Today Erica and I had the great pleasure of attending a lunchtime talk given by renowned travel writer, Frances Mayes. Even if you haven’t read any of Frances’s seven books, you may be familiar with her story as she is portrayed by Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun nearly every weekend on Oxygen, WE, or a host of other cable channels. Today Frances shared with members of the Random House, Inc. family a few stories about fending off wild boars near her new (and second!) Tuscan home, introducing her grandson to the vast wonder that is Italian cuisine, and what changes about the way one views life after twenty years spent in a small Italian village.  

While I can’t speak for Erica, I came from the delightful event knowing three things: 1) I MUST visit Tuscany, ASAP. 2) I MUST have pasta for dinner tonight. And 3) I’d be a bad blogger if I didn’t get a goodie to share with y’all. Ms. Mayes was kind enough to sign a copy of her new book, Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life and one lucky reader gets it! For your chance to win, leave a comment below.

-Marie

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lackshas been getting an amazing amount of buzz in the media lately, so likely your holds lists are growing.  You probably already have this book on your radar, but just in case you’ve been caught napping, I’ll include the basics below.

ABOUT THE BOOK:In 1951 Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cervical cancer and died months later. Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion dollar industry, yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown…Skloot brilliantly weaves together the Lacks’s story–past and present–with the story of the birth of bioethics, the story of HeLa cells, and the dark history of experimentation on African Americans. Important, powerful, and compassionate, this is a remarkable work of science and social journalism.

REVIEWS:

THE NEW YORK TIMES said, “…one of the most graceful and moving nonfiction books I’ve read in a very long time.”  Read the full, glowing article HERE.

“While there are other titles on this controversy…this is the most compelling account for general readers, especially those interested in questions of medical research ethics.  Highly recommended.” –LIBRARY JOURNAL

“Writing with a novelist’s artistry, a biologist’s expertise, and the zeal of an investigative reporter, Skloot tells a truly astonishing story of racism and poverty, science and conscience, spirituality and family driven by a galvanizing inquiry into the sanctity of the body and the very nature of the life force.”—BOOKLIST (starred review)

“Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about ‘faith, science, journalism, and grace.’…Recalls Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family…A rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society’s most vulnerable people.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

MEDIA: It was covered on ABC’s World News Tonight on Sunday and in the New York Times‘ “Health” section, and the author was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. For more info on this and links to clips visit EARLYWORD.

FREE!: Rebecca Skloot was in the office yesterday and was kind enough to autograph some copies of her book for us.  I have two copies to give away, please leave a comment for a chance to receive one.

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.

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!

My absolute favorite thing about working in publishing is meeting the authors.  And yesterday, we got to meet Kris Radish! She was just as fabulous as I had imagined and sent us away with goodies to raffle off to libraries!

Share with us your favorite novel from Radish and we’ll pick one lucky librarian to receive a signed copy of The Shortest Distance Between Two Women, a Radish women’s visor, and more!

And keep an eye on your holds lists and get those preorders ready! Kris’s lastest novel, Hearts on a String, will be out in May!

-Erica

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of meeting debut author Carolina de Robertis who was in house signing copies of her novel, The Invisible Mountain. With my extensive heralding of this beautiful narrative, it surely comes as no surprise to you that I was tickled pink to meet her and have her autograph a copy for me. Really, this is one of the best perks of the job! It should also not come as a surprise that I didn’t forget you, my blog friends. Ms. de Robertis was happy to sign a copy for you as well.

If you’d like to be entered to win the autographed copy please comment and answer the following:

This novel takes place in Uruguay and is rich in language and culture. Please tell us about a favorite book you have read lately that is set outside of the United States.*

-Marie 

*I am currently reading a Penguin book that I’d picked up at ALA called The Book of Night Women. Set in eighteenth-century Kingston, Jamaica, it is narrated entirely in slave dialect. I’m loving it so far!

Yesterday I had a thrill. DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY was in to sign!! Authors come in often, but rarely is there a line–yesterday there was. I shouldn’t have been surprised because I used my two minutes to remind him of the rock-star signing he did for us in San Francisco during ALA when his SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS came out. It was a riot, literally. We totally lost control of the line and he was blinded by the flash bulbs!

