8cr events and activities, 100 Best book…

  • ChangeThis: Issue 90

    dylan
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:29 pm
    Tweet GROW: How to Change the Narrative of Business by Jim Stengel “The business case for brand ideals is not altruism. It’s self-interest and mutual interest. In addition to its wider positive impact, a devotion to brand ideals will do more for your own business and career than any other factor. Maximum business growth and high ideals are not incompatible. They’re inseparable.” Transcendent Leadership: How to Lead Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime by Les McKeown “What if each successive leadership role brought out more of what makes you you, rather than asking you to compromise your core…

  • Attention Business Authors!

    Jon
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:40 pm
    Tweet               The 800-CEO-READ AUTHOR POW WOW January 13-15, 2013 Austin, TX **REGISTER EARLY AND SAVE** NOW THROUGH APRIL 1: $1000 April 1 – October 1: $1250 October through event: $1500 REGISTER HERE! The Author Pow Wow will not only provide you with all the knowledge you need to do what works, but will also connect you to the people who can help you in the process. During an intimate and intensive two days, authors, soon-to-be authors, publishers, publicists, marketers, agents, speaking experts, social media strategists, and business people…

  • The End of Illness

    Jon
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:59 pm
    TweetOn one hand, this book is not our usual thing. On the other hand, nothing can move forward if our health isn’t in order. So, it’s completely worth pointing out Dr. David B. Agus’ new book, The End of Illness. The provocative title certainly draws our attention, and we might be expecting a “to-do list” of things we’ve heard before. Certainly, there are some universal truths in here that we’ve heard all our lives (the question is, are we adhering to them?), but also, there are more than a few discoveries in here that might surprise us, about the…

  • The Fear Index, a business thriller

    Sally
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:08 pm
    Tweet We’re thrilled (seriously!) to post an excerpt from Robert Harris (best selling author of Fatherland, Pompeii, and The Ghost Writer, which was made into a movie with Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, and many others) to showcase his new novel The Fear Index may not be our typical fare, but the novel appeals to us for many reasons: a master storyteller, the drama of hedge fund trading, a really creepy old book–Darwin in this case–, lots of money, and lots of thrills. To start the adventure, read below! The Fear Index Robert Harris Knopf | Hardcover | January, 2012 |…
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    Duffbert's Random Musings

  • If you're going to go out, go out in style (or at least in a "memorable" way)...

    Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff
    20 Jan 2012 | 4:27 pm
    ... and allowing myself to be talked into doing karaoke with Andy Donaldson, at Kimonos, singing Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe was definitely "memorable". It's Friday after Lotusphere 2012, one week since I checked into the Dolphin for what has been an annual tradition in my personal and professional life.  And like all Lotuspheres, it's a time of reflection, emotions, change, and renewal. This one was a bit more difficult and bittersweet, however. Unless I'm totally off the mark in how my professional life unfolds, this was likely my last Lotusphere. It's hard to type…

  • Managing your message at a social conference by deleting comments... Really?

    Thomas 'Duffbert' Duff
    16 Jan 2012 | 11:57 am
    So I'm out on PlanetLotus, looking over the blogs for today's OGS and such, when I find this blog entry from Avabiz and ReduceMail: Come talk to ReduceMail Booth 320: IBM’s Showcase Customer Went to Outlook.   I find that a little odd that a vendor at Lotusphere would be taking that particular angle as a blog entry to promote their product.  But looking at all their blog entries, I see the same pattern.  People are defecting from Notes, so come talk to us about our mail product.  Hmm... I commented on that post as follows: I'm not sure I fully understand your…

  • Book Review - 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life by Linda Cohen

    Thomas Admin Duff
    9 Jan 2012 | 7:50 am
    One of my goals/resolutions for 2012 is to incorporate intentional acts of kindness as a regular part of my daily life. About the same time I committed to that, I ran across this title that became available at our library... 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life by Linda Cohen. What perfect timing... This gave me some ideas and inspiration for things I could do above and beyond the "say something nice to someone" efforts. It also caused me to think outside of the more traditional person-oriented acts of kindness. Contents: Food For The…

  • Book Review - Stories From Jewish Portland by Polina Olsen

    Thomas Admin Duff
    8 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am
    Portland has a colorful past, with varied influences from multiple ethnic groups and cultures shaping the city over the years. One group I hadn't seen covered much from that angle is the Jewish community. How did they make it to Portland? What role did they play in the city? What struggles and triumphs did they have? Polina Olsen helps to answer some of those questions in her book Stories From Jewish Portland. Olsen writes a column called "Looking Back" for the Jewish Review, and here she has a chance to take that material and expand on it in book format.   Contents: Part 1 -…

  • Book Review - Micro: A Novel by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

    Thomas Admin Duff
    2 Jan 2012 | 6:22 am
    It's been a while since I've picked up a novel by Michael Crichton. When our library put Micro by Crichton and Richard Preston into circulation, I grabbed a copy in order to try and catch up a bit. I was a bit surprised when I read the intro and found that Crichton had died and Preston took over to finish the novel. I think I probably heard or knew about his death at one point, but I certainly hadn't remembered.  So how does this Crichton/Preston novel fare? I'll be honest... to try and compare this to prior Crichton novels would be nearly impossible for me due to the large gap in time…
 
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    Three Percent - Article

  • Stig Sæterbakken (1966-2012)

    Chad W. Post
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:45 am
    As noted on the Dalkey Archive website, Norwegian author Stig Sæterbakken took his own life this past Tuesday. Sæterbakken was the author of the novels Incubus, The New Testament, Siamese, Self-Control, and Sauermugg (the latter three constituting the “S-trilogy”), and two collections of essays, Aesthetic Bliss and The Evil Eye. Siamese was published by Dalkey a couple years back in Stokes Schwartz’s translation. It was reviewed in the New York Times by fellow Dalkey author Jim Krusoe (whose Iceland is most hysterical), who had this to say: First published in 1997,…

  • Do You Need More Reasons to Read Raymond Roussel?

    Chad W. Post
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:19 am
    One of the precursors to the Oulipo, and cult-author extraordinaire, Raymond Roussel is one of those authors that everyone of a certain aesthetic leaning likes to rave about. He is the admiration of many a literary fan-boy, and if there was an international fiction cosplay festival, his hat, cane, and ‘stach would adorn many a nerd. That said, his books still aren’t as widely read as they should be. Part of that is due to the fact that for the longest time Calder was the only publisher of Locus Solus and Impressions of Africa. Calder is a great home for both of these books (the…

  • A Thousand Morons: The Movie Version

    Chad W. Post
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:45 am
    It’s not very often that an Open Letter book is turned into a movie (in fact, aside from Duras’s The Sailor from Gibraltar and Ilf & Petrov’s The Golden Calf [which was actually made into three different movies] I don’t think any of our titles have become films), so it’s really exciting to find out about about this version of Quim Monzo’s A Thousand Morons (coming out in fall 2012): There’s no IMDB listing for this movie, but it was part of the Seattle International Film Festival, which described it as such: Dropped forks, high rise plunges,…

  • Latest Review: "Mister Blue" by Jacques Poulin

    Chad W. Post
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    The latest addition to our Reviews Section is a piece by contributing reviewer Larissa Kyzer on Jacques Poulin’s Mister Blue, which just came out from Archipelago Books in Sheila Fischman’s translation. Larissa Kyzer is a regular reviewer for us who has a great interest in all things Scandinavian and Icelandic. Mister Blue doesn’t quite fit that, but it does sound like a really fun book: The fictional world of Québécois novelist Jacques Poulin can, poetically speaking, be likened to a snow globe: a minutely-detailed landscape peppered with characters who appear to be…

  • Endangered Language & Poetry in Mexico

    Chad W. Post
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    David Shook—who has reviewed for Three Percent. in the past—is starting a new project to produce a short documentary film and a five-chapbook set of indigenous Mexican poetry. Rather than explain this in my own words, I asked him to write a short introductory post laying out the basis for this venture. As you can see below, you can help make this possible by donating through Kickstarter and at the very bottom I’ve included the trailer for _Kilometer Zero, a covertly filmed documentary about poets in Equatorial Guinea._ I’ve been writing about endangered languages since…
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    HBR.org

  • Congressional Judgment: Built to Lapse?

    Tom Davenport and Brook Manville
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:40 pm
    President Barack Obama spoke this week in the State of the Union message about creating "an economy built to last." Who could argue with this admirable goal? It's one all Americans should be able to get behind. But unfortunately, there's a major obstacle to making progress toward it: the judgment capacity of the US Congress. The two of us have been thinking a lot in the past year about how some organizations manage to be decisive—and wise—consistently over time. Our book, Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams that Got Them Right, comes out in March. Perhaps…

  • What Google's Larry Page Doesn't Understand

    Maxwell Wessel
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:06 pm
    Google has been self-destructive recently. Last weekend, Google was exposed by engineers from Twitter, Facebook, and mySpace for interfering with their search results. Instead of apologizing and vowing to protect the sanctity of search, this week Larry Page announced that Google will soon integrate its products even further. On March 1st, Google will change its privacy agreement to allow the company to collect and unify user data across all its web properties. There is no opting out. Whether you want it or not, Google will be consolidating the data about what you search for, what you read in…

  • Transform Your Employees into Passionate Advocates

    Rob Markey
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    Employee happiness is becoming a hot topic among CEOs and in boardrooms, and it's about time. The current issue of Harvard Business Review, which includes a series of articles focused on employee happiness, is just one more sign of the growing recognition that happy, engaged employees are more productive and generate better outcomes for their companies. But there's also a risk in all this attention to "happiness." Happiness for its own sake is not the right outcome to seek. If you want happy employees, you can just pay them more. You can give them more time off. You can give them free lunches…

  • Finding Great Ideas in Emerging Markets: The Idea in Practice

    Nathan T. Washburn and B. Tom Hunsaker
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am
    For the past two and half years, we have been interviewing executives in multinationals around the world about their biggest challenges. One recent interview stood out. Tomas* is a regional vice president in Santiago, Chile He works for a European company with operations throughout the globe. When we met, he expressed deep frustration with his home office in Germany. Executives there had repeatedly shut down his attempts to develop a modified product for the Latin America market. Despite the negative response, Tomas kept trying. He explained to us why the product needed to change, why the…

  • Retail Revolution: We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

    Jeffrey F. Rayport
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:30 am
    Last week, I moderated a "Super Session" at this year's annual National Retail Federation "Big Show." Seated with me on stage at one end of a long and cavernous room in New York's Javits Center, my panelists were Jennifer Hyman of Rent The Runway and Doug Mack of One Kings Lane. To say that Boeing could have built its next 787 Dreamliner in this space would be no understatement. I suspect that the nearly 4,000 registrants attending our "intimate" session would have agreed. The panel made one thing clear: just when any sensible person might have concluded that e-commerce business models had…
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    Books on the Nightstand

  • BOTNS Podcast #164: Books Around the World

    Michael Kindness
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:17 pm
    Deadlines approaching for World Book Night and The International Readers Book Awards. The Alex Awards honoring adult books perfect for teens. We share our love of Defending Jacob by William Landay and Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. Books Around the World January 31 and February 1 are two dates to circle on your calendar. February 1 is the deadline to sign up to be a volunteer book-giver for World Book Night. I’ve already signed up and Ann is narrowing down the selection of which book she’d like to pass out. Join us! January 31 is the deadline to nominate books for the shortlist…

  • BOTNS Podcast #163: You Did WHAT to a Book?

    Michael Kindness
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:01 pm
    Should you trust author blurbs? What are your thoughts on destroying a book for the sake of art? We share our love of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker and The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss. The Value of a Blurb Betsy in our Goodreads Group asked whether or not she should trust author blurbs. Do the authors actually read the books then write those recommendations? The short answer is yes. In our opinion, and from what we’ve seen on the “inside,” we think you can trust the majority of blurbs. When you should most pay attention is when an author you…

  • BOTNS Podcast #162: Adaptations

    Michael Kindness
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:31 pm
    A reminder about our new monthly newsletter, and the book we’ll be publishing to celebrate this year’s Booktopia events. In honor of the Sundance Film Festival, we discuss books and short stories that have been or will be, made into movies. And finally, it’s one book, we both love: The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. Not Yet on the Nightstand Our forthcoming monthly newsletter finally has a name: Not Yet on the Nightstand (thanks to Doug on our Facebook page for coming up with the title – even though Ann claims she came up with it first, but I have no memory…

  • BOTNS Podcast #161: A New Literary Ambassador

    Michael Kindness
    3 Jan 2012 | 6:58 pm
    Resolving to carve out more reading time. Who should be our Literary Ambassador and what should that job entail? Two books we can’t wait for you to read: Enjoy Every Sandwich by Lee Lipsenthal and The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson. Step Away from the Screen My amazingly wonderful wife surprised my with an iPad for Christmas. It’s fantastic and and I love it, but I’ve been spending a lot of time on it and my reading time has suffered. So I’ve made a resolution to unplug from all media two hours before bed. Ann has made a similar pledge: to change the hour between 7-8 am…

  • BOTNS Book Podcast #160: Our favorites of 2011

    Ann Kingman
    20 Dec 2011 | 8:38 pm
     It’s our last episode of 2011, so before we go, we tell you how we fared with our 2011 reading resolutions. We also each choose our top 5 books of 2011, discuss three books that we wish we had read, and tell you about World Book Night. Successes and failures At the beginning of the year, we made some reading resolutions. Michael and I report on our successes (or not) in meeting those resolutions. Congratulations, Michael, on reaching your goal of reading 61 books. Many others who joined the challenge have completed or surpassed their +11 in 2011 resolutions, and they are scheming ways…
 
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    Omnivoracious

  • Graphic Novel Friday: X-Man vs. X-Man

    Alex Carr
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:35 am
    As if the title weren’t enough of a clue, X-Men: Schism spotlights a pivotal moment in X-Men history: a rift in ideology between its two biggest guns--Cyclops and Wolverine. In the wake of a mutant extinction-level event, perennial team leader and wet blanket, Cyclops, rallies the X-Men to an island dubbed “Utopia” in order to establish a sense of community. His plan, however, doesn’t account for any villain who might want to wipe out mutantkind in one fell swoop and who possesses enough skill to hit a target the size of a giant island. And that’s exactly what happens in Schism. As…

  • "Control Point" by Myke Cole: Black Hawk Down Meets the X-Men

    Jeff VanderMeer
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:46 pm
    Ever wondered what “Black Hawk Down meets the X-Men” might look like? According to bestselling author Peter V. Brett, that’s exactly what readers get in Myke Cole’s debut novel Control Point the first in his Shadow Ops series from Ace. The praise doesn’t end there, with another bestseller, Ann Aguirre, calling Control Point “hands down the best military fantasy I’ve ever read.” In Cole’s novel, people are waking up with magical talents—- storm-summoning, raising the dead, and fire-starting—- and creating chaos because of it. Army officer Oscar Britton, a member of the…

  • What Question Would You Ask John Green?

    Chris Schluep
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:12 pm
    On Monday, January 30th, John Green is coming to Amazon for an interview. Needless to say, we're excited to talk to him-- but we've been talking amongst ourselves, and he's got such a vibrant and involved fan base, we thought we'd ask our readers a question first: what question would you like to ask John Green? Leave a question (or two, or three) in the comments below. We'll collect them and ask as many as we can. Then we'll put the video up on Omnivoracious a week or so later. Please, don't be shy. How many chances do you get to interact with a bestselling,…

  • YA Wednesday: More Young Adult Award Winners

    Jessica Schein
    25 Jan 2012 | 1:40 pm
    Earlier this week, the winners of the American Library Association (ALA)'s top children's and teens awards were announced at their annual midwinter conference. It's the most exciting day of the year for those of us who love kid's lit as the Caldecott, Printz, and Newbery are akin to the film industry's Oscars®. However above and beyond these three awards, the ALA also recognizes a number of other authors/titles for their recent contributions to the young adult genre. While perhaps less recognizable they're no less important. These honors include: The Stonewall Book Award recognizes…

  • The Demi-Monde: A High Concept Sci Fi Thriller for Fans of Neal Stephenson

    Jeff VanderMeer
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:42 am
    The just-released The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees comes complete with a frothing blurbalicious frenzy courtesy of Book Reporter: “A brilliant, high concept series that blends science fiction and thriller, Steampunk and dystopian vision. If Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, James Rollins, and Clive Cussler participated in Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, the result might be something akin to [this novel’s] dark and ingenious madness.” While that description may be over the top, The Demi-Monde: Winter does seem destined to be one of January’s more original reads. The Demi-Monde<…
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    GalleyCat

  • Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Amazon Deal & Art of Letter Writing: Top Stories of the Week

    Jason Boog
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:23 am
    For your weekend reading pleasure, here are our top stories of the week, including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s shocking news about Amazon, a fake Cormac McCarthy Twitter account and  Jack Gantos‘ Newbery Medal winning novel (pictured). Click here to sign up for GalleyCat’s daily email newsletter, getting all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in one place. 1. 10 Bestselling Books with More Than 80 One-Star Reviews 2. What’s the Best Book You’ve Read in a Single Day? 3. Cormac McCarthy Did Not Join Twitter 4. Pinterest…

  • Fake Cormac McCarthy Twitter Account Suspended

    Jason Boog
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am
    Join me in welcoming @CormacCMcCarthy to Twitter! We have the best authors in the world right here. — Jack Dorsey (@jack) January 24, 2012 The strange saga of the fake Cormac McCarthy Twitter feed has ended. The Twitter feed that once excited writers around the Internet now reads: “Account suspended. The profile you are trying to view has been suspended.” Oddly enough, the fake feed managed to fool more readers this week–including Twitter executive chairman Jack Dorsey (his tweet, later retracted, is embedded above). Explore more tweets below–you can also read the…

  • Facebook Timeline to Be Mandatory Soon

    Jason Boog
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am
    Facebook announced this week that the Facebook Timeline feature will be mandatory for all accounts soon, inspiring excitement, concern and a Jeffrey Koterba cartoon. Check it out: “Over the next few weeks, everyone will get timeline. When you get timeline, you’ll have 7 days to preview what’s there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it.” After editing our own Timeline page last year, we’ve included six steps that writers and publishers can follow to make sure they have a satisfying Timeline page before the…

  • Tom Isbell Lands 7-Figure Book Deal

    Maryann Yin
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:23 am
    Actor Tom Isbell has landed a seven-figure book deal at HarperCollins’ children’s division for a young adult fantasy trilogy. The first book is entitled The Hatchery. Literary agent Victoria Sanders negotiated the deal with acquiring editors Alyson Day and Phoebe Yeh. A tentative publication date has been set for 2013. Isbell has starred in movies alongside Robert De Niro, Ed Harris and Harrison Ford. He has also written children’s plays; he is currently adapting Rodman Philbrick‘s Newberry Honor-winning book, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (to be…

  • STUDY: Apple Has 58% Share of the Tablet Market

    Dianna Dilworth
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:07 am
    According to a new study from Strategy Analytics, the iPad is still the dominant tablet, but it has lost market share. The company estimates that Apple had a 58 percent share of the tablet market in the fourth quarter of 2011, down from 68 percent of the market in the same period the year before. Strategy Analytics director Peter King explained: “Global tablet shipments reached an all-time high of 26.8 million units in Q4 2011, surging 150 percent from 10.7 million in Q4 2010. Demand for tablets among consumer, business and education users remains strong … Apple shrugged off the…
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    THE PLANETESME PLAN

  • NEWBERY AND CALDECOTT PREDICTIONS!

    22 Jan 2012 | 11:30 pm
    Hello, friends! Catching up a bit as I am still finding a balance between blogging, mom-ming, grad school, cake-frosting and being a full-time public school teacher librarian, but I haven't forgotten our fun and am busy compiling a list of this year's best.  Meanwhile, I can't resist sharing my picks for the 2011 American Library Association's Newbery and Caldecott Awards, the "Oscars" of the children's book world, to be announced tomorrow morning. Here's where I am laying my bets:WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE by first-time author Tess Hilmo (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).  how exciting it…

  • TIME FOR A HUG (PICTURE BOOK)

    11 Dec 2011 | 3:13 pm
    Book du Jour: TIME FOR A HUG by Phyllis Gershator and Mim Green, illustrated by David Walker (Sterling)Wash our faces,comb our hair,choose the clotheswe like to wear.Eat from a bowl,drink from a mug--What time is it?Time for a hug!  Tick tock, hours on a clock click off tidily in verse, taking us through the joys of a preschooler's everyday life (as well as the first ten digits).  A tender addition to any baby shower book basket!Links are provided for informational use.  Don't forget to support your local bookseller.More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

  • THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER (PICTURE BOOK)

    27 Oct 2011 | 11:33 pm
    Book du Jour:THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER AND OTHER GHOSTLY STORIES by David LaRochelle, illustrations by Paul Meisel (Dutton)Seriously.  Do I need to tell you why you need to add a book called THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER to your children's collection?!  For practicing pedagogues, you'll find it will become one of your seasonal go-to's, featuring three vignettes: "The Scary Baby," "The Haunted Hamburger" and "The Big Bad Granny," all told as bedtime stories to frighten a little ghost. The stories conjure up way more laughs than shivers (especially when one poor ghost is fated to become a…

  • LOVE TWELVE MILES LONG (PICTURE BOOK)

    12 Oct 2011 | 9:58 pm
    Book du Jour:LOVE TWELVE MILES LONG by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Colin Bootman (Lee & Low)Inspired by the life of the great orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a mother separated from her son by slavery visits him, recounting every mile of the journey (first mile for forgetting, fourth mile for looking up, sixth mile for praying, seventh for singing), and giving her son the steps toward his own freedom.  A stirring and hopeful read-aloud, this is a must-have for Black history, history of the American Civil War, the Antebellum South and slavery, and also for great moments…

  • WITCHES! (NONFICTION)

    1 Oct 2011 | 9:48 pm
    Book du Jour:WITCHES! THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE TALE OF DISASTER IN SALEM by Rosalyn Schanzer (National Geographic)Ask:  does your child know about the Salem Witch Trials?  How about you?!  Then you need this little chapbook, so chillingly adorned with black, white and red scratchboard illustrations and teeming with the primary sources and historical regret that the subject deserves.  You also need WITCH HUNT: MYSTERIES OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS by Marc Aronson, which does a good job of exploring the role of peer pressure in the trials, making it very relevant to tweenagers, and…
 
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    The Writing Life

  • Build A Body of Work

    Terry Whalin
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:30 am
    I want to return to a basic of writing—any type of writing. Whatever you write, are you writing consistently? Are you continuing to work at building relationships with the gatekeepers (magazine editors, online editors, book editors, literary agents and other professional writers). I know it is basic but consistent writing and working at this business is critical. It rarely comes easy or quickly to any of us. In fact, we often fight the discipline and consistency of writing. Occasionally someone will look at the volume of my own writing and exclaim, “How do you do it?” It’s just like…

  • Make Your Best First Impression

    Terry Whalin
    22 Jan 2012 | 1:53 pm
    You are enthused about your book idea and are eager to explain it to an editor or literary agent who can champion your cause and get your book published. It's been my privilege to listen to many authors pitch their book ideas at a writer's conference or in a written proposal or on the phone. I've heard some great presentations where the author has practiced their words or refined their written words so it flows and is pointed at the perfect target. These writers are determined to make a good first impression with their idea and find someone to champion their cause. Whether they have…

  • Train Without Leaving Home

    Terry Whalin
    21 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    Travel can be a hassle. I know first hand since almost every month I am on the road traveling to a different event. Especially since September 11th, 2001, just getting through the airport is more complex—much less all the other elements in travel. Despite the hassle, I'm still excited about the live events and how important they are for every writer. Over the years, I’ve written many times about the importance of a writer’s conference. There are many key insights, training and relationships that I’ve formed at these events. I have a number of events scheduled for 2012 as you can see…

  • What Is Your Postcard Strategy?

