Shout ’n’ Share
Miriam Tuliao, Assistant Director, Central Collection Development Collections Strategy New York Public Library
1. Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel (HarperCollins)
2. Cleopatra: A Biography by Stacy Schiff (Little, Brown)
3. Moscow Noir edited by Natalia Smirnova & Julia Goumen (Akaschic Books)
4. Surf Guru by Doug Dorst (Riverhead)
5. Bijou Roy by Ronica Dhar (St. Martin’s Press)
6. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart (Random House)
Douglas C. Lord, Division of Library Development, Connecticut State Library
The titles I actually talked about were:
- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Bailey (Algonquin Books / Workman)
- If Trouble Don't Kill Me: A Family's Story of Brotherhood, War, and Bluegrass by Rah Berrier, Jr. (Crown)
- Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (William Morrow)
- Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francious LeLord (Penguin)
- Angel Face: The True Story of Amanda Knox by Barbie Latza Nadeau (Beast Books, part of Perseus)
- The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam by Eliza Griswold (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman (St. Martin's)
- Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach (Norton)
- Savages by Don Winslow (Simon & Schuster)
- Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst (Random House)
The titles I ran out of time for were:
- Exley by Brock Clarke (Algonquin Books / Workman)
- Geekdad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share by Ken Denmead (Gotham / Penguin)
- Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa (Algonquin Books / Workman)
- Dark Harbor by Nathan Ward (Farrar, Straus and Giroux )
Robin Nesbitt, Technical Services Director, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH
- The Good Psychologist by Noam Shpancer, Henry Holt, August 2010
- Read This Next by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark, HarperCollins, November 2010
- Superbaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years by Dr. Jenn Berman, Sterling, September 2010
- Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture Perfect Weight Loss, by Dr. Howard M. Shapiro and Chef Franklin Becker, Harlequin, May 2010
- Blood of the Prodigal and Clouds Without Rain by P.L. Gaus, Penguin, September 2010
- Horrid Henry's Joke Book by Francesca Simon, Sourcebooks, April 2010
- Earth, the Book, A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, September 2010
Jason Honig, San Francisco Public Library (CA)
The "apocaliterary" themed titles:
1. Kunstler, James Howard. Witch of Hebron; a World Made by Hand Novel -- Atlantic Monthly Pr.-- Sept. 7, 2010)
2. DeHart, Terry. The Unit -- Orbit (July 14, 2010)
3. Nunez, Sigrid. Salvation City -- Riverhead Hardcover (September 16, 2010)
4. Costa, Rebecca D. The Watchman's Rattle; Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction -- Vanguard Press (October 5, 2010)
5. Gonzales, Laurence. Lucy -- Knopf (July 13, 2010)
(Also, not mentioned,but intriguing: Tribes; the Dog Years, byGeszel, Michael and Spinetta, Peter (authors)and Miranda, Inaki and de la Cruz, Eva (art and color, respectively. IDW Publishing (June 29, 2010). Here's the Amazon.com description: "Over a hundred years after a viral apocalypse shortened the human lifespan to 21 years, the remnants of humanity survive in small tribes amidst the junkyard ruins of the techno-industrial age. One day everything changes for Sundog of the Sky Shadows. Is there new hope for longer life? Can the condition, the "plague," be cured or reversed with the help of an "Immortal" from a city under the sea?")
