If you haven’t checked your calendar lately, today is Halloween. What better to blog about than a couple of the newest blood-curdling, bone-chilling, hair-raising anthologies out from Random House?

Poe’s Children, The New Horror: An Anthology (Doubleday) is a collection of twenty-five scary tales representing the most talented that the literary horror genre has to offer. The book includes everything from the psychological to the supernatural with Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Jonathan Carroll lending their pens. Edited by Peter Straub.

Now back in print for fans of H.P. Lovecraft (both dedicated and undiscovered) comes this edition of The Watchers Out of Time (Del Rey). Described on the cover as “soul-chilling”, these fifteen stories include: “The Shuttered Room” (about a sophisticated gentleman who must settle his grandfather’s estate, only to find that the house shelters dark secrets) and “Witches’ Hollow,” in which (pun intended) a new schoolteacher puts his soul in peril while trying to save one of his students from a ravenous creature.

While this day will surely come and go as quickly as the candy in your trick-or-treat bowl books never go bad, so add these titles to your collection lists now!

-Marie

Well! It’s good to be back! I’ve been in Peru for 11 days. As they say in my industry, it was “by turns” amazing and horrifying. One of the more “horrifying” parts was our “6 hour” bus journey from Puno to Cusco that actually ended up being 32.5 hours.

Luckily, I had my galley with me. I debated bringing it, since it’s a little hefty, but I’m glad I did, because it kept me laughing even when the situation seemed pretty bleak (and when I didn’t have my nose buried in Fodor’s Peru 3rd Ed.). I loved the first collection, Fierce Pajamas, in which I discovered humorist S.J. Perelman (whose pieces I obsessed over and photocopied and forced on people in college), and in this collection I discovered the brilliance of Simon Rich, Jack Handey, and Paul Rudnick while enjoying my old favorites Perelman, Woody Allen, George Saunders and David Sedaris. Don’t miss this one, just for laughs.

-David

We’re thrilled for author Nancy Rawles that the Seattle Public Library has selected her book My Jim as the next Seattle Reads title. The novel is based on the character of Jim in Mark Twain’s book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Jim was a slave who escaped down the Mississippi River with Huck Finn. The story is told in the voice of Sadie, Jim’s wife, and follows Jim’s family as it struggles to cope with his loss after the escape. Rawles will visit locations of the Seattle Public Library from May 20-23, 2009 to talk with readers about her novel.  What a wonderful book to encourage discussions!

Random House, Inc is a big supporter of City Reads programs.  Please contact us at library@randomhouse.com if you need help planning your own community program, to find out about author availability, or to request more information about any of our books.  We have two catalogs which list books popular in One Book, One Community programs (one featuring an introduction and programming tips from Nancy Pearl).  You can download the PDFs HERE.

-Jen

For your patrons who read the beloved bestseller, Flags of Our Fathers, here are two titles from Osprey Publishing with a more lighthearted approach to military history.

  Did you know that when soldier in WWII referred to a butcher shop, he was referring to the hospital?  Or that if a soldier pointed out a Victory Girl to his friends, he meant she was promiscuous?

In Fubar: Soldier Slang of World War II, the author takes a frank look at the slang used by the men on the ground and shows how, even in the heat of action, they somehow managed to retain their sense of humor, black though it might have been.

Did you know they started “hearing through the grapevine” during the American Civil War?  Or that “over the top” originally came from the British Army during WWI, when it meant to go over the top of the trench and into attack?

In Sticklers, Sideburns, and Bikinis, you’ll be surprised by how many terms and phrases popular today with soldiers and civilian alike originated in the military.

-Erica

Like many bibliophiles, a pipe dream of mine is to write my own novel some day. Many authors I read act as inspiration with their beautiful prose and fascinating plot lines. Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison is one of those authors. I am currently reading her latest book, A Mercy, available November 11,and I find myself getting lost in her elegant words. With phrases like “…looking at a sky vulgar with stars. Clear and right…” who wouldn’t be envious of this amazing writer?

Random House, Inc. is kicking off the tour of this new novel with an NPR Book Tour beginning Monday, October 27. Please visit the website to find out more and be sure to tune in!

-Marie

I’m about the last person you would think to find watching a tv show about a serial killer.  But I am absolutely obsessed with and addicted to Dexter.  I find myself rooting for Dexter, wanting this serial killer to find love and happiness and it never really bothers me when he kills someone.  Sounds crazy, go figure. 

Read the thrilling novels that started it all.

