Liz and Gianna's Adventures in Book Land

Sale Conference, More Awkwardness from the Land of the Socially Inept

2012-03-06T21:50:00.000-06:00

Liz again here. I returned from Florida and the Random House sales conference late on Sunday, and then have tried to recover and soothe the raving, blood-thirty beast (the cat). Gianna says that I should post some more thoughts about sales conference. I'm too scared of her not to follow her directions.

What's sales conference like?

Dr. Seuss hats for all!
Dignity for none!

There's a lot of sitting in uncomfortable chairs, and for a conference at which books are discussed round the clock, there's never any time to actually read.
The bar in the hotel is designated as a hospitality suite, and if you wear your name tag you can drink as much as you want. There are always a few people who think that gettin' sloppy with the colleagues is a great finish to a day...and there are always a few people who think that spending time in the hospitality suite is its own ring of hell.
Every company has its inside jokes and jokesters. Some are actually funny. More are not.
I always feel sorry for the tourists who are staying at the resort and are surrounded by hundreds of Random House employees. That said, these people have the pool all to themselves all day. I did have a view of the pool from my hotel room...so of course I took a bunch of pictures of the people with the man boobs testing the theory of water displacement eight floors below me.
Sonny Mehta is there. Sonny is the Editor in Chief of Knopf. We follow him into the bookish abyss with reckless abandon.

Oh yeah, and we talk about a bunch of books, some of which are truly exciting.

Here's an early tease for a book coming out this fall:

Andrew Porter teaches at Trinity University in San Antonio, and though Trinity is the hated rival of my alma mater, Southwestern University, I set aside petty rivalries of liberal arts institutions with Division III NCAA status (no scholarship athletes) for local authors. Andrew wrote a brilliant short story collection, The Theory of Light and Matter, a couple of years ago, which ended up winning the Flannery O'Connor Award. Now he's delivered his first novel, In Between Days.

Andrew Porter

In Between Days echoes John Cheever or Richard Yates, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Much fiction these days either is post-apocalyptic or else off-putting-ly clever (clever for the sake of cleverness), and while I admire some narrative manipulation, it can also become tiresome. Andrew Porter simply writes beautiful sentences about normal people in normal times...if one can claim that these are normal times. His novel is set in Houston and is centered on a family coming apart. The father, Elson Harding, an architect, has divorced his wife of 30 years, Cadence. Their son Richard is adrift, still living at home after graduating from college and dabbling at writing poetry. He's full of angst, naturally. Their daughter Chloe suddenly has to come home from her East Coast college, though, and the circumstances around her arrival pitch the family into turmoil. There's a tension here, as well as an attention to detail without getting lost in the details, that makes In Between Days one of my favorite upcoming novels. I know it's very early, but jot down this title for the fall. You'll thank me.

That's it from Florida, but here's one last picture for you:

Moobs.

Sales Conference, Or a Tale of Awkwardness

2012-02-29T22:44:00.001-06:00

The view from my
hotel room

I, Liz, flew to Florida very, very early this morning for the annual in-person sales conference for fall books. For those of you dozens of readers who aren't in the book business, basically this is the company pep talk meeting, awards presentation dinner(s), and discussion of new books. Parts of conference are exciting...and parts involve socially awkward people attempting to interact with other socially awkward people, to varying levels of self-awareness. It's a hoot.

Here are some observations before I have to turn in my computer so that the IT people can remove an entire cat's worth of Zorro fur from my keyboard.

A beautiful site.

The Sanibel Resort is a Marriott property. Marriott signed a deal with the devil (Pepsi). My colleague Toni drove in from Tampa and brought me a case of Diet Coke, but she's staying in another building, so I had to claim my Diet Coke at the front desk. I'm rationing.
Here's the thing: I work from home, not an office. I therefore don't see the same people every single day, so technically I could wear the same clothes every day if I wanted. To come up with clothes for five days can be a challenge.
Also, we are book people. We don't speak normal English...which is fine since the big boss, Markus, is German. There is the whiff of desperation out there, the "Talk to MEEEEEEE!!!" of people who spend lots of time talking to the cat.
My boss asked me to be on a panel. She claims that my participation isn't just to provide an excuse to fire me.

Sales people flock to receive
a signed book from Grisham.

John Grisham. I sat at his table for dinner. He requested the vegetarian plate. Considering the frightening slab-o-cow that was deposited in front of me, I ate the whipped potatoes and the salad.
Speaking of Grisham, he has a new novel coming in April. He's been a huge baseball fan all of his life (in spite of the fact that he's a Cardinals fan), and this is his first baseball-related story. Calico Joe tells the story of a rising star playing for the Cubs, Joe Castle, and a struggling pitcher for the Mets, Warren Tracey, set during the summer of 1973. Joe explodes onto the scene, breaking a record with his first few at bats. He's a superstar in the making for the long-suffering Cubs fans (ask Gianna about her pain). Warren Tracey's son Paul tells the story of these two baseball players, the baseball code, and a fateful August day when their paths collided. It's a good read--reminiscent of The Natural.
I "celebrated" my fifth year with Random House. And then I pointed out to a colleague celebrating her 35th year that I have only been alive 35 years. I'm classy like that.

Unless Gianna figures out how to post on the blog, there might be a couple of days hiatus. Just remember, Liz is always the answer.

Coming April 2012

The Expats by Chris Pavone

2012-02-27T14:52:00.000-06:00

(Gianna)

Ken Follett and Robert Ludlum fans won’t want to miss thissmart debut spy novel by Chris Pavone.

Chris Pavone

Kate Moore moves to Luxembourg with her security experthusband Dexter and their two small children. Dexter has been offered a job thatis too good to pass up working as a security consultant for a bank. He willhave the task of building security systems to secure millions of dollars. Itwill, however, give him an opportunity to steal millions, but does he have asecret life? Speaking of secrets...Kate has a small one…she has been workingundercover for the CIA for years. Their secrets collide when two FBI agentsassigned to find out what Dexter is up to inform Kate that he is a thief.

This carefully thought out and soundly executed plot buildsand unfolds slowly but is absolutely worth the wait, and plot twist after plottwist keeps you guessing. Maybe an expert thriller reader will uncover the badguy before the end…but I was on the edge of my seat. The last fifty or so pagesthat nearly kept me guessing to the last page.

Generally Horrible Questions: Karen Valby

2012-02-20T12:51:00.002-06:00

Karen Valby is a senior writer for Entertainment Weekly and the author of one of our favorite books, Welcome to Utopia, that is new in paperback. Perhaps because Gianna no doubt is blackmailing her, Karen has graciously answered our horrible questions. And since she's in the entertainment journalism business, Gianna was in hog heaven asking lots of pop culture questions. So here you go, some generally horrible questions for one of our favorites,

We love Melissa McCarthy

Karen Valby

1. Don’t be shy…give us your Oscar predictions.
First of all, I should say that I'm going to be watching this year's Oscars at the Oakwood furnished apartment complex in Burbank with close to 100 child actors. True story. That said, I haven't seen movies like The Artist and The Iron Lady, as now that I'm a mother I find myself only having the emotional reserves to see films like Footloose and New Year's Eve, only one of which was a disgrace. That said, I did see The Descendants and quite liked it. Same with Hugo. I want Viola Davis to make me cry in her acceptance speech. What I would give for Melissa McCarthy to take home an Oscar, but I'll be pleased to see it go to her good pal Octavia Spencer instead. [We think this may be the best answer we’ve ever gotten on any question...its loaded with excellent things.]

Viola Davis

2. Best book to movie ever is…
The Black Stallion. To Kill a Mockingbird. Winter's Bone. The Hunger Games. [An obvious ploy to get Gianna and Liz to read The Hunger Games. Not gonna happen.]

Melissa Gilbert

3. One of our favorite articles you wrote for Entertainment Weekly was the interview you did with Melissa McCarthy. It made us wonder which other Melissa you may love. Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa Etheridge, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Leo, or of course…Melissa Rivers? Take your time we know this is tough.
(I'm betting good money that Gianna came up with this question and was halfway through a bottle of pinot when doing so. I also picture her being quite pleased with herself.) I'm going to go with Melissa Gilbert because a) half-pint and b) she used to be married to Bruce Boxleitner, a big childhood crush of mine. Scarecrow! Other childhood crushes: the young, black-haired George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life, Scott Baio circa Joanie Loves Chaachi, the bad guys in Sweet Valley High, Italians. [You don’t know me Valby!!]

4. Favorite Housewife? – this question is dedicated to our friend Colleen.
Colleen, this conversation deserves a tasting menu dinner's worth of a conversation. I'm going to pick three in the meantime: Obviously Lisa Vanderpumpkin. Season 4 Atlanta's Phaedra Parks. And that dipsy doodle Sonja Morgan from New York. What do I wish more for my daughter by the way? That she not become a Real Housewife or that she not grow up to watch and write about them for a living? [We don’t know what any of this means but we hope Colleen enjoys it.]

This is Randy (with Ms. Lupone).
He's no Liz.

5. Liz or Gianna?
Randy Ham. [This is total b.s. Even Gianna knows the answer is always Liz! Ham is going to get an ass kicking…Italian style! In other words I will send someone else to do it.]

6. Book that changed your life?
This question feels cruel. So vulnerable-making, so much pressure! But I'll say Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? because it made growing up sound both terrifying and kind of fun-sexy. [This is an obvious ploy to get Liz to read Are you There God--not gonna happen.]

7. I’ve never read ____ and I am so ashamed.
Any Don DeLillo.

8. Coolest person you’ve ever met?

Slash. Badass.

Hands down, Slash. I went on tour with his (pretty lousy) band Velvet Revolver for a week a couple of years ago. One night he brought me to the Hustler bus with him after a show. Those ladies were really impressed by my turtleneck and brown corduroy! Afterwards he took my hand to help me down the steps and we went and got ripped at a sports bar in Cincinnati. At closing time he went in the back to get high with the fry cook and then picked out a last song on the jukebox. U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For!" The next day at the airport the tour manager said the plane was short one first-class ticket. Well, of course that whiny pants Scott Weiland looked like he was about to pitch a fit and the creepy drummer wasn't going to fly with the riff raff. Duff's pancreas hurt so Slash volunteered to take the coach seat as long as he didn't have to check his guitar. He sat happily in the back row, his hair flattened against the window, and read a sci fi paperback. I love that guy. [Gianna didn’t read past the part where you went on the Hustler bus.]

