China Mieville was in the House yesterday (much to the delight of a few of the ladies here–he was called “the sexiest man in [English] politics” awhile back.) to do a live-chat on Suvudu.com, and he signed a copy of The City and the City for us to give away on this here blog!

This latest in “Weird Fiction” from China has been almost unanimously well received, with starred reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and PW.

Comment below for a chance to win our signed copy! We’ll choose a winner at the end of next week.

-David

Listening Library is holding an awesome contest right now for an 8GB iPod Touch and signed audiobooks. If you have a video camera and an interest in Libba Bray, Rick Riordan, or Tamora Pierce novels, this could be a lot of fun!

The premise of the contest is that if you could go on a “fantasy road trip” with a character (or characters) from one of the aforementioned authors’ books, who would it be and where would you go? What would you do along the way and how would you travel? They encourage you to be as creative as you like (sock puppets, original songs, costumes, etc.) while still including a mention of audiobooks, a reference to Florida, and a clip you can download from their site. Tricky huh?

For details, you’re going to need to visit their contest home page, where they house this great video of their ex-mascot explaining the rules. Boy, he’s bitter! Happy pretending!

-David

What do you get when you take four females with different backgrounds, personalities, and experiences and center a novel around every giggle, every boy, every argument, and every hug? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Sex and the City? Not quite…

Commencement, the debut novel by J. Courtney Sullivan, follows Sally, Bree, April and Celia as they forge an intense bond with one another in the halls of a Smith College dormotory. Spanning from their first year at this all-girl university to the geographically and demographically different paths they take after graduation, this book is more than just “chick-lit”. While the author gives her girls “female” issues to tackle such as men, dating, marriage, careers, and babies, she also addresses family issues, feminism, identity struggles, and even sex crimes making this “gaggle of girls” read quite refreshing. On her website (which, by the way, features fun goodies like videos of Smith convocations from 1940 and 2008) Sullivan elaborates on the feminist undertones that exist within the novel:

…I certainly didn’t set out to write a book about feminism, per se. I wanted to tell a story about the first generation of American women to have all the choices in the world laid out before them; a gift that is wholly incredible and a little bit terrifying. I was about the same age as the women in the book while I was writing it, and I watched my girlfriends struggling with choices: Who to love. How to work. Where to begin.

 

These things combined with the candor and honesty with which Commencement addresses the complexities of female friendship made this book not just a fun read for this member of the book’s target demographic —  I felt a lot less guilty about reading it! Enjoyable and thought provoking, this will surely spark discussion among your female patrons.

-Marie

Dear Readers,

We know you’re out there, lurking in the cyber shadows. Occassionally, a few of you pop out and say “hello” or comment on the latest post we’ve made. We are always so happy to hear your thoughts and feedback. A few weeks ago we decided to treat those who dare to speak up by raffling off 5 copies of the runaway hit The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. As a special thank you to all who responded we are extending our offer to include all who entered! You should be receiving an e-mail soon to get the ball rolling.

For those of you who thought about commenting but didn’t or for those who thought perhaps they wouldn’t win so why bother, we appreciate you too! You never know when something like this might happen so we encourage you not to be shy and say “hello”.

Sincerely,

Marcia, Jen, Erica, Dave and Marie

No, I don’t have one of these endlessly fascinating contraptions. But I know more and more people are getting them every day. They like to show off how they can hum a song into it and it’ll come up with the title or turn it into a level for hanging pictures. As a human, I feel less and less useful all the time.

But apparently, the iPhone doesn’t necessarily come with all this stuff. These fancy tricks are downloadable “apps” (short for applications) that one adds on after getting their phone. And there are 25,000 of them. That’s a lot to handle.

So Prima Games, not normally known for books that will go on trade shelves, has produced a handy guide, with screenshots and illustrations, to help iPhoners sort through the seemingly endless apps to find the best ones, and the ones best suited for them.

This one goes on sale September 8th.

-David

So before the legendary Vladamir Nabokov passed away, he left instructions for his heirs to throw the rough draft of his unfinished novel, The Original of Laura, into the fire. However, his wife just couldn’t bear to do it. Years later, when she died, the draft—written on 138 note cards—fell into the possession of her son Dmitri.

Dmitri, having struggled for 30 years with the decision of whether or not to publish it, finally gave the OK.

Knopf, being Knopf, came up with some brilliant packaging: Each of the pages would feature reproductions of the note cards, which owners could punch out and rearrange as they see fit, since no one really knows the proper order (though Knopf did make its best guess).

However, for libraries…maybe perforated note cards in the pages wouldn’t be the best idea…? I could see how that would be a giant mess. Still, libraries are going to want to have the book, this being a landmark publishing event: the last unpublished work of a modern master.

SO: We’ve produced a special Library Edition with no perforation! The book will have the same price point as the original and you won’t have to worry about having a book returned with holes in it, or getting all the pages laminated, or finding a glass case to keep it under. So if you’re having trouble keeping your library’s copy together (or if you don’t have one at all yet), order the Library Edition from your preferred jobber or order it from us.