The "If This Were a Film Noir festival, these titles might fall into the "Hard Luck Dames" theme [or, as Nancy Pearl jokingly self-identified earlier that afternoon, "Trouble is my middle name!"]:
1. Fortier, Anne. Juliet -- Ballantine Books (August 24, 2010)
2. Schiff, Stacy. Cleopatra -- Little, Brown and Company (November 1, 2010)
3. Lippman, Laura. I'd Know You Anywhere -- William Morrow (August 17, 2010)
3. Shange, Ntozake and Bayeza, Ifa. Some Sing, Some Cry: a Novel -- St. Martin's Press (September 14, 2010)
4. Rosner, Elizabeth. Blue Nude: a Novel -- Gallery Books [Simon & Schuster] (September 14, 2010)
5. Kalotay, Daphne. Russian Winter -- Harper (September 7, 2010)
Not mentioned, but intriguing: Kava, Alex. Damaged: A Maggie O'Dell Novel -- Doubleday (July 13, 2010)
The "Something for the Boys" theme and/or "Of Special Interest to San Francisco Readers, Among Others" theme:
1. Spencer, Scott. Man in the Woods -- Ecco Books(September 14, 2010)
2. Evison, Jonathan. West of Here -- Algonquin Books (February 15, 2011)
3. Dorst, Doug. Surf Guru; Stories -- Riverhead Hardcover (July 15, 2010) [Author's Alive in Necropolis was a popular On the Same Page selection at SFPL.]
4. Krauss, Nicole. Great House: a Novel -- W. W. Norton & Company (October 4, 2010) [Author's The History of Love was a popular On the Same Page selection at SFPL.]
5. Caldwell, Bo. City of Tranquil Light: a Novel -- Henry Holt and Co. (September 28, 2010)
As a counterpoint to some of the apocalypticaly-themed titles above -- some titles to remind us that life is still worth living... and that you can really pack plenty of info in a subtitle:
1. Levin, Larry. Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love -- Grand Central Publishing (November 4, 2010)
2. Elder, Janet. Huck; The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family--and a Whole Town--About Hope and Happy Endings -- Broadway (September 28, 2010)
3. Berman, Dr. Jenn. SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years -- Sterling (September 7, 2010)
And others…Richards, Keith. Life -- Little, Brown and Co. -- I held this one up in response to another panel member but the jacket cover, featured on the back of the BEA booklet, certainly well-illustrates the "apocaliterary" themed titlesand could also "flesh out," so to speak, the "Something for the Boys" theme. Some other "Something for the Boys" titles
I held up my copy (in response to another panelist citing: Korda, Michael. Hero; the Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. That would go well with the "Something for the Boys" titles as would another title I didn't get to mention: Leavy, Jane. The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood -- both pub. by HarperCollins.
And, another HarperCollins title sure to have special resonance in San Francisco: Maupin, Armistead. Mary Ann in Autumn.
Finally, the award for best promotional give-away goes to the luggage tag for Packing for Mars by Mary Roach -- W.W. Norton (August 2010) -- the book should be a hit, too, btw.
Neal Wyatt, Past President, Reference and User Services Division of the American Library Association and editor of Library Journal’s “RA Crossroads” and “The Readers Shelf”
Fiction:
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, Doubleday
Exley by Brock Clarke, Algonquin
By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel, Harper
West of Here by Jonathan Evison, Algonquin
Juliet by Anne Fortier, Ballantine
The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman, St. Martin’s
The Radleys by Matt Haig, Free Press
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay, Harper
So Cold the River by Michael Koryta, Little Brown
Great House by Nicole Krauss, W. W. Norton & Company
The Instructions Adam Levin, McSweeney's
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, Random
The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, Twelve
Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez, Riverhead
Rescue by Anita Shreve, Little, Brown and Company
A Curable Romantic by Joseph Skibell, Algonquin
Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer, Ecco
Nonfiction:
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, Penguin
What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly, Viking
Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda, Harper
Half Empty by David Rakoff, Doubleday
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach, W. W. Norton & Company
Listen to This by Alex Ross, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilizations Northern Future by Laurence C. Smith, Dutton
Cleopatra: A Biography by Stacy Schiff, Little, Brown and Company
Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester, Harper
Barbara Genco, Collection Management Editor, Library Journal
FICTION
Belfer, Lauren. A Fierce Radiance. Harper (HarperCollins). The author of City of Light (political and industrial intrigue—electricity-- Buffalo in 1901) takes on NYC in the 40’s and the development of penicillin. Belfer is tops on atmosphere and period details.
Clarke, Brock. Exley: A novel. Algonquin. Heart rending and affecting. A boy tries to save his Dad’s life by bringing long-dead author Frederick Exley ( A Fan’s Notes) to his VA hospital bedside.
Kalogridis, Jeanne. The Scarlet Contessa: A novel of the Italian Renaissance. St Martin’s Press. Sexy historical
Peale, Samantha. The American Painter Emma Dial. Norton. Series in production for HBO. Paperback reprint.
NONFICTION
Charney, Noah. Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The true story of the world’s most coveted masterpiece. Perseus. (October) More art history meets real mystery by the author of The Art Thief.
Constantino, Rosetta with Janet Fletcher. My Calabria: Rustic family cooking from Italy’s undiscovered South. Norton. (November) Handsome photos and design highlight delicious recipes.
Kohn, Edward P. Hot Time in the Old Town: The catastrophic heat wave that devastated Gilded Age New York. Basic (August) Ten days in August 1896 that killed thousands and jump started Teddy’s Roosevelt’s political career. Terrific narrative non fiction.
Leonard, Herman. Jazz. Bloomsbury. (November) Striking photos of the Jazz greats from photographic legend. Images reprinted from a career’s worth of negatives--saved from Hurricane Katrina.
Richards, Keith. Life. Little Brown (Hachette) (One-day laydown October 26, 2010). By a wanna be librarian who settled for like as a rock ‘n’ roll star.
Potts, Phoebe. Good Eggs: A memoir. Harper. (September) Funny with real pain; in a graphic style a la Fun Home.
Rotella, Mark. Amore: The Story of Italian American Song. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. A Top 40 playlist/history …with benefits.
Steinberg, Avi. Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian. Nan A. Talese (Random House). A punk rock and post-Shawshank Redemption prison library memoir.
Winchester, Simon. The Atlantic: The biography of an ocean. HarperCollins. Sweeping and satisfying.u
Wolfe, Greg. How to Make Love to a Plastic Cup: A guy’s guide to infertility. Harper (August) Humorous yet factual approach.
Planned to Share
Brinker, Nancy G. Promise Me: How a sister’s love launched a global movement to end breast cancer. Broadway (September) By Susan G. Komen’s older sister, Nancy.
Brophy, Don. Catherine of Siena: A passionate life. BlueBridge (August) The 1st major biography in 50+ years of this co-patron of Italy (with St. Francis of Assisi).
Bryant, Janie with Monica Corcoran Harel. Fashion File: Advice, tips, and inspiration from the costume designer of Mad Men. Introduction by January Jones. Grand Central (Hachette) (November)
Cobb, William Jelani. The Substance of Hope: Barak Obama and the Paradox of Progress. Walker Books. The Spelman College historian’s brilliant take on the trajectory of history and the election of Obama.
Cook, Kevin. Titanic Thompson: The man who bet on everything. Norton. An in-house favorite at Norton. The gambler model for Damon Runyon’s Guy Masterson.
Karp, Brianna. The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness: A memoir. Harlequin (March 2011). It could happen to anyone. How easy the fall; how difficult the climb back up.
Murherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. (Simon & Schuster) November. One of the BEA Editor’s BUZZ titles. Impressive and involving.
Sharlet, Jeff. C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. Hachette (September) By the best-selling author of The Family and founder of the influential
Sedaris, Amy. Simple Times: Crafts for poor people. Grand Central (Hachette) (November) Hysterically funny post-modern DIY will appeal to both ETSY fans and the tragically hip.
Nora Rawlinson, EarlyWord.com
THE TIGER, John Valliant; Knopf -- 8/24/10
Subtitle: A True Story of Vengance and Survival
Brought up at a recent EarlyWord Galley Chat --
True story about a man-eating tiger in remote area of Russia – discover that the killings aren’t random; the tiger has a vendetta
BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY, Rebecca Traister, S&S 9/14/10
Subtitle: The Election That Changed everything for American Women
S&S buzz session – Traister spoke; very impressive
The following two books are ones I find I am carrying around with me:
UP FROM THE BLUE, Susan Henderson, Harper PBK Original, OCT
Fascinated by books about crazy mothers from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s
I’m not the only one -- Glass Castle, Running with Scissors
This one is a novel, but feels real
Debut
Family secrets
Opens with a young woman about to go in to labor
This sentence grabbed me:
Says of her husband “Majoring in art history is a lot like acquiring an expensive degree in unemployment”
THE WAKE OF FORGIVENESS, Bruce Machart, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, OCT
The entire HMH staff is alight about this one
Set in Texas, 1910, features horses, so will make you think Cormac
McCarthy, but they say it is actually much more plot-driven
The HMH editor says it’s “dark as midnight”
I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE Laura Lippman, Morrow, 8/17
This is a standalone
Dark & creepy
Eliza Benedict – gets a letter “I’d know you anywhere” == man who kidnapped her as a child – he’s on death row – is he asking for forgiveness – emerges that he is NOT
WEST OF HERE, Jonathan Evison, Algonquin, 2/15
I believed Mike Rockliff when he told me about A Reliable Wife
He’s been talking for months about WEST OF HERE
By A Reliable Wife‘s editor, Chuck Adams (also editor of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS)
Mike calls it “big, sprawling,and full of life.” -- about 100 years in the life of a Washington town that thought it would become what Seattle became, but never did.It's a book about hope, disappointment, delusions, and disillusion... but hope, above all.
THE SLEEPWALKERS, Paul Grossman, St. Martin’s, OCT
DEBUT
Beginning of Hitler’s rule -- Jewish Detective in Berlin – “was the hunter, now the hunted”
Great blurb – “Decadence, horror, filthy glamour”
ATLANTIC, Simon Winchester, Harper, Nov
Subtitle: A “Biography of the Atlantic”
Author of the book every librarian loves, The Professor and the.Madman
CAKE BOSS: The Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia, Buddy Valastro, Free Press, Nov
Has a reality show of the same name
Owns Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey
Jersey accent, tough guy – love to hear him talking about “fondant”
Mary Roach’s PACKING FOR MARS, Norton, Aug
At PLA she spoke about dead skin cells floating around the capsule – like a “snow globe”
RECIPES FROM THE ROOT CELLAR, Andrea Chesman, Storey Publishing, July
Good for locavores – winter meals can get pretty grim
South African crime whiz Deon Meyer’sTHIRTEEN HOURS, Atlantic Monthly, Sept
Willy Williams, LJ, spotted that Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would take off. She says that African crime fiction is next
Barbara Hoffert, PrePub Editor, Library Journal
Poetry
C.D. Wright, One with Others: [a little book of her days], Copper Canyon, October
First novels
Charles Elton, Mr. Toppit, Other Press, November
Richard Harvell, The Bells, Crown, September
Bruce Machart, The Wake of Forgiveness, Houghton Harcourt, November
Mark Mustian, The Gendarme, Amy Einhorn Bks: Putnam, September
Better Than Ever: Authors Proving Themselves—Again
Mackenzie Ford, The Clouds Beneath the Sun, Nan A. Talese: Doubleday
Robert Hellenga, Snakewoman of Little Egypt, Bloomsbury USA, September
Antonya Nelson, Bound, Bloomsbury USA
Dinaw Mengestu, How To Read the Air, Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA), October
Hot Dogs: Books on Saving Animals
Jim Gorant, The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption, Gotham, September
Steven Kotler, A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life, Bloomsbury USA, October
Larry Levin, Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love, Grand Central, October
Bonus title: Jon Katz, Rosie in a Storm, Villard, October (fiction)
Current Events
Griswold, Eliza. The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam. Farrar, August
Bonus title: Robert Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power, Random, October
Memoir
Mira Bartók, The Memory Palace, Free Press, January
Titles I Would Have Recommended, Given World Enough and Time
Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Yale Univ.
Bojowald. Martin. Once Before Time: A Whole Story of the Universe. Knopf
Bryson. Ellen. The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno. Holt.