9. I have read ____ and I am so ashamed.
Rob Lowe's memoir. [We heard that DeLillo pales in comparision]

Chris Hoyt, BookPeople cutie.

10. What are you reading now?
Ernie Cline's Ready Player One. Fun! [We approve.]

11. Liz and Gianna are going to start filming a reality show. Should we pull each other’s hair in the first episode or wait until sweeps week?
You need a love triangle, so I'd bring that BookPeople cutie Christopher Hoyt on board. [Gianna: We will have to buy a ladder so Chris and I can kiss Liz. Liz: I resent this comment. For one thing, Chris is tall. Don't bring your short woman issues to this party.]

Karen Valby. Good sport.

12. A Book and a movie we should read/see right away?
We should all stay in tonight and rent Moonstruck. And then we should fall asleep rereading Brady Udall's enormous-hearted The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint. [This book happens to contain one of Gianna’s favorite opening lines: "If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head.”]

Thanks Karen! We'll understand if you try to distance yourself from us.

Utopia in Texas

2012-02-19T19:05:00.002-06:00

The effervescent Karen Valby

Gianna:

When I left Random House a year ago, they made me give back myAmerican Express and my Jeep Liberty. What I took with me, however, was better: KarenValby’s Welcome to Utopia.

Karen Valby is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly,where she was originally given the assignment to find a town in America thathad not been influenced by popular culture.

She found Utopia.

We’ve written about this book several times on the blog, but nowthat it is available from University of Texas Press in paperback I thought weshould give it another mention.

Valby’s Welcome to Utopia has been compared toSherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, Larry McMurtry’s The Last PictureShow, Thorton Wilder’s Our Town, and the mother load… Harper Lee’s ToKill a Mockingbird. Augusten Burroughs also called it a “masterpiece ofnarrative nonfiction,” so you know…if you like that sort of thing you maywant to pick this up.

The paperback includes (in addition to the fabulous new cover) anew afterword that I asked Karen to write, and a reading guide that will keepyour book group talking long into the evening. And you know the longer yourbook group talks, the more you get to drink.

Generally Horrible Questions: Jeremy Ellis

2012-02-15T13:08:00.001-06:00

Jeremy at the Tadao Ando-designed museum in Ft. Worth.
The man appreciates art and design.

Jeremy Ellis is the new(ish) manager at Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Texas. He started the job in August, but has been working in bookstores off and on for most of his career. We decided that the best form of hazing is to submit him to our list of questions. Welcome to the neighborhood, Jeremy!

Generally Horrible Questions: Jeremy Ellis

1. How did you get into the bookselling business?
It was completely accidental. I was 22, out-of-work, and there was a bookstoreat a mall I liked. I thought I would do it for awhile and then, eventually,find my calling. Since that job, I've only had brief interruptions fromindependent bookstore jobs. [Just when I thought I was out....they pull me back in? Watch out for horse heads in your sheets, there, Jeremy.]

Brazos Bookstore

2. What's the best experience you've had working at the bookstore?
It's hard to pick just one experience. But I guess I could choose one per gig.As a bookseller at Taylor's Books in Dallas, meeting Anne Perry the day afterseeing the Peter Jackson film 'Heavenly Creatures' which details the true storyof Anne's early life as a killer. As a bookseller at Trudy's Fireside Books,author and illustrator David Small handselling me Rule of the Bone by RussellBanks. As the event guy at BookPeople, hosting David Sedaris during his Me Talk Pretty One Day tour. As Marketing Director at BookPeople, my proudest momentwas when the original 'This is My Favorite Book' was picked up by independentbookstores nationwide as the model holiday catalog. At Legacy Books and A RealBookstore in Dallas, developing their websites. And now, at Brazos, my bestdays are those where I get to really talk to customers and help them find thebook they didn't know they urgently needed.

3. Whatbook(s) changed your life?

I'veread plays for years and years and they really have had the most visceralimpact on my life. Both parts of Tony Kushner's Angels in America radicallychanged the ways in which I thought about myself and America. I think Arcadiaby Tom Stoppard is one of the most perfect pieces of literature of the 20thcentury. I return to the short plays of Samuel Beckett time and time again fortheir optimistic outlook. [Gianna's scared of thespians....]

4. What are you currently reading?
I just finished Canada by Richard Ford. It is one of the best novels I've everread. Also just finished Jeanette Winterson's memoir, Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?. It is a remarkable book. I'm very excited to get into Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter Scott, but top of the stack, demanding immediate attentionis What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander. [Damn straight. We will expect a book report about the Nathan Englander book next week.]

This one should
be on everyone's
reading list right now.

5.What's your #1 pick for reading groups?

Nausea byJean Paul Sartre. I'm not usually allowed to lead reading groups.

6. Would you rather....David Mitchell, David Foster Wallace, David Sedaris
First, David Sedaris, because he makes me laugh.
Second, David Mitchell, because he makes me dream.
Third, David Foster Waller, because he makes me hurt.

[Fourth, David Arquette, because he makes you gag?]

7. What's the biggest lie ever told by a sales rep?
Nicholas Sparks was a passing trend.

8.What's your second favorite bookstore?
BookPeople

9. Gianna or Liz?

I love themequally for different reasons. I will never specify what these reasons are,lest Liz sick Zorro on me. [REALLY? Why must we keep repeating this? The correct answer is ALWAYS Liz. Always. Because Liz is the one who posts the stuff on the blog and she says so.]

10. The most depressing book you've ever read?

Jeremy (right) and his brother in
front of Brazos.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb was a downer, but I really enjoyed it. This was Oprah'ssecond book club choice. I read it reluctantly, but ended up really loving it.

11. I've never read ____________. And I'm so ashamed.

Any of theHarry Potter books. I'm not that ashamed.

12. Celebrity Memoir (Death is not an option): Snooki, Justin Bieber, ParisHilton, Kardashian Konfidential.

JustinBieber. On the day he begins his public meltdown, I'll be able to pull factoidsabout his life out and say I saw it coming all along. And that hair... (Ofcourse, I'm mesmerized by Snooki's mustache as well.)

13. Dumbest question ever asked by a customer?
Q: I see your fiction section. Where do you keep your non-fiction books?
A: Everywhere that isn't our fiction section.

14. I wanted to be a ___________ when I grew up.
A Broadway musical theatre star. Get a glass or two of wine in me, and I can'tstop singing show tunes.

15.________________ is my favorite book ever.
Too hard... Different eras of my life have had different favorites. During mylate teens and early twenties it was Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis. Butthen I met him, and he was kind of a jerk to me, and my youthful angst wasreceding. Anymore, I don't really have a single title that is my Number One. Ilove books for their individual ambitions and successes. [Are you just scared to say Twilight? It's okay. We'll eventually forgive you.]

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T19:57:00.001-06:00

Gianna:

I am embarrassed to say that this was just added to my list a week or so ago at my girlfriend’s urging, and of course I knew it had to be number one. And maybe you think it's cheating because I am once again technically choosing a short story, but rules like laws are meant to be broken...like bigamy, sodomy, and stealing beer from the Pump and Munch (it’s a real place).

"The Bear Went Over
the Mountain" was made into
a terrific movie.

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage consists of nine extraordinary stories. If you haven’t read Alice Munro, this is a great jumping off point; it's one of her finest collections, and she without doubt is one of the best writers working today (and if you ever meet anyone who disagrees with that, unfriend them on Facebook immediately).

Alice Munro

For this blog I am going to focus on "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," the beautiful story which anchors the book.

Grant and Fiona are at a crossroad. Although they have had an imperfect marriage, (Grant has had short meaningless affairs with students and even a yearlong affair with a colleague’s wife) he does love Fiona.

Gianna's sweetie Natasha

When she begins showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease, she finally takes complete control of her life and marriage. She insists on moving to a nursing home when the disease robs her of the ability to care for herself. Grant finally agrees although it is clearly not what he wants. As the story moves forward Fiona begins to change in ways that Grant is not expecting, including falling in love with another man.

Where Alice Munro succeeds the most in her stories is in her complete grasp on humanity. She paints sweeping portraits with such gorgeous concise language that you are convinced that she was born to write.

Natasha's sweetie Gianna.....oy.

Liz:

Now I could have picked a sappy love story or epic lovey dovey saga or poignant tale of tragic love; it is Valentine's Day, after all. But let's be honest: I ordered pizza tonight and sang "My Furry Valentine" to the cat this morning. I have to be true to me and my ennui. I will turn back to my witchy, wordy goddess, my JCO. She communes with my bleak, soulless interior void.

Zombies are a hot topic these days, just behind vampires in the proliferation of undead books of the last few years. The Joyce Carol Oates take? Well, she's dark. Zombie is about a man's quest for love. He meets people in bars and invites them home...where he lobotomizes them with an ice pick, turning the victims into zombies. It's a sick man's way of keeping his lovers from abandoning him (until, of course, the brain trauma knocks them down for good). Oates based her novella on the Jeffery Dahmer case, her way of trying to understand the mind of a serial killer.

Happy Valentine's Day from Book Land!

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 19

2012-02-13T20:21:00.004-06:00

Gianna:

Well we are nearing the end, but have no fear (ofcommitment), my last two choices are pretty great. In fact my last two books areby writers I don’t talk about nearly enough; they are both brilliant, and muchto Liz’s liking…one is a Canadian (Liz likes geography like she enjoys hermen…cold and distant).

Elizabeth McCracken has several excellent books under herbelt: a story collection entitled Here’s Your Hat, What’s Your Hurry, a trulyinspired novel called Niagara Falls All Over Again, a heartbreaking memoir, AnExact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination. Finally she is the author of abook that makes my top, oh, I don’t know… twenty?: The Giant’s House: A Romance.