-David

China Miéville’s new book The City & The City publishes this June and it is racking up rave reviews!  It recently received STARRED reviews in Kirkus, Booklist and Publishers Weekly and here are a few highlights. 

“…An excellent police procedural and a fascinating urban fantasy, this is essential reading for all mystery and fantasy fans.”  Booklist

“Better known for New Weird fantasies (Perdido Street Station, etc.), bestseller Miéville offers an outstanding take on police procedurals with this barely speculative novel…Miéville skillfully examines the illusions people embrace to preserve their preferred social realities.”  Publishers Weekly

“Grimy, gritty reality…”  Kirkus

I know there are tons of Miéville fans out there anxiously waiting to read it, and I just happen to have one last ARE of The City & The City on my bookshelf.  Leave a comment and just maybe I’ll pick you to send it off to…

Drop-in alert! I’ve  just learned my favorite author has a new book coming out. Joy! Unfortunately for me I’m not bilingual so I will have to wait because Isabel Allende’s first novel since 2006 titled, La Isla Bajo El Mar (The Island Below the Sea) is being published in Spanish first. Out in August from Vintage Español, this novel is the story of a slave fighting to win her freedom in 18th century Santo Domingo. As the English language edition has yet to be scheduled I’ll be waiting for a while, unless I learn to read in Spanish!

La isla bajo el mar

by Isabel Allende

Vintage Español

ISBN: 9780307476043

First Printing: 75,000

$26.95/CAN $33.00

On Sale Date: 8/25/2009

On the flip side, many are anxious to read the English translation of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Angel’s Game, the English translation of  El Juego del Ángel  and long awaited prequel to the beloved The Shadow of the Wind. Having previously blogged about the anticipation surrounding this book, I’m sure it is going to be a hot one.

Be sure to have these titles on your list for your readers, English and Spanish speaking and bilingual alike!

So who else out there in cyberland is ready for summer? Summer means vacations, hotdog barbecues, beaches and pools and, best of all, summer reading! Last week I polled my fellow RH Library team members to find out what they recommend you bring with you on vacation this year…

Marcia:

Narrow Dog to Indian River by Terry Darlington
The sequel to Narrow Dog to Carcassonne in which a delightful English couple (Terry and Monica) decide to take their English narrow (canal) boat, the Phyllis May, across the English Channel and through the waters of France. The narrow dog is their Whippet, Jim, described as “cowardly, thieving, and disrespectful, and he hates boating.” The adventures continue down the east coast of the U.S. from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida and are utterly engaging, and absolutely hilarious. Once found, friends forever. After reading (NOT on public transportation, much more suitable on a beach or in a porch swing!) view photos on their website.

Jen:

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michele Moran
For fans of the HBO series ROME, this book begins right where the show left off. Exotic, suspenseful, with a hint of romance. Perfect reading for the beach, but you’ll have to wait for September, when it is published. In the meantime, toss one of Moran’s previous titles into your beach bag—Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen!

Erica:

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
An enchanting ugly duckling tale, I was constantly delighted by this second novel from Sarah Addison Allen. I had to force myself to slow down near the end, to better savor how engagingly charming each of her characters was and the story she wove for them.

Dave:

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon
I think this pretty much says it all about this offbeat novel about a ladies’ book group at an epic crossroads: “”An intellectual, sexual, logorrheic, bibliophilic, cryptological, political, and archaeological rant of the first order. It’ll change your idea of what ‘written in stone’ means, and it’ll blow your mind too.”–Michael Redhill, author of Consolation

Marie:

Swimming by Nicola Keegan
Just the cover itself  makes me want to jump into the closest body of water on a hot summer day. Philomena (or Pip as she is often called, though she hates it) is an Olympic champion swimmer who gets through all the perils and heartaches of her upside down life one stroke at a time. This wonderfully character-driven novel follows her throughout her adolescence in Glenwood, Kansas into her early adulthood as she goes for gold. Nicola Keegan’s clear voice, fluid style and incredibly quotable narrative make this debut novel impossible to put down. Pip is a star. I loved it.

Also, find last year’s beach picks here.

-Marie

A road trip with fellow Library Marketers from HarperCollins and Macmillan + the librarians assembled for the 2009 MLA Conference + Laurie R. King = a fabulous trip for Erica!

Virginia, Talia, and I presented top picks from our respective Fall 2009 lists for the Publisher Round-Up and Book Buzz (if you would like a copy of my powerpoint leave a comment with your address and I’ll send it along). 

Laurie R. King participated in the Conference Co-Chair’s Favorite Authors program.  My synopsis and praise cannot even begin to compare with the MLA conference blog’s.  My favorite moment, though, was when the conference co-chair who had chosen Laurie to appear on this program was able to correctly answer a question regarding a character of Laurie’s, while Laurie had been unsure of the answer.  Laurie took it in stride and with humor and we all had a good laugh!

And look at who I ran into on the exhibit hall floor.  Robin Brenner, our very own Random House, Inc. Graphic Novel Catalog Contributor!  Robin shares all her best tips for beginning and cultivating your library’s graphic novel collection.

-Erica