Did anyone know that Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 completely on a pay typewriter in the basement of a library? It’s true. And even today, endorsed by the National Endowment of the Arts as one of their “Big Read” selections, it remains one of the most popular One Book, One Community choices in the U.S. I mean, check out this list from the Library of Congress website:

Anchorage (Alaska) 2007
Safford City (Graham County) (Arizona) 2007
Fayetteville (Arkansas) 2007
Bakersfield (California) 2005
Carlsbad (California) 2006
Concord (California) 2007
Long Beach (California) 2005
Los Angeles (California) 2002 April
Nevada County (California) 2005
Redwood City (California) 2007
Santa Clarita Valley (California) 2007
Silicon Valley (California) 2004
Sonoma County (California) 2007
Eastern Connecticut (Connecticut) 2003
Glastonbury (Connecticut) 2005
Norwalk (Connecticut) 2008
Jacksonville (Florida) 2003
Palm Beach (Florida) 2002 March – April
Boise (Idaho) 2006
Bloomington-Normal (Illinois) 2005
Kankakee County (Illinois) 2003
Libertyville (Illinois) 2006
Peoria (Illinois) 2008 (TBR)
Allen County (Fort Wayne) (Indiana) 2003
Bloomington (Indiana) 2007 (TBR)
Carmel (Indiana) 2003 (adult) -
Lafayette (Indiana) 2002
Topeka (Kansas) 2007 (TBR)
Baton Rouge (Louisiana) 2008
Bridgewater (Massachusetts) 2008-09 #1 -
Martha’s Vineyard (Massachusetts) 2003 (adults) -
South Hadley (Massachusetts) 2006
Springfield (Massachusetts) 2006
East Lansing (Michigan) 2002
Kalamazoo (Michigan) 2003 Feb. 17- March 30
South Haven (Michigan) 2007
Omaha (Nebraska) 2004
Northern Nevada (and the Tahoe region of northern California) (Nevada) 2007
* State-wide program (New Hampshire) 2007 (TBR)
* State-wide program (New Jersey) 2003
Utica (New York) 2004
Wake County (North Carolina) 2003
Delaware County (Ohio) 2003 July
Greater Cleveland Area (Ohio) 2003 Feb-Apr
Claremore (Oklahoma) 2006
Multnomah County/Portland (Oregon) 2004
Erie (Pennsylvania) 2004
Houston (Texas) 2003
Tacoma (Washington) 2003 Feb.
Sweetwater County (Wyoming) 2007

We’ve produced a Teacher’s Guide, and now, for the reluctant readers in your community, our friends at Macmillan have just published a graphic novel adaptation of the book! But is it right for your community? Well, I guess only you would know. We do have more suggestions–a whole brand new catalog, in fact. Click below to see the PDF, or just write to us at library@randomhouse.com to request a hard copy!

As I trek to and from work each day, it’s easy to forget the presence Random House holds in the public’s consciousness.  I still get a thrill from the fact that both Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts uttered our company name in Stepmom, when I was in high school. And I admit that I barely glance around the impressive lobby as I make my way up to our Library Marketing office space most days.

So imagine my glee to watch the hilarious Kathy Griffin experience the thrill of entering the Random House offices.  Her memoir, Official Book Club Selection, is coming in September and I’m so excited for it!  That woman cracks me up, never fails.

Kathy Griffin – Getting a Book Deal clip from My Life on the D-List 

Now, if I could just  accomplish a real celebrity sighting here at work!  I had thought it would be inevitable, but so far Bon Jovi, Martha Stewart, and ANDRE AGASSI have eluded me.  And now Kathy Griffin, as well.  I must spend far too much time at my desk…

-Erica

Colbert reports library crime

The indomitable Stephen Colbert covers a story of library jurisdiction violation. As is always the case on his show, this is really ridiculous. Watch the video on colbertnation.com.

I had heard the whispers in the halls and now the rumors are true!  Del Rey will be publishing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel in 2010.  Details are available from Publishers Weekly.

And while I missed the official Comic Con announcement, the Quirk Books’ sequel is slated to be Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters!  And while I have not yet read the phenomenon that is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the book trailer Quirk Books released  for the sequel is hilarious.  A little reordering of my giant “to read” pile is in order…Just don’t tell Jane!

-Erica (admitted Austenite)

While pending further investigation for possible tampering with video, this youtube item, submitted by Baker & Taylor liason Erik Riesenberg, is pretty amazing.

Erik’s cat, Bailey, sibling of former Random House Pet of the Month Violet Amber Applewhite, has apparently invented some kind of hair-enhancement machine in Erik’s garage. As you will see in the video below, Bailey tugs the doorhandle, enters the garage and, seconds later, emerges with a fuller and darker coat! Experts are still not sure how Bailey has accomplished this. Likely, this is a hoax, as Mr. Riesenberg is known for his elaborate tomfoolery and monkeyshines for attention, but we thought we’d report it anyway.

(from VP/Director Marcia Purcell)

Each year when I get back from ALA I am totally exhausted! This isn’t anything new. When I was a beginning librarian, decades ago, I found it all overwhelming. Now after many years of working on the publishing side, guess what — I find it all overwhelming! Too many good authors, too many programs, too spread out, too much in general. So the importance of a good plan is vital! Thanks to our author organizer, Erica Melnichok, all of us from RHI come to ALA armed with about a 15-page plan of action. It’s almost a minute-by-minute schedule of our lives for those six ALA days. I’d be lost without it and even have a spare just in case!