Elizabeth McCracken

In short (no pun intended…seriously it's not intended), set inthe early 1950’s, Peggy falls in love with James. Here are a couple of details.Peggy is twenty-five when she meets eleven-year-old James. James has a veryrare endocrine disorder, which causes him to grow at an alarming and dangerousrate; his lifespan will be drastically cut short. Peggy is a lonely librarian(before attending the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, I am almost certain McCracken wasa librarian) who has been disappointed by life, and certainly, love. James andPeggy, each in their own way, are social outcasts. They each have a curiositybeyond that of their small, unchanging town. In their ten year platonicrelationship, Peggy raises funds to build James a proper house, properfurniture, and even has a car built to suit his needs (he reaches 8 ft tall andis over 400 pounds). She adores his strange but loving family and finally feelsat home. A bit of a twist from here so I won’t spoil the read, but please giveThe Giant’s House a chance; it's one of the most original, moving, thoughtfulbooks I have read. [And secretly Gianna LOVES tall people.]

Liz:

I think if Gianna can select a short story ("Brokeback Mountain"), so can I. "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is required reading. Period. A husband loves his wife so much that he takes her to the country to undergo a rest cure about she struggles with depression. He's so loving, see? His beloved has the run of an upstairs room in a country house, a room with the ugliest fucking wallpaper ever conceived. It's not his fault, of course. He didn't design the house interiors. And besides, the doctor thinks this rest cure is restorative.

Anyway, our heroine spends days in her room and subtly she begins to see patterns in the wallpaper. And then she sees the figures in the paper creeping. And then she herself is creeping. She's crazy with love! (Or she's just crazy, driven insane by the well-intentioned men in her life who don't listen to her.)

Guess what! I'm still single!

10 Cool Things: Full Circle Books

2012-02-13T15:12:00.001-06:00

Full Circle Bookstore is one of those stores that is a true treat. Like its hometown is a lot cooler than you might initially imagine (we're big fans of Oklahoma City), Full Circle Books may be the most gorgeous bookstore in the country that most people don't know about. It's a gem that should make its way onto bookstore tourists' lists of stores to see and shop around the country.

Here are 10 Cool Things about Full Circle.

1. Old school selection and atmosphere. This is a bookstore that values breadth of inventory and an appreciation for great books.

2. A superb audiobook section, important to those of us who drive a hell of a lot.

3. Pearl the White Buffalo. Best store mascot ever?

Meet Pearl, the White Buffalo. Moo.

4. Did we already mention that the store is gorgeous? It really is.

5. The staff puts on a full production of Oklahoma! every week. Time and location are secret. First rule of Oklahoma!, you don't talk about Oklahoma!....

Those are real flames.

6. There are two working fireplaces in the store. You can buy books and burn them all in one location. They must have great turn-out for Banned Books Week in September.

A local book group
meeting in the store.

7. The store is next door to Gianna's favorite restaurant (the Olive Garden).

8. The staff selection table next to the front door always has an interesting assortment of great books.

9. Tall shelves make tall shoppers happy. Liz is tall.

Even the children's section
is classy and cool.

10. Full Circle is close to several major roads/highways. We've been lost in every direction!

Stop in and say hello to Connie and the Full Circle crew and buy some books!

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 18

2012-02-12T19:18:00.000-06:00

Gianna:

Harold and Maude

Before anyone gives me a hassle let me just say that I knowit was a movie first, then a novel. I don’t care, it's an easy way to get myfavorite (well, second favorite movie) in my top five Valentine book list.

Maude is on the left, with the 'fro.

Harold and Maude are the cutest, sweetest, sexiest couple ever(and this novel…well, movie has a great soundtrack, it makes you want to dateolder….way older). Editions of this book can be pretty pricey, but youhave to have it on your shelf. Okay, don’t read, just see the movie. It’s awin-win.

Also, meet my girlfriend’s Valentine gift from me….Haroldand Maude. [I think Gianna's trying to replace Zorro as our official mascot. I also think that Zorro would destroy Harold and Maude.]

Liz:

Not enough people have read Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk. Seriously, this book should have been a huge bestseller and every book group out there should have read it. It's not too late. Find a copy, read it, and then feel free to let me know how grateful you are.

Columbus is a guy who was found floating in the ocean off the coast of Spain, naked, mentally ill, believing that he's the famous explorer. Except he can't be Christopher Columbus because it's the present day. He's sent to live in a Barcelona mental hospital and though doctors try to engage him, he's resistant to treatment. Then he begins to tell his story--or Columbus's story anyway--to Consuela, a nurse there. (Oh, and he's still naked. He hates to wear clothes.) As his story unravels, his real life begins to come forward.

Yeah, this is another Liz-selected book about a mentally ill protagonist, but I swear that there is a love story here. And it's a terrific read. I promise.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 17

2012-02-11T19:01:00.001-06:00

Gianna:

I can't believe you even considered celebrating a Valentine's Day without Pablo! What is wrong with you? Do you know nothing of romance, of love, of getting laid? Listen, it's not too late to save face. Pick up a copy of Pablo Neruda's 100 Love Sonnets (I mean, it's in English and Spanish...it's one language for free!).

"When I die, I want your hands on my eyes:
I want the light and wheat of your beloved hands
to pass their freshness over me once more:
I want to feel the softness that changed my destiny."
--Neruda

I know...guaranteed to get things going.

Liz:

Earlier today a pal suggested that Gianna might have a better grasp of this theme than I do. Humph. Apparently he doesn't appreciate the awe-inspiring, loin-quivering appeal of Darth Dick Cheney. But fine. I'll pretend I'm Gianna.

I can't believe you even considered celebrating a Valentine's Day without Atwood! What is wrong with you? Do you know nothing of romance, of love, of getting laid? Listen, it's not too late to save face. Pick up a copy of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (I mean, it's got graffiti written in Latin...it's one language for free!).

Who doesn't want to read about the reversal of feminism and the forced sexual enslavement of the dwindling number of fertile women in the world? Offred, (get it, "Of Fred?") is the handmaid of a wealthy couple, a servant with no control over her body and no rights. Her job is to produce children. It has been religiously decreed by the theocracy that has taken control of the country. Atwood's book is shockingly prescient, and if she'd managed to include a reality TV series about Offred's tribulations on TLC I'd call her a modern Nostradamus.

I know...guaranteed to get things going.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 16

2012-02-10T18:57:00.000-06:00

Gianna:

My first girlfriend and I had a song. Actually, we had two becausewe couldn’t agree on what “our” song was. I can’t for the life of me rememberwhat song I brought to the table because her song won. I don’t know how or why,but whenever I hear (and you really must sit down for this as the nausea willset in, trust me), but whenever I hear the REO Speedwagon song (yep) "I Can’tFight This Feeling," I think of Lucy. We also had a breakup song and God help mebut I think it was "After the Love is Gone" by Chicago. There were somesongs in between but those two are the ones I remember best. [Gianna won't date me because our song would be sung by the Muppets if I got to choose.]

Rob Sheffield

And of course there were other relationships (just a couple,I’m lovable really!), and there were songs...well playlists really. "The BeautifulSouth" reigned supreme in my second relationship (I was now in charge ofrelationship playlists, something I will never relinquish). And after that itwas pretty much all Tori Amos. It's okay, things got better. I suspect ifthings went south in my current relationship it would be all Adele all thetime. When I get in trouble for something, I make a mental list of which order Iwill put the songs in on my iPod. I like to be prepared…plus I am a fatalist.

Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. It’s the true andtragic love story told through the memory of this sweet couple’s songs. Roband Rene’s love story is set to music, as it should be. Oh, and trust me,their songs are much better than mine. Nirvana, Missy Elliot, Pearl Jam,REM, and Pavement make appearances.

Here is Rob talking about Rene and his book.

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/mixtape/

Liz:

Alright Star Wars lovers, you all know that Darth Vadar is the sexy hunk of the series. Who wants the wimpy rebels when you could have the alpha male dark lord? Speaking of the dark side....

I'm sure this is the ONLY blog
that features Dick for
Valentine's Day.
You're welcome.

Nothing says "Baby, I love you!" like Dick Cheney, and I highly recommend The Dark Side by Jane Mayer. In order to understand the last decade of US foreign policy The Dark Side is a must read. Jane Mayer exposes policies and Constitutional....stretching perpetrated by Darth Cheney and his imperial army of lawyers and strategists. Here's how the wars were sold, here's how the concept of homeland security was exploited for political means, and here's how torture was rationalized. Here's how America became the evil empire even while attempting to combat violence.

My Valentine's Day plans, by the way, include wallowing in self-pity and throwing eggs at people walking into restaurants. Maybe I'll leave copies of The Dark Side on their windshields too.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 15

2012-02-09T23:29:00.001-06:00

[The post is late today because people are horrible, horrible drivers. You want road rage? Try driving over 160,000 miles in the last five years without so much as a ticket and yet always getting stuck behind you people and your stupid wrecks and rubber-necking. I'm bitter.]

Gianna:

Annie Proulx....
...needing moisturizer

Close Range: Wyoming Stories is one of my favoritecollections, and I hold even more affection for it than The Shipping News (whichProulx was awarded the Pulitzer and National Book Award). [Book nerd trivia: Close Range was a finalist for the Pulitzer.]

These stories are written with grace, precision, grittiness,and an incredibly keen sense of place. You may sit down with this collectionwith the intention of dipping in, reading just one story, but you willcontinue. You will dive into "Half Skinned Steer," "Job History," then "People inHell," and you won’t want to put the book down. A few hours later you will berewarded with the final story, one of the most beautiful love stories, mosttragic stories you will ever come across: "Brokeback Mountain."

You can purchase the full collection entitled Close Range,or you can opt for just "Brokeback Mountain," which Simon and Schuster publishedto coincide with the Ang Lee film.

[I don't know how to quit Gianna.]

Liz:

You know what writer never received enough love from US audiences? Beryl Bainbridge. Never heard of her? I rest my case. The Bottle Factory Outing was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Guardian Fiction Prize and it's...well, let's just say that it's my kind of book.

