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

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.

Indina Sackville. The Daily Beast recently called her “the original Gossip Girl.” She was irresistable. She inspired fashion, fantasy, fiction and art.  She had a total of five husbands and many lovers. She got divorced (in the 1920’s!)She was a “full-blown flapper,” an icon and the great-grandmother of Frances Osborne who has just penned The Bolter The story of the wild, beautiful fearless Idina Sackville, descendant of one of England’s oldest families, who went off to Kenya in search of adventure and became known as the high priestess of the scandalous “HAPPY VALLEY SET”  How’s that for a reading line?

We’ve obtained an autographed copy of this bobbed-hair infused biography and will give it away to one lucky reader who correctly identifies the name of the novel in which a character is supposedly based after Idina Sackville. Hint: click here

Happy Friday!

-Marie

Last week’s Newsweek featured the highly anticipated, candid memoir from the chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Tribunal for Rwanda. 

“She’s faced down the mob and genocidal dictators.  So why is Carla Del Ponte barred from discussing her own book?” – Newsweek

-Erica

My most recent staff pick was North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter by Sakie Yokota.  Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, recently met with Sakie Yokota while meeting with families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, as reported by The New York Times.

This summer, CNN’s Anderson Cooper ran a story that was both shocking in its immediacy and haunting with its heart-wrenching tale. Four years ago, North Korea admitted to a program of abducting Japanese citizens in the hopes of training them as spies during the Cold War. Sakie Yokota lost her thirteen-year-old daughter, Megumi, in 1977 to this insidious scheme. This is the story of one woman’s personal struggle to find the daughter who was so cruelly taken from her and her transformation from happy housewife to political activist and crusader.

In August 2006, Sakie met with President Bush to further talks about demanding sanctions on North Korea. The documentary, Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story is available and also a quick search on YouTube will allow you to explore more coverage of this astonishing emotional and political quagmire. This riveting true story of every parent’s worst nightmare will captivate and horrify you.

-Erica

photo courtesy of Allure.com

Last night I was watching a cheesy entertainment news show (Hey, we all have our guilty pleasures, right?) and saw something exciting. A book! And not just any book, a cute children’s book called Reading Can Be Fun. Yes, it can! I recognized the title immediately as one published by Random House client, Rizzoli Publications.  The adorable read was in the hands of none other than superstar Julia Roberts during her photo shoot for the March issue of Allure magazine. Score one for bibliophiles everywhere!

                   

 This isn’t the only great tot title in this series written by Munro Leaf. There’s also Manners Can Be Fun and Brushing Your Teeth Can Be Fun.  Pass this bit of info on to your children’s collection developers so they can answer “Yes, we do! It is right over here…” when scores of folks come in with magazine in hand and point to it with frantic looks on their faces. It could happen. If Julia loves it, it must be good, right?

-Marie

One great thing about the New York Times Books section is the First Chapters page. Check out the beginnings of a few of Random House’s latest. Also, click on the cover images above for full information about each book.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese – If Dave’s or my previous posts haven’t convinced you, the first chapter just might. Read this book!

Lima Nights by Marie Arana – This latest novel from the award-winning author of American Chica and Cellophane comes this love story between an upper-class socialite and a tango dancer working at a bar on the “other side of the tracks.”

Spade and Archer by Joe Gores – This prequel to The Maltese Falcon tells the story of Sam Spade, where he comes from, and how he became involved in this great mystery.

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss -  This new historical thriller is set just after the American Revolution and follows Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott who are on opposing sides of a daring scheme that will change their country forever.

-Marie

Kitty Burns Florey’s latest, Script and Scribble, recently got a wonderful write-up in the Washington Post. Florey is probably most well known for her previous book, Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog, which concerns the lost art of diagramming sentences, and her much-circulated article in Slate about Sarah Palin’s “sentences.” And here she is again with another “lost art of…” title about handwriting.

Handwriting?

Yes, handwriting. Something I haven’t thought about since 1993. (My mother, though, did ask me last year for left-handed calligraphy pens. She couldn’t find them in Phoenix.) Florey’s Script and Scribble is a charming introduction to a subject of surprising depth and complexity. Says the Washington Post:

 “Because she’s witty and often endearingly autobiographical (she includes illustrations from her third-grade writing workbook), the reader is happy to follow her into any byway of penmanship.”

As it turns out, several very famous contemporary authors still use a pen and paper for first drafts–Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison, J.K. Rowling, and even the prolific and enduring Stephen King. Imagine the awesome callouses you’d have…

Anyway, from a child who prefered Office Depot to Toys ‘R’ Us: check out this quirky history of handwriting. Just don’t let your patrons practice in the margins.  (We practiced in the office. We’re surprisingly not bad, although it did take us 3 mins/sentence. My D’s aren’t up to par.)

-David