Shelf Awareness for Tuesday, September 11, 2012


St. Martin's Press: Humans by Brandon Stanton

Andrews McMeel Publishing: Cat Ninja, Volume 1 by Matthew Cody, illustrated by Yehudi Mercado

Berkley Books: In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of La Porte by Camilla Bruce

Candlewick Press (MA): Stink and the Hairy, Scary Spider by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Scholastic Press:  The Captive Kingdom (the Ascendance Series, Book 4) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Disney-Hyperion: The Mirror Broken Wish (Mirror #1) by Julie C. Dao

News

Following DOJ Settlement, E-Discounting Begins

The fallout from the Justice Department settlement with three publishers over the agency model for e-books has begun sooner than most observers expected. HarperCollins has changed its agreements with Amazon and at least several other online retailers, including BooksonBoard, and prices on e-books on those sites have already fallen.

The final settlement was approved by a federal judge last Thursday; changes were to begin taking place starting a week after that judgment.

A widely quoted e-mail from HarperCollins spokesperson Erin Crum confirmed the change. She wrote: "HarperCollins has reached agreements with our e-retailers that are consistent with the final judgment. Dynamic pricing and experimentation will continue to be a priority for us as we move forward."

Similarly, Amazon spokeswoman Sarah Gelman wrote: "We are happy to again be lowering prices on a broad assortment of HarperCollins titles."

Paidcontent had the first widespread report on the change, which was initially noticed by Jane Litte on her blog Dear Author. Litte found that most prices on HarperCollins e-books are discounted 10%-20%. The New York Times pointed out that current bestsellers The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva and Solo by Hope Solo are being sold for $9.99.

Titles that are discounted note, "Sold by HarperCollins." Titles still under the agency model note, for example, "Price set by Penguin."

CNet may have summed up the situation with this headline: "Publishers' worst nightmare: Amazon again on discount warpath."


Berkley Books: Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst


Hachette Future Moves: Young to U.K., Pietsch Promoted

After seven years as head of Hachette Book Group in the U.S., David Young is returning to the U.K. to spend more time with his family. Effective March 31, he will give up his CEO post but remain chairman and will return to the U.S. approximately one week a month. At the same time, he becomes deputy chief executive of Hachette U.K. and CEO of Hachette's Orion Publishing Group.

Effective April 1, Michael Pietsch, currently executive v-p of Hachette Book Group and publisher of Little, Brown, will succeed Young as CEO. He has been publisher of Little, Brown for 11 years.

Effective immediately, Ken Michaels, Hachette Book Group's COO, is now also president. He joined the company in 2009.

Arnaud Nourry, chairman of Hachette Livre, commented: "David Young took over as CEO at a time when the company didn't have a home or even a name--and brilliantly led the building of Hachette Book Group, one of the most extraordinarily successful and respected publishing companies in the world.... He focused always foremost on supporting his publishers in finding great writers and working with them closely on every aspect of publication, and he did so with constant warmth, humor and perceptiveness.... I am thrilled that he is staying with Hachette and that I will get to continue my close relationship with him."

Nourry also called Pietsch "a superb publisher," and said, "I cannot wait to see all he will accomplish as he brings those skills to the larger role of CEO."

For his part, after praising his colleagues and especially Pietsch and Michaels, Young said, "This is more à bientôt than goodbye!" And Pietsch likewise praised his colleagues, adding, "I'm also thrilled to work more closely still with the amazing David Young, a sartorial and oenological sage who has led HBG with warmth, vigor, and rigor through the tremendous changes of the digital age, and with Arnaud Nourry, a visionary executive and leader."


AuthorBuzz for the Week of 08.10.20


Tales of the Lonesome Pine Finds Bookshop Sitter

Tales of the Lonesome Pine Used Bookstore, Big Stone Gap, Va., has found a "bookshop babysitter" for the store. Last night, owners Wendy Welch and Jack Beck said on the store's Facebook page: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's official: Andrew Whalen, who works in NYC's film industry and is originally from Ohio, will be shopsitting Tales of the Lonesome Pine Sept. 20-Nov. 20. He'll be blogging his adventures on Wednesdays for Wendy's blog. Please make him welcome! Thanks." Tales of the Lonesome Pine Used Bookstore had received more than 180 inquiries from as far away as New Zealand about the position.

 Welch and Beck are taking the time off to go on a tour for her book, The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book (St. Martin's, $24.99, 9781250010636), which appears October 2.

