A couple of readers recently commented (thanks!) on my review of the new memoir, I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. Since this book has sparked conversation and contemplation, I thought I’d share this recent op-ed piece in The New York Times  by Pulitzer-Prize winner Nicholas D. Kristof whose book, Half the Sky, is a Random House, Inc. bestseller.

Feel free to comment and let me know what you think! I’d love to discuss.

-Marie

Knowing about the book and what an incredible story it is, it came as no surprise to me when it was announced today that Wes Moore, the dashing, charismatic, and intelligent author of “The Other Wes Moore,” would be appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on CBS Sunday Morning.

Here is the editorial description for the book:

Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a year of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation. 

Don’t be surprised if these appearances result in even more publicity for this great story. This one might just take off.

-David

Perhaps I’m a bit late to the party but I just finished reading Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls last week. I admit I wasn’t too sure about it because the cover, while gorgeous, was so pretty I figured it was going to be a “too pretty”. I should have known better. See wonderfully illuminates the plight of the Chinese American immigrant in 1930’s through the story of May and Pearl, two sisters. And their story reads so realistically at points you can almost see the Angel Island Immigration offices, the streets of Shanghai and the palm trees of Los Angeles.  

If you have yet to pick this one up, take a look at the video below and then don’t stress about your tardiness. Paperbacks are sometimes better anyway, right?

-Marie

I may be young, male, semi-nerdy, and therefore biased, but this movie, The Losers looks really good. I’m not 100% sure I have this right, but it’s based on THE LOSERS by Andy Diggle from DC Comics’s Vertigo imprint, which, I think, is based on a movie of the same name that came out in 1968. (Someone please correct me in the comments if I have this wrong.) 

The movie is written by “Friday Night Lights” scribe Peter Berg and stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (P.S. I Love You, Watchmen, “Supernatural”) and Avatar’s Zoe Saldana. Here’s the great-looking preview. Be sure to have the graphic novel on the shelves when the movie hits!

-David

Obviously we have an interest in books selected by Library Journal that are featured in their various subject round-ups. So when the Feb. 1 issue hit my desk, I immediately noticed in the “Spring Into Art” feature a number of titles from Rizzoli.

No surprise. But what WAS a surprise was that when I counted up the titles there were 14! So many wonderful art books from Rizzoli and its various imprints have been included that I just wanted specially to bring them to your attention. OK, some are pricey, but your collection can’t have all mass market and trade paperbacks! Splurge on a EDWARD HOPPER, WONDER WOMAN or TIFFANY GLASS and you and those devotees of your art section will be richly rewarded.

And yes, Rizzoli is one of the many fine RHPS Client Publishers that Random House, Inc. distributes. Aren’t we lucky!

-Marcia

Here’s a list of the included books (*highly recommended for most libraries):

Foster, Carter & others. Edward Hopper. Skira: Rizzoli. May 2010. 240p. ISBN 978-88-572-0283-9. $80.

*Barbara Kruger. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 288p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3325-2. $65.

Dennis Hopper and New Hollywood: Actor, Director, Artist. Flammarion: Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 192p. ISBN 978-2-08-030099-7. $50.

Mackenzie, Mairi. …Isms: Understanding Fashion. Universe: Rizzoli. Feb. 2010. 160p. ISBN 978-0-7893-1826-8. $16.95.

Oaks, Jeff. Wonder Woman: Amazon. Hero. Icon. Universe: Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 208p. ISBN 978-0-7893-2035-3. $35.

Kennedy, Roger G. Greek Revival America. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 464p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3184-5. $75.

Marotta, Antonello. Contemporary Museums. Skira: Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 240p. ISBN 978-88-572-0258-7. $45.

Dannatt, Adrian & others. Mattia Bonetti. Skira: Rizzoli. Feb. 2010. 112p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3417-4. $55.

*Edelkoort, Li & others. Campana Brothers: Complete Works (So Far). Rizzoli. Mar. 2010. 304p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3326-9. $75.

Lewis, Adam. The Great Lady Decorators: Lessons from the Women Who Invented Interior Design. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3336-8. $65.

Pepall, Rosalind. Tiffany Glass: A Passion for Color. Skira, dist. by Rizzoli. Mar. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3426-6. $60.

Pryke, Paula. Paula Pryke: Decorating with Flowers. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 384p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3429-7. $24.95.

Dangerous Women: The Perils of Muses and Femmes Fatales. Flammarion: Rizzoli. Feb. 2010. 160p. ISBN 978-2-08-030128-4. $39.95.

Highland Living: Landscape, Style, and Traditions of Scotland. Flammarion. Feb. 2010. 208p. ISBN 978-2-08-030133-8. $39.95.

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

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.

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?)

Members of our library mktg dept. attended the AASL conference last week and the buzz from the librarians revolved around the lack of women authors on this year’s Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of 2009 top ten list. 

I just scanned the list myself, and while I am THRILLED to see Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places  on the fiction round-up – I completely agree that it’s shocking to see such male domination.  And they completely missed Jeannette Walls’  Half Broke Horses (Scribner) and A.S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book!

What do you feel PW missed?  Which female authors do you think should be in the top ten list?

-Erica