    Terry Whalin
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:19 pm
    Editor’s Note: I’ve written about postcards and the importance of them for every author. I’m bringing you this excerpt to help you learn more about postcard marketing. There is much greater detail in the Postcard Marketing Handbook.By Lina Penalosa Allow me to save you a lot of heartache and disappointment by saying right now, don’t bother with postcard marketing if you only plan to do a single-step campaign. In fact, don’t bother with marketing at all.I can’t tell you how many business professionals I’ve encountered who decide postcards, sales letters, TV commercials, coupons,…

  • Open A New Door for Your Writing

    Terry Whalin
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:01 am
    It's important to experiment as a writer with different types of writing. Why? Because until you try it, you never know where you will find your own area of expertise. Maybe you love to write magazine articles for printed publications (which I recommend) or you are focused on a longer novel. Even in the middle of that type of writing, I recommend you take a little time and try other types of writing. The experience of trying new things adds life and richness to your writing and communication. This commitment to growth and continual learning has always been a dynamic in my own writing life.
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    The Kindle Reader

  • Just Out: Recent and Readable Nonfiction for the Kindle

    Jan
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    What I like about non-fiction is that it covers such a huge territory. The best non-fiction is also creative. - Tracy Kidder. Nonfiction encompasses a wealth of reading possibilities - history, essays, memoirs, scientific research, travel guides, cookbooks - essentially everything that is based on fact, real events and real people. Recent nonfiction titles for the Kindle that you might have missed: Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners, by Michael Erard. Free Press, 2012. Print Length: 320 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (9 reviews). Kindle…

  • What People Magazine is Reading This Week (Jan 23rd Issue)

    Jan
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:40 am
    For those Kindle readers who, like me, read for entertainment, scanning the book reviews in People magazine is good way to check out new people-related books - celebrity bios, popular novels, absorbing nonfiction - just hitting bookstore shelves. Featured in the January 23rd issue of People: How It All Began, by Penelope Lively. Viking, 2012. Print Length: 239 p. FICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (8 reviews). People's slant: "With grace, wit and wisdom, Booker Prize winner Lively has crafted a highly readable tale about fates intersecting amid the chaos of modern life." Kindle edition…

  • Capturing the Lives of Others: Recent Biographies and Memoirs for the Kindle

    Jan
    22 Jan 2012 | 8:53 am
    One lives in the hope of becoming a memory - Antonio Porchia. Given the burgeoning popularity of social media on the Internet, it is not surprising that biographies and memoirs are among the most popular reading choices of Kindle readers. Whether you enjoy reading of exemplary lives or living vicariously through celebrity memoirs, now you can spend less time searching and more time reading, as I watch for new biographies and memoirs in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. My Seinfeld Year, by Fred Stoller. Kindle Single, 2012. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (8 reviews). Kindle edition…

  • A Week of Entertainment: Kindle Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly's January 20th Issue

    Jan
    20 Jan 2012 | 8:54 am
    Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the January 20th issue include: The Crown, by Nancy Bilyeau. Touchstone, 2012. Print length: 418 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "an engrossing thriller...her extensive historical research shines." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (13 reviews). Kindle edition: $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled. "Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the…

  • Kindle Genre Watch: New in Fantasy and Science Fiction

    Jan
    18 Jan 2012 | 8:52 am
    Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Outstanding new releases in fantasy and science fiction include: Fantasy Hidden by Kelley Armstrong. Subterranean Press, 2011. Print Length: 193 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (10 reviews). Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Lending: Enabled. "Hiking through the snow, holiday baking and playing board games by the fire - what's not to love about an old-fashioned family Christmas? Werewolves Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers want to give their…
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    Storytellers Unplugged

  • FORENSICS 149: ATTEMPTING CLARIFICATION IN VEIN

    Robert Jones
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:05 am
    This essay might be of special interest to writers of detective and mystery stories who would like to enrich their stories by presenting their readers with a gift of extra detail. It might also be of general interest to many other readers. Most readers probably remember Daniel Pearl, who was the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal. He was abducted on January 23, 2002 in Karachi, Pakistan. While a captive, Daniel’s picture showing a gun pointed at his head was sent with demands that the United States free all Pakistani terror prisoners, end the US presence in Pakistan and…

  • The Day Job

    Bev Vincent
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:46 am
    I’m on a deadline and couldn’t think of anything to write about this month, so I dredged up an oldie but a goody from 2005 that is still as pertinent to me today as it was back then. I updated a few of the details but the sentiment is the same. When people who’ve known me for a while find out that I’ve published some books and am pursuing a career as a writer, one question usually comes up before long: When are you quitting your day job? This question brings assumptions with it, whether or not the person asking it realizes as much. First, there’s an assumption that if I’ve…

  • Thomas Sullivan: SEGAMI RORRIM

    Thomas Sullivan
    15 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pm
    If something has to be kept secret, it must be true.  Secrets are self-proving.  Lies are loud and wear red hats, e.g. Santa Claus.  Okay, I’m being a tad glib here.  I do not mean that only secrets are true or that all red hats – i.e. loud proclamations — are lies (your red hat is still true blue, Santa).  But secrets tend to be true, else they wouldn’t need hiding.  I think that most people believe this at some level.  In fact some OVER-believe it, glomming onto every “exposed” secret as innately true because life after all is run by conspiracies and…

  • A Vision of the Future

    Bill Lindblad
    11 Jan 2012 | 10:50 pm
    Today, I want to offer forth a prediction for 2012.  It may already exist, and if so I am simply going to display my ignorance of the most recent marketplace changes, but I don’t know of anything available like it. In other words, if this doesn’t exist, the idea is being offered for someone to develop. I’m calling it the E-Reader Deluxe Edition.   It would be used for authors who have interlinked works.  This might be something as straightforward as the Matt Scudder stories by Lawrence Block or as complex as the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.  It would simply…

  • The Same River Twice: On Rewriting Your Past

    Brian Hodge
    9 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am
    [What do you get when you cross a Storytellers Unplugged deadline with an exhausted writer who’s just finished a near-30,000-word novella that ran several thousand words more than expected? Today we get a redux: the very first column I did here, in June 2006, and which I recently tapped as supplemental material for a multipart series at my own blog.] Several months ago, when the decade-old Hellnotes was still doing business as a weekly newsletter, before transmogrifying into a blog this May — transblogrifying, I suppose should be the new word — fellow contributor E.V.B. fired off a…
 
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    Paulo Coelho's Blog

  • Promo Bay

    Paulo Coelho
    28 Jan 2012 | 4:33 am
    The Pirate Bay starts today a new and interesting system to promote arts Do you have a band? Are you an aspiring movie producer? A comedian? A cartoon artist? They will replace the front page logo with a link to your work. To check how can you be in their opening page, CLICK HERE As [...]

  • Joining the spiritual path

    Paulo Coelho
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:22 pm
    Many emotions move the human heart when it decides to dedicate itself to the spiritual path. This may be a “noble” reason – like faith, love of our neighbor, or charity. Or it may be just a whim, the fear of loneliness, curiosity, or the fear of death. None of that matters. The true spiritual [...]

  • The mountain will tell me when I am old

    Paulo Coelho
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:12 pm
    I have chosen a mountain to define my limits. In 1989 (I was just over 40yrs and I had already published The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage in Brasil), I was on my second sacred pilgrimage in the Pyrenees. And I saw a mountain in the distance called Pic du Gez and I said, ‘okay, I [...]

  • CoelhoOffice 04 (subtitulos em Port e Espa)

    Paulo Coelho
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:50 am
    As it is Monday, we have the new CoelhoOffice (sidebar) >>> Please feel free to leave your comments clicking on the link below the podcast From CoelhoOffice 11 onwards, I will select some comments to discuss. Como é segunda-feira, temos o novo CoelhoOffice (barra lateral) >>> Deixe seus comentarios no botão abaixo da tela. A [...]

  • CoelhoOffice 04 – On writing (IV) : The book leaves the author

    Paulo Coelho
    22 Jan 2012 | 6:29 pm
    Podcast #4 – In this videocast, Paulo Coelho talks about how important it is to have discipline when you are writing a book. Podcast #4 – O nesse videocast, Paulo Coelho fala sobre como é importante ter discplina na hora de escrever um livro. Podcast #4 – En ese videocast, Paulo Coelho habla sobre como [...]
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    ReadersRead.com Book Blog

  • National Book Critics Circle Finalists Announced

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:44 pm
    The finalists for the 2011 National Book Critics Circle awards have been announced. The awards will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the New School's Tishman Auditorium in New York. Here is the list of finalists: Fiction Teju Cole, Open City (Random House) Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger's Child (Knopf) Edith Pearlman, Binocular Vision (Lookout Books) Dana Spiotta, Stone Arabia (Scribner) Nonfiction Amanda Foreman, A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War (Random)…

  • Cover Art for Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories Released

    26 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm
    Chris Colfer, known to many as Kurt Hummel on Fox's Glee, signed a two book deal with Little, Brown Books last June for a children's fantasy series. The cover for the first book in the series, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, has been released. The cover is illustrated by Brandon Dorman. The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner Bailey. The twins leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic. The characters come face-to-face with the characters they grew up reading about, including witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls. EW…

  • Jill Biden to Publish Children's Book in June

    23 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    Second Lady Jill Biden will publish an illustrated children's book, Don't Forget Nana, God Bless Our Troops, with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. The book will be illustrated by Raul Colon. The cover art has not yet been released. The book will arrive in stores on June 5, 2012. Dr. Biden is donating all net author proceeds to charities to support military families and children. She did not accept an advance for the book. Jill Biden says, "As a military mom and a teacher, I wanted to write this book to make all Americans, especially children, aware of the unique experience of…

  • DK Launches Electronic Textbooks for Apple's iBooks Platform

    22 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm
    Apple recently launched a new digital textbook platform as well as a partnership with major textbook publishers. DK is one of the educational publishers providing digital textbooks for Apple's iBooks, which can be purchased on iTunes. DK's four new titles include My First ABC, Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Life, DK Natural History: Insects and DK Natural History: Mammals-Carnivores. Some of the interactive highlights of these new digital textbooks include: A 3-D model of a velociraptor skeleton An animation showing the step-by-step formation of a fossil A movie of a tiger hunting and a brown bear…

  • HarperCollins to Publish Burt Bacharach's Memoir

    19 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    HarperCollins has announced plans to publish songwriter Burt Bacharach's memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart. The book was written with Robert Greenfield. The book is tentatively scheduled for publication in November 2012. Bacharach has had seventy Top Forty hits in his career. He has won three Academy Awards, eight Grammys, an Emmy, and been nominated for a Tony Award. Along with his longtime songwriting partner Hal David, Bacharach was recently named the winner of the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an award previously given to Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and Paul…
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    Joanna Campbell Slan

  • Keep It Spare and Lean: An Interview with Chris Grabenstein

    9 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    Note: Chris Grabenstein will be one of the Guests of Honor at Sleuthfest, March 1 - 3, 2012. He's the author of the John Ceepak series, for which he won the Anthony Award for "Best First Mystery." JCS:  Chris, I know that unlike most authors, you didn’t just get a wild idea and start writing. Before you started your Cepak series, you studied James Patterson’s success. What sorts of decisions did you make? How have they worked for you? (I recall you talking about the titles that were all of the same ilk.)CG: Well, sometimes, I just get a wild idea and start writing. However, when…

  • How to Protect Your Library--Books Are Meant to be Loved

    28 Dec 2011 | 10:09 am
    Reading to my dogs. Note the "red eyes." Sigh. Am I really demonic?In this Sunday's New York Times, someone wrote into the Social Q's column with a question that illustrates life as we know it. Seems that "Anonymous in Vermont" had a calamity during the annual Christmas party. Thirty adults and 30 kids were in attendance. Unfortunately, one of the kids puked on Anonymous's e-reader--and ruined it. Now Anonymous wants to know, should he/she ask the parents of Up-Chuck to replace the e-reader?Since our world seems to be dividing into two camps, those who love e-readers…

  • An Interview with Julie James: 'My Writing Process Is My Own'

    2 Dec 2011 | 7:54 am
    My guest--Julie James.Note: Each year I conduct interviews with famous authors who will be guests at various conferences. Julie will be appearing at Love Is Murder, Feb. 3-5, 2011, in Chicago.)1. Julie, you were an attorney before you went into writing novels full-time. What is it about training as an attorney that seems to make for such fantastic authors? What did you learn in your work as a lawyer that you still use when you write today?A. Maybe all us lawyers write simply to escape our day jobs? Kidding! (Mostly.) I think it’s a couple things. First, as a lawyer, you write a lot. Second,…

  • Why Electricians Should Not HONK OFF Their Mystery Writer Clients

    29 Oct 2011 | 7:42 am
    Excerpt from my note to my contractor, Rob:It was a dark and stormy day when they found a body washed up on shore. “Oh, my god, it’s that dreadful electrician,” she thought as she stared down into his white and bloated face with the black electrical tape wrapped around his neck. The fish had eaten his eyeballs out. He lay there half in and half out of the water but he was wearing his gray shirt with his name embroidered happily in red. That—and the fact he wasn’t all the way in or out of the surf--was how she recognized him. He always did things halfway. Two of her driveway lights,…

  • Happy Halloween! You're Invited to an Online Party!

    28 Oct 2011 | 2:27 pm
    If there's one holiday that gets my vote for TOTAL CUTENESS, it's got to be Halloween. HALLOWEEN PARTY ONLINEOn Monday, October 31, we'll be inaugurating my new "fan page" on Facebook. Helping with the festivities will be 12 of my best author buds. Here's the lineup:9 to 9:30 p.m. ESTMollie Cox Bryan (Scrapbook of Secrets)Angie Fox (A Tale of Two Demon Slayers)9:30 to 10 p.m. ESTBetty Hechtman (Behind the Seams)Laura DiSilveria (Die Buying)10 to 10:30 p.m. ESTJulie Compton (Tell No Lies and Rescuing Olivia)Alan Orloff (The Taste)10:30 to 11 p.m. ESTCasey Daniels (A Hard Day's Fright)Vicki…
 
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    Living to Read

  • Changing The Past

    27 Jan 2012 | 6:58 pm
    DoI really want to read a Stephen King novel? Especially when it's 849pages long? I'm not a fan of the fantasy/horror genre, so in allhonesty I had never read a King book. But years ago (Wikipediareveals that it was in 1990) he wrote a wonderful essay in The NewYorker called “Heads Down” about his son's Little League baseballteam. I thought it was one of the best pieces of baseball writingI'd read in a long time (and I do love baseball) and I vowed to tryto read something else by him.Twenty-twoyears intervened before I revisited that vow. And it took a booktitle that resonates strongly…

  • Life on the Stage

    20 Jan 2012 | 4:44 pm
    Idon't read a lot of non-fiction, but I am sometimes attracted tobiographies about people I find intriguing. That was the case withJulie Salamon's Wendy and the Lost Boys:The Uncommon Life of WendyWasserstein. I admire Wasserstein's plays, especially herPulitzer and Tony winning “The Heidi Chronicles”, but what reallypiqued my interest was an essay she wrote for The New Yorkerdescribing how, at the age of forty-eight, she underwent in vitrofertilization and gave birth (three months prematurely) to herdaughter Lucy Jane. It was written in such an honest and open waythat I felt as if I knew…

  • Three From a Master

    6 Jan 2012 | 3:10 pm
    AnitaDesai has been an acclaimed fiction writer for nearly fifty years,and I'm embarrassed to say that the only Desai book I have ever readis by her daughter Kiran (“The Inheritance of Loss”). So herlatest book of three novellas – The Artist of Disappearance– seemed a good place to start.Thethree stories, all set in India, have no characters or settings incommon, but they deal in different ways with the same theme – thesurvival of art in a world where traditional and modern culturesclash. In each story a member of the modern community is exposed toart (and in two cases an artist)…

  • Mid-Life Crisis

    23 Dec 2011 | 2:07 pm
    Mid-life crisis – it's a common themein literature. Think of characters as diverse as Clarissa Dalloway,Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe, Emma Bovary, maybe even Captain Ahab. Hal Lindley, in Lydia Millet's Ghost Lights,is suffering his own version of this ailment. He's a decent man witha decent job with IRS, but he feels anxious and disengaged. Hesuspects his wife is having an affair with a younger man, and he isunable to move beyond his mourning for the life his daughter hadbefore an accident left her paraplegic.Whenhis wife's boss goes missing in Belize, Hal impulsively (anddrunkenly)…

  • Favorites Books of 2011

    13 Dec 2011 | 6:03 pm
    It happens every year - I have trouble winnowing down my list.  The six I finally chose all appealed to me for very different reasons. The Art of Fielding (I Love Baseball).  Chad Harbach tells a powerful story that is about far more than baseball. The Leftovers (What If?) - What an irresistible scenario Perrotta creates  - life after The Rapture.  The City and The City (Double Vision) - A detective story and a sci-fi novel rolled into one - the cleverest book I read all year.American Subversive (Radical Chic)  - What if the radical underground movement of…
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    RobAroundBooks

  • Short Story Review: ‘Dave Tough’s Luck’ by Matthew Licht

    Rob
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:15 am
    Story Title: ‘Dave Tough’s Luck’ by Matthew Licht Collection/Anthology?: Various Authors Anthology 1 (The Fiction Desk) Date Read: 27th January 2011 Briefly: The narrator – a competent but not brilliant drumming instructor – is hired to give drumming practise to the ‘retarded’ son of a large musical family (they’re called the Shrovers, not the von Trapps ). It soon becomes clear – despite his condition – that Andy is something of a drumming prodigy. Despite a number of fundamental issues, the narrator considers Andy to be so good on…

  • Costa Book Awards get ‘shorted’. A cause for celebration?

    Rob
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:20 pm
    So, the headline news at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in London last night may have been the (deserved) victory of Andrew Miller who took the title of Costa Book of the Year with his novel Pure (Sceptre), but the bigger news for me – and every short story fan across the UK and beyond – was the announcement that Costa is expanding their Book Awards in 2012, to include a new short story category. A cause for celebration? Absolutely! As many of us know, the short story form remains woefully ignored in the UK – at least when it comes to the mainstream literary prizes (awards…

  • Bookshelf of the Week: Roadside bookstand in Fjærland, Norway

    Rob
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:42 am
    I know my Bookshelf of the Week contributions have been sadly lacking of late, but I hope I can make up for it today with its return, by sharing this wonderful shot of a quaint roadside bookstand located in Fjærland, Norway, that comes courtesy of Munich-based photographer, Michael Krutzenbichler aka daitoZen. Michael stopped off at this place while on a road trip around Norway last summer. He tells me that Fjærland is a Norwegian ‘booktown’ (much the same I guess as what we have in the UK at Hay-on-Wye and Wigtown) and it is here that ‘used books are sold in various…

  • Waterstones 11 for 2012 unveiled

    Rob
    22 Jan 2012 | 6:50 am
    The selection for year’s Waterstones 11 was announced earlier this week (Thursday 19th), at a reception at Waterstones’ flagship store in Piccadilly. Created to recognise and promote the best in debut novels for the year that lies ahead, there is much value – in terms of exposure and promotion – for the author who finds him or herself selected as one of the chosen 11. This year’s selection is as follows (links lead to product pages on Waterstones): The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan (William Heinemann) Absolution by Patrick Flanery (Atlantic Books) Shelter by Frances…

  • Shortlist revealed for 2012 Charles Taylor Prize

    Rob
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:59 am
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    Flashlight Worthy

  • Robert Rodi’s Favorite Books About Italy

    Robert Rodi, a list by Robert Rodi, author of Seven Seasons In Siena: My Quixotic Quest for Acceptance By Tuscany's Proudest People
    31 Dec 2011 | 11:30 am
    As the title of my new book makes clear, I spent seven seasons in the Tuscan city of Siena, learning the remarkable ways of its ancient, proud, and very clannish people, whose neighborhoods—called contrade—are like very small sovereign states (and often equally combative). But my travels to and from Siena also brought me through many other Italian cities, equally singular, and increased my appetite to understand them all... a lifetime's work, certainly, but hey, what a lifetime! Here are some of the books I've found the most insightful—and delightful.Click here to see the 8…

  • Fractured Novels that Mirror the Uncertainty of Everyday Life

    Anne Charnock, writer and artist
    14 Sep 2011 | 3:05 pm
    Novels with fractured narratives were once considered experimental and edgy but today they've become mainstream. Our complicated and increasingly uncertain lives seem to be mirrored by the fragmented structure of these often challenging novels. We’re obliged to work a little harder but the rewards can be greater. Here are some of my favourites:Click here to see the 9 books on the list

  • People Writing About People

    Derek Hartley
    6 Sep 2011 | 3:29 pm
    As much as I have enjoyed a few novels over the years, I must confess that I find real people more interesting than made up people. Most of my reading since I left school and was able to freely choose has been confined to biographies, autobiographies and books of essays. Here are some of my favorite favorites:Click here to see the 8 books on the list

  • Tween Romances to Love

    Megan P. Fink, middle school librarian and book-lover
    2 May 2011 | 10:29 am
    This list includes a collection of tween romances that are delightful reads for any middle school student (ages 10-14). They combine humorous stories, princess' adventures and school stories to stir the imagination. These compelling novels will have your reader up all night reading under the covers!Click here to see the 10 books on the list

  • Coming-of-Age Novels That Rocked My World

    Bill See, Author of 33 Days: Touring In A Van, Sleeping On Floors, Chasing A Dream
    17 Mar 2011 | 5:10 pm
    This is a list of Coming-of-Age novels that rocked my world, altered my course and expanded my consciousness. By no means a definitive list — more a personal debt of gratitude to books that set me dreaming with eyes wide open and an insatiable hunger, finally, at last, for... something more. Like some big blowhorn going off, at the end of each of these books I felt the ears of my ears open and heeded a clarion call to action — to save myself.Click here to see the 10 books on the list
 
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    The Millions

  • Seven Reasons to Read A Dance to the Music of Time

    Marjorie Hakala
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    In the fall of 2009, I left the United States to spend a school year teaching English in China. There were many things to do before leaving, but one of the more pleasurable was choosing which books would see me through the year. When my friend Ellen suggested taking Anthony Powell’s series A Dance to the Music of Time, I felt a click, the sort you feel when someone suggests a thing and you realize that is exactly what you intended to do all along. I packed the whole series and spent the next nine months living in China but letting a great deal of my imaginative life take place in…

  • Shriver on Kids, Movies

    C. Max Magee
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    We once wondered if Lionel Shriver is America’s best writer, and she once shared with us her love for William Trevor. In an interview with The Atlantic, she talks about not having kids and says the adaptation of We Need to Talk about Kevin “is a far better film than I had any reason to expect them to be able to make.”

  • Hell on Mail

    C. Max Magee
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    At HTMLGIANT, Roxane Gay gets down to the details of everything she’s learned about the challenges and pitfalls, much of it shipping-related, of running a micropress. Essential reading for those dreaming of starting a small press one day.

  • ‘Some frankly tremendous trousers’

    C. Max Magee
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:34 am
    We never knew we wanted American Psycho told in the style of P.G. Wodehouse.

  • The Millions Interview: Bradford Morrow

    Edie Meidav
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    “There are only three journals that matter and one of them is Conjunctions.” – Walter Abish, author of How German Is It Behold the man — Bradford Morrow, who spans in both biography and experience the best explorations of the teachers and writers of two centuries, the 20th and our new toddling era. Both a generous reader and writer, a community-maker in his years as founder and editor of the pioneering Conjunctions, bearing standards paradoxically rigorous, curious, and fluid, author of Giovanni’s Gift, among some other eight books, this year he came out with two new…
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    Thrillers, Horror, Comics and Audio Books

  • I’m Going Home

    Greg "The Undead Rat"
    12 Jan 2012 | 4:36 pm
    “Because I’ve seen blue skies, through the tears in my eyes. And I realize, I’m going home.” –Frank, The Rocky Horror Picture Show This is good-bye to 2011 and good riddance. I need another year like that like I need a bullet in my brain. Here’s hoping 2012 will be a kinder, better year. A Personal Homecoming: If there was one thing that seemed to characterize 2011 for me it was my search for a home. Last year I moved from a house I could no longer afford to a much smaller apartment where, I hope, my family and I can grow closer. The move itself was chaos…

  • Halloween Stories: The Pine Deep Trilogy

    Greg "The Undead Rat"
    6 Oct 2011 | 2:42 pm
    Today we take a look at a trio of Halloween horror novels called the Pine Deep Trilogy. All three book take place in about a month’s time leading up to Halloween — mostly in October. Although the books have been out for a few years now, Blackstone Audio has recently begun releasing audio version, expertly read by Tom Weiner. It’s my hope that they get the third book into Overdrive’s eMedia Collection for our customers — in time to listen to it before Halloween. If you’re interested in a book, click on the book covers to order it from an online bookseller…

  • Book Clubs and Author Programs in October

    Greg "The Undead Rat"
    4 Oct 2011 | 1:04 pm
    October is a busy month for talking about books and meeting the author who write them. Starting tomorrow you’ll have a number of opportunities to participate and I encourage you to pick some that really catch your interest and join in. Why not? They’re free and we’d love to have you participate. Here is the down and dirty schedule of amazing events: Cedar-Coventry Author Series presents: Emily Mitchell author of The Last Summer of the World, at Coventry Village Library (Wed. Oct 5, 7:00pm) Meet Tricia Springstubb author of Mo Wren, Lost and Found, at Lee Road Library (Wed.