Inspired by the time that Bainbridge worked in a bottling factory after her divorce, The Bottle Factory Outing tells the story of Brenda and Freda, flatmates who work together at the factory. At the company picnic, Freda--the more outgoing of the two--hopes to make a love connection with her coworker Vittorio. She even had a dream about their future relationship. Brenda, on the other hand, is hoping just to avoid the company perv. The short novel takes place over the course of the afternoon of the picnic, and Freda's premonitions hold weight, but not in the way she hopes.

Love sucks. Love kills. Love this book.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 14

2012-02-08T20:26:00.002-06:00

The clock's ticking. I hope Gianna is getting me something really special for Valentine's Day.

Gianna:

Waiting by Ha Jin

Setin China in the early 1960’s, this beautiful novel spans twenty years. Armydoctor Lin Kong married the woman his family had arranged for him to marry. Shehas been a loyal wife, raised their daughter, and cared for his dying parents.But he does not love her; he never has. He loves Manna, and it is she who hedreams of marrying. On a trip home Lin asks his wife Shuyu for a divorce. Sheagrees but once they reach the courthouse, she refuses. This goes on for years. Lin asks for a divorce, she agrees, but then will not divorce him. All the whilehe is waiting to marry the love of his life and his dear friend Manna. [Gianna relates to this book because I keep refusing her advances year after year.]

Ha Jin

Finallya changing China passes a law making it legal to divorce a spouse if you havebeen separated for many years (I think in the book it's something like 18 years), and since he is rarely home due to the army he is granted a divorce. Heis finally done with the waiting and can be happy. I won’t tell you how thisNational Book Award winning (and Pen/Faulkner winning) story turns out, but it'sgood.

Ihighly recommend this novel, and you know what, you actually can’t go wrongwith Ha Jin in my opinion; he’s an amazing writer. His best books are Waiting, WarTrash (Pulitzer finalist and Pen Faulkner winner), The Bridegroom and A Free Life.

Liz:

Cracks by Sheila Kohler

I admit that I have a fondness for stories set in schools, from Dead Poets Society to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Special Topics in Calamity Physics. I think that the emotional incubator of the classroom amplifies tensions and relationships. Cracks is one of those books.

Cracks focuses on the specially selected group of girls at a boarding school in South Africa. They all maneuver for their coach Miss G's favor, but the balance of power shifts when the new girl, Fiamma, arrives at the school. Decades later, the girls of the swim team return to the school for a fundraising weekend....that is, the girls still alive disappear. Slowly the story of the one who disappeared begins to unravel. Girls can be evil. Excellent.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 13

2012-02-07T21:54:00.002-06:00

Gianna:

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

....

.......

............

.................

"Suck it Prop 8" - Ruth and Idgie

[True story: Gianna and I ate dinner together tonight since she was in Houston for some sales calls. We ordered dessert to go. When she dropped me off at my car, I realized that my slice of Italian cream cake was still in her car as she drove off. That crazed person honking and flashing her brights on Bissonnet at 8:34 pm tonight? That was a woman who loves her cream cheese frosting. It's good cake. Anyway, I am not going to comment on Gianna's entry for today. You can ask her about it if you want. In fact, I dare you to fill up our Facebook page with comments!]

Liz:

When I was in college I had to take four semesters of a foreign language. I chose German because my high school friend Jon was learning German and I like 20th Century history. It turned out that I really hated studying the language...perhaps because my German I and German IV professor was Turkish (German was her second language, English her third) and every time she was tired or had a cold she'd slip into Turkish. I never knew what the hell she was saying. One semester we were given a passage from a story to translate to English. I spent all weekend trying to make some sense out of the thing. There was a guy and he was sitting at a door and he couldn't go through the door and what the hell? Anyway, the next semester, for a world literature class, I read Kafka's The Trial.

Kafka has a place among the greats of world literature, but this is the guy who also wrote about a man transforming into a roach. Love story? Not so much. On the other hand, if you really want to confound your lover, give him/her The Trial (and if you secretly hate your lover, give a copy in German).

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 12

2012-02-06T20:42:00.001-06:00

Gianna:

In Evening by Susan Minot, sixty-five year old Ann Grant only has weeks to live.Surrounded by family, she begins to talk about her life, crisscrossing the yearsfrom her childhood, to her three unsatisfactory marriages, to the death of herson.

Susan Minot

She is perceived by friends to be extraordinarily private, incomplete control of her life, and perhaps even a little cold. Ann begins todescribe a passionate (but ultimately doomed) affair when she was twenty-five, a weekend that ends in tragedy and changes her life forever yet she considersthese to be the happiest of her life and where she found the only true love shehas known.

This is my favorite of Minot’s books; it is in my opinionthe most complete work of fiction she has done to date. Speaking of which, thiswoman needs to write another book. It’s been forever since her short novelRapture.

Liz:

If I were to name my all time favorite books--and I'm sure that I have somewhere in this blog in the last six months, I would always, always pick Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway in the top tier. I don't know why, exactly, but this book spoke to me. It's beautifully written, and it's also full of longing and what-might-have-beens. I love this book, but it is most definitely not a love story in the traditional sense.

I also liked the movie version
of Mrs. Dalloway.

Clarissa Dalloway is going to throw a party, and she's going to buy the flowers herself. She spends the day planning her party and reminiscing about the young woman she once was and the loves of her life that she turned from in order to marry the steadier Richard Dalloway. She chose the businessman over the artist, over the unconventional girl/girl relationship. As she plans her party, Clarissa begins to believe that a failed party will signal the failure of her life, and that perhaps she should end it.

Interwoven with Clarissa's day is one for Septimus, a World War I veteran who cannot shake the post-traumatic stress he developed when he saw his friend killed, when he saw hundreds of soldiers die in the trenches. Septimus is facing commitment, and he too faces his own mortality.

Mrs. Dalloway is an amazing book. I love this book. Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like a book about contemplated suicides and fractured lives, right?

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 11

2012-02-05T16:32:00.002-06:00

Gianna:

When my Princess Lizzy wants a Bronte on the list, shegets it (unlike when she doesn't want an Austen on the list). She is the Catherineto my Heathcliff, the Agnes to my Grey (can't recall anything specific aboutthis novel), the Jane to my Rochester, and the Mr. Darcy to my...

wait...(nerd joke).

Tough choice picking a favorite Bronte novel, it's likechoosing my favorite infomercial. Actually, that's pretty easy; The Magic Bullet.I wish we could all get together and watch it on the big screen. [Huh. I had you pegged as a fan of the Shake Weight.]

Charlotte, 19th Century Babe

I could take Anne out of the picture (Oh, I am back to theBronte gals) because she died so young, but then again that could also shoother straight to the top of the list. I also should point out that I am going tobase very little of this on actual literary merit...or at all. Now Charlottewas a cold stone fox so if I were to judge by looks--and let's be honest,everything should be--she would be number one. Emily was incredibly anti-socialand when it comes to anti-social ladies I am powerless...if only she were ahopeless drunk, she would be a shoe-in for first place. Nothing like a shut-inboozer. [It's why Gianna loves me.]

Agnes Grey, Wuthering Heights, or Jane Eyre. I read AgnesGrey so long ago that I can't recollect what it's about besides old-timeybabysitting...or was it homeschooling? Anyway, it's out. Jane Eyre is effing JaneEyre so it's the the winner right? No, because you know what Wuthering Heightshas that Jane Eyre doesn't? A cool song named after it.

Yep, that settlesit. Wuthering Heights wins best/romantic Bronte novels. Oh, and plus it's thenovel most like The Ghost Whisperer!

[This whole entry makes my head ache.]

Liz:

What's more romantic than a Greek classic? How about the updated version. Riffing on Oedipus Rex, David Guterson's retelling is dark, funny, and even though you sort of know what's going to happen, are you going to tell me that you're going to stop reading BEFORE the main character kills his daddy and sleeps with his mommy? You're just not...and if you are, perhaps you're reading the wrong blog.

Ed King is indeed a retelling of the Sophocles classic. Ed is basically a Bill Gates character, but his life is derailed when his father dies in a car wreck and then, well, he marries his mom. And yes, they consummate that marriage. Your valentine will love you for thinking of him/her when you think of this book.

(I really think I've missed the point of this love book theme.)

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 10

2012-02-04T19:52:00.003-06:00

Gianna:

Do I seem like an Austen fan? Well, try to adjust becauseI really am. Mansfield Park, Emma, and her last complete work Persuasion areamong my favorites. Austen began work on Persuasion when she knew she was ill.It's shorter than her previous books (and presumably written very quickly), andarguably her most romantic book.

Everyman's Library has lovely hardcover editions of Austen's work, which should make the list for an excellent Valentine's gift for your naked book lover...if all goeswell.

Liz:

First, I can't stand Jane Austen.

Moving on.

Since Gianna chose a classic today, so will I. An American Tragedy is Theodore Dreiser's greatest achievement and a perfect example of the naturalism period in American literature. Drawing from his journalism background, Dreiser used a real case as inspiration for his novel.

Clyde is a young man with great ambitions. He grew up with poor, religious zealot parents, but chooses to turn his back on his upbringing and pursue the American dream--upward mobility through work. Clyde finds himself a job as a foreman in a textile factory in New York, where he supervises the girls who sew shirts. He pursues a worker named Roberta and she agrees to sleep with him so that he won't betray her (their relationship, of course, is against company rules). When people have sex, they can get pregnant. Clyde won't marry Roberta because she's poor and would interfere with his desire for wealth and status. So he drowns her. And then he's sentences to the electric chair. God, I love this book.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 9

2012-02-03T18:09:00.001-06:00

Gianna:

No list of romance is quite complete without a little JoniMitchell. I was going to offer a short clip of myself doing a Jonimedley…nothing too jazzy, just the hits...when it was pointed out to me thatRandom House had actually published her complete poems and lyrics and singingwouldn’t be necessary. My first thought was, well actually when you havepipes like mine, singing is necessary. I can’t not sing. Those of youwho are also blessed with the gift know what I mean.