-Erica

I know when the times get tough, the tough get going — but I don’t think it’s out to restaurants — I think it’s to supermarkets. People are eating more at home these days in an effort to economize. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out, particularly when I look at the imprints for which I’m responsible at RH Inc. and discover that the four BIGGEST Fall titles are all cookbooks! And you wouldn’t even have to concentrate hard to guess who these are from (in alphabetical order): Giada, Ina, Martha, and Rachael.

• Giada De Laurentis, Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites; September; printing, 600,000 (Everyday food from the goddess of Italian cooking!)
• Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Great Flavor from Simple Ingredients; October; printing, 800,000   (The subtitle says it all.)
• Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook; October; printing, 450,000   (Includes step-by-step instructions and illustrations for every essential kitchen technique.)
• Rachael Ray, Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Book: Her Favorite All-New 30-Minute Meals, Veggie Meals, Holiday Menus, Dinner-for-One, Kosher Meals, Rollover Menus, and Much, Much More!; November; printing, 1,000,000  (Enough said!)

Do you notice a trend here!? Favorites, Basics, Lessons, Rollover Menus. So even patrons who have only picked up a cookbook to give it as a gift should be able to make SOMETHING good to eat for a reasonable price and they’re likely to test the cookbook out by borrowing it from the library! Shrewd!

And just to round out things a bit, here a couple of other tasty titles designed to appeal to other segments of your borrowing public:

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Two Dudes, One Pan: Maximum Flavor from a Minimalist Kitchen — My vote for the quirky-est. Brand new from The Food Network, these two dudes are not exactly Bobby Flay lookalikes! Infused with their own individual style and only one skillet, they promise food full of flavor and attitude. Put this in the hands of the next guy who moans, “I can’t cook!”

Martha Hall Foose, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook -My vote for the most down-home or as a very good friend says, “This one’s a keeper!” Southern food with a contemporary flair. Humorous and touching tales make this a must-read for anyone who craves a return to comfort, company, and just plain good eating. Also beautifully photographed.

-Marci

Never fear, Suze Orman is here! Back just in time for those financial New Year’s Resolutions she’ll help your patrons start 2009 off right. Topics covered in this book include: credit, real estate, retirement investing, paying for college, spending, saving and protecting your family.  Suze’s website will also feature up-to-the-minute updates on the new policies of the new administration.

• Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan, by Suze Orman
• On sale: December 30, 2008
• First printing, 500,000
• Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperback; 128 pgs.
• ISBN 978-0-385-53093-4; $9.99
• Audiobook available December 30th: ISBN 978-0-385-53094-1, 3 CDs unabridged (approx. 3 hrs)
• e-book available January 9th: ISBN 978-0-385-53094-1

Also, check out Suze’s other books here and previous posts written by Erica and myself featuring other must-have financial books.

-Marie

I must admit that sometimes I’d rather read a Young Adult book than an Adult book.  And it’s not just because they are often shorter, or because, deep down, I still think I am sixteen (although that may be true).  Sometimes you just want to read about teen angst and prom problems to distract you from the fact that you are living with someone who is smack dab in the middle of the terrible-twos (or is that just me?) 

Sometimes I pilfer galleys from RH Children’s books–I just finished reading the first novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth which is like a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and The Village, with a little I am Legend thrown in.  An amazing read that I tore through in about 2 days because I couldn’t put it down.  I HIGHLY recommend it if you don’t scare easily (I read parts of it with my hand over my eyes, not an easy thing to do!)

Luckily, the adult side publishes quite a few books with young narrators that fall into the YA category.  These are my recent reads that I’d definitely consider if I were a member of the ALEX award committee (hint, hint to any committee members reading this):  Submarine, The Good Thief, When We Were Romans, Gardens of Water, Tigerheart, and all of The Jessica Darling books (The fifth and final installment is coming out in April).  Although published for an adult audience, these books all helped me to get my YA fix.  I’ve chosen several of them as staff picks and you can read my reviews HERE.  Check them out and feel free to suggest some great YA reads that I haven’t discovered yet!

–Jen

New York Times bestselling author Matthew Pearl, author of The Poe Shadow and The Dante Club, returns with his latest literary historical suspense about a young publisher’s dangerous quest to to discover the ending to Charles Dickens’ unfinished final work.  Pearl’s extensive research into Dickens’ last book tour in the U.S. and his final work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, will delight and enthrall Dickens afficianados and conspiracy theorists alike.  A 10-city author tour, national print advertising campaign and National Radio Advertising campaign will amp up demand.

• The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
• On sale: March 17, 2009
• First printing 125,000
• Random House Hardcover: 384 pages/ISBN: 978-1-4000-6656-8/$25.00 ($28.95C)

Also available as an unabridged audio CD and an eBook.

–Jen