  • The 2010 Stoker Nominations for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

    Greg "The Undead Rat"
    26 Aug 2011 | 1:49 pm
    Today we’ll look at nominations for Superior Achievement in the Long Fiction category. What is “long fiction”? According to the Horror Writers Association’s Rules for Bram Stoker Award, long fiction is defined as “a work of prose fiction at least 7,500 words in length but no more than 39,999 words in length”. Generally works that are labeled novellas and novelettes fall in this category. By labeling it long fiction and assigning it a specific word count, the HWA avoids problems that sometimes creep up by the sometimes random assignment of the terms novella…

  • The 2010 Stoker Nominations for Superior Achievement in a First Novel

    Greg "The Undead Rat"
    25 Aug 2011 | 1:25 pm
    Before we take a look at the nominations for Superior Achievement in a First Novel category, let me reprint what is meant by “superior achievement in”. The awards are not for “the best of” but for “superior achievement in”. This means two things: There can be and occasionally are ties in a category. There can be times when there are no winners in a particular category. Last year there were no ties. What will happen this year? By the way: Two novels are not in the CLEVNET webcatalog but check with your librarian to see if they can be ordered from a library…
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    Jacket Copy

  • This Sunday: The critic's art and Gil Scott-Heron too

    Jon Thurber
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:51 pm
    At a time when everyone seems to have an opinion and a venue for expressing it, the art of criticism may seem hard to grasp and even harder to do. Times Book Critic David L. Ulin obviously does this kind of thing for a living. He reads and thinks, thinks and reads ... and when he gets tired of reading and thinking, he does it some more. In our lead piece on Sunday’s Arts & Books cover, Ulin looks at the critical range of two writers perhaps better known for their novels: John Updike and William H. Gass.  Working with Updike’s “Higher Gossip” and Gass’ “Life Sentences:…

  • Mary Otis, animated [video]

    Carolyn Kellogg
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:13 pm
    Los Angeles author Mary Otis is the latest to get the animation treatment from the innovative magazine Electric Literature. Electric Literature is released simultaneously in print and e-book formats, and frequently leverages multimedia forms to explore different aspects of storytelling. For its animations, Electric Literature asks a contributor to select a single sentence from the piece that appears in the magazine. That sentence is handed over to an animator, who gives it an artistic rendering that may or may not have much to do with the story itself. It's one creative work spawning a…

  • Atheist writers clash over how to not worship a nonexistent God

    Carolyn Kellogg
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am
    Two prominent British atheist authors are clashing over the best way to not worship a lack of a God. Writer Alain de Botton wants to erect a $1.5-million "temple for atheists" in London, complete with a 151-foot tower reaching toward a godless sky. De Botton finds Richard Dawkins' approach to atheism "aggressive" and "destructive." He told the Guardian, "Normally a temple is to Jesus, Mary or Buddha, but you can build a temple to anything that's positive and good. That could mean a temple to love, friendship, calm or perspective. Because of Richard…

  • America's most literate cities and more book news

    Carolyn Kellogg
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:51 pm
    Central Connecticut State University released its annual list of most literate cities Wednesday; Washington D.C. took the top spot. As in years past, Los Angeles didn't fare well. Why should we? We've only got the largest book festival in the country, vibrant independent booksellers, major univeristies, a fantastic public library system, highly literate public radio shows.... Sigh. We ranked No. 59. Oh well -- New York, the center of publishing, was only No. 22. The Books are no more! The band, that is. I had no tickets and I must scream. Author Harlan Ellison appeared at the Los…

  • Art meets books: Very cool and far away

    Carolyn Kellogg
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:24 pm
    An intriguing museum exhibition that's all about print is taking place in February and March. Unfortunately for Angelenos, it's at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Print/Out will exhibit more than 200 works of printed materials such as artists' books from MOMA's collection, including pieces by Martin Kippenberger, Ai Weiwei, and SUPERFLEX. It's the first such exhibit since 1996. The museum writes: Over the last two decades, the art world has broadened its geographic reach and opened itself to new continents, allowing for a significant cross-pollination of…
 
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    Buzz, Balls & Hype

  • THE DOCTOR IS IN

    M.J. Rose
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:10 am
    AUTHORS AND TWITTER Last Sunday's NYTBR featured an article by Anne Trubek on the benefits of tweeting for authors. In it, Trubek addresses the "common conception of 'the author'" as solitary and asocial, noting that a number of writers use Twitter to establish closer communication with readers. She writes: Many authors have little use for the pretension of hermetic distance and never accepted a historically specific idea of what it means to be a writer. With the digital age come new conceptions of authorship. And for both authors and readers, these changes may be…

  • THE DOCTOR IS IN

    M.J. Rose
    6 Jan 2012 | 6:52 am
    Thoughts on Publishing EnvyIn this week's Kind Reader column, Jessa Crispin offers interesting and helpful advice to an unpublished writer who is repeatedly asked to share in her/his friends' joy in their publishing success. Crispin reminds the LW that William James was not published until he was forty-nine, and urges him/her to channel these feelings of envy into greater focus and productivity.I think this is excellent advice, as far as it goes. (And it goes exactly as far as intended, since the premise of the column is the application of literature to life problems.) But it…

  • THE DOCTOR IS IN

    M.J. Rose
    30 Dec 2011 | 8:57 am
    A WISH FOR 2012 Three friends and I were invited to sing at a local solstice festival. The song we chose was Susan Werner's "May I Suggest." There was no recording allowed, so when I tell you that we sounded exactly like this, no one can prove me wrong. I wish each of you a happy and peaceful new year.  Susan O'Doherty, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with a New York City-based practice. A fiction writer herself, she specializes in issues affecting writers and other creative artists. She is the author of Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued: A Woman's Guide…

  • THE DOCTOR IS IN

    M.J. Rose
    23 Dec 2011 | 6:46 am
    DEAR BOOK BIZ SANTA, The holiday season can be a beautiful, joyous period of renewal and connection. It can also reinforce feelings of loneliness and inadequacy in sensitive, vulnerable people. This includes everyone, but writers tend to struggle in particular ways. Those lucky few of us who can support ourselves through writing spend our working hours in isolation, which can feel burdensome when one is surrounded by images of congenial merrymaking. For those who toil at unrewarding day jobs to pay the bills, the bills tend to mount at this time of year, forcing increased hours that push…

  • Dear Book Biz Santa #2

    M.J. Rose
    19 Dec 2011 | 6:38 pm
    Dear Book Biz Santa,   All I want for Christmas is a big fat change of attitude by the publiciity and marketing departments. (You know who you are!) It would be so nice if authors were not regarded with dread and eyerolls and scorn. We are not the enemy! What would it be like if you treated us with respect, maybe even with some curiosity and interest? We know how hard your job is, we really do. But instead of seeing us as the source of your problems, why not regard us as the source of the books you promote and let us work together! Signed, A multi published writer.
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    my mind on books

  • Links for 2012-01-27 [del.icio.us]

    28 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Self As Symbol: "The loopy nature of consciousness" - Science News

  • new book – ‘Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning’ by Gary Marcus

    mymindonbooks
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:21 pm
    Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus (Penguin, 2012) (kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk) Product description from the publisher: On the eve of his 40th birthday, Gary Marcus, a renowned scientist with no discernible musical talent, learns to play the guitar and investigates how anyone—of any age —can become musical. Do [...]

  • Links for 2012-01-26 [del.icio.us]

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    EBook - CONSCIOUSNESS AND NEURAL PLASTICITY Gary Marcus, Professor at N.Y.U., Picks Up a Guitar - NYTimes.com (neuroscience & music, new book 'Guitar Zero') "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking," by Susan Cain - Author Talk - CBS News

  • Links for 2012-01-24 [del.icio.us]

    25 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Review - Re-Emergence: Locating Conscious Properties in a Material World - Metapsychology Online Reviews RSA - Religion for Atheists - Alain de Botton - watch live on 26 Jan

  • new book – ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’

    mymindonbooks
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:40 am
    Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Crown) (kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk – 29 Mar 2012) Product description from the publisher: At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but [...]
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    Boomerang Books Blog for the latest Australian book news and reviews

  • What’s Hot in the Media 23rd Jan 2012

    Boomer
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:34 pm
    Peter Carey’s latest novel The Chemistry of Tears (Hamish Hamilton) received the most mentions in Media Extra this week. In the story, Catherine is the leading lady. When her lover dies suddenly, all Catherine has left is her work at London’s Swinburne Museum. When she finds the diary of a mysterious clockmaker, she becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about his life. Also listed on the most mentioned chart this week were Breakdown by Sara Paretsky (Hodder & Stoughton), A Common Loss by Kirsten Tranter (HarperCollins), The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (Henry Handel…

  • On tour

    Boomer
    19 Jan 2012 | 12:02 am
    January James Duigan, Kyle Books (Clean and Lean Cookbook) Sydney. David Sedaris, Hachette (Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk) Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane. Kirsten Tranter, Fourth Estate (A Common Loss) Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne (plus February). February Katherine Howell, Pan Macmillan (Silent Fear) Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (including regional). Carrie Tiffany, Picador (Mateship with Birds) Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Janette Turner Hospital, Fourth Estate (Forecast Turbulence) Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne. Source:…

  • A New Way to Discover Books Online – There it is!

    Boomer
    18 Jan 2012 | 10:54 pm
    MEDIA RELEASE: A NEW WAY TO DISCOVER BOOKS ONLINE Australian online bookstore Boomerang Books has partnered with 3D search technology firm Thereitis.com (www.thereitis.com) to offer an innovative new way to discover books online. Adelaide-based Thereitis.com has patented a 3D search tool that displays large collections of visual data in a way that leverages our ability to passively identify objects of interest.  Scanning large collections of visual data, users are able to detect interesting clusters of images – often in their peripheral vision – and hone in on the images that draw their…

  • Zusak on US World Book Night 2012 list

    Boomer
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:02 pm
    The Book Thief by Australian author Markus Zusak (Picador) has been chosen as one of the 30 titles on the US World Book Night 2012 list. Copies of Zusak’s novel, along with 29 other titles, will be given out by volunteers and charitable organisations across the US on 23 April 2012 as part of the initiative which aims to distribute books to light or non-readers. Zusak’s book has also been named on the UK World Book Night 2012 list, which features different titles to the US list, and will be given out to readers in the UK on the same date. For more information about World Book…

  • Bestsellers this week

    Boomer
    18 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    The nephew of Bernard Fairclough, a wealthy and influential business magnate, has died and Inspector Thomas Lynley is sent in undercover to investigate. The official cause of death is ruled as an accidental drowning but when Lynley and his friends start digging, it becomes clear that the Fairclough clan is awash in secrets, lies, and possible motives for murder. Believing the Lie (Elizabeth George, Hachette), the latest in the Lynley detective series, is top of the fastest movers chart followed by James Patterson’s crime novel set during the 2012 Olympics, Private Games (Century). Jeff…
 
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    Reading Copy Book Blog

  • Quoting the wrong Shakespeare

    Richard Davies
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:24 am
    Everyone quotes Shakespeare and most of the time they don’t know they are doing it. Everyday language is littered with phrases popularized by the Bard in his writing. French presidential candidate François Hollande made a key speech on Sunday and, indeed, quoted Shakespeare, reports the Daily Telegraph. The “universal message” he wished to convey, Mr Hollande told the crowd, was best summed up by Shakespeare’s great words: “They failed because they did not start with a dream.” Sadly, he quoted the wrong Shakespeare. Hollande quoted Nicholas Shakespeare,…

  • 2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30

    Richard Davies
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:47 pm
    Attention Canada’s young book collectors – there is still time left to enter the 2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30. We are one of the contest’s sponsors and this is a great opportunity for young bibliophiles to show their passion for rare books. The winner takes home $1,000 (CAD) with the second and third place collectors receiving $500 and $250 respectively. Entrants are required to write a 1,500 to 2,000-word essay about their collection describing important features such as binding, decoration, illustrations and key bibliographical…

  • Authors’ Gorgeous Homes

    elizabethc
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:50 pm
    I enjoyed this slideshow* on Flavorwire of the beautiful estates of 15 authors. I especially liked the creepy gate on Stephen King’s abode. And they’re not kidding about how lovely Ernest Hemingway’s home in Key West, Florida is – I was lucky enough to enjoy a tour of it a year ago, and it was absolutely beautiful. And anywhere with that many cats (many of whom have extra toes!) is aces in my book. *why does everything have to be a slideshow now? I understand it from an advertising perspective, but find it irritating – I would much prefer all the images on one…

  • One step closer to Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak

    Richard Davies
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:47 am
    Aside from his wand, Harry Potter’s most useful accessory was his invisibility cloak. If my memory serves me correctly, the Boy Wizard used it in every story and his father also found it very useful during his time at Hogwarts. We should all own invisibility cloaks (I would use it to sneak into major sporting events without paying and at work to allow me to sleep at my desk) and it seems scientists at the University of Texas are one step closer to actually inventing such a device. The BBC reports “Researchers have ‘cloaked’ a three-dimensional object, making it…

  • Charles Dickens the decorator

    Richard Davies
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:42 am
    Yes, the torrent of books and articles about Charles Dickens just keeps on going. Today, we learn that Dickens had a lifelong obsession with home decoration thanks to this great piece in The Guardian. He wrote an article called “Household Scenery”, for a journal called Household Words and penned 6,000 words on wall coverings from tapestries to wallpapers to tackling rising damp. I love the idea of Dickens – the man who wrote about orphans and workhouses – doing a reno in old London town. He’d take a bleak house in some east London slum, do it up and then flip it…
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    The Contemporary Reader

  • January Current Reads

    26 Jan 2012 | 10:34 pm
    Before January ends, I want to share with you guys some books that I'm reading lately.It's ironic to note that I'm reading three books, almost juggling them, to use the term lightly. I used to think that  a person should only read a book one at a time, to give the story justice and to give the characters their time to grow on you and to feel the threading of the storyline and one's daily life.But time has been such a commodity lately. It's a currency with a very high trade off so since it's very precious I only trade it off with the most pressing of tasks. Well, anyway, so much for that…

  • The Best Holiday Gifts Have Hardbound Covers

    10 Jan 2012 | 12:19 am
    Me with the gift I received from WHO ELSE! I love it when he's in Ninja Mode. I got this suprise when I went and opened my locker. And also a support bookmark for the terrible calamity-tragedy that happened in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. For more information and how you can help, click here and here.

  • Book Wishlist: Einstein's Dreams

    7 Dec 2011 | 8:48 pm
    I don't have a copy of this though I dearly wish I did. I did read snippets of this in a local bookstore and was so thrilled, excited, so at peace and left wondering. Could this be real? Is time really a circle and a mirror at the same time? Are all choices at all points of time really carried out in different worlds?It is an extravagant but quite wondrous thing, the idea presented in this book.I am just sorry that the book is priced expensively for a small copy but I am saving up for it and I can't wait until I can buy.Have any of you read this already? What did you think?

  • Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai: Melancholic Contemplation

    28 Nov 2011 | 8:34 am
    Arriving all the way from USA, I had a tiny traveler plop down right in front of my desk.The moment I held the book, I immediately focused long and hard on the book cover. I've had my small share of contemporary Japanese novels and each had very interesting designs, but not one is as gently arresting as this Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai published by One Peace Books. Soft yet stark. I'm not one to judge a book by its cover, but it certainly is a good way to hold the interest of the readers.A closer look at the cover would remind one of things that are "beautiful in its simplicity". Everybody…

  • How huge is your To Be Read pile?

    21 May 2011 | 4:18 am
    Over the course of the week I received two packages with a lot of books in them. Don't we just love receiving books in the mail? Well, you and me both!I had the honor of receiving books from Andy Batangantang and Iyadls who are totally generous and without compare.From Iyadls I received John Fuller's The Memoirs of Laetitia Horsepole and Nedjma's The Almond: The Sexual Awakening of a Muslim Woman both of which I really love! I especially am looking forward to start reading The Almond, because it has been a year since I started to look for it.A couple of days after the previous book parcel, I…
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    About.com Bestsellers

  • One for the Money Book Vs. Movie

    24 Jan 2012 | 6:07 pm
    One for the Money hits theaters this week. Janet Evanovich sold the rights to the movie several years ago and didn't have any say in the casting or script. I have to admit, Katherine Heigl is not how I pictured Stephanie Plum. What about you? If you are a Janet Evanovich fan, how did you think the movie version of One for the Money compared to the book? Cover Photo Courtesy St. Martin's Press

  • Deciding what to Read

    23 Jan 2012 | 12:05 pm
    When you are deciding what to read, which of these factors has the most influence -- know the author, book reviews, friends' recommendation or popularity (the book is a bestseller)? I think for most of us, it is probably a mix. If I loved an author's last book, though, that is a sure way to get me to read the next one. Of course, I will admit this often leaves me disappointed. It is sort of like going to a sequel of a favorite movie. It can never be as good as the first. What influences your reading choices the most?

  • Paperback Pick: Bossypants by Tina Fey

    14 Jan 2012 | 6:30 pm
    Bossypants by Tina Fey starts at Fey's childhood and takes readers through her life and career, including stories about working on Saturday Night Live, impersonating Sarah Palin in the last election, and watching 30 Rock become a success. Fey reads aloud the audio version, which I've heard is a great way to enjoy the book! Read a complete review of Bossypants by Tina Fey Cover Photo Courtesy Little, Brown

  • New in Paperback: The Terror of Living by Urban Waite

    14 Jan 2012 | 4:29 am
    The Terror of Living is a debut thriller from Urban Waite that came out in 2011. This modern Western is now available in paperback. Read a complete review of The Terror of Living by Urban Waite The Terror of Living Book Club Discussion Questions Cover Photo Courtesy Little, Brown

  • World Book Night - Good Books?

    12 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pm
    April 23 is World Book Night -- a night when volunteers in the U.S. and U.K. will give out 1 million free paperback copies of 30 different books in order to promote reading. Interested in handing out books? You can sign up to volunteer now. I was interested in the list of books they chose. Of the 30 titles, I have read 15 and would put seven of the other books on my "really want to read" list. How about you? Have you read many of these books? Do you think they are good choices for promoting reading among reluctant readers?
 
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    The Creative Penn

  • How To Sell 130,000 Books Without A Publisher

    Joanna Penn
    28 Jan 2012 | 12:11 am
    I’m always on the lookout for interesting stories to share with you. Adam Croft caught my eye on twitter with the tweet shown left and I just had to ask for more information. Adam is the best-selling author of the Knight & Culverhouse series of crime novels and the Kempston Hardwick mysteries. This is a guest post from him explaining how he did it.  Publishers will scream and shout from the rooftops that e-publishing is not the way forward and that every writer still needs a publisher. That’s simply not true. I know this for a fact, as I was an unknown author who managed to…

  • The Empowerment Of Indie Publishing With David Gaughran

    Joanna Penn
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:12 am
    The indie publishing world continues in constant flux but a new strident voice has recently appeared on the scene. Today David Gaughran shares his story. David Gaughran is the author of historical novel ‘A Storm Hits Valparaiso’ as well as several short story collections. He has also published ‘Let’s get digital: How to self-publish and why you should‘.  [Video at the end of the post] How David got started. He’s been writing for a long time but in 2005 he started seriously writing with the aim of publication. After a few attempts, he started historical…

  • Author 2.0 Blueprint Rebooted For 2012

    Joanna Penn
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:05 am
    Author 2.0 encapsulates the spirit of empowerment to create, publish, sell and promote with the amazing online tools available today. I wrote the original Author 2.0 Blueprint over 2 years ago and things have changed a lot since then. I have sporadically updated it but now I have rewritten 95% of it to create a 52 page ebook packed with useful information on writing, publishing and book marketing. The Blueprint is entirely free so please download and use whatever part of it resonates with you. It’s based on articles on the blog as well as information from other blogs. I link to many of…

  • Book Promotion: Speaking At Schools And Libraries With Barbara Techel

    Joanna Penn
    22 Jan 2012 | 12:10 am
    The Creative Penn is all about authenticity and sharing the truth behind the writer’s journey as well as our results. It’s important to me that what you learn about here comes from people’s own experience. So I’m delighted to share with you an interview with Barbara Techel on how she has managed to use physical appearance in schools and libraries to sell her books and spread a message that she’s passionate about. Barbara Techel is the author of Frankie the Walk’n'Roll dog book series for children. Since 2008 she has done over 300 author appearances at…

  • Writing for Life: 5 Practical Goals For Writers

    Joanna Penn
    20 Jan 2012 | 12:10 am
    February is already in sight and perhaps you set ambitious goals for 2012 as I did. Are they feeling a little too much right now? Today’s guest post from novelist and writing coach C. S. Lakin will help you break it down. Sometimes the writing journey feels overwhelming. There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish the mind-boggling amount of things we writers feel must get done in order to grow not just as writers but in order to establish our place in the publishing world. Years ago, all an author had to do was write a book and send it off to a publisher (one handwritten copy…
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    www.publetariat.com

  • Upcoming West Coast Book Publishing Events for Indie Authors

    Joel Friedlander
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    One of the staples of an author website or blog is the Calendar page. Fans can find out the next stop on your blog tour, where you might be speaking at a live event, or other notable happenings. The problem is, in practice, these Calendar pages rarely get updated. It’s quite common to go to an author’s Calendar page and find out where they were speaking two, three, or four years ago. This makes me sad, so I’ve never put a Calendar page on my blog. Instead, I’m listing right here the upcoming events I’ll be speaking live at, with links to the registration pages…

  • Amazon Select: We Are All Junkies Now

    Publetariat
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    This post, by Libby Fischer Hellman, originally appeared on her Say The Word blog on 1/25/12. In it, she shares her experiences as an author in the KDP Select program, and the possibility that the program is training readers to wait until a book is free, rather than buy it at regular prices. It’s been over a month since the Amazon KDP Select started, and we’re beginning to see the ramifications of the program. And although I’m making good money, I’m scared.  For those of you who don’t know, Amazon created the KDP Select program to increase their base of…

  • Author 2.0 Blueprint Rebooted For 2012

    Joanna Penn
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    Author 2.0 encapsulates the spirit of empowerment to create, publish, sell and promote with the amazing online tools available today. I wrote the original Author 2.0 Blueprint over 2 years ago and things have changed a lot since then. I have sporadically updated it but now I have rewritten 95% of it to create a 52 page ebook packed with useful information on writing, publishing and book marketing. The Blueprint is entirely free so please download and use whatever part of it resonates with you. read more

  • Editors Passed on Same Book Critique Group Loved: 6 Reasons Why

    Publetariat
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm
    This post, by Lynette Labelle, originally appeared on her website on 1/4/12. You have a critique group and the members love, love, love your work. They’ve been nagging at you for months to send it out. You finally got up enough courage to submit and even received requests for partials and fulls, but in the end, nobody liked the manuscript enough to take it on. What gives? Let’s take a look at six reasons agents and editors may not love your work as much as your critique group does. read more
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    WritersDigest.com

  • Tips to Make Selling Your Fiction a Reality

    Phil Sexton
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:09 pm
    Guest Post by Rob Eagar Earlier this year, I heard a publishing executive say, “The best way to market your fiction is to write more fiction.” I disagree with this idea, because … Read more

  • WD Poetic Form Challenge: Tritina

    Robert Lee Brewer
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm
    I’m so excited for this WD Poetic Form Challenge, because it’s like the sestina, but it’s much shorter. For some, this may make it easier; for others, maybe not. So what are … Read more

  • How I Got My Agent: Robin Mellom

    Chuck Sambuchino
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:14 pm
    “How I Got My Agent” is a recurring feature on the GLA Blog. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings. If you have a literary agent and would be interested in writing a short guest column for this GLA blog, e-mail me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com and we’ll talk specifics. Robin Mellom is the author of DITCHED: A LOVE STORY, a young adult novel released in Jan. 2012 by Disney/Hyperion. GIVEAWAY: Robin is excited to give away a free copy of her book to a random commenter. Comment within one week; winners must live in Canada/US to…

  • Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 163

    Robert Lee Brewer
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:43 am
    For this week’s prompt, write a friend of a friend poem. This poem would be one in which you write about or in the voice of a friend of a friend. Why … Read more

  • 4 Techniques for Creating Believable Villains

    RoseannBiederman
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:14 am
    The protagonist's conflict with an opposing force—usually in the form of another character—is the essence of every novel. Read more
 
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    Better World Books Blog - Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Community Outreach & more

  • A Must-Read Book Review: “Organic Manifesto”

    Erin
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am
    Guest post from our Twitter friend Hannah Giles Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale is a deceptively thin book, chock full of imperative information about not only the environment, but more importantly, public health. Her perspective is far-reaching; her grandfather, J.I. Rodale, was one of the first advocates of modern organic agriculture, so it is no surprise that Rodale has written such a thorough book on what “going organic” really means. When many people think about what the “organic” label means, it usually doesn’t drum up enthusiasm. Let’s be honest: it’s expensive, it…

  • Meet Daniela: From a dust-covered face to a self-assured young girl

    Erin
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:14 am
    Six year old Daniela’s face never used to be clean. Her eyes seemed vacant and she rarely uttered a word. She only ever sketched single colored empty bubbles with the crayons and paper they gave her. Daniela had trouble concentrating and often sought refuge in “no puedo” (“I can’t do it”). When there were group activities she would wander off alone. Daniela spent her days wandering the streets of Quito, Ecaudor. She had no way to discover her own imagination and free her mind to the endless opportunities six-year-olds around the world should be granted. Daniela did not even have…

  • The Faces of a Better World

    Erin
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:27 am
    “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” Tennessee Williams once said.In that spirit, one of my favorite ways to spend a sunny day is by walking around local neighborhoods and taking photos of strangers. I ask them for permission, of course, and will only take their photo if they are willing to share their face and their story with the world. As most of you know, I am passionate about my job at Better World Books and sincerely believe in our work and mission. One of my dreams for 2012 is for every single book-lover, tree-hugger and do-gooder on Earth to know about…

  • What he learned from an illiterate homeless man who became a NY Times bestselling author

    Erin
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:56 am
    Last night 45 Better World Books staff, friends, family and fans gathered together at Atlanta’s City of Refuge. We served dinner to the women and children residents and also out on the streets of downtown Atlanta. After an eye-and-heart-opening shared experience, we ate together from the social enterprise kitchen at the shelter and discussed one of my favorite books (and true stories) “Same Kind of Different as Me”. You can view photos from the event on Facebook. Below is a guest post by Ron Hall, Co-Author of “Same Kind of Different as Me” and “What Difference Do it Make?” This…

  • Your Top 12 Resolutions: Literacy wins over Losing Weight!

