Every once in a while, a book comes along that stands out from the pack early on.  RH staff reads early ebook galleys and soon everyone is buzzing about the same title. It has been some time since I remember so many in-house people LOVING the same book–3 of us in the Library Marketing Dept alone! Dare I say it?  It was perhaps The DaVinci Code and we all know what ended up happening there, so don’t say I’m not giving you a heads up here.

You may recognize Justin Cronin’s name, he was the winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for his radiant novel in stories, Mary and O’Neil.  His next novel, The Summer Guest was also lauded.  Cronin has decided to go down a different path with his next novel The Passage.  I loved The Summer Guest, but it was a literary novel where the action took a back seat.  Not so here.  The Passage is adrenalin-filled, twisty, suspense-packed, and rich in characters–and did I mention?–the writing is absolutely amazing. 

I’m afraid to tell you too much about the plot, because it is tough to explain with any brevity, but an anecdote related to us at our marketing meeting sets it up nicely.  Supposedly, the award-winning author asked his young daughter what it would take for her to read one of his novels.  She thought for a moment and finally replied that it would have to be about a little girl who saves the world.  From that germ of an idea was born this epic, post-apocalyptic story of humankind struggling to survive. 

The fact that is an amazing book, makes it a GOOD thing that the novel is more than 1000 pages AND the first in a trilogy.  I honestly did not want it to end.  It is the kind of book that you want to just force on people to read (oh come on, you know you’ve done it) and since I’m pretty much done with my co-workers (except for Dave Eicke who still needs to read it!!), friends and family, I’m moving on to you, faithful blog readers.  I have some excerpt booklets available and will send them out to anyone who leaves a comment, while supplies last. 

I’ll have galleys to give away at ALA Midwinter, but wouldn’t it be cool to get a sneak peek now?  That way you’ll be In The Know before you arrive in Boston this January.  I’m telling you: this is going to be BIG.

Jen

On the Trekkie scale, I probably average about a 4 out of 10.  I don’t have a costume and only recently, finally, saw all of the original movies. But I’m a fan nonetheless. I loved the J.J. Abrams movie last summer and am thrilled to see that Library Journal gave a stellar review of Star Trek: The Art of the Film from Titan Books!

“Director J.J. Abrams bold—and smart—reimagining of the dying Star Trek franchise was a pleasant surprise to both critics and especially rabid fans, whose phasers were set on kill if he mistreated their baby. He didn’t. Both Abrams and the screenwriters handled the material with the utmost seriousness and respect it deserved, creating a thrilling sci-fi action adventure revealing the iconic characters’ beginnings. This tie-in volume sports text by NY Times best selling author Vaz (an old friend to sci-fi film fans), and a ton of concept art, screen grabs, and behind-the-scenes shots covering all aspects of the film’s technical production. Chapters cover the creation of the assorted alien species, ships (the Enterprise, of course, gets more than 20 pages of coverage), props, uniforms, poster art, and more. Publisher Titan does Art of books right and this is no exception, the photos and illustrations are outstanding and what fans really want. Just loads of coolness for Trek heads, who’ll be crazy for this book. Grab it.”—Mike Rogers, LJX/LJ

I know I’ve mentioned here before that I often watch the Today Show in the morning as I am getting ready for work. This morning, as I buzzed around trying to figure out what to wear, I was entertained by Meredith, Matt, and Anne’s interview with the show’s very own weatherman turned novelist, Al Roker, whose debut who-dun-it is appropriately titled The Morning Show Murders. Take a peek at the video. Looks like everyone involved had a bit of fun at work. Perhaps RH Library should stage something like this… What do you think?

 Whether The Morning Show Murders (say that five times fast!) turns out to be Ms. Viera in Studio 1A with the teleprompter or just maybe Mr. Lauer in the Green Room with the boom, well… you’ll have to read it yourself to find out!

-Marie

Check out this cool new animated video trailer promoting Thomas Mullen’s new novel, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers.  You should remember Mullen from his first book, The Last Town on Earth, which was named Best Debut Novel of the Year by USA Today and is popular with many ONE BOOK programs across the U.S.

I have a couple galleys left.  Leave a comment if you’re intrigued by the trailer and I’ll send you one.

What a night!  Not one, but TWO National Book Awards for Random House, Inc. authors!  Just wanted to give a little shout out of congratulations to our honored authors:

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPINby Colum McCann (Random House) received the 2009 National Book Award for Fiction right after THE FIRST TYCOON: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T. J. Stiles (Knopf) was announced as the Nonfiction winner.

A thrilling night for our authors, as well as for us. 

And we just got the news today that a trade paperback edition of LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN  is being rushed to press and will be available on 12/08/09.  Perfect to help meet the surge in demand.