His SIBLEY GUIDE TO TREES is just magnificent! I come from a family of tree-lovers. My Dad had a small nursery at one point and a low point of my childhood was when I didn’t speak to my family for two weeks when I was about 12, because they had to cut down the giant oak at the end of my grandmother’s walk that had been killed by mistletoe. I surprise myself all these years later by how many trees I can identify.

Sibley’s talents are amazing! Every tree, every leaf, every seed pod, what the bark looks like, where they grow…more than 4,100 illustrations! This is for EVERY library collection, both reference and circulating. For anyone considering landscaping their yard. For anyone taking a trip to a National Park. For anyone taking a walk down their street. For all tree lovers. OK, enough already.

Just to end, in addition to getting a personally signed copy–I have one precious signed copy to give away. Write in with a comment and I’ll pick someone to get this classic.

And now I have to go and water my 6 ft. tall corn plant (the closest thing to a tree in our office).

-Marcia

Hello baseball fans out there! Mr. Ron Darling came by the office a few weeks ago and signed a copy of his new book, THE COMPLETE GAME: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound.

“Baseball generates dozens of books every year . . . This is easily the best of the year so far . . . It’s hard to recall a baseball book that offers as much information about the game–from a player’s perspective–as this one.”
–Booklist

Now we’re giving it away! Tell us what your favorite baseball team is in the comments, and I’ll pick one lucky library employee to send the autographed book to. (Don’t worry, I’m not a huge baseball fan, so I don’t have any real bias.)

-Dave

Hello friends!

It has been a while. I was away on business and vacation in my home state: sunny California. And sunny it was. I’m surprised I got any reading done but with a 5-6 hour flight both ways there is plenty of time for that. While I did cheat on Random House a bit, I also finished a few of our own titles:

THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES: The second in a new “paranormal” series from Carrie Ryan, this book is published by our kids group and was even better than the first. It picks up in the years following The Forest of Hands and Teeth (read my previous post about that one to get a synopsis) and follows Gabry as as she goes from living a quiet life to confronting the undead, the blossomings of love, and family secrets that change everything. If you haven’t read Forest yet, start there, as Dead-Tossed won’t be available until March 2010.

FACTORY GIRLS: FROM VILLAGE TO CITY IN A CHANGING CHINA: Wall Street Journal reporter Leslie T. Chang effectively drops her reader into the life of the “factory girls,” young  Chinese women who leave their villages and families for the province of Dongguan – a city of factories where everything from Coach to Nike is made. Focusing on dating practices, job hunts, English classes, and other ways of life, this book gives readers a glimpse into the culture surrounding the world that has been created all in the name of our sneakers and electronics. As a young woman who “migrated” from the suburbs to the city myself, I was intrigued by the stories of the women Chang interviewed and befriended and our shared similarites. This book was named a New York Times Book Review “Notable Book” and it is easy to see why – approachable and illuminating, this is not one to miss.

THE TRIPLE BIND: SAVING OUR TEENAGE GIRLS FROM TODAY’S PRESSURES: Ever wonder why more adolescents suffer from troubling emotional problems today than in decades past? Dr. Stephen Hinshaw (chair of the Psychology Department at my alma mater!) points to what he calls “The Triple Bind.” Today’s young girls are feeling more and more pressure to “Be pretty, sweet, and nice” and at the same time “be athletic, competitive, and get straight A’s” and the clicher… “be impossibly perfect”. This is an interesting read for anyone who has a teen girl in his or her life – or ever was one.

To welcome myself back to the blog after my absense, I’ve procured a copy of The Triple Bind that I’d love to send to one lucky reader. Please comment for your chance to win!

- Marie

Attention all Sophie Kinsella fans!

Random House Library has procured some galley copies of her newest novel, Twenties Girl, and they are up for grabs.

Though it is sans Becky Bloomwood (of the Shopaholic series) this stand-alone still has all the Sophie Kinsella charm and is the perfect fun read to accompany a little summer R&R.

Please email library@randomhouse.com with your full mailing address and the subject “Twenties Girl” for your chance to win a copy.

-Marie