Joni Mitchell is the greatest songwriter of her generation.What? Are you kidding me? What about Dylan, what about Lennon/McCartney? Whatabout Randy “Short People” Newman? Well to that I say; second, third andfourth.

You want a little romance, a little sex, and a littlesadness? "Blue." It’s all in there. Its Mitchell’s most personal, mostaccessible, and most heartbreaking. You want more, pick up Joni Mitchell: TheComplete Poems and Lyrics. Call me; we can sit on the phone and cry.

Link to a great interview with Morrissey and Joni

http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=678&from=search

(I have a signed print of her self portrait hanging in my living room by the way.)

Liz:

Oh Precious. It's so hard to be you.

What's an (anti) Valentine's Day list of books without Push by Sapphire, the basis for the award-winning movie Precious? Precious is morbidly obese. Precious is illiterate. Precious is pregnant with her second child and the father of both children happens to be Precious's father too. Precious's mother is pretty much the embodiment of evil. Precious's first child was born with Down Syndrome. Still, amid the misery, there remains a glimmer of hope for this down-and-out inner city girl who's never had a break in her life. After being thrown out of her school for being pregnant, she's enrolled in a special school and discovers a world of friends, books, and a teacher who cares about her. She learns to read and she learns to write her story. And then she finds out that her rapist father gave her AIDS too.

What I'm neglecting to mention here, though, is that Push is beautifully written, and though the story is bleak, it is ultimately a story of survival and hope. Of love. Of strength. I liked the movie too.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 8

2012-02-02T18:30:00.000-06:00

Gianna:

The Lover

Marguerite Duras

I’ve noticed that many of our “romantic” books are actually very sad or even devastating books. I would like to continue that trend with today’s choice of The Lover by Marguerite Duras.

This is a “fictional memoir;" I don’t know if the reason it's “fiction” is a legal issue or if Marguerite had some memory lapses when recalling her youth. Doesn’t matter--it’s a beautiful book. The writing is absolutely stunning, told not in chronological order but almost in a dream state. The book is just over 100 pages; you’ll read it in one sitting.

Indochina, the last months of France’s colonial empire, Duras recalls her life growing up in Saigon, poor, living in an abusive home. She discovers the power of desire, or more appropriately, of being desired, at an early age. She writes of her passionate and volatile affair with a wealthy Chinese man in his mid-twenties while she was just fifteen. She is detached and even cruel throughout the affair. He is kind, helps provide for her family (although it is clear to him that she does not love him), and falls in love. It isn’t until years later that Duras realizes her feeling for this man (who goes unnamed in this book, by the way), and that is where the book actually begins. It's not as scandalous as it sounds...well, it is somewhat scandalous but it's an incredibly well-written love story.

Liz:

Okay, fine. I admit it. I'm single, I'm cantankerous, and I pretty much hate happy people. I think babies are, as a rule, ugly. All those convicts that Gianna tries to recruit for the Date a Liz Before Death Row campaign are probably smart in turning down such an opportunity. No one wants to rub my feet.

I'm going to pretend that I'm like you people and actually pick a love book that is neither creepy nor involving acts that are felonies in most states. Every now and then I catch a virus and sniff a whiff of compassion for all of you people, and that must have been what happened when I read One Day by David Nicholls. One Day is charming--the love story of Dex and Emma following 20 years of their lives, one chapter for each year on July 15th. They are friends, estranged acquaintances, pals in relationships with others, and then soul mates. One Day is moving, funny, and full of compassion. This book tells a wonderful love story, but one that still resonates with people who are normally too cool to read love stories (looking at you, Nick Hornby hipster kids). For a brief moment my heart grew three sizes....and then I went back and reread Hitler's Willing Executioners. I'm back to hating people again. And I'm still single.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 7

2012-02-01T20:53:00.003-06:00

Gianna:

Written on the Body

You want sexy, we’ll give you sexy. If there is one thing you know about me and Liz…we know sexy. [Actually, since I wrote about bestiality yesterday, I'm not claiming any expertise on this subject.] We also know lazy [now that is true], so for today’s romantic valentine we offer a previous snippet on a book we both love, Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson

If you are like me and the thought of reading a love story has always made you cringe a bit, give this a read. This one sneaks up on you. You don’t realize it until you’ve finished, but you’ve just read a very sexy, beautiful, simple, love story. It’s also heartbreaking, so gentlemen get your hankies out. [Is that what the boys are calling them these days?]

It is everything I love in a novel. It is intense, passionate, lyrical, fresh, and doesn’t have a sliver of cliché.
It is the book I go to when I just need a quick fix of something less ordinary. [Yep, we all know that last sentence is a euphemism, right?]

Written on the Body is the story of an affair between a married woman and an unnamed narrator. We don’t know if the narrator is male or female, but in the end it does not really matter. The book is a gorgeous and original meditation on love.

Liz:

You know how some books and movies take classic Shakespeare and riff on the plots, like Shakespeare in Love and Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead? Let's talk about John Fowles and The Collector. This novel takes characters based on those in The Tempest, specifically Caliban and Miranda. A deranged man goes from collecting butterflies to, well, collecting the woman of his dreams, his Miranda. He is a Caliban--brutal, incapable of empathy, and monstrous. He reduces his victim to the equivalent of a pin-up through horrifying psychological abuse. The Collector is one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. Naturally I loved it.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 6

2012-01-31T20:56:00.002-06:00

Gianna:

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

I think I speak for everyone when I say, “You ain’t been in love until you’ve been in love with a Republican!” Especially if you’re a Democrat, am I right ladies? There’s got to be an ex-Gingrich or three that knows what I’m talking about! [Don't look at me.]

Curtis Sittenfeld

Alice’s life changes at the age of seventeen when she is involved in a fatal car accident. She becomes a serious, bookish (a librarian actually), quiet woman. When she meets Ivy Leaguer Charlie Blackwell from a prominent wealthy Texas--geesh--Wisconsin family she isn’t impressed. He’s self-centered, juvenile, not as smart as she is, and he likes the ladies and to party. Also, she’s a Democrat and he is a Republican on the political fast track. But alas, she becomes smitten with Charlie; he is, after all, charming, and handsome, and they have some major chemistry (yeah, you’ll picture George and Laura, but try to get over it). When his career catapults him to the Presidency and some of his policies become unpopular (two wars and reproductive rights), Alice must make a choice. Does she continue to stay in the background and let people assume she too agrees with her husband’s policies, or does she speak out? And can the marriage survive if she publicly disagrees with her husband while he is vulnerable?

I found this an incredibly interesting idea given the political differences between George and Laura Bush. Laura came out in favor of gay marriage and pro choice after Bush left office, but you know…those two kids are doing all right.

Liz:

Get cozy and flip on the Celine Dion soundtrack, this book is going to put you in the mood for...something. Once again I am going to discuss a book that is now, sadly, out of print. It's just wrong. If you read this crappy little blog at all, you know that A. I love books, and B. I love Canada, and C. I love a violent animal. Zorro is a cat, of course. Let's talk bears.

Stick with me here. Bear by Marian Engel won Canada's Governor-General's Award and Margaret Atwood called it "a strange and wonderful book." It's legitimately good literary fiction. Here's the premise: a librarian, a lonely, timid woman, takes a job cataloging the library of the deceased Colonel Cary. He lived on a remote island in the northern woods of Canada, and soon the librarian discovers that among his secrets is a pet bear. The bear, she decides, will make good company. She talks to the bear the way that she's never been able to talk to other people. The bear becomes a pet...and then more of a companion as she becomes more isolated. And then, well, yeah, it goes there. Things I learned from Bear: 1. Don't have sex with bears. 2. Bears have bones in their boners. 3. You are NEVER so lonely that bestiality is a good idea. 4. A bookstore will go a full year without selling a copy, and as soon as you put up a staff selection saying that a woman sleeps with a bear, you'll sell out in a week.

Did I mention that Bear is an award-winning work of literary fiction? I just thought I should state that again. Also, who would have bet that I brought up the animal fornication before Gianna? Anyone?

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 5

2012-01-30T23:09:00.000-06:00

Gianna:

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand may very well be the most romantic, in the best and purest sense of the word, book that you’ve read in years. This novel will take you by surprise; it will steal your heart. Unless of course you have a heart of stone like a woman I know, I won’t say her name but it rhymes with Liz Sullivan.

Brace yourself because you are going to fall a little bit in love with retired Major Ernest Pettigrew. [Says you.] I know, you never thought you could feel this way about an older man, especially one named Ernest. Call him Ernie if it helps because honey I am telling you it's done, you’re going to love him. [Nope. Not capable.] He is completely old school, he is very opinionated, and he is beyond modest in his lifestyle. He is the quintessential proper Englishman. [Like Christian Bale? Hmmm....] Pettigrew lives a quiet life in a picturesque village located in the English countryside, recently widowed and with a son who seems to have little time for his aging father. Pettigrew spends most of his time alone until the day when he meets a beautiful Pakistani shopkeeper from their village named Jasmina (also a widow). Both, still nursing the loss of a spouse, find that their love of literature and all things proper gives them comfort and unexpectedly puts them on a course of friendship and love.

Helen Simonson’s writing is flawless, and, while not stealing from classics, it certainly has the feel of being written long ago. I highly recommend Pettigrew for your book group or a romantic getaway…just you, a young masseuse, a barrel of wine, and Major Pettigrew. [Like Liz and Clive Owen. Mmmm....Clivey Poo....]

Liz:

Let's talk about loving oneself. Gianna can tell you all about self love. It's important for a modern woman. Sadly, the book of female empowerment about which I write is currently out of print, but I encourage everyone to find a used copy. The book? Dirty Weekend by Helen Zahavi.

Our protagonist, Bella, is a woman beaten down by society. She is a victim living in constant terror. A man starts threatening her basically because he can, and then finally one day Bella wakes up and decides that she's had enough. She rides her wave of newly discovered self-love to a quite impressive killing spree. Mess with Bella? Bella's going to mess with you. Victimize women? Get ready to die. Act like a jerk? You better make amends with your god. Fail to satisfy your mate in the boudoir? That Viagra isn't going to resuscitate you. Sorry.