This past weekend Erica, our RHAcademic co-worker Lani, and I flew to Atlanta for the National Council for Social Studies conference. Aside from the great perks of traveling (my personal fave is not having to make my own bed!) one wonderful thing about conferences is that it gives me a chance to discover or rediscover books that somehow missed my radar. This was the case with I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.

I picked up a galley copy of this slim book as I was drawn to the  image of a beautiful little girl on the cover. Then I noticed the title. 10 years old and divorced?! I was immediately intrigued. Nujood, a Yemeni girl, had no record of the exact date or year of her birth but it was around age ten that she was married, without her consent, to a man three times her senior. She endured life as a wife, forbidden to play or do other childlike things, until one day she decided to get out. She slipped away to a courthouse where she asked to see a judge and demanded a divorce. Her request was granted and Nujood became the first child bride in Yemen to divorce her husband, setting precendence for so many others. 

She writes, “I am a simple village girl whose family had to move to the capital, and I have always obeyed the orders of the men in my family. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today, I have decided to say no.” Nujood’s story is written in her voice and its childlike simplicity is exactly what makes it so powerful. Actions are alluded to, feelings are described, and the reader experiences it all with Nujood, from her family struggles to tasting “bizza” and “bebsi” for the first time.

While reading, I often found myself imagining what it would have been like to read this book as a young adult. It is a perfect addition to your Young Adult collection, great for parent/teen reading groups and school assignments. I have no doubt readers of all ages will be inspired and humbled by Nujood’s experience.  

I am Nujood will be published in March 2010. Be sure to add it to your lists!  

 -Marie

The movie tie-in edition of Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin has just been announced!  It will pub in January, just in time for the HBO movie, Temple Grandin, airing in February.  It has a star studded cast, with Claire Danes (as Temple Grandin), Julia Ormond, Catherine O’Hara, and David Strathairn.

NEW HBO TIE-IN EDITION will feature key art from the film

“Extraordinary, unprecedented. . . . A deeply moving and fascinating book.” —Oliver Sacks

“There are innumerable astounding facets to this remarkable book.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A uniquely fascinating view. . . with insights that can only be called wisdom.”  —Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don’t Understand

Temple Grandin is a gifted animal scientist who has designed one third of all the livestock-handling facilities in the United States. In this unprecedented book, Grandin delivers a report from the country of autism. Writing from the dual perspectives of scientist and autistic person, she tells us how that country is experienced by its inhabitants and how she managed to breach its boundaries to function and excel in the outside world.

To add to the classics-through-the-juicer phenomenon, father and son team Manly W. Wellman and Wade Wellman have taken Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes character and dropped him in the middle of an H.G. Wells novel.

So…Sherlock vs. aliens…brilliant, really.

Strangely enough, as the author explains in his introduction, the original concept for this book was inspired by two movies: “A Study in Terror,” which pitted Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper in 1890 London; and a film called “Diary of a Madman” loosely based on Guy de Maupassant’s “The Horla,” which, the author guesses, was one of Wells’s inspirations for writing  War of the Worlds.

And with Robert Downey Jr.’s big new Sherlock movie coming out around Christmas time, expect added demand for the Detective of Detectives!

I have a couple finished copies of this sitting here on my desk. Leave a comment about who/what you’d like to see Holmes face next, and I may just send you one!

On sale tomorrow: The Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes: The War of the Worlds.

Also available:

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Ectoplasmic Man

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Scroll of the Dead

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Veiled Detective

-David

Austen’s fans are many. Whether they are re-reading Emma (for the fifth time) or–perhaps against their better judgement–picking up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (coming soon in a graphic novel version!), they are devoted readers.  I, myself, have always been partial to Sense and Sensibility, but I confess I may have to give Jane Bites Back a try.   

So…we want to know.  Why do YOU read Jane Austen?  Send an e-mail to rhpg@randomhouse.com and explain (in 500-1000 words) the significance Jane Austen has had on the literary world and in your own life, and you will be entered for the chance to win a signed copy of A TRUTH UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED: 33 Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen, along with The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, volume 1 and The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, volume 2. Read the official rules HERE. 

Good luck!

I must admit, one of my favorite parts of a list presentation is seeing the cover art for all the new books. Season after season, I am just floored by some of them. They say “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but, let’s face it, we all do.

John Gall, the art director for the particularly good Vintage/Anchor trade paperback division of Knopf, had the brilliant idea for an art assignment. He would have different artists redesign the covers of all the Nabakov books–except not on paper. No, he had the artists craft them in “specimen boxes.” (If, like me, you don’t know what those are, you’ll find out when you click through below.)

The results are REALLY cool. I’d like to see more, and I wouldn’t even mind if they turned into real book covers. Check out the slideshow and Mr. Gall’s essay.

Anyone have an all-time favorite book cover?? (Or two?)