Curious about what we’ve all been reading these days? Here’s a department-wide update:

Jen – Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
A charming, heart-warming story of two widowers with very different backgrounds, but a shared love of Kipling. One of those books that just makes you smile as you read it. Perfect for Book Groups.

Erica - The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald
I picked this up in preparation for meeting Lisa Grunwald at the PLA conference in March. It is the unconventional coming of age story of Henry, who was raised by six mothers as part a college home economics course in the 1950s. It follows him through the conformist ‘50s and the psychedelic ‘60s, with cameos by Benjamin Spock, Walt Disney, Julie Andrews, and The Beatles.

 Marcia - The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell
A twisty thriller the author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries that crosses two centuries and two continents and thoroughly explores the notion of revenge.

David – Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace by David Lipsky
I am of the opinion that David Foster Wallace was a genius and sort of my soul twin (minus the whole clinical depression thing). So I will read anything written by or about him. He somehow articulates the thoughts that I never even thought about thinking.

 Marie: Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
So much to talk about in just under 200 pages. Wow! A taxidermist and a novelist working together on a play about a howler monkey and a donkey? I will definitely be talking about this one for a while so stay tuned!

Be sure to check our Staff Picks page for more of our recent favorites.

If you didn’t get the chance to go to ALA Midwinter this year and catch the Random House Inc. “Book Buzz,” here are the slides from the show. We presented our personal favorites and the ones we have high hopes for this Spring and Summer for a crowd of around 50 note-taking librarians.

Click here to scroll through our PowerPoint!

Hi everyone! All the ALA committees have made their decisions! And now we would like to congratulate this year’s Random House Inc. award-winning books and all those who worked on them. Here is a list of what brought home the shiny stuff this year.

Random House Inc.’s ALA Notable Books 2010

Fiction:

Year of the Flood by Maraget Atwood
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
The Vagrants by Yiyun Li
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Nonfiction:

The Snake Head by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

(Full List)

2010 Alex Award Winner

The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir by Diana, Liz, Amanda, and Dan Welch

BCALA Literary Award Winners

Fiction Honor Book

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

Nonfiction Winner

The Breakthrough by Gwen Ifill

Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation

In Search of Our Roots by Henry Louis Gates

2010 RUSA Reading List Picks (full)

Adrenaline

Winner:
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
Short List:
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner
Shatter by Michael Robotham

Fantasy

Short List:
The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

Historical Fiction

Short List:
Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran
Etta by Gerald Kolpan
The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland

Mystery

Short List:
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Romance

Short List:
Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

Women’s Fiction

Short List:
After You by Julie Buxbaum

2010 Sophie Brody Awards

Winner

Book of the Unknown: Tales of the 36 by Jonathon Keats

Honor Book

The Jewish Body by Melvin Konner

YALSA 2010 Best Books for Young Adults

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Bayou, Vol. 1 by Jeremy Love
A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld

2010 Stonewall Book Awards

Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award

Honor Book
Daddy, Papa and Me/Mommy, Mamma and Me by Leslea Newman

Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award

The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson

  Spring 2010 Drop-In from Crown Publishers

 OPRAH

By Kitty Kelley

Based on three years of research and reporting as well as 850 interviews with sources, many of whom have never before spoken for publication, Oprah is the first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful, and admired public figures of our time, by the most widely read biographer of our era. Anyone who is a fan of Oprah Winfrey or who has followed her extraordinary life and career will be fascinated and newly informed by the closely observed, detailed, and well-rounded portrait of her provided by Kitty Kelley’s exhaustively researched book. Readers will come away with a greater appreciation of who Oprah really is beyond her public persona and a fuller understanding of her important place in American cultural history.

Among the awards that Kitty Kelley has been honored with by her professional peers are the Outstanding Author Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors for her “courageous writing on popular culture,” the Philip M. Stern Award for her “outstanding service to writers and the writing profession,” the Medal of Merit from the Lotos Club in New York City, and the 2005 PEN Oakland Literary Censorship Award. She has also been selected as a member of Vanity Fair magazine’s Hall of Fame. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, People, Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune.

On sale 4/13/10 | HC | 9780307394866 | 600,000| $30.00 US / $37.00 CAN

I’ve begun to notice a pattern in my reading. This happens a lot. I’ll jump from historical fiction to literary coming-of-age stories to popular best sellers and back, gobbling them all up along the way.