    Erin
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:04 am
    I am so impressed with the most “liked” resolutions our Facebook fans shared. Not that I was expecting tons of people to encourage going to the gym and eating less candy over doing good in our world, but nonetheless, I am pleased to share this list with you. 1. Listen more, talk less. 2. Less time on the iPad, more time interfacing with a real book! 3. Now that I’ve moved closer to a city, I plan to volunteer again for an adult literacy program.4. My goal is to read at least 50 books in 2012, not including college textbooks. I’m going to donate books to places and people in…
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    JetPak Studio

  • New 15 minute Sketch..."Jamin' on Sunday"

    22 Jan 2012 | 11:13 am
    Looking forward to the first jam on Sunday after a long week of being snowed in is what inspired this week's result of the 15 Minute Sketch Challenge...Let me know what you think.-MC

  • NEW Winter Promo Card

    21 Jan 2012 | 3:58 pm
    It's been about 3-4 months since my last Promo Card, so I put one together to send out asap!Let me know what you think.-MC

  • Snow wrapped in Ice Night!

    19 Jan 2012 | 9:56 pm
    It's been several days of snow this week that shut down the area. Today we got more snow with freezing rain that coated all the snow in ice. My Townhouse looks like "The Shining" on the outside!MC

  • My NEW Book in the mail...

    17 Jan 2012 | 10:26 pm
    Well... ain't this something? Got home from work today and saw a box waiting for me at my front door.From Capstone Press... the Atlantis book I illustrated last summer!

  • New 15 minute Sketch..."Twit Hair"

    16 Jan 2012 | 9:42 pm
    Late posting this from the weekend. It was a bit busy even though I was a bit stranded by the snow...Notice the Twitter Bird in her hair?-MC
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    The Reader's Advisor Online Blog

  • New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer

    Cindy Orr
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:30 am
    To be published week of January 30, 2012 – February 5, 2012 MONDAY NONFICTION Groening, Matt – The Simpsons/Futurama Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis – 9780060897260 TUESDAY FICTION Anderson, Catherine – Lucky Penny – 9780451236036 Aubyn, Edward – At Last St. – 9780374298890 Ausubel, Ramona – No One Is Here Except All of Us – 9781594487941 Cast, P. C. & Kristin – Lenobia’s Vow: A House of Night Novella – 9781250000248 Erickson, Steve – These Dreams of You – 9781609450632 Foster, Lori – Forever…

  • Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Alex, King, and Other Youth Award Winners

    Cindy Orr
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:29 pm
    John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: Jack Gantos – “Dead End in Norvelt” Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book Chris Raschka – “A Ball for Daisy” Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults John Corey Whaley – “Where Things Come Back” Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing African American authors Kadir Nelson – “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans” Coretta Scott King Book…

  • Brody, Shores, Hurston, Stonewall Prize Winners from ALA Midwinter Conference

    Cindy Orr
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:05 pm
    Sophie Brody Medal for Outstanding Jewish Literature: “Sacred Trash: the Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza” by Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole (Schocken Books) Honor Books: “Jerusalem: the Biography” by Simon Sebag Montefiore (Alfred A. Knopf) “MetaMaus” by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon Books) “Quiet Americans: Stories” by Erika Dreifus (Last Light Studio Books) Louis Shores Award for Book Reviewing Sarah L. Johnson, professor of library services at Eastern Illinois University and author of the blog Reading the Past and book review editor, The Historical Novels Review 2012 Zora…

  • RUSA’s Inaugural Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration

    Cindy Orr
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:54 pm
    “All Clear,” by Connie Willis. Narrated by Katherine Kellgren. Brilliance Audio. (ISBN 978-1-4418-7576-1). This sequel to “Blackout,” a stellar science fiction adventure, follows the plight of a group of historians from 2060, trapped in WWII England during the Blitz. In a narrative tour de force, Kellgren brings to life a large cast of characters, including a pair of street-smart urchins who capture the hearts of characters and listeners alike. Listen-Alikes: “Away” by Amy Bloom. Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. HighBridge. “Pirate King” by Laurie…

  • 2012 Notable Books List

    Cindy Orr
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:53 pm
    FICTION: Banks, Russell. “Lost Memory of Skin.” Ecco. 9780061857638 A surprisingly sympathetic exploration of the lives and treatment of sex offenders and how this reflects on our society. Barnes, Julian. “The Sense of an Ending.” Knopf. 9780307957122 A 60-something retiree living near London searches through his memories to discern what role, if any, he may have played in a decades-old tragedy. deWitt, Patrick. “The Sisters Brothers.” Ecco. 9780062041265 A darkly comic and quixotic quest western tale about two brothers whose divergent world views are…
 
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    The Bat Segundo Show

  • Elliot Perlman (BSS #429)

    ed@edrants.com (Edward Champion)
    10 Jan 2012 | 10:07 am
    Elliot Perlman is most recently the author of The Street Sweeper. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Collecting the dregs of his spatulate ambitions. Author: Elliot Perlman Subjects Discussed: Perlman living across the street from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, whether an author has to reside in a place to write about it, why some Australians consider the US and the UK to be part of the same neighborhood, how to make New York your friend, smoking outside of a hospital, the Mayor of East 77th and York, the improbable idea of characters in their thirties listening to Jonathan Schwartz,…

  • Thomas Frank (BSS #428)

    ed@edrants.com (Edward Champion)
    5 Jan 2012 | 5:57 pm
    Thomas Frank is most recently the author of Pity the Billionaire. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Wondering why Grover Norquist keeps leaving voicemails about tax pledges. Author: Thomas Frank Subjects Discussed: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s notion of “compromise,” the Republican failure to acknowledge Reagan’s complete history, Reagan’s Continental Illinois bailout, efforts to “erase” liberalism from Washington, Barack Obama’s failings, Congressional disapproval by the American people (as reflected by recent polls), how George W. Bush became a…

  • Bat Segundo Will Return in January 2012!

    ed@edrants.com (Edward Champion)
    19 Dec 2011 | 10:07 am
    The Bat Segundo Show will be taking a break for the holidays. But we plan to return with fresh conversations in early January! In the meantime, feel free to sift through the more than 400 conversations in our archive. Thanks again for listening!

  • William Kennedy (BSS #427)

    ed@edrants.com (Edward Champion)
    9 Dec 2011 | 9:31 am
    William Kennedy is most recently the author of Changó’s Beads and Two-Tone Shoes. For related material, you can read my Modern Library Reading Challenge essay on Ironweed. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Caught in a migratory comedy of errors. Author: William Kennedy Subjects Discussed: Resonances in historical fiction that align with the present day, the William Gibson notion (“The future has already arrived. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.”), Guantanamo Bay and waterboarding, the 2008 Greek riots, writing Ironweed while being firmly immersed in the 1930s, referring to…

  • Joyce Carol Oates (BSS #426)

    ed@edrants.com (Edward Champion)
    7 Dec 2011 | 9:39 pm
    Joyce Carol Oates is most recently the author of The Corn Maiden and the editor of New Jersey Noir. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contending with needless tempers and false heaters. Author: Joyce Carol Oates PROGRAM NOTE: For many years, I had hoped to schedule Joyce Carol Oates on this program. And the opportunity at long last came in November. Wishing to make the most of this, I read eight Joyce Carol Oates books in advance of the conversation. The interview was to take place in Otto Penzler’s basement office at the Mysterious Bookshop. There was just one problem. Otto Penzler…
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    Minnesota Reads

  • Scored

    LeAnn Suchy
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    It’s pretty clear that my current obsession is dystopian fiction, but I recently stopped reading a handful of young adult dystopian novels. How could I read a book where love needs to be cured? Because, apparently, everything bad in our society (hate, war, etc.) is caused by love, so love is enemy number one. Please. Or a world where the dictator is a teenager? Come on. I know it’s young adult fiction so teenagers are the main characters, but in dystopian fiction I have to believe, at least a little bit, that our society could turn into the world you’re building. But…

  • Assassination Vacation

    Christa
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    One time someone told me in a really convincing and authoritative voice that as an English major, it is really bad form that I claimed no interest in history. “All literature is history,” or maybe “All history is literature,” this person said and I shrugged and imagined maps and capitols and dates that wars ended and began and bad guys, borders and good guys, red buttons and paperwork, and blah blah blah. This has all sort of recently changed for me. I’m getting better at understanding the defining features of individual decades, both politically and artistically and…

  • Dresden Files Book 13: Ghost Story

    Jessica
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Book thirteen of the Dresden Files series opens six months after our hero, Harry Dresden, sinks into the water after being shot through the heart while on his brother’s boat. He had just murdered the woman he loved, saved his daughter, and wiped out the entire vampire Red Court. In order to pull all of this off, Dresden was forced to call in every favor and pull every string that he had – good or evil. So, here we are in book thirteen, Ghost Story. Rest is not on the death agenda for Mr. Dresden. Instead he is shuffled into an “in between” where he meets his old friend Carmicheal…

  • Daytripper

    Christa
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    If I bit it today, the obit would say I was a writer who struggled to move beyond 2,000 word blog posts about what happened this past week at Subway. Survivors include the love of her life and two naughty kitties. If I cashed in at 22, it would say I was a college graduate who designed a nonprofit’s newsletter and reported the deets of high school tennis matches, both while wearing the clothes I slept in and bravely facing the shames of having negotiated last call at the Smiling Moose the previous night. At age 6, I was getting pretty good at coloring. The key was to trace the black lines…

  • The Psychopath Test

    Claire
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    “This is a story about madness.” So begins the delightful insanity of The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Ronson, a self-proclaimed sufferer of severe anxiety, admits that he is an odd choice for a renegade psychopath hunter, but his sense of humor and occasionally bizarre behavior make him perfect for the job of writing about it. He begins his quest after becoming involved in a curious mystery: a strange manuscript, sent to academics around the world, calling out to the universe’s most revered brains to crack its code. Ronson’s attempt to solve the mystery eventually results in him…
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    About.com Contemporary Literature

  • Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar

    25 Jan 2012 | 1:15 am
    In Hisham Matar's Anatomy of a Disappearance, Kamal is a Cairo widower; Nuri is his son. When they both fall in love with the same woman, it is Kamal who gets the girl, but then shortly thereafter disappears under mysterious circumstances. Read more....Read Full Post

  • And So It Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life

    24 Jan 2012 | 12:44 am
    Kurt Vonnegut became a cultural legend with novels like Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Galapagos, and many others. His novels and even his artwork is iconic, but less known is his personal life. Until now. Charles Shields, who was working with Vonnegut on this biography when the author died at the age of 85, has delivered an engaging and definitive biography in And So It Goes....Read Full Post

  • The Shadow of a Blue Cat by Naoyuki Ii

    23 Jan 2012 | 1:15 am
    In Naoyuki Ii's The Shadow of a Blue Cat, 51-year-old Japanese businessman Yuki Yajimi traces a path to his present by reflecting on the events of the past....Read Full Post

  • Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

    19 Jan 2012 | 1:03 am
    Save Thirteen Reasons Why for a rainy day, when you're feeling down and prepared to read about teen suicide and the effects of rumors on teenagers. This is a dark, tragic novel, predicated on the suicide of teenager Hannah Baker. Before her death, she records cassette tapes with 13 stories about people and events that led to her decision. We follow along with these stories along side one of the tape's recipients, the likeable Clay Jenson. While the book tackles tough topics, the writing and plot is suspenseful, and readers will find the book difficult to put down, and fast to read....Read…

  • Sanctus by Simon Toyne

    18 Jan 2012 | 1:53 am
    In Sanctus, a religious conspiracy thriller reminiscent of the Dan Brown novels, Simon Toyne delivers a fast-paced story about an order of monks who will die and kill to preserve their secret....Read Full Post
 
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    Flavorwire » Books

  • Curiouser and Curiouser! 10 of Literature’s Trippiest Books

    Emily Temple
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Today is the birthday of the venerable Lewis Carroll, creator of what is arguably the best-loved children’s tale of all time, Alice in Wonderland. He’s also the author of one of the trippiest, most psychedelic books of all time, which is, um, also Alice in Wonderland. To celebrate the occasion of his birth (he would be 180 years old today), we’ve collected the texts that we consider to be the trippiest books of all time, “trippy,” in this case, being defined as “resembling or inducing the hallucinatory effect produced by taking a psychedelic drug.”…

  • The Most Dangerous Novels of All Time

    Emily Temple
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    The decades-old controversy over Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses has been in the news again recently following the author’s cancelled appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival in the wake of reported death threats. This intended violence is not the first that Rushdie’s novel has inspired, and his is definitely not the first real-life danger to come from literature. In fact, several books are reputed to have inspired or informed violence over the years, to varying degrees. The debate over whether the impulse to violence can originate from media — whether film,…

  • Bookish Brands: 25 Pieces of Awesome Literary Street Art

    Emily Temple
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Graffiti artists aren’t particularly known for their bookishness. After all, when you spend your nights out on the street as a graphic art vigilante, you’re missing important time that could be spent snuggled up in bed with a book. So after we saw this spectacular Isaac Asimov portrait, we decided to go hunting for graffiti with a distinct literary bent — and in fact, the world abounds with bookish street art, from portraits of favorite authors to stenciled and scribbled quotes to representations of beloved characters. Click through to see twenty five of our favorite finds,…

  • A Bookworm’s Guide to Casting ‘The Corrections’

    Bailey Kennedy
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    The HBO adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s National Book Award-winning novel The Corrections has been surrounded by a whirlwind of casting rumors and confirmations since the series was greenlit back in November. The most recent rumbling of the rumor mill is that Maggie Gyllenhaal is in talks to play Denise Lambert, a professional chef who has an affair with both the owner of the restaurant where she works and his wife. The cast thus far includes Hollywood heavyweights Dianne Wiest, Ewan McGregor, and Chris Cooper; actors who we adore, but don’t necessarily see as casting home runs…

  • 15 Famous Authors’ Beautiful Estates

    Emily Temple
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    “Decidedly, I’m a better landscape gardener than a novelist,” Edith Wharton once declared. Indeed, Wharton, whose birthday we celebrate today, was as much a designer and tastemaker during her life as she was a writer. In fact, her first published book, The Decoration of Houses, was a design manual, and so many of her novels glow with beautiful descriptions of design, atmosphere, and costume that could only have come from a knowledgeable hand. Wharton built her estate, The Mount, in 1902, and if you ask us, its rolling green gardens certainly do her claim justice. So, to…
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    EbookMarketWatch

  • Toshiba BookPlace DB50 takes the color e-reader craze to Japan – Android Community

    admin
    28 Jan 2012 | 2:04 am
    Hot Hardware Toshiba BookPlace DB50 takes the color e-reader craze to JapanAndroid CommunityThe hardware isn't much, but then an ereader doesn't need to blast through benchmarks. The standard 7-inch, 1024×600 screen uses a TFT LCD screen, unlike the more readable IPS panels in the Barnes & Noble Nook Color and Nook Tablet. a 1.0Ghz …Toshiba Announces Debut E-reader in Japan, Mulling Launch AbroadPCWorld (blog)all 8 news articles » View full post on ereader screen – Google News

  • iBooks Author: An ebook publisher looks at Apple’s textbook creation app – tuaw.com

    admin
    28 Jan 2012 | 2:02 am
    9 to 5 Mac iBooks Author: An ebook publisher looks at Apple's textbook creation apptuaw.comSince we're familiar with the tools used to create documents for publishing on both the Amazon Kindle bookstore and iBookstore, we were both curious to see what Apple was going to announce on Thursday. The free creation tool, iBooks Author, …iBooks Author EULA restrictions invite antitrust concernsArs TechnicaSencha embeds interactive CSS3 animations in iBook AuthorApple InsiderApple Introduces iBook Textbook Publishing [News]MakeUseOfZDNet (blog) -9 to 5 Mac -International…

  • African publishers lag in shift to electronic books – Daily Monitor

    admin
    28 Jan 2012 | 2:02 am
    Daily Monitor African publishers lag in shift to electronic booksDaily Monitor… version as few publishers have moved online. “I would like to have more e-books by Kenyan and African authors, but the options are extremely limited on Amazon,” said Florence, who works at a local NGO. “This minimises optimal use of my Kindle.and more » View full post on kindle publishing – Google News

  • actionscript 3 – How to view epub reader app in flash builder4.6 …

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:03 pm
    I'm very new to Flex 4.6 and am trying this link http://designwithoutdesign.blogspot.com/2010/07/working-with-epub-files-in-flash-and.html. But i can display textflow format into plain text, Html conversion var entry:ZipEntry = event.currentTarget. View full post on epub – Google Blog Search

  • ePub: The Pure Time-Preference Theory of Interest

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:43 pm
    Search Mises.org. Store · Academy · Community · Wiki · Home · Daily · About · Blog · Literature · Mises TV · Events · Donate. Source link: http://blog.mises.org/20741/epub-the-pure-time-preference-theory-of-interest/ … View full post on epub – Google Blog Search
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    Book Marketing Bestsellers: Book Promotion Blog

  • Book Marketing Makeover: How to Sell Books Using Facebook

    John Kremer
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:12 am
    Guest post by Steve HarrisonLeif Peterson has a unique claim to fame: He’s the author of Missing, the first novel written entirely on Facebook. Initially started as a short writing challenge from a friend, Peterson soon realized the story, about a man who sees his own face on a Missing Person poster, had greater potential.“I started posting daily installments on Facebook pretty much on a whim, but right away I realized that there were a lot of people paying attention,” Peterson says. “The fact that people were following along and often leaving comments was very motivating.”For four…

  • Book Marketing Makeover: Write a Tip Blog Post in 30 Minutes or Less

    John Kremer
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:46 pm
    Guest post by Judy Cullins Are you blog marketing with tips already? Do you fully realize the benefits of that?As you look for tips to help you in your business, millions of others are looking as well. Your online audiences love tips because they don't want to spend a lot of time reading. They want the easy-to-read nuggets that pertain to their needs and interests so they can skim. Your potential buyers want solutions to their problems and concerns.When you give solutions, you show yourself as a trusted authority in your niche and bring your target market to your website. Once your visitor…

  • Book Marketing Makeover: Using Twitter to Promote Your Books

    John Kremer
    22 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    Guest post by Coleen TorresBefore the onslaught of social media promotions, book marketing was done through more traditional routes such as book tours, mailing book copies out to be reviewed, and radio or TV interviews.However, while those are still great ways to get word out there, utilizing the different social media platforms is an even more effective way to promote your latest book venture because of the magnitude of people they allow you to reach all at once. And while most people turn to Facebook first for marketing purposes, Twitter is an equally efficient and easy way to spread the…

  • Book Marketing Makeover: Creative Marketing Nets Real Results

    John Kremer
    21 Jan 2012 | 2:09 am
    Guest post by David A. KoopI have tried many out of the box ideas for marketing my top 10 bestselling cancer memoir Cancer It's a Good Thing I Got It! What I would like to share with you now combines several of those ideas together, providing spectacular results for me. They can do the same for you.While I was still in the middle of the writing process, I had business cards printed up. Yes, the full color cover of my book on the front and some very important information on the back.I talked and talked with everyone about my book and always gave them a card. Every time I paid a bill I put two…

  • Book Marketing Makeover: Don't Trip When Opportunity Calls

    John Kremer
    20 Jan 2012 | 12:56 pm
    Guest post by Nancy Juetten Do you want to be a sought-after and well compensated consultant, speaker, and media expert?  And, when you read these words, is your head nodding YES in a big way?Imagine what it would mean for your business if the following happened for you:Make News - You are tired of seeing your competitors featured in the news instead of your own perspectives. Now, you are ready to take your place in the media spotlight and take the initiative to seek out the right opportunities. Finally you turn media envy into media triumph – and smile all the way to the bank.Makeover…
 
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    Pixel of Ink

  • [Free Kindle Book] An Uncommon Family

    Pixel of Ink
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:11 pm
    An Uncommon Family by Christa Polkinhorn Genre: Contemporary Fiction A chance meeting between a middle-aged woman, a widower, and a semi-orphaned child in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, brings together three people who grapple with a past of loss and betrayal. Six-year-old Karla, whose mother died in a car crash, has a hard time accepting the loss. Anna, her aunt and guardian, struggles with her former husband’s deception and her shattered confidence in men, and Jonas, artist and teacher, mourns the death of his wife. While trying to help Karla, a talented but troubled child, Anna and…

  • [Bargain eBook] Isabeau by N. Gemini Sasson

    Pixel of Ink
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:06 pm
    Isabeau, A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer by N. Gemini Sasson Genre: Historical Fiction The story of Queen Isabella, who sought revenge on her husband Edward II, and her lover Sir Roger Mortimer, who masterminded the invasion that accomplished it. The marriage of Isabella of France and Edward II of England in 1308 is a union meant to secure lasting peace. For years, Isabella is a loyal wife, who repeatedly salvages her husband’s kingship, even as she endures his neglect. When she finally speaks out against Edward’s favorite, Lord Hugh Despenser, her income, lands…

  • [Free Kindle Book] India’s Summer by Therese

    Pixel of Ink
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:56 pm
    India’s Summer by Therese Genre: Contemporary Fiction India Butler, single and about to turn forty, travels to LA in an attempt to reinvent her life. In a world rarely illuminated by the flashbulbs of the paparazzi, she discovers the true meaning of “having it all.” Though free at time of posting, prices may change at any time. Please verify that the “Kindle Price” is $0.00. If you see a price for “Prime Members” or “read for free”, then the book is NOT free any longer. Click here to download from Amazon for the Kindle: FREE Don’t have a…

  • [Hot Deal] Seek Me with All Your Heart (75% off!)

    Pixel of Ink
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:42 am
    Seek Me with All Your Heart (A Land of Canaan Series) by Beth Wiseman Genre: Amish What would cause the Amish to move to Colorado, leaving family and friends behind? Some Amish are making the trek to Colorado for cheaper land. Others are fleeing strict bishops with long memories. For Emily Detweiler and her family, the move is more personal. Tragedy struck Emily in Ohio, shaking loose everything she believed was firm, including her faith. Her family took the bold step of leaving Ohio to resettle in a small Amish community in Canaan, Colorado, where they hope the distance will help erase…

  • A Round-up of 4 Friday Freebies!

    Pixel of Ink
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:31 am
    Take a gander at these 4 Free Kindle Books and get ready as they take you on trip across America, raise the hairs on the back of your neck, quicken your pulse, and make you laugh at the life we all know and love. But don’t take my word for it, grab your favorites today! Though free at time of posting, prices may change at any time. Please verify that the “Kindle Price” is $0.00. If you see a price for “Prime Members” or “read for free”, then the book is NOT free any longer. For non-U.S. readers, Kindle content availability and pricing will vary.
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    BookChums

  • Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 Shortlist Announced!