Helen Zahavi wrote the delightfully rage-driven Dirty Weekend as a response to the misogyny of American Psycho. It's a hoot, and it provides context for what could drive a woman over the edge. This is my kind of serial killer. (In related news, yes, I am still single.)

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 4

2012-01-29T21:11:00.002-06:00

Gianna:

I think thatif you are making a list of romantic books, as devastating as she can be, youmust include at least one Amy Bloom book. My Amy Bloom book is the epic tale Away.

Amy Bloom

LillianLeyb’s parents, husband, and presumably her three-year-old daughter Sophie werebrutally killed in Russia. Lillian escapes from Russia to New York in 1924where she finds work as a seamstress in a Yiddish theatre. She soonbecomes lovers with the lead actor of the troupe and his powerful father. Afterwhispers that her daughter may still be alive and living in Russia, Lillianbegins planning her trip back home. With little help, she begins an epic journeyacross the country: a train to Chicago, then to Washington, culminating withher walk across the Alaskan wilderness to find her daughter. This novel isincredibly rich with full three-dimensional characters that you won’t be ableto forget. Away is one of the most powerful, well-written novels I have read, yetcompletely accessible. This novel may not be romantic in a Valentine sort ofway, but trust me, it is romantic in a bold way.

Side note: Awaywas inspired by Lillian Alling who attempted to walk home to Russia from NewYork in 1927.

Liz:

Ah, Cormac McCarthy. No one tells a love story quite like you. You're a modern Jane Austen. Who else could take a story of the bleakest post-apocalyptic world ever written and turn it into a love story? The Road is full of beautiful writing, charming scenery like that basement full of half-dead zombie people, passionate interactions with roving bands of humans who love romantic dinners of humans (mmm....cannabalism....), and the most wonderful ode to a soda ever written. Trust me, this novel is great. At its center are a father and son walking along a road with only a gun and two bullets to save them from true horrors. In spite of the bleak setting, The Road actually really is an uplifting story of parental love...even if you'll want to use that last bullet on yourself after reading it, it's just that upbeat.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 3

2012-01-28T19:35:00.000-06:00

Gianna:

Rita Mae Brown

This one goes out to theladies. More specifically to the ladies who love ladies. Even more specificallyto the ladies who love ladies who love to read about ladies loving ladies.Actually... dudes may like this as well.
Oh Rita Mae Rita Mae...how you saved my sixteen year old ass with this book.Rubyfruit Jungle was Rita Mae Brown's "It Gets Better" message to me. Molly Boltis adopted by a poor southern couple who aren't so keen on their unapologetic,smart ass, athletic daughter who also beats up boys. In high school, Mollydated a hot cheerleader and then was thrown out of college for terrible morals (ohbut man oh man what a way to get kicked out). Molly eventually moves toNew York and you know how it goes...it gets better. She dates many lovelyladies, pursues a film career and meets other 'mos along the way. Yeah, it go alot better. Oh, and she never becomes a Yankees fan so this novel is safe toread.

Great gift for your obviously gay daughter. Just give in, Ellen is makingeveryone gay and there is nothing you can do about it.

Liz:

One of my all-time favorite writers is Joyce Carol Oates, and one of my all-time favorite books from the prolific Ms. Oates is We Were the Mulvaneys. Oates is known for exposing the American dream and its shortcomings, often violently. She is a dark writer, but she also writes with great emotion. Many of her books are contemporary masterpieces, most are also entertaining, and if there were any justice she'd win a Nobel Prize for her many contributions to the American literary canon. But let's talk about the Mulvaneys.

Joyce Carol Oates

We Were the Mulvaneys actually starts with the All-American family--loving parents and three kids living on a bucolic farm as the kids attend high school, the boys playing football or graduating as valedictorian, and the daughter, Marianne, becoming a popular cheerleader. They are a family who love each other, would do anything for each other. And then, on prom night, Marianne is assaulted.

The novel is narrated by the adult youngest child, Judd, as he tries to piece together how his loving family disintegrated into lonely, lost souls. Marianne is sent away because her father can't overcome the horror of what happened to her. She takes her beloved cat, her only companion from the life she used to live. Throughout, she longs for the family she once knew even as she manages to find a sort of peace and resolution. The farm is gone, the Mulvaneys scattered, but once, once they were a family.

Days of Love...and Lack Thereof, Day 2

2012-01-27T19:36:00.000-06:00

Gianna:

[Gianna is so filled with love that she picked two books today. Me? I'm so full of gas that I decided to pass on the refried beans for dinner.]

Maryand O’Neil

Justas one would suspect of Justin Cronin, bestselling author of post-apocalypticnovel The Passage, he once wrote a love story. In fact, it’s a really wonderfullove story with exactly zero vampires (although the body count is moderate).

Maryand O’Neil is a thoughtful book about finding love and solace when you leastexpect it. At times these interlinked stories can be heartbreaking, at other timessweet and funny. You come to realize pretty quickly that Mary and O’Neil arepeople you probably know, each nursing private hurt and tragedy. O’Neil hasnever really gotten over the sudden death of his parents and Mary has yet tocompletely heal from a pregnancy she chose to end years before. These twoteachers meet while working at the same school when they are in their mid-thirties, never thinking that they had yet to find the love of their lives.Cronin flawlessly weaves these stories together, slowly revealing each of theirpast lives.

Vaclav& Lena

Ihave written about this excellent book a couple of times; it made my Top 10 of2011 where I believe I described it as a perfect love story. I am sticking bythat statement. Non-asinine love stories are really hard to find, and thistruly heartwarming story of two immigrant Russian children will be hard to topAND it's available in paperback Feb 7th.

Both Mary and O’Neil andVaclav & Lena are couples you won’t soon forget. They will make you believein love again. Or make you believe that a romantic book doesn’t have to besilly.

Liz:

Many authors are plumbing the horrors of suburbia in their fiction. Jonathan Franzen was featured on the cover of Time for his efforts on the subject. One of the best books on the subject, and one of the best reads of the 20th Century, is Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road. You know what's romantic? Reading this book (or watching the intense and unsettling movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) while pregnant. No, I'm not and never have been pregnant, but I've heard it can mess with an expectant parent's head. I'm all in favor.

Revolutionary Road is the story of a couple in love, a couple with dreams of returning to Europe, of writing, of living Bohemian lives in the manner of the Lost Generation. And then Frank, the husband, discovers that he's not as apathetic about his office job as he thought. He and April, his wife, buy their house in the suburbs on Revolutionary Road and betray their dreams and each other. This novel is a masterpiece--if you like Mad Men I absolutely guarantee you'll like this book--and it's a chilling unraveling of a fairy tale relationship after April discovers she's pregnant.

Days of Love...And Lack Thereof, Day 1

2012-01-26T22:34:00.002-06:00

Gianna:

Men are hard to find. I’ve been looking for a good man (a good enough man) for my pal Liz for over two years now. Yeah, men are hard to find. And then once you have them, you got to hold on to their asses! They are forever wanting to get out and about and when they are out of the house, how do you know where they are…or when they’re coming back? Hard to find, hard to keep, hard to keep track of, hard to live with, the list goes on. I’ve said it before, ladies--I have the solution: dudes in lockup. Easy to find, easy to keep, and you don’t have to worry about anyone missing the bowl…let that be his cellmate’s problem. As you can read here, my efforts on Liz’s behalf have been exhaustive, but she isn’t having it. [More exhausting than exhaustive.] You know who is having it though? Bridget Kinsella.

Bridget Kinsella

Visiting Life by literary agent Bridget Kinsella tells the stories of women who love (and some who marry) men in prison, her own story included. It’s a truly original book. Kinsella was urged by a writer who taught a class at Pelican Bay to read some writing done by one of his students named Rory. Kinsella was blown away by what she read. Soon she found herself frequently corresponding with him, then visiting him, and eventually falling in love with him. The best parts of the book, however, are other women’s stories. The women are open and generous, and perhaps cherish an opportunity to talk.

I wanted to include Visiting Life on my list because it is filled with love stories from a sub culture that mostly goes unnoticed, but they are love stories nonetheless.

Liz:

And from the other side of the spectrum:

What could be a better Valentine's Day read than a book about a wedding night than can be (and should be) read in one sitting? A couple so in love, a couple who have their dream wedding, a couple who take their honeymoon On Chesil Beach....

Ian McEwan's taut novella is amazingly good. On Chesil Beach is basically the story of two innocent newlyweds in the 60's before, shall we say, test drives were the norm. They are new to the bliss of carnality and, well, let's just say that the honeymoon doesn't go well. It goes so unwell, in fact, that (SPOILER!) it basically ends the marriage. It's an uncomfortable read with an extra helping of awkwardness, but McEwan masterfully captures an era and the heartbreak of fairy tales destroyed by reality. Read it to your potential lovers, or your kids, or whatever. Just read it.

Introducing Love, Liz and Gianna Style

2012-01-25T23:52:00.001-06:00

If you’ve ever met Liz or me (especially Liz), the thing youget right away – the vibe – is that we believe in love, we believe in romance,and we believe in soul mates. [Gianna also believes the children are the future, but I do not.] We ooze love (the good kind); it can’t be deniedand we can’t help it. If we weren’t publishing sales reps, we would probably bematchmakers or prostitutes. [Do prostitutes live like crazy cat ladies?] We know romance is all I am saying. Candles, roses,wine, The Notebook, long walks on the beach, Penthouse Letters VI, Sex and theCity 2, WWE Raw, Nights in Rodanthe, and of course syphilis. [I know my brain is rotting just reading this post.]

People looked to us after the Seal/Heidi breakup 36 hoursago in order to restore their faith in love, marriage, and Project Runway.While we can’t help you with Project Runway [Go Mondo!], we promise we can rebuild yourbelief in love. That’s right--while certain people are trying to ruin theholiest of holidays (looking at you Ashton), we will bring back the sanctity anddignity of Valentine’s Day. [I put the saint in St. Valentine's Day.]

We offer you 21 Days of Love, or Lack Thereof…a romanticbook a day for 21 days. We launch this Love Boat tomorrow!