It seems there is an abundance of Appalachian fiction these days and it would appear that I am slightly addicted to it. We all know how I felt after reading Sweeping Up Glass. I also ventured outside the Random House family last fall and read Velva Jean Learns to Drive and The Well and the Mine, both fine reads. My latest favorite, Bloodroot, is set in East Tennesse’s Smoky Mountains and follows three generations of a family haunted by secrets and madness, blood red love and intense hatred, from the Great Depression to present day. And I must say I agree with a fellow Goodreads.com member who said not to be fooled by the peaceful looking cover, this book is vicious. A debut novel, it is wonderfully written. Somber and heartbreaking, even the most difficult moments are gorgeous. Also woven into the narrative and the lives of the characters are smidges of magical realism that enable the reader to vividly imagine each wild woman and her “haint blue” eyes as well as the ghosts that haunt the residents of Bloodroot Mountain. 

This one is available now. Pick it up. You won’t be sorry!

-Marie

Publishing just around the corner is STAYING TRUE, a memoir by Jenny Sanford, now separated from her affair-having husband, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. But before its publication date, Jenny Sanford will be participating in a publicity tour that would make most folks’ heads spin. So be sure to check your advance orders; the demand is likely to skyrocket for this book when it’s spotlighted for the nation’s collective eyeballs. Here’s the highlights from the tour:

NATIONAL TELEVISION
20/20 Special: A Barbara Walters Interview: February 5th on ABC

In the days leading up to the interview, Barbara Walters will promote it on the following TV outlets:
-Good Morning America
-The View
-Entertainment Tonight
-Extra
-Access Hollywood
(With more to be announced!)

ABC will also run a full-page ad in USA TODAY on Feb. 5th promoting Walters interview.

Good Morning America: Two-part Interview
February 8th on ABC
The View
February 8th on ABC
Larry King Live
February 8th on CNN
The Jon Stewart Show
February 8th on Comedy Central
The 700 Club
February 11th on the Christian Broadcasting Network

NATIONAL RADIO
NPR’s “Morning Edition” —Feb. 8th
ABC Radio satellite—week of Feb. 8th
CBS Radio News satellite—week of Feb. 8th

NATIONAL PRINT

People Magazine: 1st serial excerpt with photos
On stands February 5th.

Washington Post/ Newsweek’s religion interview series, Divine Impulses—available on the (printed) religion section of the Washington Post, the home page of washingtonpost.com, and at “On Faith,” the joint project of the Washington Post and Newsweek—week of February 8th

USA Today: inclusion in Book Buzz column on upcoming political memoirs—January 7th

Perhaps you’ve seen them at ALA, those glossy editions of RHI magazine focused on subjects such as “Reaching Reluctant Readers” and “Promoting Citizenship” and “Censorship and Banned Books.” If you’ve flipped through them you’ve no doubt read original articles by professionals in various fields and cherished Random House authors and pieces by then Senator Barack Obama and literary great Maya Angelou.

Now RHI is back and going green for the fourth edition. Take a look at the new RHI Magazine on the Web focusing on environmental education (appropriately) and also allowing readers to chime in. You will also find original pieces by such notable authors as Stephen Rinella (American Buffalo), Matthew Pearl (The Last Dickens) and an introduction by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

You may also download past issues of RHI Magazine via the highschool webpage. Be sure to check back often as new and wonderful content is always forthcoming!

If my boss Marcia, a former librarian at NYPL, has taught me anything (besides to always tape the bottom of the box) it’s that there exists an almost universal love among librarians of one Alexander McCall-Smith, author of the bestselling “Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series and many more warm, delightful novels.

So today could be your lucky day! Pantheon, one of my personal favorite divisions of Random House, is now offering a chance to win a free copy of his latest stand-alone novel, La’s Orchestra Saves the World, praised by Booklist as a “fresh and unforgettable story about the power of human kindness.” Click here to enter the sweepstakes.

I’ve heard about the most wonderfully inspiring book donation program!  As you weed your Romance Collections, there is a wonderful opportunity to pass along those editions to non-profit organizations providing assistance to women in need.  Share the Love!

Join favorite authors  Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, & Julia London, among others, in supporting this thoughtful cause!

-Erica

We’re drawing near, again, to the ALA-Midwinter conference held this year in warm, sunny Boston, MA! Or wait, maybe I have the forecast wrong… Either way, we will be there, along with four great authors–Ha Jin, Holly LeCraw, Sue Miller, and Alissa Torres–stacks of ARCs, and of course, our newest books.

To view our official schedule, click here!

We now have room assignments and venue info:

AAP Breakfast with Ha Jin – Convention Center, Room 151 A/B

ALTAFF Author Tea with Holly LeCraw – Hyatt Regency Boston – Grand Ballroom

Also, don’t forget to check out our Adult Titles Book Buzz 12:00-1:00 on Sunday, January 17th in room 160A. Add it to your calendar with the button below.

Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

-David