Marcia and I are the last two in the office today, before our holiday vacation officially begins.  Everyone else has abandoned us already!  I have my e-reader stocked with many books to read over the break and a few printed books as back-up.  You can never be too careful about getting caught without a book while on vacation!  Top of my to-read list is THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, which I know is mean to mention since we don’t have galleys to share with you, yet.  I’m sorry!

We’ll be taking a brief haitus from blogging while on vacation, but will be back in the New Year with more amazing reads and tid-bits of info to share you, lovely librarians.  And may the countdown to Midwinter officially begin!

Sorry! For all of you who are dashing to your mail daily in hopes of a special advance mailing of ‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” — it appears that there will be very few ARCs, largely because those are printed to spark interest, and I think we’d all agree the burning interest is ALREADY there! And no, I haven’t heard anything about moving the U.S. printing up from May. I know there’s been some stories in the mail about bookstores ordering copies from Amazon UK, but there are copyright issues, so don’t go into those murky waters. Of course you could always take a trip to the UK or a lovely Scandinavian country and bring a copy back, but that seems a bit extreme to me, and I’m a huge fan of the series.

Just to keep your interest at fever pitch, there appear to be “dueling [film] versions of Dragon Tattoo on the horizon”. Sony Pictures has taken the English-language screen rights. The script is being held up by a rights squabble between Stieg Larsson’s folks and his longtime partner, Eva Gabrielsson. Stay tuned. There is already a Swedish-language film version released last February. It’s grossed millions and millions across Europe and has been picked up for the U.S. by Music Box Films. It is scheduled to be released in March.

In the meantime…..go back and re-read the first two volumes. They stand up to re-examination. Those characters have a lot of depth and the plots are SO twisty! What?! Some of you haven’t read them AT ALL! No excuses about too many holds and not being able to get your hands on a copy. Either order more at once—or here’s a thought, rush out, buy copies, read them, and then give them as a gift!!

— Marcia

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
$14.95 | 978-0-307-45454-6 | Vintage

The Girl Who Played with Fire
$15.95 | 978-0-307-45455-3 | Vintage

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
$26.95 | 978-0-307-26999-7 | Knopf | May

This one snuck up on us! While I admit that I’d heard of this movie, “The Last Station,” based on a Jay Parini novel of the same name, I had no idea it was coming out so soon. Just Friday, the movie released in select locations in New York and LA so that it could be Oscar-eligible. I can see why; it has quite the ensemble. Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy. Not bad. The movie-tie-in edition comes out just before the full-platform release of the film on January 12, 2010. Put your orders in now!

The book it’s based on is a fictional account of Leo Tolstoy’s final year of life, and was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book when it first published. You can watch the preview below.

-David

As I near the end of my holiday shopping, I leave the best for last.  A book, carefully chosen, for everyone on my list.  The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan for my husband, Open by Andrea Agassi for my mom, and the new Nora Roberts, Bed of Roses, for my best friend should be a good start.

If you’re looking for inspiration for someone on your gift list, watch your favorite authors talk about why books make such wonderful gifts.

Click here for great ideas and a free personal shopper option from the Books = Gifts holiday service!

Calendar-based budgets are tough. We know this; believe me. The end of the year is always a struggle to scrape together enough cash to buy that one last thing or a scramble to spend a huge remainder that will just disappear otherwise.

If your case is the latter, we have something that you may find useful–a checklist of the 2009 Random House Inc. titles that were most popular in libraries. Not the bestsellers, but the library bestsellers. So no matter your region or your library’s size, these are tried-and-true and most likely deserving of a spot on the shelves.

Check out the Hardcover List

Or see the Trade Paperback List

If you Twitter (and follow us )you might have noticed my tweet last week saying we all got a call from Howie Mandel. Really. We did. The entire department (well, and company…) came in one morning to discover his enthusiastic voice in our voicemail inboxes. How’s that for special perks of the job?

The renowned funny man and host of the popular game show Deal or No Deal has a new memoir out in which he talks about his struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Check out the book trailer below featuring an interview with Howie and if you’d like to learn more, visit ABC’s 20/20 website for video clips from a piece about him that ran in November. I was able to catch part of it on television that night and found it really interesting.

Also, don’t forget to add Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me to your collection lists!

-Marie

As a reader who counts Life of Pi as one of my favorite books, I am thrilled to announce that we have Yann Martel’s next novel to publish in April 2010: Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel. I haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy yet, but I am dying to read it (as I am sure many of you are as well.)  Stay tuned, but I hope to have galleys at either ALA Midwinter or PLA in Portland.  Stop by the Random House book and ask for a copy–I’ll be hiding a few under the skirted table for our loyal blog readers!

About the Book:
The follow-up to the international bestseller and Booker Prize-winning Life of
Pi, this is another novel that uses animals to discuss the human condition, in this
case, to address the atrocities of the Holocaust. At the center of the novel is the
relationship between two Henrys–a novelist and a taxidermist–who collaborate on
a play about a donkey and a howler monkey who have survived a genocide.
Heartbreaking and utterly original, the novel asks enduring questions about life
and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity. Like Life of Pi, it will
elicit endless discussion among readers and is destined to become a storytelling
classic.

BEATRICE AND VIRGIL (HC)
Yann Martel
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6926-2
On Sale: 4/13/2010
First Printing: 400,000
Price: $23.00
A Spiegel & Grau Hardcover

BEATRICE AND VIRGIL (AUDIO)
Reader to be announced
CD ISBN: 978-0-307-71515-9
CD Format and Runtime: 4 CDs, unabridged, 4 hours
CD Price: $30.00 US
On sale: 4/13/10

***LARGE PRINT***
BEATRICE AND VIRGIL
Yann Martel
LP PRICE: $23.00/NCR
LP ISBN: 9780739377802
On sale: 4/13/2010

I keep returning to the Film section of the New York Times today to see if they’ve posted a review of “Up in the Air” yet. No luck so far. BUT, many other publications have posted their reviews. RottenTomatoes.com’s Top Critics sect is currently posting a 92% positive rating, which is pretty incredible. The film, in case you hadn’t heard, is based on Walter Kirn’s comic novel of the same name.

I’m very excited to see it. And luckily, I’ve got the day off tomorrow, so I’m thinking of moseying over to see a matinee. Anyone else off to the movies this weekend?

The New York Times Book Review has announced their Top 10 Books of 2009 and three wonderful Random House, Inc. titles have made the list!

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

A Gate at the Stairs by Laurie Moore

The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes

Be sure these titles are available as your patrons will surely be asking for them! View the full list here.