A Day in the Life of a Sales Rep

2012-01-24T19:44:00.000-06:00

Generally there's a perception that publishing sales reps sit around reading books all day and then occasionally visit a store and possibly hang out with an author (or else people think we're frantically hunting for a different career, but self-preservation isn't a common trait in the book business). I (Liz) decided that I'd keep a record of my day today, a fairly typical day in many respects. I think it's worth noting now that after I finish typing this blog piece, I'm returning to work. I have a meeting and flight tomorrow and I'm not yet prepared for either. Here we go.

6:29 AM--Get up and check email. Look at the orders that came in yesterday.
6:35 AM--Tub time! I love my bath. A long soak is necessary to A) keep up with my reading, and B) avoid killing anyone during the day.
7:45 AM--Ponder schedule and debate wardrobe. End up in jeans and a t-shirt. Again. I class it up a bit in case Gianna calls; she usually asks if I'm wearing a bra. I don't like to lie.

Zorro likes to sleep in.

8:00 AM--Stare at Shelf Awareness, the daily industry e-newsletter. Amazon is opening a new warehouse in South Carolina. Same state that voted for Newt. And seceded. Something to contemplate.
8:05 AM--Check Twitter and Facebook. Retweet some stuff. Try to think of something witty and original. It's not happening.
8:10 AM--Check the blog stats. Wonder why people choose our blog to cure their insomnia. Decide they are probably all British. Hellooooo Brits!
8:12 AM--There are 305 messages in my inbox. Decide that's acceptable. Read a few. Delete and file others.
8: 34 AM--Look at calendar again. One appointment in the afternoon. Must prepare for appointment and flight tomorrow. Must prepare for week-long trip next week. Contemplate returning to the tub for another soak.
8:37 AM--iTunes shuffle plays "You'll Never Walk Alone." I realize that my life is sad. Zorro, by the way, is still in bed.
8:38 AM--Begin working on creating suggested orders in Edelweiss, the electronic catalog system Random House is adopting.
9:28 AM--Realize I haven't eaten breakfast. Lizzie needs her Diet Coke.
9:49 AM--Place the order I took at my appointment yesterday afternoon.
10:15 AM--Answer more emails.
10:30 AM--Book a presentation at a high school parents meeting in May.
10:55 AM--My progress on my Edelweiss orders is derailed by an account needing tracking on orders.
11:28 AM--Phone call from the boss. Zorro is still in bed.
11:30 AM--Place another order.
11:49 AM--More email, and finally returning to my Edelweiss catalogs.

I'm just like the real Dr. Laura,
but without the racial slurs and
misogyny!

11:53 AM--Going cross-eyed, I ask my Talking Dr. Laura doll for advice. Talking Dr. Laura says "A good man will swim through shark-infested waters to bring you a lemonade." Why the hell would I want lemonade? If I were in shark-infested waters, I think I'd want, obviously, a bigger boat.
12:41 PM--Zorro emerges, eats, poops, waddles to his chair, goes to sleep.
1:14 PM--Lunch. Today it's peanut butter (no jelly) on toast, barbecue potato chips, Diet Coke. Zorro thinks that he wants peanut butter, claws me, then decides it's not chicken and goes back to sleep.
1:58 PM--Inbox is up to 349 items. I'm losing the battle.
2:03 PM--"Creep" is on iTunes. I'm so fucking special.
2:09 PM--And now "The Rainbow Connection" is playing on iTunes. It's also time to prepare for my meeting at 2:30.
3:56 PM--Finished with phone appointment. I haven't even started preparing for my trip tomorrow. Zorro has requisitioned my lap.
4:52 PM--Finish my fourth suggested order of the day on Edelweiss. 379 messages in my inbox.
5:47 PM--Computer system I need isn't working. I'm improvising...by inventing new profanities. Email count: 397.

Zorro...since 1:14 PM

5:56 PM--Gianna sends me an idea for the blog. We think it'll be funny. It starts on Thursday.
6:31 PM--Dinner. Talking Dr. Laura says, "Be the kind of person YOU'D like to come home to everyday." Maybe this is why I'm single.
6:49 PM--Oooh! Law & Order: SVU marathon. Back to work.
7:21 PM--Right. I was going to update the blog before the State of the Union. Talking Dr. Laura and I will be remarking upon the speech. She says, "What magic do you think is going to transform your life without your participation?" I take this to mean that I should start playing the lottery again.
7:43 PM--Posting blog. Back to work. The inventor of Excel should be shot.

Generally Horrible Questions: Charley Carroll

2012-01-19T21:03:00.001-06:00

CharleyCarroll is the Community Relations Manager at the Barnes & Noble in theArboretum in Ausitn, Texas. Also, and more importantly, she is someonereally good to know around Texas Book Festival time.

When you first meet Charley (or someone like her), youimmediately realize how very uncool you are. Now granted, Liz and I have cometo terms with our un-coolness (Liz simply refuses to get even one tattoo so, youknow, it doesn’t help). [In spite of the fact that Gianna has no way of actually confirming that I have no tattoos, she's right--not into the mutilation here.] And then you get to know this very cool person and sheturns out to also be incredibly smart and over the moon sweet. This, of course, makes you realize that, you know, maybe you're sort of dumb and you are definitelynot nice. [Definitely not nice.] We wanted to profile Charley because she makes us feel terrible about whowe are, and we really think that knowing that will make her feel bad too. Sotake that Charley! Not so cool now are you? Wait…does that make you even cooler? [I'm so uncool that I don't understand any of this paragraph.]

Generally Horrible Questions: Charley Carroll

1. How did you get into the bookselling game?
When I walked into my first bookstore (ever!) and submitted an application at the ripe old age of 18. I started two days later. [So....high standards there? I (Liz) am just bitter because obviously Gianna thinks you're cooler than I am. Humph.]

2. What are your three desert island books?
a. Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants
b. The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
c. SAS Survival Handbook, Revised Edition: For Any Climate, in Any Situation

3. What are you currently reading?
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb (thanks to Gianna’s top 10 list) and Buddhism: Plain and Simple

4. What is the best part of your job?
That would be my position on the Texas Book Festival author selection committee!

5. I’ve never seen (any) Star Wars movies and I am so ashamed…or am I? [That makes two of us that haven’t seen them, and let’s keep it that way - Gianna]

Charley and hunk.

6. Percent of people who think you are a dude before they meet you?
94.7%…but only 52.1% admit it. [Odd, but those are the same exact percentages that think Gianna is a dude AFTER meeting her.]

7. Hottest author that you’ve ever met?
The guy on the cover of Kresley Cole’s newest book…he signed my book so I will consider him an author.

8. What book or books changed your life?
The Big-Ass Book of Crafts; The Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2 [I guess it took us up until this exact moment to really believe that cool people do craft…]

9. Liz or Gianna?
No, I have not read that book yet. Can you get me a free copy? [Gianna: it’s a picture book, and yes.] [Liz: Seriously? The answer is ALWAYS 'Liz.' Always.]

10. I wanted to be a rainbow when I grew up. [This answer gets you one ass beating from Gianna.]

11. Which author would you most want to land a book signing with?
Hunter S. Thompson (RIP) on his Hell’s Angels tour [This must have been after you realized you couldn’t be a rainbow.]

12. Book you are hand selling the most right now?
The book in my hand the most is The Hunger Games because people will NOT stop asking for it…I like to hand sell any Patrick Rothfuss books when I can.

Charley and her angels

13. All time favorite book?
Really?! No. [Hmmm…guess you aren’t a sucker.]

14. Favorite book to movie?
The Bee Season

15. Charlie Chaplin, Charlie’s Angels, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie Sheen or a Charlie Horse?
Me with my Angels: Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell [HOT!]

Book Group Picks to Kick Off 2012

2012-01-17T19:44:00.001-06:00

Now that we've shaken off the holiday season, it's time to grudgingly associate with acquaintances while pretending to care about their children and drinking lots and lots of wine, all under the pretense of reading the same books together. I think if Gianna and I had a book group and I got to name it, I'd call it "Dear God I Resent You People." In other news, yes, I'm still single. Still, we love the idea of book groups because we love the idea of people buying and reading books. We want to stay employed. Here are some of our top book group picks, new or coming out soon in paperback, for the first three months of 2012.

Gianna's Picks:

The Tiger’sWife by Tea Obreht

RandomHouse

Paperbackout now

Forthose keeping track, this is the 147^th time that either Liz or I haveblogged about this book. That is only one fewer than Let’s Take the Long WayHome (which is also an excellent book group choice). The Tiger’s Wife istextured, compelling, mystical, and multi-dimensional. It is a heartfelt workof serious literary fiction that only comes around once every few years. I’vesaid this before, but Tiger’s Wife will be read for generations. I would saythat if you are in a book group that truly cherishes literature, this is amust.

OpenCity by Teju Cole

RandomHouse

1/17/12

Thisabsolutely stunning work by Teju Cole has several built-in discussions/themesfor book groups: the Holocaust, slavery, 9/11, genocide, and the invasion ofIraq are a few that will keep the discussion going late into the evening…so, youknow, bring extra wine.

Blood,Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

RandomHouse

1/24/12

Blood,Bones, and Butter is quite simply one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read, whileofficially it may actually be a food memoir. Memoirs can be very hit or missfor book clubs, but I would put this in the hit column. The writing is as fine asanything you will read. I would compare it to All Over but the Shoutin’ by RickBragg, or Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl (a huge book club favorite).

Dreamsof Joy by Lisa See

RandomHouse

2/1/12

Iwanted to include a really good yet more commercial book on my list and LisaSee immediately came to mind. She brings timeless themes to every book: belonging, love, family (particularly sisters and mothers and daughters), andwhat it means to belong. Dreams of Joy is an outstanding sequel to ShanghaiGirl; I highly recommend both books for clubs.

Welcometo Utopia by Karen Valby

Universityof Texas Press

3/1/12

Oh, how I love this book. I’ve read it three times and each time I find something new,something meaningful, something to hold on to. While the story of a small townin Texas, this small marvel of a book could have been nearly anywhere in thiscountry. Themes are numerous and include: race, war, gender, family, change,the impact of pop culture, and what it means to live in a small American town.Utopia is a mix of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Last Picture Show. That’s abig statement, I am standing by it, and you know where I live. Okay, if youactually know where I live that’s sort of creepy, but you know what I mean. [I'll send you Gianna's address for cash.]