    10 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am
    It is that time of the year again, for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2011 shortlist is out! Seven novels feature in this shortlist for the 2011 edition of the prize, the list is in alphabetical order:  AMITAV GHOSH, IndiaRiver of Smoke (John Murray/Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)BANANA YOSHIMOTO, JapanThe Lake (Melville House)JAHNAVI BARUA, IndiaRebirth (Penguin India/Penguin Books)JAMIL AHMAD, PakistanThe Wandering Falcon (Penguin India/Hamish Hamilton)KYUNG-SOOK SHIN, South KoreaPlease Look After Mom (Alfred A. Knopf)RAHUL BHATTACHARYA, IndiaThe Sly Company of People Who Care (Pan…

  • Book Review - In Search of Change Maestros By Pritam Singh

    5 Apr 2011 | 9:47 am
    In Search of Change Maestros documents the contributions of seven great Indian wealth creators and institution builders who had the vision and fortitude to create world-class Indian corporations. The case studies included in this book are of Kumar Mangalam Birla, M. Damodaran, Sajjan Jindal, K.V. Kamath, Sunil Bharti Mittal, A.M. Naik, and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. The authors have skillfully synthesized in-depth interviews, questionnaires, and anthropological analysis to afford the reader a glimpse into the intimate world-view of these Change Maestros and to show them what makes these leaders…

  • Book Details - Search Engine Optimization For Dummies

    25 Mar 2011 | 11:25 am
    The handy guide for getting your site to jump to the top, now updated with the latest tips and tricks!A clear understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) is essential if you want your Web site to appear high in search results. This straightforward-but-fun guide provides you with a clear understanding of how you can use SEO as a key strategy for online marketing. After discussing search engine basics, SEO expert Peter Kent shares tips, tricks, and advice for making your content appealing to search engines. You'll explore new and updated content on Bing, Google's new "Caffeine" search…

  • BookChums Book Review - Airman By Eoin Colfer

    24 Jan 2011 | 4:16 am
    Conor Broekhart was born to fly. It is the 1890s, and Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king’s daughter, Princess Isabella.  But the boy’s idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a deadly conspiracy against the king. When Conor intervenes, he is branded a traitor and thrown into jail on the prison island of Little Saltee. There, he has to fight for his life, as he and the other prisoners are forced to mine for diamonds in…

  • Book Review - Some Of The Whole by Abhijit Bhattacharya

    18 Jan 2011 | 7:00 am
    Now here’s something I’ve loved – a unique offering from a new-age writer. Some Of The Whole by Abhijit Bhattacharya comprises ten short stories about different people at the airport lounge, awaiting their flight. Their present situation marks the beginning of the flashback that the author seamlessly draws you into and ends each tale with a twist that is sure to leave you gaping. And how! Very contemporary in approach, the chapters are named after popular songs – another reason that makes you turn the pages and read ahead.The above Book Review was contributed by Sonia Safari on…
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    Read Books Online Free

  • Bleak House

    A. Michael
    21 Jan 2012 | 10:49 am
    By Charles DickensFree Books: Click Here To Read Books Online Free!Read Bleak House Online FreeClick Cover To Read Book Online For Free!Bleak House full audiobook online free:Bleak House is the 10th novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853. It is held to be one of Charles Dickens's finest novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon. The story Bleak House is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator.

  • I Am Number Four

    A. Michael
    20 Jan 2012 | 8:46 am
    By Pittacus LoreFree Books: Click Here To Read Books Online Free!Read I Am Number Four Online FreeClick Cover To Read Book Online For Free!I Am Number Four full audiobook online free, Chapter 1:I Am Number Four is a young adult science fiction novel by Pittacus Lore (a pseudonym for James Frey and Jobie Hughes) and the first book in the Lorien Legacies series. The book I Am Number Four was published on August 3, 2010, and spent seven straight weeks at #1 on the children's chapter of The New York Times Best Seller list. DreamWorks Pictures bought the I Am Number Four rights to the film in June…

  • Carmilla - A Vampire Tale

    A. Michael
    29 Nov 2011 | 8:58 am
    By Sheridan Le FanuFree Books: Click Here To Read Books Online Free!Read Carmilla Online FreeClick Cover To Read Book Online For Free!Carmilla full audiobook online free:Carmilla is a classic horror and Gothic novella by Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla. Carmilla predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by 25 years, and has been adapted many times for cinema.The vampire story Carmilla is presented by Sheridan Le Fanu as part of the casebook of Dr Hesselius, whose…

  • The Son of Neptune

    A. Michael
    26 Nov 2011 | 4:26 pm
    By Rick RiordanFree Books: Click Here To Read Books Online Free!Read The Son of Neptune Online FreeClick Cover To Read Book Online For Free!The Son of Neptune audiobook free, excerpts:The Son of Neptune is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series written by Rick Riordan. It was released on October 4, 2011.The Son of Neptune opens with Percy Jackson being chased by the Gorgon sisters. They intend to kill Percy Jackson in order to avenge the killing of their sister Medusa 4 years ago, but Percy has amnesia and since he only remembers Annabeth from his past, does not understand why they…

  • Behind the Scenes at the Museum

    A. Michael
    26 Nov 2011 | 12:07 am
    By Kate AtkinsonFree Books: Click Here To Read Books Online Free!Read Behind the Scenes at the Museum Online FreeClick Cover To Read Book Online For Free!Behind the Scenes at the Museum is the first novel of Kate Atkinson. The book Behind the Scenes at the Museum covers the experiences of Ruby Lennox from a middle-class English family living in York.By interspersing flashbacks with the narrative of Ruby's own life, the book Behind the Scenes at the Museum chronicles the lives of four generations of women from Ruby's great-grandmother Alice to Ruby's mother's failed dreams.The story of Ruby's…
 
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    THE FIRE WIRE

  • M Ward To Release New CD, A Wasteland Companion On April 10

    Larry Fire
    28 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am
    In the three years since M Ward released his last solo album, Hold Time, he’s toured the globe, released two albums as one half of Grammy-nominated duo She & Him as well as one with the talented group of friends collectively known as Monsters Of Folk. A Wasteland Companion, Ward’s sixth solo album, will be released in the US & Canada on April 10 via Merge Records, April 9 in the UK on Bella Union and April 6th in Australia & New Zealand through Spunk Records. Inspired by his increasingly itinerant lifestyle Ward set forth to create something of a musical travelogue. He…

  • Sony To Hold Sneak Peek Events For The Amazing Spider-Man In Multiple Cities On Monday, February 6th

    Larry Fire
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:39 pm
    Sony Pictures will be hold sneak peek events for The Amazing Spider-Man in multiple cities on Monday, February 6th. Displays promoting the events are going up tonight in London, Rio, New York and Los Angeles. The London URL to sign up for the event is at TheUntoldStoryBegins.co.uk and the U.S. one will be available soon at TheUntoldStoryBegins.com.

  • Celebrate Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace As It Returns to Theaters In 3D With Exclusive Activities and Giveaways

    Larry Fire
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:49 pm
    Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace opens in 3-D on Feb. 10 and some theaters are offering special giveaways on opening weekend. - At all RealD theaters, Darth Maul glasses will be handed out (while supplies last) to fans who buy tickets on the movie’s opening day. - At all AMC Theaters, fans will get the all-new Hasbro “Star Wars” Fighter Pod with the purchase of each RealD 3-D ticket for “Episode I,” all weekend long, Feb. 10-12.  The limit is one per ticket and the offer is good only while supplies last. - At 10 select AMC theaters in the U.S., starting at 11…

  • Angry Birds Is Coming To Facebook On February 14th

    Larry Fire
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am
    Everyone’s favorite furious fowl, Angry Birds, is coming to Facebook on February 14! Join in on the fun and mark this date on your calendar. Help make this the biggest Facebook event ever!

  • Life’s Too Short: Ricky Gervais, Warwick Davis HBO Comedy Releases Official Poster

    Larry Fire
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am
    Ricky Gervais is returning to HBO in the faux documentary “Life’s Too Short,” starring “Star Wars” actor Warwick Davis and guest starring Gervais and a few of his famous friends. “Life’s Too Short,” from Gervais and Stephen Merchant, is a fictional documentary about Davis’ life as a little person who’s down on his luck, struggling to get back into the spotlight. Davis plays a fictionalized version of himself and runs a talent agency for little people in show business, called “Dwarves for Hire,” though he often takes the…
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    BubbleCow

  • Getting Personal . . . And FINALLY Doing What You’ve Told Me To Do

    Gary Smailes
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:27 am
    So, on most weeks I send out helpful advice about writing, getting published and selling more books… Well . . . today is a bit different. I want to pull back the curtain a little bit and share something more personal. Here goes… I was recently out celebrating my 40th birthday (old, I know!). As the celebrations progressed I was asked, “Do you like your birthday?” I smiled at the question. This particular group of friends didn’t know (yet) about the strong feelings I have about my birthday. This got me thinking about how I should share some of this with you. You will see why…

  • How To Fix Your Fiction Book Proposal (it’s really easy)

    Gary Smailes
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:58 am
    Writing a book proposal can be almost as hard as writing a novel. In 2001, when I was first looking to get published, the idea of writing a book proposal was frankly pretty scary. In fact, I did what most writers seem to do, that’s knock together a crappy book proposal that turns out to be a rejection magnet. However, I was lucky. I was, at the time, working with the writer Terry Deary. He opened my eyes to what makes a winning book proposal. But this was only the start… I then spent years talking to writers, agents and publishers about what was needed in a good query letter and synopsis.

  • How To Create An Ebook For Free With Pressbooks

    Gary Smailes
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:03 am
    Turning your Word document into an ebook can be a tricky and messy affair. Pressbooks have created an online tool that allows you to add your text, book cover and book details, then, with the push of a button, produce a digital version of your book. All for free! As it stands you can produce: epub, print-ready PDF, InDesign-ready XML, Online HTML version. Kevin Metzger has put together a series of videos that have become the ‘unofficial guide’ to Pressbooks. You can sign up for a free Pressbooks account here. Lesson 1: Introduction to Pressbooks Lesson 2: Dashboard And…

  • Query Letter Template

    Gary Smailes
    11 Jan 2012 | 12:27 am
    The aim of a query letter is to provide everything an agent needs to NOT reject your book without consideration — all in one short letter. I have previously outlined the technique I have used to write query letters that resulted in me getting more than 20 books published. However, a number of writers have asked for a Query Letter Template that they can use as a guideline for writing their own query letters. So far I have resisted since there is no ONE way to write a query letter. However, below is the outline of the four paragraph approach that we teach at BubbleCow. Please read this…

  • Three Companies That Will Change The Way You Read And Write

    Gary Smailes
    4 Jan 2012 | 12:38 am
    The music world has shown us that it will be the little boys, not the big boys, that will revolutionize the way we read and produce books (think Spotify). In fact, the thought leaders in the digital publishing space are already predicting that two types of approaches to ebooks will guide what happens in the next few years. Social Reading – This is the idea that bringing together other readers will improve the reading experience. Online Publishing Tools – Here the key concept is that books will be created online and then ‘ported’ to the relevant reader. The idea being…
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    Book Marketing Strategies and Tips For Authors

  • Over 500 Post From Great Authors And Experts

    Tony Eldridge
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:24 pm
    Three years ago, I started Marketing Tips For Authors and I have met a ton of wonderful authors, authors-to-be, and book marketing experts. I have had the privilege of inviting talented authors to submit guest posts. Some were best selling authors like Jerry Jenkins (Do-It-Yourself Marketing), others were authors who had their first book pending publication. I also had a number of talented book marketing experts freely share their knowledge. They wrote on things like how to sell more book, how to use social media in your book marketing plan, and a host of other evergreen articles that still…

  • eBook Marketing: What Goes Around Comes Around By James Moushon

    Tony Eldridge
    6 Oct 2011 | 9:51 am
    Today, we have a treat as our guest author. James Moushon is an author and a pioneer in the e-publishing world. I found him through his blog and numerous guest articles and was thrilled when he agreed to share his knowledge on e-book publishing with us. When you are finished with this post, make sure you take a look at his other online writing. eBook Marketing: What Goes Around Comes Around By James Moushon To eBook authors, marketing can be a daunting task. Whether you're an indie publisher or you are using a traditional publisher, the marketing is usually left up to you. It is a digital…

  • The new phone book is here! By Christopher Hudson

    Tony Eldridge
    30 Sep 2011 | 8:54 am
    We have a treat today with a new guest post by author Christopher Hudson. He will be discussing the problem that all authors face when they add their name to the big list of published authors. Undoubtedly, millions of authors find themselves in this situation. It's going to be interesting to see the comments as authors share their experience with this and how they all deal with it.   The new phone book is here! By Christopher Hudson When Steve Martin's character in the movie, The Jerk, see's his name in the new phone book, he exclaims, 'I'm somebody.' That's exactly what I said when I…

  • Adding Customer Images to Your Amazon Page To Increase Your Sales By Laura Pepper Wu

    Tony Eldridge
    20 Sep 2011 | 10:21 am
    Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to author Laura Pepper Wu. Laura will share a fascinating  tip she learned on how to make your Amazon sales page more effective by adding your own images to it. My continued thanks to everyone as I still catch up with scheduled posts that I'm working to get out to you. Adding Customer Images to Your Amazon Page To Increase Your Sales  By Laura Pepper Wu Not all book marketing efforts come equal. Some are large endeavors (book tours, ad campaigns, guest posts), others are small tweaks that bring surprising results. One such thing is adding…

  • 5 Tips For Marketing Your Novel The Second Time Around By Dan McGirt

    Tony Eldridge
    13 Sep 2011 | 11:57 am
    One of the reasons I love to do this blog is to discuss tips like the ones I'm discussing with you today. Actually, they come from an author who shares his experience when it comes to resurrecting a blacklist. New authors may not appreciate just how great this "Golden Age" of publishing is for us, but those with backlist books sure do. Author Dan McGirt shares 5 powerful tips for those who have a previously published novel that you want to shake the dust off of and put back into circulation. There's some great tips here, so let's get started. 5 Tips For Marketing Your Novel The Second Time…
 
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    The Truth About Lies

  • Aggie and Shuggie 32

    25 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm
    Maggie: Da! Shuggie: Whit, hen? Maggie: Are we real? Shuggie: Are we whit? Maggie: Real? Shuggie: [feels himself over] Aye, hen, as far as Ah cun tell. Maggie: Tha’s no whit Ah mean. How’d we know we’re no the figment o sumwan’s imagination? Shuggie: Like Goad? Maggie: Aye. Shuggie: Wull, aw Ah cun say is if sumwan immaginified me Goad help ‘im. Maggie: Yoor no takin me seriously. Shuggie: Ah am. It’s jist Ah wis never much cop when it came to apisstomology. Ah aywis thought it were sumhim tae dae wi hinkin aboot bevvy. Maggie: Ye mean ontology? Shuggie: Aye, that tae. Maggie:…

  • Chronicle in Stone

    20 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm
    I could not understand how people could not like something as beautiful as the aerodrome. But I had lately become convinced that in general people were pretty boring. ― Ismail Kadare, Chronicle in Stone Childhood is a wonderful place, part battleground, part playground. It is like a parallel universe that occupies the same time and space as the adult world and yet exists independently to it. Childhood is a popular subject for writers particularly their own childhoods. Of course it helps to have lived through interesting times. When I look back to me growing up in the sixties or, to be more…

  • Milligan and Murphy

    15 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm
    Over the past few years regular readers will have heard me mention and sometimes even quote from my unpublished novels. I finished Milligan and Murphy in August 2005 about three years after my play Vladimir and Estragon are Dead. I had kind of thought that after writing that I’d put my fascination with all things Beckettian to bed, but apparently not. The book was written in the two years we were living in an unfurnished flat in the Gorbals. You can actually see the flats in the photo below. They were brand new and we were the first occupants. It was a nice flat. We could actually see teams…

  • Beckett's pseudo-couples (part two)

    10 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm
      In his book, Beckett Before Godot, John Pilling notes: PJ Murphy has been one of the very few Beckett critics to see that Mercier et Camier suffers from what the Denis Devlin review calls 'the need that in its haste to be abolished cannot pause to be stated'. For a book so full of statement, indeed, Mercier et Camier seems oddly insubstantial, as if the 'haste to be abolished' had been more important than 'the predicament of particular human identity.'[1] The English version certainly has a rushed feel about it. Scenes which other authors would have devoted an entire chapter to,…

  • Beckett's pseudo-couples (part one)

    5 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm
    Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together... TS Eliot, The Waste Land I have no idea what the IQs of these gentlemen are but I don’t think the same criterion applies when you’re talking about writers, composers, comedians and artists. Few would dispute that Beethoven was a musical genius, that Picasso was an artistic genius, that Shakespeare was a literary genius and that Peter Sellers was a comedic genius but does that mean that every note Beethoven wrote was a work of genius? or that every line penned by Shakespeare was a work of…
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    Silk-spun

  • In which there is an ending and a beginning

    Chelsea
    1 Jan 2012 | 7:24 pm
    Another year gone, another year beginning. It always seems that the year passes in the blink of an eye, one minute we’re toasting the new year and the next we’re reflecting on all that it contained. For me, 2011 was a year of mostly good things. Quiet, calm, peaceful, just how I prefer it. It was a time of personal growth, and although I have many more miles yet to walk, I am satisfied with the steps I have taken. This was a brilliant year for reading. So many favorite books discovered–”Orphan’s Tales”, “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland”,…

  • In which there are two many things in too few words: “Practical Magic”, “Ginger Snaps” and “Pretty Monsters”

    Chelsea
    27 Dec 2011 | 8:51 pm
    I am going to write this post if it kills me. There are three things I want to write about, going all the way back to October because I will always be a failure of a blog maintainer. None of these things will get the proper amount of words, but at least they will be here and their neglect can finally stop nagging at me. First, “Practical Magic” by Alice Hoffman. I read this during the first couple of weeks of October, I think, and it is one of my favorite books of this year. I watched the film a few months before I read the book and while I enjoyed it, I felt like it was lacking…

  • In which one perfect poem says everything, or, an apology for absence

    Chelsea
    20 Dec 2011 | 2:11 pm
    Be careful of words, even the miraculous ones. For the miraculous ones we do our best, sometimes they swarm like insects and leave not a sting but a kiss. They can be good as fingers. They can be trusty as the rock you stick your bottom on. But they can be both daisies and bruises. Yet I am in love with words. They are doves falling out of the ceiling. They are six holy oranges sitting in my lap. They are the trees, the legs of summer, and the sun, its passionate face. Yet often they fail me. I have so much I want to say, so many stories, images, proverbs, etc. But the words aren’t good…

  • In which I attempt to describe an indescribable experience

    Chelsea
    19 Nov 2011 | 4:57 pm
    The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings – words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out. –Stephen King Note: All the links in this post are to my concert recordings. Somehow, my plea to the universe was heard and fulfilled, and on Sunday, I was in the same room with Sam Beam at University of Central Arkansas. Every time he spoke, I had an overwhelming sense of surreal amazement, that this man I have heard countless times…

  • In which I try to say important things but they mostly get lost, so there are lots of links to beautiful things to compensate

    Chelsea
    7 Nov 2011 | 1:19 pm
    Reading Roxane Gay’s blog makes me want to be more real with my own writing. More direct. I have never quite outgrown my angsty fifteen-year-old habit of dancing around what I really want to say, burying truth in layers of simile and metaphor and vague statements that could be interpreted any number of ways. I feel safest when no one really knows how I feel. When I can say no, you misunderstand, if they get too close. But I like writing best when it’s a little bit raw and vulnerable and each word thrums with its own heartbeat, and so, I am a hypocrite. That is not a shocking…
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    Free Book Reviews

  • Book Review: I Zombie I by Jack Wallen

    Free Book Reviews
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Description from AmazonIn a moment of pure chaos, the majority of the Earth's population became the walking dead. One man promises to unveil the truth.When journalist Jacob Plummer is bitten by one of the undead he turns to the written word not only to ease the pain of change, but to reveal a truth that could spare the world from extinction.As Jacob attempts to reveal the conspiracy behind the virus he fights off the undead masses to save the planet from a collision with entropy. ReviewOverall Feedback: I have had tow authors (Shea MacLeod and Danielle Blanchard) suggest that I read this…

  • Book Review: Zombie Exodus by Jim Dattilo

    Free Book Reviews
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    Description from iTunesBuild your character and fight your way out of a zombie-filled city to save your sister in this interactive horror fiction story. Gather supplies and weapons while avoiding the military, bandits, and living dead. Your choices alone control the story.ReviewSeeing as how this is more an interactive story for an Android Device or Apple Device my review will have to be given in a different format. First of all this is a Free story on both Apple and Android devices and is also available for viewing online. I thought the author did very well with the story line and gave some…

  • Author Interview: Cynthia Echterling author of Scavengers

    Free Book Reviews
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:49 am
    About your book: ScavengersWhat does it mean to be human? It is one thing for anthropologist, Thomas Martin, to study the savages who live in the ruins, eating rats, garbage and their own dead. It is quite another to become one of them and survive. Scavengers is a post-apocalyptic story of devastation and rebirth.Free Book ReviewsWhat do you think readers will find most notable about this book?Cynthia EchterlingWhen I tell people what the book is about, many expect it to be horror. It has cannibals in it, right? But readers are suprised by how well developed the characters are, how I take you…

  • SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today

    Free Book Reviews
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:36 pm
    Hi everyone!A big hurrah to you!!!!! We’ve won for now -- SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today -- the votes we’ve been scrambling to mobilize against have been cancelled.The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game. You were heard. On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday. See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.This was unprecedented. Your activism may have changed the…

  • IWU Blog Tour: Susan Ricci author of Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems

    Free Book Reviews
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:10 pm
    Please help us welcome Susan Ricci to our blog! Also help support IWU on Facebook by joining!Free Book ReviewsIf you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be? Susan RicciAh, gee, there was a time when I thought I'd like to be reincarnated as a stud horse, but now I'd just like to be a well cared-for Maple tree, housing the birds in summer, relaxing in the autumn, and having a long winter's nap before awakening in the spring.Free Book ReviewsWhat is your favorite color? Susan RicciMy favorite color has always been any shade of red.Free Book ReviewsYou are invited to a…
 
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    Readaholic

  • For The Love Of Books #Giveaway: Sanctus by Simon Toyne

    bridget3420
    28 Jan 2012 | 12:06 am
    SYNOPSIS: One man’s sacrifice shocks the world . . . One woman’s courage threatens a conspiracy as old as humankind . . . And some will do anything—anything—to keep their secrets in the dark. Sanctus A man climbs a cliff face in the oldest inhabited place on earth, a mountain known as the Citadel, a Vatican-like city-state that towers above the city of Ruin in modern-day Turkey. But this is no ordinary ascent. It is a dangerous, symbolic act. And thanks to the media, it is an event witnessed by the entire world. Few people understand its consequence. But for foundation worker Kathryn…

  • Get Fit

    bridget3420
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:51 pm
    It's the beginning of a new year and the most popular resolution is to lose weight and get fit. Exercise is important for your body and your mind. It would be great if I could lose enough weight to feel comfortable showing off my Beach Body in 2012. In order to stick to my current exercise, I am trying to build up my tolerance.  I alternate between doing an Extreme Body Workout and yoga.  How are you planning to get fit this year, through exercise, dieting or both?  If you are interested in finding out more about what you can do to shape up this year, check out this 90 Day…

  • Review: Affairs of Steak by Julie Hyzy

    bridget3420
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:28 pm
    ABOUT THIS BOOK: White House chef Olivia Paras and her arch nemesis, White House Sensitivity Director Peter Everett Sargeant, must work together to solve the double murder of one of the First Lady's assistants and the Chief of Staff-before they become the next victims of a merciless assassin with a secret agenda. MY THOUGHTS: I like to read different genres depending on what type of mood I am in.  I read Affairs of Steak when I was in the mood to find out whodunnit.  One thing I didn't really count on was how hungry reading this book would make me!  There are recipes included…

  • What Are You Wishing For This Valentine's Day?

    bridget3420
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:01 am
    Valentine's Day will be upon us before you know it. I would love to spend the day at a spa or eat at a fancy restaurant this year. Our finances won't allow for such extravagant gifts at this moment. Luckily, neither my husband nor I are "all about presents". We are happy to just have each other. This year, I'm just happy to have someone as special as my husband in my life. He means the world to me! If he does get me something this year, I would be thrilled to receive a book or some yummy chocolates. Disclosure: This post is brought to you by www.sees.com. All opinions expressed are 100% my…

  • Review: Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank

    bridget3420
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:33 am
    SYNOPSIS: Folly Beach, South Carolina, with its glistening beaches, laid-back Southern charm, and enticing Gullah tradition, is the land of Cate Cooper’s childhood, the place where all the ghosts of her past roam freely. Now, thanks to a newly deceased husband whose financial and emotional perfidy has left her homeless and broke, she’s returning to this lovely strip of coast. Once, another woman found comfort here: an artist, writer, and sometime colleague of the revered George Gershwin. With her beloved husband, DuBose, Dorothy Heyward enjoyed the greatest moments of her life at Folly.
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    Book Marketing Strategies and Tips For Authors

  • Over 500 Post From Great Authors And Experts

    Tony Eldridge
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:24 pm
    Three years ago, I started Marketing Tips For Authors and I have met a ton of wonderful authors, authors-to-be, and book marketing experts. I have had the privilege of inviting talented authors to submit guest posts. Some were best selling authors like Jerry Jenkins (Do-It-Yourself Marketing), others were authors who had their first book pending publication. I also had a number of talented book marketing experts freely share their knowledge. They wrote on things like how to sell more book, how to use social media in your book marketing plan, and a host of other evergreen articles that still…

  • eBook Marketing: What Goes Around Comes Around By James Moushon

    Tony Eldridge
    6 Oct 2011 | 9:51 am
    Today, we have a treat as our guest author. James Moushon is an author and a pioneer in the e-publishing world. I found him through his blog and numerous guest articles and was thrilled when he agreed to share his knowledge on e-book publishing with us. When you are finished with this post, make sure you take a look at his other online writing. eBook Marketing: What Goes Around Comes Around By James Moushon To eBook authors, marketing can be a daunting task. Whether you're an indie publisher or you are using a traditional publisher, the marketing is usually left up to you. It is a digital…

  • The new phone book is here! By Christopher Hudson

    Tony Eldridge
    30 Sep 2011 | 8:54 am
    We have a treat today with a new guest post by author Christopher Hudson. He will be discussing the problem that all authors face when they add their name to the big list of published authors. Undoubtedly, millions of authors find themselves in this situation. It's going to be interesting to see the comments as authors share their experience with this and how they all deal with it.   The new phone book is here! By Christopher Hudson When Steve Martin's character in the movie, The Jerk, see's his name in the new phone book, he exclaims, 'I'm somebody.' That's exactly what I said when I…

  • Adding Customer Images to Your Amazon Page To Increase Your Sales By Laura Pepper Wu

    Tony Eldridge
    20 Sep 2011 | 10:21 am
    Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to author Laura Pepper Wu. Laura will share a fascinating  tip she learned on how to make your Amazon sales page more effective by adding your own images to it. My continued thanks to everyone as I still catch up with scheduled posts that I'm working to get out to you. Adding Customer Images to Your Amazon Page To Increase Your Sales  By Laura Pepper Wu Not all book marketing efforts come equal. Some are large endeavors (book tours, ad campaigns, guest posts), others are small tweaks that bring surprising results. One such thing is adding…

  • 5 Tips For Marketing Your Novel The Second Time Around By Dan McGirt

    Tony Eldridge
    13 Sep 2011 | 11:57 am
    One of the reasons I love to do this blog is to discuss tips like the ones I'm discussing with you today. Actually, they come from an author who shares his experience when it comes to resurrecting a blacklist. New authors may not appreciate just how great this "Golden Age" of publishing is for us, but those with backlist books sure do. Author Dan McGirt shares 5 powerful tips for those who have a previously published novel that you want to shake the dust off of and put back into circulation. There's some great tips here, so let's get started. 5 Tips For Marketing Your Novel The Second Time…
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    The Book Designer

  • Real eBooks: Are We Still in the Stone Age?

    Joel Friedlander
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    by James Moushon I’m really pleased to bring you a guest post by author and blogger James Moushon. I met James through the blog and the articles he contributes to other sites like SelfPublishingReview.com and he has been a featured blogger in our own Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. In this article James poses a question every ebook author might want to think about. Here it is. So when will we start to see REAL ebooks appear on the market? You know the ebooks that take advantage of their digital environment. Ebooks that have been rendered to improve the reader’s…

  • Upcoming West Coast Book Publishing Events for Indie Authors

    Joel Friedlander
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    One of the staples of an author website or blog is the Calendar page. Fans can find out the next stop on your blog tour, where you might be speaking at a live event, or other notable happenings. The problem is, in practice, these Calendar pages rarely get updated. It’s quite common to go to an author’s Calendar page and find out where they were speaking two, three, or four years ago. This makes me sad, so I’ve never put a Calendar page on my blog. Instead, I’m listing right here the upcoming events I’ll be speaking live at, with links to the registration pages…

  • Video: John Kremer on Book Marketing in 2012

    Joel Friedlander
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    Last week I had a chance to sit down with John Kremer and have a chat about book marketing. I don’t think John needs much of an introduction, but for those new to the indie publishing scene, you really ought to get to know him and what he has to offer indie authors. John is the owner of Open Horizons publishing in New Mexico and his website, www.bookmarket.com is the largest collection of marketing advice for indie authors anywhere online. John is the author of several books including the classic 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, and he runs The Book Marketing Network, a social media site…
 
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    Novelicious - The Female Fiction and Chick Lit Blog

  • Wallpapering with Book Pages

    Kirsty
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:14 am
    I saw this book papered ceiling on Apartment Therapy and didn't quite know how to feel. While I absolutely love the way it looks, I do feel a bit squeamish at the thought of ripping up all those books. I'm not generally one of those people who like to protect their books so much that they look like they've never been opened (I happily dog ear the pages, scribble notes in the margins, read in the bath), but totally ripping them up? Not so sure. What do you think? Do you think it looks pretty? Would you ever rip up a book?

  • The Bookish Roundup: Week 4 2012

    Kirsty
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:09 pm
    Each week we scour the internets for the most interesting or helpful book and writing related stories of the week. Then every Friday we put them into an nice list for you. That's it, really. This Week... Andrew Miller wins Costa Book of the Year City of Fallen Angels is named as the most quoted book of 2011 Shiloh Walker confirms that each time a bad review is written, a pink fluffy unicorn dies Flavorwire shows us the best literary themed graffiti ever Jenny Colgan writes a Doctor Who book Writer's Digest gives us 4 tips for creating believable villains Piatkus announces their new digital…

  • Bookish Etsy Pick - Book Owl Handbag

    Kirsty
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    WANT. This handmade Book Owl handbag is by Dunny Galleger on Etsy and costs £49.08. Isn't it cute?

  • Review - Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

    Kirsty
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:38 am
    REVIEWED BY CESCA MARTIN How can you not be utterly gripped by a book that begins like this: woman wakes up after one-night stand, goes to bathroom, looks in mirror, sees herself... only she’s 25 years too old?  This is the opening to S.J.Watson’s debut novel and from that moment you are hooked.  Christine lives with Ben, her husband of more than twenty years, and wakes everyday never remembering what she knew before she fell asleep.  Sometimes she’s five and sometimes she’s in her early twenties.  Life is scary and unreal.  Christine is living today every day; over and over. …

  • Review - The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

    Kirsty
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:45 am
    REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR The Paris Wife is the story of Hadley Richardson, the first of Ernest Hemingway’s four wives. Hadley meets her future husband in 1920 when she’s twenty-eight. Up until that time she’s lived a quiet, secluded life and is only too thrilled to marry him and relocate with him to Paris where the couple soon become part of the enigmatic group of modernist writers and artists living in the capital. Their new friends include Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, and eventually they also meet up with F Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. As a foreign correspondent, Ernest takes…
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    Reading with Tequila

  • A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

    Jennifer Sicurella
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris 2009, Ace Series: Short stories from Sookie Stackhouse Website / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her “spunky” (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written—together in one volume. Stories include “Fairy Dust,” “One Word Answer,” “Dracula Night,” “Lucky,” and “Giftwrap.” Why read: Love the series What impressed…

  • 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

    Jennifer Sicurella
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    206 Bones by Kathy Reichs 2009, Scribner Series: Book 12 of Temperance Brennan Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: There are 206 bones in the human body. And one shattering secret hidden among them. . . Cold and alone, bound hands to feet, Tempe Brennan regains consciousness locked in a dark cell—or is she buried alive in a tomb?—and begins to reconstruct the twisted chain of events that led her to this terrifying place. Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had recently accompanied the remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue, and suddenly Tempe…

  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

    Jennifer Sicurella
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke 2011, Kensington Series: Book 1 of Hannah Swenson Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: Hannah Swenson already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden, Minnesota's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life just can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets…

  • Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

    Jennifer Sicurella
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward 2006, Signet Series: Book 2 of Black Dagger Brotherhood Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret bound of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most…

  • Triumph of the Walking Dead edited by James Lowder

    Jennifer Sicurella
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Triumph of the Walking Dead edited by James Lowder 2011, Smart Pop Website / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: The Walking Dead gained national attention as AMC’s latest critically acclaimed drama, shattering the network’s previous premiere ratings highs and earning a second season renewal after its very first episode. But before its television debut, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead was a comic phenomenon. James Lowder, veteran editor and author in the horror genre and comics field, collects some of the biggest names in the zombie genre, along with other top horror and comics…
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    Blkosiner's Book Blog

  • Young Adult Giveaway Hop

    Brandileigh2003 (Blkosiner's Book Blog)
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:41 pm
    Young Adult Giveaway HopI am giving away Darkness Surrounding by Kat Mellon Convoluted pasts. Moral conflicts. Zanni Anderson, a strong-willed blonde with wit to boot, discovers she's tangled in something more inexplicable and daunting than she could ever imagine. And she — along with a motley crew of teenage boys — are the only ones who can stop what their ancestors began. Here's my interview with Kat:--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.Zanni, a strong-willed blonde with wit to boot, discovers she — along with a motley crew of teenage boys — are…

  • Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

    Brandileigh2003 (Blkosiner's Book Blog)
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:31 pm
    Fever by Lauren DeStefanoRhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the…

  • Book Giveaway and Author Interview: Discordia by Morgana Gallaway

    Brandileigh2003 (Blkosiner's Book Blog)
    17 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am
    Discordia by Morgana GallawayIn near future Las Vegas, Beatrice D’Angelo, a descendant of famed poet Dante Alighieri, receives a mysterious voice recording on her thirteenth birthday. What she hears is a story with incredible implications . . .Several thousand years ago, a routine temptation goes awry and Mona—a young Hopi woman—saves the life of a snake who happens to be the adored pet of the demon Astaroth. Their encounter sparks a crisis for Astaroth, who breaks a cardinal rule of Hell and must prove to his fellow demons that he still has what it takes to be part of Hell’s inner…

  • Giveaway and Guest Post: This or That with Sheila Welch author of Waiting to Forget

    Brandileigh2003 (Blkosiner's Book Blog)
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:21 am
    Waiting to Forget by Sheila Kelly WelchFirst let me explain that I must be a This AND That kind of person!Vanilla or chocolate?  I love vanilla milkshakes but also adore chocolate candy.Edward or Jacob?  Okay, neither, but my daughter says to pick Edward. She even has a cardboard Edward in the school library where she’s the director. I thought it  was a real boy standing very still while I was doing a Skype visit. Okay, he was way far away, and I did realize after a few minutes that he couldn’t be real. But then neither is Edward.Hockey or soccer?  Soccer! My kids…

  • Book Giveaway and Author Interview: Revealing Eden by Victoria Foyt

    Brandileigh2003 (Blkosiner's Book Blog)
    14 Jan 2012 | 8:08 am
     Revealing Eden by Victoria FoytREVEALING EDEN tells the story of Eden Newman, who lives in a future, post-apocalyptic world where resistance to a deadly, overheated environment defines class and beauty. A month away from her 18th birthday, Eden must mate—or die! If only someone wanted a lowly, white-skinned Pearl, worthless in a world ruled by dark Coals. When Eden unwittingly compromises her father’s secret biological experiment, she is cast out—into the last patch of rainforest and the arms of a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction to…
 
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    The Official BookBuzzr Blog

  • Why the Amazon KDP Select DOES NOT Affect BookBuzzr Authors

    Vikram
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:30 am
    What is KDP Select? KDP Select is an option for KDP publishers from Amazon. Through KDP Select, for an initial period of 90 days your Digital Book is exclusive to Kindle and is included in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Program where it will earn a share of a monthly cash fund when readers borrow it. Also, you can promote your Digital Book as free for up to 5 days during these 90 days. We have had a few authors asking if it is okay for them to continue to promote their book using BookBuzzr Technologies while on the KDP Select Program. Based on our understanding of the KDP Select terms…

  • When Will the eBook Expressway Explode Sales for Nonfiction – as It Has for Fiction?

    Freya
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:30 am
    Guest Expert: Laurel Marshfield eBook Writer In the mid-1960s, the Beatles recorded “Paperback Writer,” a song that could be said to mirror the controlled frenzy currently surrounding eBooks. Why so? With its good-natured satire, the song lends a soundtrack to the hopes that many authors have for this new publishing medium. And if the Beatles had written their hit tune today, surely they would have titled it “eBook Writer.” While the Fab Four here underscore the uncertainty of a would-be paperback writer’s life, eBookville’s road to success is no sure thing, either (largely…

  • Do the Number of Facebook Fans on Your Fan Page Matter?

    Vikram
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:30 am
    An author recently asked the following question on the BookBuzzr Pro Authors Forum: What kind of impact does the number of Facebook fans have on your book sales? To answer this question let’s do a thought experiment: Consider two authors of the same genre, both of whom are equally unknown to you. Let’s call the authors Joe and Jill. Joe has 24 fans on his Facebook fan page. Jill has 2000 fans. Assuming you’ve got just 5 minutes to investigate one of these authors’ books, whose book are you more likely to learn more about? When I visit a Facebook fan page of an author…

  • Conducting a Virtual Book Tour for Your eBook: The Secret for Getting your eBook Seen by Thousands of New Readers!

    Freya
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am
    Guest Expert: D’vorah Lansky, M.Ed. and Author of Book Marketing Made Easy: Simple Strategies for Selling Your Nonfiction Book Online. You may be familiar with the concept of a traditional book tour. This is where the author travels from city to city, or state to state, signing books and doing book talks. This can be costly, time intensive, and exhausting. Additionally, there is no guarantee that people will actually show up, even for the most famous of authors. Imagine being able to multiply your results by taking your book on tour, around the globe, without leaving home! Enter…the…

  • Top New Year’s Resolutions for Book Authors

    Freya
    13 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am
    Guest Expert: Dana Lynn Smith It’s that time of year again, when our thoughts turn to the future and what we want to accomplish in the upcoming year. As you make your New Year’s resolutions, don’t forget to include resolutions for your book and your business. Here are five action steps to help you sell more books in the coming year: 1. Define your mission. Authors define success in many ways, whether it’s sharing their story, inspiring or entertaining others, earning money, or promoting their business or cause. What does success look like for you? How can you get from…
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    Reading with Tequila

  • A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

    Jennifer Sicurella
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris 2009, Ace Series: Short stories from Sookie Stackhouse Website / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her “spunky” (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written—together in one volume. Stories include “Fairy Dust,” “One Word Answer,” “Dracula Night,” “Lucky,” and “Giftwrap.” Why read: Love the series What impressed…

  • 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

    Jennifer Sicurella
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    206 Bones by Kathy Reichs 2009, Scribner Series: Book 12 of Temperance Brennan Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: There are 206 bones in the human body. And one shattering secret hidden among them. . . Cold and alone, bound hands to feet, Tempe Brennan regains consciousness locked in a dark cell—or is she buried alive in a tomb?—and begins to reconstruct the twisted chain of events that led her to this terrifying place. Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had recently accompanied the remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue, and suddenly Tempe…

  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

    Jennifer Sicurella
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke 2011, Kensington Series: Book 1 of Hannah Swenson Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: Hannah Swenson already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden, Minnesota's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life just can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets…

  • Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

    Jennifer Sicurella
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward 2006, Signet Series: Book 2 of Black Dagger Brotherhood Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret bound of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most…

  • Triumph of the Walking Dead edited by James Lowder

    Jennifer Sicurella
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Triumph of the Walking Dead edited by James Lowder 2011, Smart Pop Website / Goodreads / Amazon Rating Synopsis: The Walking Dead gained national attention as AMC’s latest critically acclaimed drama, shattering the network’s previous premiere ratings highs and earning a second season renewal after its very first episode. But before its television debut, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead was a comic phenomenon. James Lowder, veteran editor and author in the horror genre and comics field, collects some of the biggest names in the zombie genre, along with other top horror and comics…
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    creativecommons.org

  • Review: Anorak, The Happy Mag For Kids

    Chris Singer
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:11 pm
    About Anorak:  Anorak is a kids magazine for boys and girls between the ages of 5-12 years old. Anorak is packed with stories, games, things to make and places to visit. My take on the magazine: As a kid one of my favorite things was receiving mail and I had a few magazines that come to me as a kid (Highlights and Ranger Rick are just two I distinctly remember). Even my daughter (approaching her 3rd birthday in April) loves getting mail from her grandmother and her own little Baby Animals magazine. If Anorak was around when I was a kid, I would love getting a magazine like this in the mail.

  • Review: Up, Up and Away

    Chris Singer
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:24 am
    Up, Up and Away by Scot Ritchie Review by Chris Singer About the author: Scot Ritchie is an award-winning illustrator of more than 30 books for children including Why? by Catherine Ripley and Let’s Go! by Lizann Flatt. He loves to travel and his work has taken him to London, Berlin, and Hawaii. He lives in Vancouver. About the book: Six lucky children have won first prize in a geography competition: an amazing trip around the world by hot-air balloon. Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, a huge shopping mall in the United States, a bustling Beijing market, a Bollywood film set — each stop is an…

  • An interview with Taye Diggs about his new book, “Chocolate Me”

    Chris Singer
    18 Jan 2012 | 2:35 am
    Last week, I was asked, along with four other bloggers, to take part in a phone interview with Taye Diggs about his new children’s book called Chocolate Me! Before we dig into the interview, let’s take a quick look at what Taye’s new book is all about: Chocolate Me! is a children’s book based on Taye Diggs’ experiences of feeling different and trying to fit in as a kid. Originally written in college as a poem about his difficulties understanding his looks and differences as a child, Chocolate Me! was transformed into a children’s book after teaming up with…

  • MrsP.com Announces Winners of 3rd Annual National Kids’ Writing Contest

    Chris Singer
    16 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Young authors from Alabama and Washington chosen over writers from 27 states MrsP.com announced today the names of the two Grand Prize winners in its third annual “Be a Famous Writer” contest, a nationwide creative-writing competition for children held every September. Sara Smale Sarah Smale, age 8, from Washington State, won top honors in the 4-to-8 year-old category for The Treasure Decision, an adventure story featuring a mysterious treasure, pirates and an unusual bookstore.  Emma Stowe, age 12, from Alabama, won in the 9-13 age group for Thinking Cap, a compelling and amusing…

  • World Read Aloud Day is back and bigger than ever

    Chris Singer
    15 Jan 2012 | 2:40 pm
    793 million adults worldwide lack basic reading and writing skills. This World Read Aloud Day, the globe will connect like never before. Let us together read and share to advocate for the power of words and stories. Be sure to register at litworld.org and check out our Activity Page where you can download our WRAD badge, flyers, worksheets, recommendations, certificates, and more to help spark your World Read Aloud Day preparations and celebrations! Upcoming events: * LitWorld Presents: WRADvocate Ambassadors - Read about the people who will publicize WRAD locally in their area, and act…
 
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    Book Bags and Cat Naps

  • Never say never: beware the genre trap

    Donna Brown
    28 Jan 2012 | 12:33 am
    “I don’t read fantasy” I said these words in a bar three and a half years ago to a colleague who had just told me that he loved Lord of the Rings and was telling me about some other fantasy novels he’d enjoyed. (Coincidentally, this colleague is now my husband, so if you know me you’ll probably know where I’m going with this!) Boom.  Just like that I had put up barriers against a whole world of books.  Why?  Because some of the fantasy I’d read so far hadn’t engaged me.  I recalled the work of David Eddings and Tad Williams that I had been…

  • Book Bags and Cat Naps welcomes Rebecca Guevara: Guest post

    Donna Brown
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:30 pm
    Today I’m welcoming Rebecca Guevara to the blog to share a guest post and talk about her new book, Blossoms of the Lower Branches: A Hero’s Journey Through Grief Inspiration is a Nag I wish inspiration would just bop me on the head and get it over with. But no, it pretends to be a shy little lady without ulterior motives. But I’ve learned the truth. She’s a jealous shrew that only pretends to be gentle because if I don’t follow Ms. Inspiration, she’ll stay with me like a pound of fat turned to guilt, disappointment, and missed opportunity. That’s what almost happened…

  • Book Bags and Cat Naps welcomes Jaye Frances

    Donna Brown
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:02 pm
    Today I’m pleased to welcome to the blog Jaye Frances, author of The Kure.  Jaye is sharing some information about her novel plus an excerpt. Jaye Frances: “The Kure” Thank you, Donna, for hosting me on Book Bags and Cat Naps today. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about The Kure, and to let your readers know about my “Resolve To Read” promotion going on right now through Amazon. I’ve always had a fascination with the paranormal and occult. In The Kure, I explore the concept of how supernatural influences can become a natural catalyst for unusual and even…

  • Review: The Unwilling Bride – Candy Little

    Donna Brown
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    Beautiful and high-spirited Caitlin Gallagher has no desire to be married. When she’s forced into an arranged marriage, she vows to loathe the man. Her anger is kindled even more when she finds out he was born in England. Her family was forced to flee Ireland and move to America because of the war with England. Now this Englishman is stripping her freedom away. Dillon Cade is her enemy twice! Gentle Dillon Cade has lived a quiet life for thirteen years in Norfolk, Virginia. When he agrees to marry a young maiden so she can stay in America while her parents are deported back to Ireland, he…

  • Book Bags and Cat Naps welcomes Lisa Scott: Interview

    Donna Brown
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:13 pm
    Today I’m welcoming Lisa Scott to the blog. Lisa is on a Name Before the Masses Tour with Goddess Fish to talk about her ‘Flirts’ books. Lisa is giving away a $10 Amazon gift certificate to one random commenter so don’t forget to follow the tour all the way through! About Lisa “Lisa Scott is a former TV news anchor who now enjoys making up stories instead of sticking to the facts. The first book in her Willowdale Romance series will be released by Belle Bridge books in November 2012. In the meantime, she’ll be releasing short stories linked to the…
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    Vampire Book Club

  • Early Review: All Things Wicked by Karina Cooper (Dark Mission #3)

    VampireBookClub
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:01 am
    All Things Wicked (Dark Mission #3) Karina Cooper Published: Jan. 31, 2012 (Avon) Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 5 stars Note: While this review is free of spoilers for All Things Wicked it makes references to people and places from the prior two novels. If you’re new to the series, please read our review of Blood of the Wicked The more I read the Dark Mission series, the more apparent is is: Karina Cooper does paranormal romance/urban fantasy crossover right. In the third book All Things Wicked we’re brought back into the bowels of Old Seattle.

  • Book Bits: Diana Rowland, quizzes, Larissa Ione, Kim Harrison, book deals

    VampireBookClub
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:01 am
    We’re gearing up for two fun things right now, readers: group read goodness and Character Love Letters. The former is rather straightforward. Next week we’re talking Street Magic and I need you to vote in the Feb. group read poll soon. The latter is made up of awesomeness, full details are coming, but you can get some insight into just what this Character Love Letters thing is right now. Cover reveal: Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues I really love Dan Dos Santos’ artwork, but his cover art for Diana Rowland’s White Trash Zombie series have been some of my…

  • Regan Summers Guest Post & Giveaway: Vampires in Alaska

    VampireBookClub
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:01 am
    I was born and raised in Alaska, and have been an avid vampire fiction reader since around age nine. I always wondered why vampire stories were set in Europe or New Orleans or Las Vegas. Why would these creatures limit themselves to places where the sun was out ten or twelve hours a day? This thought was most persistent in the winter, when I woke in the dark, went to school/work in the dark, and came home in the dark. And yet, other than the movie 30 Days of Night and a recent, rather strange vampire-themed cruise (which came up in the summer, mind you), I haven’t seen this idea explored.