WHERE IS SHE GOING WITH ALL THIS?

The point is, ALA can be either wonderful(!) or daunting(!). We hear every year how folks missed a favorite author because they didn’t know about their appearance. Read those ads in LJ and Cognotes! Get your coupons in order! Check out the pre-program on the ALA website! Check out this blog and our Library website!

We had 14 authors this year (I won’t name a single one because all the others will feel left-out.) from first-time novelists to BIG bestsellers. They all had good programs and I hope you were able to attend at least some of them. I worked several of these events and find them to be, without exception, rewarding in unexpected ways. I attended ALTAFF’s Reflecting on the Past – Literary Memoirs, and found it to be amazing with the authors provoking the packed audience to tears and standing ovations! You just can’t beat that. So next year, give yourself a reward, go to author events. And thanks to those of you who braved the worst meeting room ever, to attend the RHI Book Buzz (over 100 jammed into a room with seating for 75) to hear about our books we feel you need for the near future.

Two last points…

ALA sponsored a new Cookbook Pavilion and I was there every day as we featured a wide variety of our Random House, Inc. titles – everyone from Bobby Flay to Ina Garten. Traffic for the display area was nice and steady and everyone talked about how use is up as folks are cooking home more. Every time there was a demo mobs of folks filled up those chairs! The smell of cooking plus a place to sit…an unbeatable combo. (I hear ALA is considering Travel and perhaps Romance Pavilions for the future.)

And literally hot of the presses from the printer to ALA — we were able to feature our new ONE BOOK brochure (the cover is just beautiful!!). The One Book, One Community program is SO important now and the NEA’s Big Read support is at an all time high. We couldn’t keep copies of this catalog on the table and we literally ran out. If you missed, download your copy now, and make use of our great titles that have already been adopted, see suggestions for new titles, and get advice from the person who started it all: Nancy Pearl.

OK, thanks for reading my take on the Biggest ALA Ever at 28,941 – all of whom came through the RHI booth at least three times (or at least that’s what it felt like)! Thanks, very much! Overwhelming, but in a good way!!

-Marcia

Sealife. Fleur de lis. Celestial bodies. Abstracts beyond comprehension: Every librarian has a secret. Some of them are kept in the dark corners of their brains, and some, it turns out, are kept under cloth. The time has come, now, for Texas librarians to reveal their true selves (or at least their tattoos).

As a fundraising activity for the TLA Library Disaster Relief Fund, TLA has put together an 18-month calendar of female TLA members from all over the state showing off their ink. Freedom of expression at its finest is what this is. Sure, the kittens and the penguin babies and the Jonas Brothers are fine to look at every month, but nothing beats a supine, tatted-up information expert.

So check out their website here and get yourself something worthwhile to look at every month. (Oh yeah, it’s for a good cause too.)

Since ALA annual has come and gone, it is hard to think back to Midwinter in Denver. It was there that I picked up a galley of Gifts of War, the new novel by historian Mackenzie Ford. I challenge any historical fiction lover to read this blurb and not be intrigued:

During the Christmas Truce of 1914, Hal Montgomery, a British soldier, is given a photo by a German soldier, Wilhelm Wetzlar, and they make a pact. Hal promises to find his enemy’s English girlfriend, Sam, and let her know her fiancé is alive and thinking of her. Several weeks later, Hal—now injured—is discharged from the army and goes to Stratford on Avon to fulfill his promise. But things take an unexpected turn when he meets the woman in the photo and falls in love with her himself.

Good, right? Of course I had to start reading it that night. I often find that books written by professional historians feel the most steeped in reality because, well, they are. Despite some issues I had with some of the dialogue, this book was thought-provoking and interesting – particularly parts related to the inner-workings of British intelligence during the first World War. With so many novels and books pertaining to WWII, this one was a nice change of pace and while I wasn’t sure what I thought of the characters (you know, the inner dialogue of “Do I like them?” or “Do I feel sorry for them?” etc. etc.) the ending of the book definitely stood the entire story on its head and left me contemplating after I closed it. Read it and then let me know what you think!

-Marie

Congratulations to Richard Bausch’s book, “Peace,” published by Knopf, the winner of the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction for 2009.  This award honors the best fiction set in a period when the United States was at war.

The award was presented to the author at ALA Annual in Chicago last week.  For more information about the winning book, as well as the Boyd award, click through to the Press Release on the ALA website.

Judy Blume and I have something in common. How cool is that? We both loved Swimming, by Nicola Keegan. You’ve read my take on the book (and if you were at ALA you saw it on the Staff Picks table as one of my selections) now here’s Judy’s:

“I loved Swimming. It’s the most original novel I’ve read all year. I can’t get Pip’s voice out of my mind. Give yourself a treat this summer—read this book.”
—Judy Blume

Hear from Nicola Keegan herself as she explains the concept of the book to a reviewer panel.

Also, you can read the first chapter of the book and download a reading group guide on the publisher’s website.

I hope Ms. Blume and I stand in good company and you’ve all ordered your copies of this book. If not, what are you waiting for?

-Marie