Liz's Picks

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Random House

Paperback available now

Who doesn't love a good, creepy ghost story that echoes classics like Rebecca? Who doesn't want to see the Harry Potter kid's new movie? The Woman in Black is a chilling read that has the added bonus of being Daniel Radcliffe's first starring film role since he went wizard. Here's a great opportunity to read the book and then see the movie as a group.

Snowdrops by A.D. Miller

Random House

2/7/12

The surprise Booker Prize finalist offers lots of discussion material for groups. Modern Russia, dishonest women, the mob, the black market, bodies in the snow--this isn't your mama's book group pick. It's a contemporary con novel and rumination on truth in a country where everything is relative.

House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard

Random House

2/14/12

I'm actually a fan of the idea of memoirs for book group picks. The added reality of a true story adds another level to the conversation, and House of Prayer No. 2 offers lots. Mark Richard grew up with physical problems that had him relegated to hospitals and special needs schools even though he was plenty smart. He also was a wayward youth searching for purpose who spent time working as a fisherman, painting houses, and loafing. How he became a writer's writer is a story worth reading.

Chinaberry Sidewalks by Rodney Crowell

Random House

3/13/12

I think I've mentioned this book almost as much as Gianna has written about The Tiger's Wife. It's my favorite non-fiction book of 2011, a spellbinding, beautifully written memoir of growing up in a low income family in Houston in the 50's. Crowell has the ability to bring humor and love to a story that's also full of hardship and violence and kooky religious fundamentalism. He writes like a poet. I love this book.

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Random House

3/20/12

I've written previously about this slender novel as well. The Buddha in the Attic was deservedly nominated for the National Book Award last year. It's the story of the women who came to the US as mail order brides to Japanese immigrants. It details culture shock, struggle, and perseverance in the years between the turn of the century and the start of World War II. The writing is impeccable and because there is no one protagonist, the structure itself adds to a discussion. And it's really, really good. Trust me.

Generally Horrible Questions: Dan Chaon

2012-01-14T08:37:00.000-06:00

Dan Chaon

One of our favorite authors, Dan Chaon, has a terrific new short story collection called Stay Awake going on sale in a few weeks. Gianna reviewed it here. We had the privilege of meeting Dan when he was touring Texas for his last book, Await Your Reply, and yet for some reason even after meeting us, Dan agreed to answer our questions. Luckily Dan is the type of guy who, you know, appreciates the twisted. In addition to being one of the best writers working, he's a huge music fan and teaches at Oberlin. He's far too cool to be contributing to our blog, but we're grateful for his slumming.

Generally Horrible Questions: Dan Chaon

1. What author or book should we all be reading?

Lint by Chris Ware. Most mind-blowing book of 2011, hands down.

2. What book have you re-read more than any other?
Probably The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, closely followed by Lolita by Vladamir Nabokov and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (though I haven’t actually read The Hobbit in about 30 years. Maybe now that the movie is coming out I should revisit it?)

3. Favorite three bands?

Idaho; Modest Mouse; Arcade Fire. (At least right now.) All time favorite artists: Tom Waits, David Bowie, Rickie Lee Jones.

4. I have never read ________ and I am so ashamed
Remembrance of Things Past, by Marcel Proust. (I’ve read the famous Madeline passage, but nothing else.)

5. What do you tell your writing students to never do, but sometimes do yourself?

The great Borges...
not a spring chicken even
in 1951, when this was taken.

Despair.

6. Gianna or Liz?
There’s no way to answer this question. It’s like “Cake or Ice Cream?” [Our two favorite food groups! We also assume Liz is the ice cream due to her cold nature. Also, Liz is always the correct answer.]

7. Coolest writer you’ve ever met?
Jorge Luis Borges [We are incredibly impressed. Of course, we can't call him to verify....]

8. I have read ____ and I am so ashamed

Dude, all things must end, but we're
sorry for blowing it.

“Lostpedia—the Lost Encyclopedia” in its entirety; as well as “Bad Twin” by Gary Troup; as well as Doc Jensen’s “Lost” blog for Entertainment Weekly. I was a huge fan of the TV show “Lost” and I still feel very betrayed and bitter about how they screwed it up. I know it’s been a long time since it mattered, but it still galls me. [We feel as if we opened a huge can of worms here. Apologies.]

9. Your last name is pronounced “Shawn” which made us wonder who your favorite Shawn is. Sean Penn, Sean Combs, Shawn Carter (Jay Z to the unhip), Sean Connery, Shawn Colvin, Shawn who sat next to Liz is high school calculus, or Shaun of the Dead?

Gianna's favorite book
of 2010.

What about Sean Bean? He’s maybe my favorite Sean of the moment. But if I have to choose from your list, Shawn Colvin would be fine. As for the rest of your group…if they changed the spelling to Chaon, we could talk. “Chaon Combs:” that would be awesome. [...Or we could call you Dan Diddy? No?]

By the way, if you do a Twitter search for “Chaon” you will find that it is an Urban Dictionary type slang word. People say that something is “off the chaon!” And that means that it is cool and funky. Right on! [We think this is going to take off way beyond Twitter, for chaon.]

10. Can you name five things creepier than twins (Liz is a twin, so think creepier)?
a. Rick Perry;
b. vegetable drawer full of forgotten potatoes that have begun to sprout tiny human eyes and fingers;
c. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, esp. Taylor; [This makes us worry for our Dan that he can name a wife…worry and love that is.]
d. the corpse of your dead grandma, somehow animated, somehow alive, rotting and crouched in your closet, a sick smell that wafts over you when you are sleeping and then you open your eyes in the dark and you can hear her breathing, wetly chewing on something with her toothless mouth, and you try to convince yourself: Grandma loved me. Grandma wouldn’t hurt me. This is not real.
e. That awful thing that is constantly staring at the back of your head but when you turn around it’s not visible.

11. What's the strangest or most awkward thing to happen to you on book tour (bonus points if you admit it was meeting Gianna and Liz)?
I don’t remember anything awkward happening when we met, Gianna and Liz. I thought we had a nice time together. Didn’t we? [Clearly Dan didn’t notice Gianna nearly going in for a kiss.]

Look for Dan's newest story
collection in stores in February.

Usually the most awkward moments on book tour have to do with no one showing up to a reading, and having to face the bookstore employees afterwards. Sitting in silence. Listening as the front door is locked and the “closed” sign is put over the door. Signing stock so they can’t return it to the publisher. That one hipster employee, straight out of Middlebury or Oberlin or Swarthmore, that guy who obviously loathes you and who has been spending his days trying to handsell Henry Miller novels, clears his throat and looks at you reproachfully and judgmentally.

Not that this has happened to me, mind you. There are always crowds upon crowds at my bookstore appearances.

12. Liz and I are starting a band; can you suggest a few names?
Cocoa Ono
Craniopagus Parasiticus!
Mamas Who Let Their Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
The Uncircumcised Girls [Clear winner…Dan must have a real sense of what our band will be like.]

Thanks Dan! You're the chaon!

Stay Awake by Dan Chaon

2012-01-11T21:16:00.002-06:00

(Gianna)

When I left Random House last year to becomesales manager at UT, I failed to give enough thought to one important thing: Iwouldn’t be selling Dan Chaon books any longer. [She was mostly focused on getting away from me as fast as possible. Sigh.] I wouldn’t have an excuse totalk about his story collections Fitting Ends and Among the Missing, or hisnovels You Remind Me of Me and my favorite book of 2010, Await Your Reply. Imean, I think what I put you poor booksellers through for the past few years,you had to sit there and listen to me again and again talk about Chaon. FranklyI am surprised that no one grabbed me by the shoulders (who am I kidding? thehair) and shook the hell out of me until I shut up. [It's not too late....]

Guess what? It’s not too late. [See? Even she admits it!] Chaon is backwith an outstanding collection called Stay Awake (Feb 2012). Fasten yourseat belts; I have decided to unofficially sell the hell out of this new book aswell. Stay Awake is a reminder of why I was drawn to Chaon in the first place: he is a master of the short story. Youthink you don’t like short stories, by the way? This collection can change yourmind in the same way Lorrie Moore’s Birds of America brought so many fans toread stores for the first time.

Remember how anxiety-ridden you were with AwaitYour Reply? Well get that Xanax refill because Stay Awake is haunting. One of my favorite stories is "Bees," in whicha father’s life begins to spiral out of control with the onset of his child’snight terrors, and now his own inability to continue to repress the memoriesof his secret first wife and child that he abandoned so long ago. This story isriveting.

My favorite selection is the title story, "StayAwake." A young couple gives birth to a baby who has a parasitic twin. I have long been fascinated by thisincredibly rare medical condition (I believe there have been less than a dozencases) and I have not been able to get the images of this story out of my head.At once heartbreaking and creepy, you won’t be able to shake this story fordays. [Twins are creepy!...says the twin.]

If you are a fan of Joyce Carol Oates this bookis for you.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

2012-01-09T20:32:00.000-06:00

I'm calling it now--The Orphan Master's Son is the best book of 2012. Sure, we're only nine days into the new year, but you're going to have to take my word on this declaration. I haven't loved a book this much in about five years, and Adam Johnson's new novel now ranks among my favorite books ever. It really is that spectacular.

The DMZ (above ground)

The Orphan Master's Son is set in North Korea, a location that is so foreign that it itself becomes the dominant player in this story of resilience and adversity. I happened to be finishing OMS on the night that the news announced Kim Jong Il's death, and the experience of watching the North Korean people mourn their Dear Leader with this book fresh in my mind was a bit uncanny. The book makes clear how the North Korean people are trained from infancy to value the state over self, and the Dear Leader is the state. The wailing mourners make sense in this context; their entire world was unhinged with Kim Jong Il's death. It's a fascinating subject and location.

The Dear Leader

What's the story, though? