Our new One Book resource!

On Friday, we finished work on our newest publication: an updated version of our One Book, One Community resource! This time, we’ve included all the newest, exciting titles that we’ve hand-selected from hundreds of books, plus all of the tried-and-true titles that’ve been getting adopted for years (along with their adoption histories!).

Don’t worry: the Nancy Pearl-penned intro is still there, pointing out the do’s and don’ts of running a large-scale community reading program. Pearl, for those who are unfamiliar, essentially started the One Book movement with her “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” program. So if anyone can dole out tips, it’s her.

We hope you enjoy browsing! You can read the PDF in a couple places:
From our website: http://www.randomhouse.biz/libraries/pdfs/onebook09.pdf
and on Issuu: http://issuu.com/deicke/docs/onebook09

The resource is currently being printed and will be available at booth 1834 at ALA Annual in Chicago. If you’re not attending, simply write in to library@randomhouse.com and we’ll mail you a copy when we get them in!

It’s not every Friday morning I find myself on the Playboy website.  I swear.  But with ALA coming upon us and James Ellroy the highly anticipated Auditorium Speaker (Saturday 10:30am), that is exactly where I just found myself.  Don’t miss this in-depth video as Ellroy tours the “places in LA that haunt him and to meet the ghosts who haunt him still.” 

And now, when I meet him next month a topic of conversation can be Playboy…or not.

-Erica

I just learned that the Marquette County One Book, One Community program in Michigan has chosen The Things They Carried as their 2009 read.

Though critics can’t agree whether to call this fine book a novel or a series of linked stories, their acclaim is universal. O’Brien mined his experiences as a foot soldier in Vietnam to write this powerful American classic that unflinchingly examines the myriad effects of war on man. The fighting, the waiting, the monotony, and, finally, the aftermath are all brutally scrutinized in heartbreakingly beautiful prose that captivates and educates readers of all ages. – from the “One Book Marquette” website

Northern Michigan University has also made this book required reading for their entire Freshman class.

Personally, I’m fascinated by the concept of One Book. Does your community have a program? If so, what have you read in the past? This inquiring mind wants to know!

For information and suggestions regarding your One Book program, e-mail library@randomhouse.com. Also, watch for an updated catalog in the coming months, choc full of great new recommendations!

-Marie

Check out this new trailer for Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Also keep in mind that author, Margot Berwin, will be a featured author at ALA next month. She is participating in the ALTAFF “First Author / First Book” discussion panel on Sunday 7/12 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm. A signing will follow on-site.

Well, ok, maybe “site” is a stretch, but TheLostSymbol.com has a ticking countdown to the publication date of Dan Brown’s new book. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook, as well as sign up for the Lost Symbol newsletter. Brownophiles, get your fix!

-David

Ohio libraries are on the offensive to save a proposed 50% budget cut by Governor Ted Strickland. According to a June 22, 2009 article in Library Journal, Governor Strickland is trying to close a $3.2 billion gap in the state’s budget by June 30, and financial support for libraries is on the chopping block.

Ohio libraries are urging residents to contact their local representatives and the Governor’s office to fight to save Ohio libraries from these budget cuts. The Save Ohio Libraries blog has more information how you can get involved by doing one of the following.

• Contact the Governor
• Contact your State Representative
• Contact Your State Senator

There are only a few days left for Ohio residents to show their support for public libraries.  Don’t wait – your impact is NOW!

-Erica

It seems I can’t get on the subway these days without spying the cover of Eat, Pray, Love. You know the book I’m talking about… a woman travels to three countries to feed three parts of her soul in order to free herself from a deep depression. No doubt you haven’t been able to keep this one on your shelves. Seems people like reading about how others find peace, love, and happiness. For your patrons, and even maybe for you!, here are some readalikes for this popular title:

The Wishing Year by Noelle Oxenhandler: One woman. One year. Three wishes: a house, a man, my soul.

Frances Mayes: If you haven’t seen the movie, it all starts with Under the Tuscan Sun in which Frances Mayes details the new life she found after a heartbreaking divorce led her to purchase and renovate a Tuscan villa. Her story continues with Bella Tuscany and Everyday in Tuscany - forthcoming next Spring.

A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson: When her husband relocated for a new job, Joan Anderson chose not to go along, instead opting to spend a year alone at their Cape Cod house. In this book she shares her insights on that experience and its theme of self-discovery.

See You in A Hundred Years by Logan Ward: One very plugged in and 21st century New York family attempts to shirk it all and get “back to their roots” on a Virginian farm for one year. This is the story of their life in the South, circa 1900.

Iconic cult-movie writer/actor/director (and recent comic book author?) Kevin Smith has gotten another book deal with UK-based publisher Titan. The book will be comprised of transcriptions from his “Smodcast,” which is basically an online talkshow. I love most of his movies because of the dialogue in them, so this is going to be interesting–probably a bit vulgar too. Here’s a little audio clip of Scott and Kevin talking about Kevin’s new book, Shootin the S*** with Kevin Smith:

Audio: Kevin Smith discusses his new book

These days I’ve been reading a new Vintage Original paperback, out in August, Undiscovered Gyrl. Written in blog format by a 17-yr-old named Katie Kampenfelt*, this book details all the ramblings, romances, and overtly raunchy goings-on of teenage life – and this “gyrl” is popular, she responds to her readers’ comments in her blog entries. “Katie” makes me feel slightly old and very angelic. My teenage years certainly weren’t quite as exciting. But what is interesting about this novel is the format, of course. I’m reading it on my e-reader and that fact coupled with the idea that it is “a blog” makes it feel like I’m not reading a novel at all. Still she’s sucked me in to her world. The former English major in me is fascinated by the idea of new, 21st century (sort-of) metafiction that exists in this novel. I keep waiting for a revealing post telling me it is all a lie… I suppose I’ll have to keep reading.

*Katie Kampenfelt is not her real name. Many other details have been changed as well.

-Marie

One of the most fascinating under-the-radar art books of recent times is North Atlantic’s Migraine Art, a book based on a contest held in Germany which asked people to illustrate what a migraine felt like.

The results of the contest were incredible: crazy nightscapes, lightening bolts through the eyes, parts of heads missing…

You can see some of the work here on the publisher’s special Flickr stream. Check this one out to round out your Fine Arts collections.

“It has taken more than a decade and a half, but Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within has been well worth the wait for all of us with an interest in visual phenomena and the brain…. [It] stands as the definitive work of its kind—an incomparable collection of material on the visual and other phenomena of migraine, and, by implication, on the brain processes which underlie these.”
—From the foreword by Oliver Sacks, M.D.