After a long story in Shelf Awareness by Robert Gray, the store's hunt for a bookshop sitter got nice international coverage--it was written up in the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, NPR's Weekend Edition, Sweden's Litteratur Magazinet and France's Actualitté.



BINC: Book Auction to Benefit BINC - Click Here!


Berkley/NAL Launches InkLit Graphic Novel Imprint

Penguin's Berkley/NAL division is launching InkLit, a graphic novel imprint that will publish both original novels and series as well as adaptations of previously published works.

InkLit launches October 2 with Alpha and Omega: Volume 1 by Patricia Briggs with artwork by Todd Herman, an adaptation of Cry Wolf (Ace 2008), the first book in the Alpha and Omega series. Volume 2 appears next year.

Next year's list includes two graphic novels by Charlaine Harris, an adaptation of Grave Sight, and Cemetery Girl, an original title and beginning of a trilogy; two titles by Laurell K. Hamilton, The Lunatic Café, an adaptation of part of the Anita Blake series, and an original title; an adaptation of Martin Misunderstood by Karin Slaughter; and an original title, Starling, from Sage Stossel.

InkLit will be directed by Rich Johnson, who co-founded Yen press and held senior positions at DC Comics.


University of California Press:  Republican Jesus: How the Right Has Rewritten the Gospels by Tony Keddie


Notes

Image of the Day: Maria's Bookshop from Outside


For the Durango, Colo., entry in a series of "the best river towns in America," Outside magazine used this photo of Maria's Bookshop as its main illustration. There is no mention about the store otherwise in the article, although Outside says this about Durango: "The town itself is less pretentious than other Colorado tourist hubs, mainly because of the balance of working ranchers, young professionals, athletes, artists, retirees, and the 4,000 liberal arts students attending Fort Lewis College. 'It's a real town, not a faux fancy place that relies on the mythic West for its identity,' says Stephanie Moran, program coordinator for the Durango Adult Education Center."

Photo: Scott DW Smith


G.P. Putnam's Sons: Little Threats by Emily Schultz


Mia Blankensop Promoted at Chronicle Books

In Chronicle Books's sales department, Mia Blankensop has been promoted to export sales coordinator from sales assistant. She has worked on the sales team for three and a half years.

 


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Tim Gunn Fashionably on GMA, Chelsea Lately

This morning on Good Morning America: Tim Gunn, co-author of Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet (Gallery, $28, 9781451643855). He will also be on E!'s Chelsea Lately tomorrow.

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Today on SiriusXM Radio's Cover to Cover with Maggie Linton: Judi and Shari Zucker, authors of The Ultimate Allergy-Free Snack Cookbook: Over 100 Kid-Friendly Recipes for the Allergic Child (Square One, $15.95, 9780757003462).

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Tomorrow morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe: Bob Woodward, author of The Price of Politics (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781451651102). He will also appear on CBS's This Morning and CNN's Piers Morgan.

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Nancy Mullane, author of Life After Murder: Five Men in Search of Redemption (PublicAffairs, $26.99, 9781610390293).

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Tomorrow morning on Fox & Friends: Bruce Herschensohn, author of Obama's Globe: A President's Abandonment of U.S. Allies Around the World (Beaufort, $24.95, 9780825306853).

Also on Fox & Friends: Karen Handel, author of Planned Bullyhood: The Truth Behind the Headlines about the Planned Parenthood Funding Battle with Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Howard, $24.99, 9781451697940). She will also appear on Fox News's Huckabee.

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Tomorrow on Current's Joy Behar: Say Anything: Big Ang, author of Bigger Is Better: Real Life Wisdom from the No-Drama Mama (Gallery, $21.99, 9781451699609).

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Tomorrow on Anderson Live: Tony Danza, author of I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High (Crown Archetype, $24, 9780307887863).

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Tomorrow on NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Zadie Smith, author of NW: A Novel (Penguin Press, $26.95, 9781594203978).

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Tomorrow on Fox News's Hannity: Mike Gallagher, author of 50 Things Liberals Love to Hate (Threshold, $27, 9781451679250).

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Tomorrow on NPR's Talk of the Nation: Carol Blue, widow of Christopher Hitchens, who wrote the afterword to Hitchens's new book, Mortality (Twelve/Hachette, $22.99, 9781455502752).


Movie: Lincoln Trailer

A teaser trailer was released for Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay, based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. The film will open November 9 in limited release before going nationwide November 16.
 



Books & Authors

Attainment: New Titles Out Next Week

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, September 18:

Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" by Corey Olsen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $25, 9780547739465) coincides with the 75th anniversary of The Hobbit and Peter Jackson's film, which opens December 14.

The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin (Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385527200) chronicles the relationship between Obama and the Supreme Court.

My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall (New Harvest, $26, 9780547892627) is the memoir of the actress and film director.

Finding My Elegy: New and Selected Poems by Ursula K. Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $22, 9780547858203) samples 50 years of the author's poetry.

Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26, 9780151014675) follows a deceitful politician's wife in 1887 London.

Concussions and Our Kids: America's Leading Expert on How to Protect Young Athletes and Keep Sports Safe by Dr. Robert Cantu and Mark Hyman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24, 9780547773940) explores the problem of repeated head trauma in youth sports.

The Life of Objects by Susanna Moore (Knopf, $25, 9780307268433) follows an Irish teenaged girl living in Nazi Germany.

The Diviners by Libba Bray (Little Brown, $19.99, 9780316126113) takes place in 1920s New York, where a young girl lives with her curator uncle in an occult museum.

The 17 Day Plan to Stop Aging by Mike Moreno (Free Press, $26, 9781451666250) claims to halt and reverse negative aspects of aging.


Now in paperback:

The Hobbit (Movie Tie-in Edition) by J.R.R. Tolkien (Del Rey, $8.99, 9780345534835)


Awards: Man Booker Shortlist

The Man Booker 2012 shortlist has been announced. According to the six judges, "The 2012 shortlist includes two debut novels, three small independent publishers, two former shortlisted authors and one previous winner. Of the six writers, three are men and three are women; four are British, one Indian and one Malaysian."

Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening
Deborah Levy, Swimming Home
Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies
Alison Moore, The Lighthouse
Will Self, Umbrella
Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis

The winner will be announced at a dinner at London’s Guildhall on October 16.

 


Book Review

Review: Beautiful Lies

Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26 hardcover, 9780151014675, September 18, 2012)

Clare Clark's Beautiful Lies was inspired by the real-life story of Gabriela Cunninghame Graham, wife of the aristocratic writer and parliamentarian Robert Cunninghame Graham, well known in the 1880s for his relentless Socialist politics. Clark sets her novel in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, but not everyone is celebrating--riots caused by unemployment and homelessness make the chasm between the haves and the have-nots open ever wider; the parallels between 19th-century Britain and today's world are easily drawn, but never in a preachy or obvious way.

Maribel Campbell Lowe, Clark's leading lady, has fashioned an exotic backstory for herself out of whole cloth. The truth is much more prosaic and, if discovered, potentially disastrous for her husband, Edward, and his family. She is already a bit of a scandal: a childless, chain-smoking photographer who does as she pleases, goes where she wants and is not well-loved by her mother-in-law.

In another modern touch, Beautiful Lies also outlines the beginnings of newspaper corruption and tabloid journalism, as Maribel runs afoul of Alfred Webster, a self-righteous prig of a newspaper editor who pretends to be Edward's friend but is in reality his nemesis. It is possible he knows the truth about Maribel's past and might use it against her and Edward, but Maribel is not without her own resources in that department--a primitive but effective prototype of Photoshop makes Alfred sweat. 

Edward, meanwhile, is neither a peacemaker nor a compromiser. Ousted from the House of Commons for taking part in a demonstration, he is ultimately sent to jail. While he is serving his sentence, Maribel goes to Spain to look for a mine that will end their financial problems--one of several plot lines that serves as a distracting place keeper until the novel's main action resumes. The reader may be annoyed by these dead ends, but they do serve a purpose, as Clark uses them to flesh out the social landscape, mores and morals of her late 19th-century setting. --Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Cannon Beach, Ore.

Shelf Talker: Frequently longlisted for Britain's Orange Prize, Clark returns with a story based on real Victorian-era celebrities making their way through the queen's Golden Jubilee year.


The Bestsellers

Top-Selling Titles on AbeBooks.com in August

The bestselling titles at AbeBooks.com during August:

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
2. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
5. Beloved by Toni Morrison
6. They Say/I Say by Gerald Graff
7. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
8. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
10. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The bestselling signed titles at AbeBooks.com during August:

1. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
2. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
3. Hobbit to Hero by Elizabeth M. Stephen
4. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
5. The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman
6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
7. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
8. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
9. The Wrath of Angels by John Connolly
10. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

[Many thanks to AbeBooks.com!]
 


AuthorBuzz: Berrett-Koehler Publishers: Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters
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