  • Street Magic discussion and February Group Read poll

    VampireBookClub
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:01 am
    We’re pretty excited to talk about the January group read Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge. The starting discussion questions are already up over at the VBC Goodreads group, but the real chat is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Jan. 31. This means you have one week to finish reading the first Black London novel. Feel free to read our spoiler-free review for motivation. In the meantime, we’ve got to make some decisions! What would you like to read in February? We’ve narrowed the list down to six titles like usual — three adult, three YA — and now it’s…

  • Review: Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge (Black London #1)

    VampireBookClub
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:01 am
    Street Magic (Black London #1) Caitlin Kittredge Published: 2009 (St. Martin’s) Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars Pete has spent 12 years convincing herself magic doesn’t exist. She saw her crush killed by something. Everyone told her Jack was dead, magic and ghosts don’t exist and she focused on facts. Years later she’s a Detective Inspector for Scotland Yard and she excels at her job. Children are going missing in London. A tip comes in about where to find the first missing girl, alive, and Pete’s forced to play it out.
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    LATINA BOOK CLUB

  • Author Torrey Maldonado Makes 2012 Top Ten List!

    Native NYer
    5 Jan 2012 | 8:30 pm
            Congratulations to our friend author Torrey Maldonado for being named one of the Top Ten Latino Authors to Read and Watch for 2012 by LatinoStories.  Here's what they had to say about Torrey and his book:Torrey Maldonado's book [SECRET SATURDAYS] is one of the great success stories of the year. Given all the negative press that teachers have received in these difficult economic times, it's great to see a talent like Mr. Maldonado emerge.  Following in the tradition of school teachers like Wally Lamb, whose debut grabbed national attention,…

  • HAPPY 2012!

    Native NYer
    3 Jan 2012 | 6:09 am
    Happy New YearHappy ReadingLooking forward to a new year full of wonderful Latino authors.Stay tune....

  • HOLIDAY TOUR: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC (enter to win a set of Tiffany glasses)

    Native NYer
    8 Dec 2011 | 11:04 pm
       For me, Christmas is all about the music. Silent NightLittle Drummer BoyDo You Hear What I HearGrandma Got Run Over By A ReindeerBut, I am a product of two cultures and two countries. And come Christmas, I want the best of both worlds – snow and Jibarro Christmas music.Dame La Mano PalomaSi No Me Dan De Beber LloroNiño JesusFeliz Navidad by Jose FelicianoOne year my Tio Toñito –the best uncle in Ponce and all the world!– gave me eight CDs that he burned with all the Jibaro music he could find. It is the best present ever.I would like to share with you some of my…

  • NEW: QUEEN OF AMERICA by Luis Alberto Urrea (NYC Book Tour Date)

    Native NYer
    5 Dec 2011 | 4:16 pm
    Available in hardcover, e-book, Kindle and audiobook – read by Luis!Little, Brown   Nov 28, 2011The saga of THE HUMMINGBIRD'S DAUGHTER continues in AmericaBOOK SUMMARY: After the bloody Tomochic rebellion, Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," flees with her father to Arizona. But their plans are derailed when she once again is claimed as the spiritual leader of the Mexican Revolution. Besieged by pilgrims and pursued by assassins, Teresita embarks on a journey through turn-of-the-century industrial America-New York, San Francisco, St. Louis. She meets immigrants…

  • HOT IN THE KITCHEN -- FREE DOWNLOAD

    Native NYer
    1 Dec 2011 | 5:42 am
    The Holidays are here!  Celebrate the Season with Latin Recipes from Today's Hottest Romance Authors.  A sizzling collection compiled by the writing team of "Gabriella Hewitt."For your free download, visit here:    http://www.gabriellahewitt.com/free-reads/The Latina Book Club extends their gratitude to Sasha and Patrizia (aka Gabriella) for their generosity.And from our home to Yours:   Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy New Year, Happy Everything!     
 
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    21tiger [新代老虎] books. biz. asia.

  • “Frogs into Princes” Understanding the Magic that Happens When We Talk

    Michael A. Robson
    7 Jan 2012 | 12:18 am
    You may have heard of NLP, but if you haven’t it’s not your fault: Neuro Linguistic Programming (fittingly) has been simmering below the surface of the public consciousness for a few decades now. NLP is the study of how our minds use, interpret and process language and thought. This seemingly geeky subject turns out to be incredibly fun and useful, if you can figure it out. Using NLP in your day to day life effectively is kinda like the ‘stop the bullets in mid-air’ scene in The Matrix. Yes, I’m talking about hypnosis. Buckle up. To start, I found the title…

  • “Borderless Economics”: World Peace, Nirvana and other Economic Models

    Michael A. Robson
    21 Dec 2011 | 9:12 am
    Author @TheEconomist The thing that you have to understand about Economists is that they’re generally an optimistic bunch, but they’re really annoyed by the complications of…reality. They love models: models are perfect and simple. Because they omit externalities and oddities, they work perfectly. The simplest of models involve but two variables: wine and cheese, money and time, socks and shoes, and so on. As you progress further in your studies of the dismal science, you must heartbreakingly accept that in the real world, there is almost no application for a two-variable…

  • “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” How to build a Reputation for your Company (and yourself) with Branding

    Michael A. Robson
    7 Dec 2011 | 10:45 pm
    What is a brand? Is it a name? A logo? A funky design or attitude? A brand is a symbol for an idea. More specifically, a brandname is a word that can be uttered in any country, in any ‘language’ and mean the same thing. If a company is consistent and strong in repeating the same message over and over, in time, its brandname will become synonymous with an idea. If the company keeps changing its stripes, the name never catches on, and means nothing. McDonalds is about Family Food. Subway is about Fresh. Pepsi is about Fun. If you get really good at this, as a Brand Manager, and you…

  • “21tiger Days” My Story of Graduating, Surviving, and Thriving in the New China

    Michael A. Robson
    30 Nov 2011 | 9:29 pm
    Author: @21tigermike “The Expat Era is over, you know. No more hand holding.” These were the words of my Grad School advisor. Despite her warnings, a few years later, I’m still in China. Now and then people ask me about my first year, and I still look back on that time with fondness: everything was so new, so raw, and so free. If you’re working abroad, or thinking about it in future, definitely check out my true story of getting into, and surviving, China, and all the things I had to learn to make it happen. 21tiger Days includes: The real narrative story, as well the critical…

  • “Innovator’s Dilemma” The Disruptive and Counterintuitive Path of Innovation

    Michael A. Robson
    26 Nov 2011 | 11:45 pm
    Author @claychristensen For decades, the United States has been the bastion of great Capitalist Innovation. With the American system, it was thought, you had the greatest chance to take a great idea to tremendous wealth and power. What does that really mean? It means having a great education system, a great financial system, and a great patent system. When you finally take your widget to the market, your accountant might even tap you on the shoulder and ask you about taking the company public. An IPO (Initial Public Offering). Taking the company public is a great way to motivate your…
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    Better World Books Blog - Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Community Outreach & more

  • A Must-Read Book Review: “Organic Manifesto”

    Erin
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am
    Guest post from our Twitter friend Hannah Giles Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale is a deceptively thin book, chock full of imperative information about not only the environment, but more importantly, public health. Her perspective is far-reaching; her grandfather, J.I. Rodale, was one of the first advocates of modern organic agriculture, so it is no surprise that Rodale has written such a thorough book on what “going organic” really means. When many people think about what the “organic” label means, it usually doesn’t drum up enthusiasm. Let’s be honest: it’s expensive, it…

  • Meet Daniela: From a dust-covered face to a self-assured young girl

    Erin
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:14 am
    Six year old Daniela’s face never used to be clean. Her eyes seemed vacant and she rarely uttered a word. She only ever sketched single colored empty bubbles with the crayons and paper they gave her. Daniela had trouble concentrating and often sought refuge in “no puedo” (“I can’t do it”). When there were group activities she would wander off alone. Daniela spent her days wandering the streets of Quito, Ecaudor. She had no way to discover her own imagination and free her mind to the endless opportunities six-year-olds around the world should be granted. Daniela did not even have…

  • The Faces of a Better World

    Erin
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:27 am
    “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” Tennessee Williams once said.In that spirit, one of my favorite ways to spend a sunny day is by walking around local neighborhoods and taking photos of strangers. I ask them for permission, of course, and will only take their photo if they are willing to share their face and their story with the world. As most of you know, I am passionate about my job at Better World Books and sincerely believe in our work and mission. One of my dreams for 2012 is for every single book-lover, tree-hugger and do-gooder on Earth to know about…

  • What he learned from an illiterate homeless man who became a NY Times bestselling author

    Erin
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:56 am
    Last night 45 Better World Books staff, friends, family and fans gathered together at Atlanta’s City of Refuge. We served dinner to the women and children residents and also out on the streets of downtown Atlanta. After an eye-and-heart-opening shared experience, we ate together from the social enterprise kitchen at the shelter and discussed one of my favorite books (and true stories) “Same Kind of Different as Me”. You can view photos from the event on Facebook. Below is a guest post by Ron Hall, Co-Author of “Same Kind of Different as Me” and “What Difference Do it Make?” This…

  • Your Top 12 Resolutions: Literacy wins over Losing Weight!

    Erin
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:04 am
    I am so impressed with the most “liked” resolutions our Facebook fans shared. Not that I was expecting tons of people to encourage going to the gym and eating less candy over doing good in our world, but nonetheless, I am pleased to share this list with you. 1. Listen more, talk less. 2. Less time on the iPad, more time interfacing with a real book! 3. Now that I’ve moved closer to a city, I plan to volunteer again for an adult literacy program.4. My goal is to read at least 50 books in 2012, not including college textbooks. I’m going to donate books to places and people in…
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    KID BOOK RATINGS

  • Look Book

    27 Jan 2012 | 10:14 pm
    If it's all the same to you, I'd rather avert my eyes... THREE PROSKids will get some enjoyment out of guessing what it is they are viewing through the holes in the pages (you see a small segment of a larger photo through each hole, then you turn the holey paper to reveal a full-page closeup view {usually} of said object before turning it once more to see the complete visual the same subject)  The postmodern part of me digs a book that is willing to make black the primary page colorI hear "author" Tana Hoban was kind of a big deal in the photography worldTHREE…

  • E-mergency!

    25 Jan 2012 | 10:56 pm
    E-xceptionally e-xecuted e-ffort e-xpedites e-xtant e-nhancement (of) e-veryone's e-njoyment. THREE PROSTaken by itself, the concept of a (Latin-based language) world without the letter 'E' was a great concept for an alphabet book... which was only magnified by the artistic stylings and whimsical approach of Tom Lichtenheld and E-zra Fields-Meyer  Deftly mixes in some real teaching points (like the vowel/consonant line the letter 'Y' toes or the link between 'Q' and 'U') e-ven though hilarity is the driving force throughoutSomehow found a way to give a unique personality…

  • A Ball For Daisy

    24 Jan 2012 | 2:52 pm
    I've waited over six months to get over the bad taste A Sick Day for Amos McGee left in my mouth.  Now, here we are, the day after the 2012 winner was announced and I am just as ALA-award-queasy. THREE PROSChris Raschka's greatest accomplishment was the ability to convey a range of emotions without writing a single word  Takes you on a thorough spin around the color wheel with his brushIt looks like the dedication is to his dog, which is cool -- of course, if someone he knows is named Artemis, then I apologize on behalf of myself and that person's parentsTHREE…

  • A Bad Case Of Stripes

    23 Jan 2012 | 10:57 pm
    I was all excited to have tonight's review spotlight the 2012 Caldecott winner, announced today, but someone beat me to the library.  [Quick aside: I took a peek at the reference copy of A Ball for Daisy while I was there and let's just say that fellow finalist Grandpa Green was robbed.] Since that plan went by the wayside, I figured why not review the most visually striking cover I could find... THREE PROSWhile it didn't nab the Caldecott, the illustrations were superb -- so superb that it garnered numerous statewide honors, including the Wyoming Buckaroo Book…

  • Hello, Baby!

    21 Jan 2012 | 3:12 pm
    Just because you are a fabulous photographer doesn't mean we have to buy your books, does it?! THREE PROSI don't know how many pictures per day Jorge Uzon takes of his kids, but he seems to have captured a collection of great moments that tell the complete story of being a newborn  Will definitely pull on the heartstrings of most moms who open this book -- is virtually impossible for ladies to resist a cute baby, rightAnd for the less mature dads (like me)...well, there's almost a boob shot on the cuddling pageTHREE CONS *Somebody at Groundwood Books really meconiumed the…
 
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    Publishing Perspectives

  • Why a Book Editor Becomes a Literary Agent

    Olivia Snaije
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    “My motivation comes from wanting to work with writers on editorial.” By Olivia Snaije LONDON: British editor Rebecca Carter is known in the publishing world for her indefatigable work bringing international literature in English and in translation to readers. Over the past 15 years she spent at Random House UK’s imprints Chatto & Windus and more recently Harvill Secker, Carter has edited Ma Jian’s Beijing Coma, Javier Marías’s Your Face Tomorrow, Irene Némirovsky’s Suite Française, Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Atiq Rahimi’s Earth and…

  • Who is More Responsible for a Book’s Text, Agent or Editor?

    Edward Nawotka
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Is the cliché that “editors no longer edit” overstated? By Edward Nawotka In today’s feature story Rebecca Carter outlines the reasons she is transitioning from being an editor to a literary agent. She says, in part, that her primary motivation is to enable her to continue working to shape the text of a book, rather than, presumably, focusing on ancillary matters, such as sales, marketing and production. It has become a cliché in the book business that “editors no longer edit” and have become a kind of hybrid literary middleman/guru/sales executive — a…

  • BEA Believes Book Bloggers Matter, Buys Book Blogger Conference

    Edward Nawotka
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:51 pm
    Last week our regular contributor Beth Kephart asked “Do Book Bloggers Really Matter?”. Her answer: yes, very much so. Today, Reed Exhibitions confirmed Beth’s assessment, buying the Book Blogger Convention as a supplement to BookExpo America. Book Blogger Con has a great logo and a new owner. More from the press release: REED EXHIBITIONS, ORGANIZER OF BOOKEXPO AMERICA, PURCHASES BOOK BLOGGER CONVENTION Annual Event Continues to be Co-Located with BookExpo America Norwalk, CT, January 26, 2012: Reed Exhibitions has purchased the Book Blogger Convention, an annual day-long…

  • Cairo’s International Book Fair Is Back, But a Little Shaky

    Olivia Snaije
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:23 pm
    By Olivia Snaije After the cancellation of the Cairo International Book Fair last year due to the revolution, this year’s book fair did indeed open January 22nd, albeit quietly and amidst some confusion. Overlapping with the first year anniversary of the revolution, the fair runs until February 7th. This year’s guest of honor is Tunisia, the country, of course, that sparked the Arab Spring. Marcia Lynx Qualey, an American who has been living in Cairo since 2001, and combines her writing skills and love for Egypt in her highly informed and witty blog on Arabic literature, visited the fair…

  • What Can Waterstones Learn from Russian Bookselling?

    Edward Nawotka
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:57 am
    A visit to Moscow’s bookstores can feel like returning to a lost world. By Edward Nawotka Waterstones is being transformed, albeit slowly, by its new Russian owner. He installed a new CEO, dropped the apostrophe in the company’s name, and is now opening a Russian mini-store in the company’s flagship London location. Last year, Philip Downer wrote in our pages about his impression of Moscow’s bookselling scene, which he described as like “returning to a lost world.” He observed: Whilst bookselling is a global brotherhood (!), in the UK and US there is…
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    Book Series Reviews

  • Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

    Kirsten
    14 Jan 2012 | 7:46 am
      I read the Shiver Trilogy because my nine year old daughter asked me if she could read it, and I thought it might be a bit too old for her. I expected to like the story, as it seems fairly popular. However, I wasn't really all that impressed. As I was reading Shiver, I kept wanting her to get on with the story. It rambles and swerves and goes off on side tangents and it just didn't

  • Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, Book 4) by Faith Hunter

    Kirsten
    23 Dec 2011 | 5:00 pm
      I've been looking forward to Raven Cursed since I finished Mercy Blade, and Faith Hunter did not disappoint. There is a lot going on, and Jane is pulled in a zillion directions. It was a bit of a gamble, because it could easily have been too much, too frantic, too confusing. But it wasn't. Jane deals with the things thrown at her, mostly by choosing whatever her next step is going to be

  • * Anxiously Awaiting as of late November 2011

    Kirsten
    29 Nov 2011 | 6:27 am
      Listed below are the books I'm anxiously awaiting. Anything with new information is shown in red. New information could be a link to the book's page on Amazon, a release date, an excerpt, etc.  I've also put an (e) next to the books that have an excerpt out, clicking the (e) will take you to my list of excerpts. 11/29/11 Killing Rites (Black Sun's Daughter Book 1) by M.L.N.

  • * Excerpts, First Chapters, and Sneak Peeks

    Kirsten
    28 Nov 2011 | 1:30 pm
      Some of the books on my Anxiously Awaiting list have excerpts available at the author's or publisher's websites. I've listed the excerpts and snippets below. I would love to have an ARC for any of the books on this list, or on my Anxiously Awaiting list. See my Review Policy for more information about sending books for review. Chapter One of Killing Rites (Black Sun's

  • Review: Explosive Eighteen (Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich

    Kirsten
    27 Nov 2011 | 1:12 am
      Explosive Eighteen continues to tease us along in the Ranger vs Morelli lust triangle. The beginning of the book is particularly annoying, as we are strung long, not knowing who she went on vacation with, or what happened. Once we get beyond that and find out what happened, I have to wish the story had been made into a book. I think it would have been a much better story than the one we
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    Quill & Quire

  • Forthcoming book untangles relationship between writing and computers

    Natalie Samson
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:44 pm
    What’s the relationship between writers, their writing, and word processors? That’s what Matthew Kirschenbaum has set out to explore in his book Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing, forthcoming from Harvard University Press in 2013. Kirschenbaum, an associate professor of English at the University of Maryland, marries his passions for literature and computer science in his work, which looks at authors who adopted word-processing technologies in the late 1970s and early ’80s, how the new composition process affected their writing, and how current technologies…

  • Canadian literary event roundup: Jan. 27-Feb. 2

    Allison MacLachlan
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:49 pm
    Here are just a few of the literary events happening across the country in the next week: Richard Gwyn discusses Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times, Atwater Library, Montreal (Jan. 27, 12:30 p.m., free) Tribute to poet Peggy Fletcher with readings, Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, Sarnia, Ontario (Jan. 27, 8 p.m., free) Alison Griffiths signs Count On Yourself and shares financial tips, Chapters Granville, Vancouver (Jan. 28, 12 p.m., free) Barbara Reid reads from Picture a Tree and demonstrates plasticine art, Museum of Civilization, Ottawa (Jan. 28, 2 p.m., free)…

  • Book links roundup: City University’s new crime writing MA, why Salman Rushdie was silenced, and more

    Allison MacLachlan
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:44 pm
    City University in London, England, launches first-ever MA in crime writing Jaipur Literature Festival co-director William Dalrymple on why Salman Rushdie’s video link was cancelled French presidential candidate François Hollande’s Shakespeare gaffe Sweet Valley High series to be adapted as musical Stephen Colbert: picture book author?

  • Naomi K. Lewis wins Colophon Prize

    Allison MacLachlan
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:33 pm
    Winnipeg publisher Enfield & Wizenty has awarded its third annual Colophon Prize for Fiction to Naomi K. Lewis for her short story collection, I Know Who You Remind Me Of. Awarded for the best unpublished manuscript with “literary and commercial appeal,” the prize includes publication and a $5,000 advance. I Know Who You Remind Me Of will be released in September. The author of the novel Cricket in a Fist (Goose Lane Editions), Lewis lives in Calgary, where she teaches creative writing and was the Calgary Public Library’s writer-in-residence in fall 2011. Two runners-up…

  • Robert Lepage’s creative alchemy

    Sarah Greene
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:15 pm
    This feature by Sarah Greene appeared in the November 2011 issue of Q&Q Robert Lepage’s impressive artistic career spans theatre, film, and opera, and includes stints as designer and director for Cirque du Soleil and a Peter Gabriel world tour. The prolific Quebec actor, writer, and director has now added graphic novelist to his list of achievements. The Blue Dragon, first published in French earlier this year by Quebec’s Éditions Alto, appears this month from House of Anansi Press. Adapted from the play of the same name, the book reunites co-writers Lepage and Marie Michaud, both of…
 
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    eclectic / eccentric

  • The 13 Steps of Labor

    Trisha
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:33 am
    My Labor in 13 Steps 1. This isn't so bad. 2. Yeah, I'm rocking this out. Already 8 centimeters and no biggie with the pain. 3. Oh. Oh. Oh God. Why is she trying to escape out of my back? 4. Hey, where's the epidural I asked for? 5. Holy mother of %$^&&*&^$%##. WTF? 6. Ooooooohhhh epidural. That's nice. 7. Nothing to it baby. What contraction? 8. Wait, what do you mean you are taking my epidural away? 9. Okay, I'll just go fast before all that beautiful medicine is gone. 10. Oh. Ohhhh.. OH. OH. OH MY GOD. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? I WANT MY EPIDURAL BACK. 11. STOP TELLING ME TO…

  • Butterbook

    Trisha
    25 Jan 2012 | 4:35 am
    I have deemed this the Butterbook image. I like the whimsy of it. Link to where I found this pic

  • Culting It

    Trisha
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:47 am
    I managed to side-step the "no challenges this year" promise by making Projects instead, and now I feel the need to add one more project to the list. There is quite the handful of cult classic reads that I have had on the TBR list for ages, and since I'm feeling pretty good about the projects I've started, I figured why not slap a new project up there. Defining a "cult classic" is practically impossible, but we all know it when we encounter it. They range from the horrid and cringeworthy to the brilliant and beautiful. They cross genres and eras and styles. But they all have one thing in…

  • Book Discussion: The Wild Irish Girl

    Trisha
    23 Jan 2012 | 5:32 am
    Sydney Owenson, aka Lady Morgan, refused to reveal her birthday. Yep, that's what got me started writing this post. I decided to pick up The Wild Irish Girl by the aforementioned Sydney Owenson as my next book in my Classics Project in part because I am 90% sure I've read it before and liked it (and honestly I was looking for an "easier" classic to read due to the imminent arrival of The Floppy Alienette). First, I was definitely right about having read it before, specifically for my 19th century Irish Literature course in college. On the other hand, I was completely wrong about it being an…

  • Randomness

    Trisha
    22 Jan 2012 | 8:49 am
    I tried to put together a coherent, transitiony post but my brain is just too all over the place for that, so instead here are the random thoughts that keep floating through my mind: At my doctor's appointment, last Monday, I found out I was 4 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced, so why the phat have I not gone into labor yet? Sydney Owenson's The Wild Irish Girl, which I am currently reading, is alternately fascinating and boring. I love the overly dramatic fascination the narrator has with the titular character, but at times the long, detailed, and specific discussions about what originated…
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    The Goddess Blogs

  • May I Introduce the Bennets?

    Your Friendly Goddesses
    28 Jan 2012 | 2:35 am
    On this day in 1813, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first published in England and was mostly well received. As time passed on, there have been many printings, adaptations and, eventually, Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. For Fun Contest Saturday, we are celebrating P&P‘s 99th birthday by choosing three winners from today’s comments, each [...]

  • It Turns Out Cows are Really, Really Big

    Madeline Hunter
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:36 am
    I went to graduate school in Wisconsin. Needless to say, the winters were a lot different from what I had known growing up in Virginia. I was prepared, however. I had boots a lot like UGGS before anyone knew about UGGS. I had a long wool coat. I wore it over wool slacks and a [...]

  • Can’t Never Did Nothin’

    Lori Handeland
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:30 am
    This was one of my mom’s favorite sayings.  She had a million.  There was also: Kids are mean. Because I said so. You have thighs like you father’s. (I am not even going to discuss that one.) You’re not fat, you’re big boned. (That one either.) I’ll give you something to cry about. If you [...]

  • It’s Fun to Dream

    Susan
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:30 am
    Julia’s blog about House Hunters and House Hunters International on January 13 got me thinking about the HGTV Dream Home sweepstakes. I enter it every day, twice a day. (Once at the HGTV site and once at FrontDoor.com.) I know I’m probably not going to win, but it’s fun to dream. I play the lottery [...]

  • Holy Wedding, Batman!

    Sabrina Jeffries
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:50 am
    Clearly, Karen and I have weddings on the brain these days! (No, I’m not planning another one–I’m happy with the longtime hubby, thank you very much!) But what I wanted to talk about was the wedding part … and how to do it on the cheap while still being creative. When I got married, I [...]
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    Reading Revels

  • Today’s Book Releases: 01/24/2012

    Jessica Ward
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    Today's book releases include Everneath by Brodi Ashton and Fallen in Love (Fallen #3.5) by Lauren Kate. To learn more about this great new book read more.

  • Today’s Book Releases: 01/10/2012

    Jessica Ward
    10 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    Today's book releases include Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. To learn more about this great new book read more.

  • City of Lost Souls Cover Unveiled

    Jessica Ward
    4 Jan 2012 | 2:32 pm
    The cover for City of Lost Souls has finally been unveiled. City of Lost Souls is book five in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. It is set to release on May 8, 2012. USA Today got the exclusive reveal, as well as a sneak peak of the book’s prologue. Check out the prologue below: Simon …

  • Today’s Book Releases: 01/03/2012

    Jessica Ward
    3 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    Today's book releases include Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan and Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes. To learn more about this great new book read more.

  • Today’s Book Releases: 12/20/2011

    Jessica Ward
    20 Dec 2011 | 5:00 am
    Today's book releases include On A Dark Wing by Jordan Dane. To learn more about this great new book read more.
 
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    BOOKVISIONS

  • Oath of Office by Michael Palmer & Giveaway

    Linda
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:15 am
    Amazon.com link to pre-order Oath of OfficeMichael Palmer is the author of sixteen medical mystery/suspense novels.  It is no secret that he has been one of my favorite authors for years, and Oath of Office is another outstanding book by this author.  The character of Dr. Lou Welcome brings us an area of medicine that patients do not like to think about.  He is a medical doctor that has fought his way back from addiction and is now helping other troubled doctors.  Unexpectedly, one of his doctors suddenly goes on a shooting spree. He kills patients, another doctor, and his…

  • Shear Murder by Nancy J. Cohen

    Linda
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:07 pm
    Barnes and Noble link to pre-order Shear MurderShear Murder is a fun mystery/romance. There is quite a bit of detailed wedding information because the character, Marla, is not only a bridesmaid in a wedding, but also planning her own wedding. Imagine finding a dead body under the wedding cake table! Suspects abound in this story, and Marla is well know by local police as someone who likes to get involved.  I think that there was maybe a little too much information gained by eavesdropping, but Marla is eager to solve the crime.I was a little worried when I saw that the book contained just…

  • Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins

    Linda
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:33 am
    Link to preorder Gone to GroundGone to Ground is a serial killer murder mystery told from the perspective of three women.  Each of these women believes they know who committed the murders, and all have something to lose by coming forward.  Amaryllis, Mississippi is not the type of town where murders happen, but now a serial killer has the whole town on edge.  Brandilyn Collins takes us into the lives of these three women as they try to do the right thing. You are first introduced to Cherrie Mae, the senior of the three ladies possessing the grace and wisdom of a mature…

  • Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins

    Linda
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:49 am
    I have a great new book, and I will be posting my review this week.  For now, I just want to give you a little information about the book and how Brandilyn Collins researched it.  I enjoyed Gone to Ground very much.  Scroll down for the book trailer.About Brandilyn Collins -Author of Gone to GroundBrandilyn Collins is a best-selling novelist known for her trademarkSeatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline, Don't forget to breathe . . .®, and have made her one of the most well-known figures in the mystery/suspense literary…

  • Nearing Home by Billy Graham

    Linda
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:24 pm
    Amazon Link to purchase: Nearing Home:  Life, Faith and Living WellRev Billy Graham is one of the most well known and respected Christian pastors.  I am so happy that he chose to write this book about how to live an honorable and useful life as we grow older.  There is much useful information for those of any age, but especially those who are starting to feel the restrictions of age.  Rev. Graham shows how God used men and women from the Bible when they were in their later years of life, and, of course, how He can still use us today.  Although he writes about failing…
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    Assisting Authors

  • Three Ways for Authors to Maximize Exposure

    jfriesler
    15 Jan 2012 | 11:48 pm
    Share your book or Author Blog:If you have a book or an author blog. Share it here. Just make a comment about your blog and be sure to put a link to your blog  in the comment. This will be an event this week.This is a chance to show off your book in your locality:As you sit down and plan your travel schedule for 2012, please consider joining our many book festivals. April and May will bring about events in the suburbs of Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Nashville, TN. Our festivals are held inside the common areas of shopping malls which ensures high traffic and zero possibility of rain.

  • Sell Your Book with Rafflecopter

    jfriesler
    10 Jan 2012 | 4:07 pm
    When I do a Book Launch for a client,  I always have a contest to perk interest.  Everyone loves a contest.    Preparing for a book launch is a lot of hard work.  Take a look at our Book Launch Package and see some of the work that is involved. Just click on service and you can download a brochure. The contest is the easiest part because quite by accident,  I found a company that runs contests for free.  Rafflecopter allows you to prepare a contest form and keeps track of the people who enter.  I have said I have two contests going right now for two books:  I Am I:  The In-dweller…

  • Facebook Fan Pages for Authors, the Easy Way

    jfriesler
    5 Jan 2012 | 3:20 pm
    If you are an author with not a lot of  knowledge about html or iframes, this post is for you.  There are two sites that I have found that can help you make a Facebook Author Page  at no cost.Quick & EasyPagemodo’s easy, step-by-step process will guide you through  creating your Facebook page quickly and seamlessly. There’s nothing to download and no programming to do, so you don’t need to know how to use FBML or HTML. Just point and click, then publish instantly! Updates are just as simple.Pagemodo:  essentially lets you pick a template that you like and then lets you edit it…

  • Sign Up for A Facebook Page

    jfriesler
    1 Jan 2012 | 7:24 pm
    Today I am going to give you directions to start a Facebook Page.  You will do everything except work on the page itself. Figure 1Here are the directions:Log into FacebookGo to my fan page http://www.facebook.com/jfriesler  ( “Like” it if you like it)In the upper right corner (see figure 1 boxed in red) is a button that says “Create Page”Click on the buttonWhen you name a page, use your company name.  I used my own name .  Now I can’t change it.You are now at Figure 2.  Select Artist because an author is an artist in my bookThat will bring you to Figure 3  …

  • How Authors Can Use a Facebook Welcome Page

    jfriesler
    23 Dec 2011 | 2:41 pm
    Welcome PageAs you have probably noticed,  I haven’t been blogging lately.  My husbands daughter has been very ill and passed away very recently. Needless to say, my thoughts were with her and my husband during this difficult time.  Now I feel that continuing with this blog at this time will help me take my mind off of our troubles for a little while so I am back at it.  I would like to continue with the topic of Facebook Author Pages.In my last blog post about this topic, I wrote about the importance of having a Facebook Author Page that was more than a wall.  The first thing an…
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    Market Your Book

  • See 41 Guest Blogging Sites Listed

    Jan Bear
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:54 pm
    Rosie the BloggerGuest blogging is a terrific way to get your work seen by new people and to create relationships with others interested in your topic around the web. I recently had a guest post published on the tech site, FriedBeef.com, that was a listing of 41 blogs that solicit guest posts. If you read that post, you’ll get some hints about how to go about getting your work published on others’ blogs. It’s easy and fun if you just follow some common-sense guidelines. Check out the post and let us know your progress. Image: Rosie the Blogger by Mike Licht,…

  • I’m Joining the Strike to Stop SOPA

    Jan Bear
    17 Jan 2012 | 9:09 pm
    Tomorrow, Jan. 18, 2012, I’m redirecting all my visitors to a Stop-SOPA page. If you want to know what’s wrong with SOPA, Copyblogger published a great article about SOPA’s problems without the spluttering and profanity I would be inclined to add. To give a thumbnail, it’s another attempt by our control-freak Congress and their Big Entertainment pals to shut down the upstarts. They say it’s to prevent copyright infringement, but under the terms of the law, if I were to say that Disney, for example, had put out a bad movie, Disney would be able to shut down my…

  • Greetings to Visitors from Sandy Beckwith’s Blog

    Jan Bear
    12 Jan 2012 | 2:02 am
    If you’ve jumped here from my guest post at Sandra Beckwith’s Build Book Buzz, welcome! I’m an Oregon writer and website creator with a dedication to helping my fellow writers make the best use of their opportunities in the age of digital publishing. If you’re a writer now, count yourself fortunate, because it’s your time, at last. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, long or short, if you write well and meet the needs of your audience, there’s a crying demand for what you can do. It will take work and dedication. And for us who have been around a…

  • The Shocking Truth about Ebook Pricing

    Jan Bear
    20 Dec 2011 | 11:03 am
    Ebook pricing can be like coffee pricing Ebook pricing is a complicated part of marketing your book. The production costs for ebooks are so low that you really have a wide open field to choose your price. How to decide? You want to price it low enough that people can afford it, but not so low that they don’t respect your work. A few days ago on this blog, I talked about Amanda Hocking’s ebook pricing. She starts her series off at $.99 and then raises the price on the following books to $2.99. It works for her. The Starbucks Effect Another author, Elle Lothlorien, recently talked…

  • Market Your Book like Amanda Hocking: 7 Tactics to ‘Overnight’ Success

    Jan Bear
    16 Dec 2011 | 12:50 pm
    Amanda Hocking made a stir earlier this year when the press noticed that she had made nearly a million dollars in a year selling self-published ebooks. She later signed a multimillion-dollar contract with St. Martin’s Press for her wildly popular young adult romances. Her bio has been covered in the publishing world, but as far as I can tell, no one has actually listed out some of the top book marketing tactics she did well, and so that’s what I want to do for you. 1. Write Good Stories This should be obvious, but it may not be. Like many authors, Amanda Hocking’s…
 
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    Book Dirt

  • All Roads Lead to Book Dirt: Baby Beatnik Edition

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am
    Book Dirt: for all your baby beatnik needs, apparently.One of the unexpectedly hilarious perks of blogging comes from checking blog statistics. There among the page view numbers and traffic maps, I can also see which search terms led people my way.In the case of Book Dirt, plenty of the folks who happened across my articles found them while entering the search terms “old books,” which means I must be doing something right. Sometimes, though, the search terms that led readers to Book Dirt are downright confounding, leading me to scratch my head and wonder, “What on Earth were they…

  • George W. Bush Spotted on a Pulp Fiction Cover

    22 Jan 2012 | 1:38 pm
    Nicolas Cage isn’t the only one to pop up unexpectedly on book covers (both a Serbian textbook and a children’s history book).During a recent browse through the huge cover archives at the blog Those Sexy Vintage Sleaze Books, I spotted a disturbingly familiar face on the cover of Charles Willeford’s Honey Gal: George W. Bush. Honey Gal and Dubya. The sheep's in the meadow and the cow's in the corn, no doubt.I don’t normally recoil when I see W’s visage, but when he (or his doppelganger) is sprawled under a haystack grasping confusedly at a busty barefoot vixen, I get caught off…

  • 8 Famous People You Never Knew Wrote Mysteries

    18 Jan 2012 | 11:33 am
    From strippers to TV stars to U.S. presidents, a collection of unlikely mystery authors that just might surprise you. Mystery novels sometimes take place in star-studded settings: the murder happens in a Hollywood movie studio or backstage in a Shakespearean theatre. Sometimes the victims themselves are rising starlets, news anchormen or notable politicians. But, in several cases, the famous folks have actually written mysteries themselves, trading the limelight for a backbreaking desk chair (or, at least in quite a few cases, their ghostwriters did).Abraham Lincoln, not long after his lawyer…

  • Quotable: McMurtry fails, Harry Dean Stanton rules, and more

    16 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am
    Hans Sloane: "Get yer dadgum crumpet off my First Folio." Sometimes I come across lines in articles --or even in the comments section-- that strike me as particularly clever, funny or apt. Book Dirt’s new Quotable roundup will regularly collect my favorite one-liners as I trawl around the Internet reading about books and writing.These are some recent I-wish-I-wrote-that bits from around the web. The articles the quotes are pulled from are all well worth a read.------“It’s slightly embarrassing to have to admit that the best book you read all year was Anna Karenina. It’s a bit like…

  • Amazing Stop-Motion Bookstore Video: How Many Titles Can You Spot?

    11 Jan 2012 | 2:52 pm
    Short film fans know that it’s usually toys that come to life after the shop closes up. At Type bookstore in Toronto, the books on the shelves have lives of their own after dark. This short video ‘Joy of Books’ was made by art director Sean Ohlenkamp, who teamed with the bookstore to painstakingly create the stop motion effects over four nights.‘Joy of Books’ has already gone viral (racking up 27,000 views in just one day), and part of the success seems to be its resonance with book lovers. The Joy of Books - Stop-Motion Bookshop VideoPart of the fun is in spotting book titles.
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    But What Are They Eating?

  • The Wide-Awake Princess - E.D. Baker

    Shelley Workinger
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:28 am
    This 8th book in a series that began with The Frog Princess (on which the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog is based) takes a new slant on my childhood favorite princess tale, Sleeping Beauty. The wide-awake princess is, in fact, S.B.’s younger sister Annabelle, whose parents are so desperate to prevent another curse on their second child that they call in a favorite fairy godmother for a preemptive, pre-christening strike. Annabelle is blessed/cursed by a protective spell that ensures she cannot be touched by any magic, good or bad. She will thus be forever safe from magical harm, but…

  • Toastworthy Teens: Matt Kelly

    Shelley Workinger
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:04 pm
     Matt Kelly, Toys for C.H.O.P. Matt Kelly spent much of his childhood as a CHOP (Children’s Hopsital Of Philadephia) patient due to  rare blood disorder and, since he remembers the joy of receiving a toy as a child patient, as he got older he knew he wanted to do the same for other kids. So Matt, who says, “I’ve been on the receiving end and now it’s great to give back,” organized not only his friends, family, and classmates, but also complete strangers to collect 300 toys and several hundred dollars for the hospital.  His post requesting new and unwrapped gifts…

  • The Giver - Lois Lowry

    Shelley Workinger
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    The Giver generously begins giving right away with a meal on page 5 – the evening meal to be precise: the third of the daily scheduled trifecta which also includes the morning meal and midday meal. Right, so if I sound like I’m harping on the terminology a bit, it’s only because the titles are the ONLY description of food we get in this book. Ever. *sigh*So back to the opening meal, which in this case is the perfect scene to introduce the dystopia that 11-year-old Jonas calls life. It’s seemingly idyllic at first: the entire family sits down together to eat and talk about their day,…

  • Toastworthy Teens: Christa Fairclough

    Shelley Workinger
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:04 pm
     Christa Fairclough, LifesaverChrista Fairclough was in the middle of a game at her local bowling alley with her mother and little cousin when a 75-year-old man collapsed in the lane next to them. The 16-year-old heroine, who was the first person to see the man was in trouble, sprang into action and began performing CPR while her mom ran for help and employees called 9-1-1.  Ironically, Christa’d just learned the 2 breaths-30 compressions-repeat cycle 3 days before in her New Jersey high school, but thought, “If this ever happened in real life, I probably would not…

  • Please Welcome Back Guest Andrew Carlson, Author of Sue's Fingerprint & the Upcoming Sequel, Sue's Vision

    Shelley Workinger
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:30 pm
    Last time I posted here on BWATE a few weeks ago (http://bit.ly/rQhaWT), I wrote about the individual discovery of food that the clones experienced in Sue’s Fingerprint.  Being new people, transformed from an alien substance with no prior memories or experiences, they each had to discover what foods they liked and didn’t like.  They didn’t have years of experience from their childhood to choose their preferred diet.Food also plays an important role for the collective group of clones in Sue’s Fingerprint and the soon-to-be-released sequel, Sue’s Vision.  Food is the…
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    robertfay.com

  • Elif Batuman: A Classic 5′ 10″

    Robert Fay
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:47 pm
    Last April Elif Batuman wrote a great piece in The Guardian about life after her book The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them became a best seller. The book is a memoir-like collection of essays chronicling her experiences studying the Russian masters. In the essay Batuman writes about a funny exchange between her and Jonathan Franzen at a NYC restaurant: At that point, Franzen turned to me. “Are you really 6ft tall?” he demanded. This was a rather thoughtful allusion to my first published work, “Babel in California“: an essay…

  • The New Center of Anglo-American Letters

    Robert Fay
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:53 am
    I recommend Garth Risk Hallberg’s article “Why Write Novels at All?” in The New York Times. He looks at whether the writers at a 2006 literary conference in Italy called Le Conversazioni–Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith, David Foster Wallace and Nathan Englander–constitute a new movement and whether there is a common aesthetic among them. I don’t believe they form a movement, but they are collectively taking over the spotlight from their predecessors, writers like Don DeLillo, Cormac McCarthy, John Updike, Toni Morrison and Philip…

  • Literature with an Agenda

    Robert Fay
    9 Jan 2012 | 7:34 pm
    There is an essay on the site Bookslut by Josh Cook that examines “literature with an agenda.” Cook does a good job of defending such books, and faults the influence of MFA programs (which focus strictly on craft) and early 20th Century communist propaganda as reasons why there is resistance today to books with “a message.” photo credit: Amio Cajander. I would also add that many contemporary writers are no longer conversant and/or comfortable with the bedrock works of western civilization: classical Greek and Roman literature and the Bible. This ignorance about the “great…

  • Aimee Bender L.A. Reading

    Robert Fay
    3 Jan 2012 | 7:20 pm
    Novelist Aimee Bender will give a reading at Atwater Crossing in Los Angeles on Thur., Jan. 12 at 7 pm. The event is hosted by the editors of Slake magazine and will include a reading and a discussion of Bender’s craft. Her most recent work is The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Below you can view a 2007 Bender reading at Google headquarters in California as part of the Authors@Google series.

  • Grappling With James Joyce

    Robert Fay
    29 Dec 2011 | 8:23 pm
    Grappling with James Joyce at the beginning of the 21st Century is similar to reading Shakespeare’s tragedies or even working your way through the Old Testament—you recognize immediately you are knee-deep in cultural source material. It feels less accurate to call Joyce a modernist than to say he was modernism, for it’s clear how much of our contemporary sensibility can be traced back to this peculiar Irishman. I recently dug into the 1959  Richard Ellmann biography James Joyce. It needs little introduction: many people consider it the greatest literary biography of the 20th…
 
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    Andy Straka

  • NOOK Bestseller

    andy
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:21 pm
    Top Ten Current Bestsellers on the NOOK for Detective Fiction. 1 Girl With the Dragan Tattoo by Steig Larsson 2 The First Rule of Ten by Gay Hendricks 3 What It Was by George Pelecanos 4 In a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich 5 Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell 6 Angle of Investigation by Michael Connelly 7 A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow 8 A Witness Above by Andy Straka **** 9 The Rope by Nevada Barr 10 D.C. Dead by Stuart Woods

  • The Hawk Sees

    andy
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:39 am
    Have you ever been so engrossed in a project that it’s hard to see the forest for the trees? Maybe you’re overwhelmed with responsibilities at work or with children on the home front. A writer’s life can be like that sometimes. Somewhere near the middle of a book, no matter how good the outline, the task can suddenly appear overwhelming, even impossible. I feel like I’ve become mired at such a stage these past couple of weeks as I slowly push a number of writing/publishing projects forward. Am I trying to do too much? Too little? Am I even doing the right things? These are the kind of…

  • A Hallelujah Christmas

    andy
    19 Dec 2011 | 3:27 pm
    Many of us seek out inspirational stories at Christmastime. If you’re looking to curl up with a warm cup of cheer and a good murder mystery, the great folks over at Mystery Lovers Bookstore have compiled an excellent list of holiday-themed mysteries. While not a Christmas-themed tale, I hope my latest thriller, The Blue Hallelujah, becomes a special book in your library or in that of someone you love. A departure from my well-known Frank Pavlicek mystery series, it’s the story of an elderly, dying detective, his long dead wife, and their granddaughter who goes missing. The word…

  • The Blue Hallelujah

    andy
    7 Nov 2011 | 3:50 pm
    How far would you go to rescue your grandchild and redeem your long dead spouse? Detective Jerry Strickland and his wife Rebecca shared a secret calling. When Rebecca died of cancer in prison—branded as a disturbed vigilante after killing one of his murder suspects—Jerry knew he needed to put the truth in writing to set the record straight. Now, as an old man nearing his own demise, Jerry is unsure whether to share his narrative about Rebecca with the world. But when his eight-year-old granddaughter Marnee disappears, Jerry learns she’s been taken by someone close to the killer…

  • Too Dark For Superheroes

    andy
    24 Sep 2011 | 1:55 pm
    —-Free, for your reading pleasure, especially for writers. Maybe a glimpse of the near future. A story about ebooks and the ghost of publishing past. —- I half expected the old man in the green eyeshade not to show. But when I stepped off the elevator on the twenty-fourth floor of the Acme Legacy Publishing building in New York a few minutes after midnight, there he was. In his corner office with his shirtsleeves rolled up, nursing bloodshot eyes. The nub of a cigar protruding from the side of his mouth like a bad memory. On the ink-stained blotter behind him, a half empty bottle…
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    The Browser | FiveBooks

  • Francis Fukuyama on the Financial Crisis

    FiveBooks
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:11 am
    Image by kenteegardin on FlickrThe author of "The End of History" says the financial crisis revealed a great deal about the nature of America’s political and economic system. The shame, he says, is that opportunities to change it are now being ignored Read full interview

  • Simon Winchester on American Stories

    FiveBooks
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:04 am
    Image by ARM Climate Research Facility on FlickrModern America is a story of expanding frontiers, says the bestselling author. He tells us about five novels that shed light on the social history of his adopted homeland, from the late 19th century to the Great DepressionRead full interview

  • Timothy Snyder on Dissent

    FiveBooks
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:10 am
    Image from Wikimedia CommonsThe history professor tells us what today’s dissidents can learn from the experience of Eastern Europe and explains how Václav Havel leaves a lasting legacy of how to challenge the over-mightyRead full interview

  • Mark Kurlansky on Favourite Science Books

    FiveBooks
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:31 am
    Image by bramblejungle on FlickrThe bestselling author of Cod and Salt tells us about five science books he loves – from whales and snails to evolution and string theory – all of which make difficult subjects accessibleRead full interview

  • Emrys Westacott on Philosophy and Everyday Living

    FiveBooks
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:23 am
    Philosophy is sometimes assumed to be a dry, academic subject but, in reality, is anything but. A philosophy professor tells us how his subject is at least as much about how we live, love and relate to each otherRead full interview
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    BookLeverage - Leveraging Books for Success

  • Friday Four of a Kind – 1/27/12

    George Rodriguez
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:51 pm
    I. – Best Links of the Week: #1 – For you business readers out there I happened upon this link while doing some research on business gurus.  The Economist published a study called Guide to Management Ideas and Gurus and I found it very interesting.  Have a look! #2 – Found these great questions on the Change Anything blog to test your level of self-discipline.  Check it out! #3 – Some quick tips on time-management from real entrepreneurs on Entrepreneur.com.  Simple yet powerful! II. – Best Site of the Week: Started reading The Willpower Instinct: How…

  • Book Review – “Ragged Dick” by Horatio Alger Jr.

    George Rodriguez
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:54 pm
    THE ELEVATOR REVIEW: Have you heard the phrase “Horatio Alger story” and wondered what exactly that meant? Read Ragged Dick; Or Street Life in New York and you will learn what made the author famous and the above phrase so ubiquitous.  America loves an underdog story and “Ragged Dick”; while short in length, harkens back to a time when hard work, honesty and just a tad of luck could seemingly lead to success and a better life. THE DEEP DIVE REVIEW: “Ragged Dick” tells the story of young boot-black (shoeshine) Dick as he uses his wit, street smarts and…

  • What is Deliberate Practice?

    George Rodriguez
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:48 pm
    Chance favors only the prepared mind – Louis Pasteur I happened to come across an interesting article today from Time magazine.  In it Annie Murphy Paul explains how deliberate practice, and not just regular practice, can lead to success and expert-level achievement. Deliberate practice is a focused, thoughtful analysis of areas that we need to improve on and what incremental steps we can take to turn those weaknesses into strengths.  For instance, picture a golfer at a driving range hitting a bucket of balls and going from setup, swing, watching ball flight and teeing up another…

  • Book Review – “Gung Ho!” by Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles

    George Rodriguez
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:59 pm
    THE ELEVATOR REVIEW: If I told you that a book about squirrel spirits, beaver best practices and gifts that geese give could transform your company and according to Tom Peters, “…revolutionize any organization which adopts it, and those that don’t won’t survive.”, what would you tell me? After the success of Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Bowles returned to their pithy, aphorism-filled well to deliver their readers an amalgamation of religion, Native American spiritualism and a tried and true underdog story.  Is…

  • What is Willpower?

    George Rodriguez
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:39 pm
    How is your New Year’s Resolution coming?  A recent article in the New York Times on willpower pointed out that by the end of January one-third of people will have lapsed on their resolutions and by July half will have. Why don’t we have the willpower to keep to our resolutions?  Why do we say we will exercise more, eat better and lose those pounds starting in 2012 and yet in the back of our minds we wonder how long we can hold out and keep going to the gym, stay away from the fast food drive-through and keep mixing in a salad with dinner. In Willpower: Rediscovering the…
 
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