Each year when I get back from ALA I am totally exhausted! This isn’t anything new. When I was a beginning librarian, decades ago, I found it all overwhelming. Now after many years of working on the publishing side, guess what — I find it all overwhelming! Too many good authors, too many programs, too spread out, too much in general. So the importance of a good plan is vital! Thanks to our author organizer, Erica Melnichok, all of us from RHI come to ALA armed with about a 15-page plan of action. It’s almost a minute-by-minute schedule of our lives for those six ALA days. I’d be lost without it and even have a spare just in case!
WHERE IS SHE GOING WITH ALL THIS?
The point is, ALA can be either wonderful(!) or daunting(!). We hear every year how folks missed a favorite author because they didn’t know about their appearance. Read those ads in LJ and Cognotes! Get your coupons in order! Check out the pre-program on the ALA website! Check out this blog and our Library website!
We had 14 authors this year (I won’t name a single one because all the others will feel left-out.) from first-time novelists to BIG bestsellers. They all had good programs and I hope you were able to attend at least some of them. I worked several of these events and find them to be, without exception, rewarding in unexpected ways. I attended ALTAFF’s Reflecting on the Past – Literary Memoirs, and found it to be amazing with the authors provoking the packed audience to tears and standing ovations! You just can’t beat that. So next year, give yourself a reward, go to author events. And thanks to those of you who braved the worst meeting room ever, to attend the RHI Book Buzz (over 100 jammed into a room with seating for 75) to hear about our books we feel you need for the near future.
Two last points…
ALA sponsored a new Cookbook Pavilion and I was there every day as we featured a wide variety of our Random House, Inc. titles – everyone from Bobby Flay to Ina Garten. Traffic for the display area was nice and steady and everyone talked about how use is up as folks are cooking home more. Every time there was a demo mobs of folks filled up those chairs! The smell of cooking plus a place to sit…an unbeatable combo. (I hear ALA is considering Travel and perhaps Romance Pavilions for the future.)
And literally hot of the presses from the printer to ALA — we were able to feature our new ONE BOOK brochure (the cover is just beautiful!!). The One Book, One Community program is SO important now and the NEA’s Big Read support is at an all time high. We couldn’t keep copies of this catalog on the table and we literally ran out. If you missed, download your copy now, and make use of our great titles that have already been adopted, see suggestions for new titles, and get advice from the person who started it all: Nancy Pearl.
OK, thanks for reading my take on the Biggest ALA Ever at 28,941 – all of whom came through the RHI booth at least three times (or at least that’s what it felt like)! Thanks, very much! Overwhelming, but in a good way!!
Judy Blume and I have something in common. How cool is that? We both loved Swimming, by Nicola Keegan. You’ve read my take on the book (and if you were at ALA you saw it on the Staff Picks table as one of my selections) now here’s Judy’s:
“I loved Swimming. It’s the most original novel I’ve read all year. I can’t get Pip’s voice out of my mind. Give yourself a treat this summer—read this book.”
—Judy Blume
Whew! I’m back from ALA and, honestly, happy I survived it. It is quiet in the office here today as many of my lucky co-workers are enjoying a day off. So blogging duties fall to me. I’d like to thank those who stopped by the Random House booth at this week’s conference and chatted with us about books they love, their libraries, and what they are looking for where the two former are concerned. I hope you all had a wonderful time and it was so nice to meet you!
Dan Brown (you know, that Dan Brown) would also like to thank you. He’s written a letter to booksellers and librarians:
July 2009
Dear Booksellers and Librarians,
As I prepare for the September 15th release of my new novel, The Lost Symbol, I wanted to take a moment and thank you for all the important work you do… for authors, for readers, and, above all, for books.
The generous support you’ve given my novels along the way has made all the difference, and I am forever grateful. This fall, more than ever, let’s make it a season to remember.
With sincere thanks and best wishes,
Dan Brown
How’s that for a post-ALA treat? Hope you all enjoyed the conference and I look forward to seeing you again at Midwinter.
It’s not every Friday morning I find myself on the Playboy website. I swear. But with ALA coming upon us and James Ellroy the highly anticipated Auditorium Speaker (Saturday 10:30am), that is exactly where I just found myself. Don’t miss this in-depth video as Ellroy tours the “places in LA that haunt him and to meet the ghosts who haunt him still.”
And now, when I meet him next month a topic of conversation can be Playboy…or not.
Check out this new trailer for Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Also keep in mind that author, Margot Berwin, will be a featured author at ALA next month. She is participating in the ALTAFF “First Author / First Book” discussion panel on Sunday 7/12 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm. A signing will follow on-site.
I came across this great URL on Facebook last night for librarygamingtoolkit.org. (I guess it pays to be Facebook friends with Reforma librarians!) This website is HUGE. It provides tips, resources, and ideas for librarians looking to provide an environment for gaming in their libraries–everything from “Survey library users to determine their gaming preferences and their wishlist of services” to “Offer socks.” Here’s their eye-opening introductory text:
In 2007, over 404 libraries responded to a national library gaming gaming census, reporting on 218 programs. On November 15 2008, 597 libraries reported on serving 14,184 gamers on National Gaming Day. Gaming services epitomize library as third place, creating a community gathering spot between home and work/school. That third place encourages play, socialization, and cultural enrichment. Libraries looking for ways to reach beyond their traditional patron base are turning to gaming.
Board games, card games, and videogames are, in essence, information, and the human act of telling stories, presented in new formats that involve the player. Games may fulfill a library’s mission to provide cultural, recreational, and entertaining materials; to provide adacemic curriculum support; or to provide resources and support their industry or profession.
This may be old news to some, but gaming can nourish the neurons too, as detrimental as it can be for a person’s orthography: First person to email me (library@randomhouse.com) the etymology of “pwned” gets a copy of Prima Games‘ Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition Game Guide.
Also, for more ideas and information on D&D, visit the Wizards of the Coast website.
At the recent ALA meeting I had the pleasure of making someone’s day. Or at least that’s what he said I did.
I was walking the floor with an advance reader’s edition Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s long-awaited novel, The Angel’s Game, which has recently been translated from the Spanish. I had stopped at another booth to browse around when one of the booth workers saw the book in my hands and screeched out, “I’ve been waiting so long for this book! I’ve been wanting to read it! Where is it?!” I pointed her toward the Random House booth and we continued talking about Zafon and his work. An attendee in the vacinity overheard us and demanded to know where the book was as well. Turns out he is also a huge fan. Thus, I was able to get the gentleman to momentarily leave another exhibitor’s booth and head toward the quickly depleting stacks of Angel’s Game ARE’s .
That was enough for me. I’m sold, and have added this one, as well as its predecessor, The Shadow of the Wind, to my ever-lengthening list. The author’s website features a video trailer on the new novel. It will be published by Doubleday in June so be sure it is on your list. Your patrons will be asking for it!
The Spanish edition, El Juego del Angel, is also available from Vintage.
The 53 graphic novels that made this list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens were selected from 154 official nominations. These books are, according to YALSA, “recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.” We’d like to congratulate the 13 from the Random House, Inc. family:
CHICAGO — Refresh your memories of jokes about Jewish mothers —or give yourself another chance to taste other choice morsels from the Literary Tastes Breakfast by viewing videos of the event online at the RUSA website or downloading them for your iPod.
Sponsored by HarperCollins, Random House and Penguin Publishing, the Literary Tastes Breakfast brings together librarians and notable authors at ALA’s Annual Conference. Breakfast participants feed their brains and their minds while listening to readings and commentary from outstanding contemporary authors.
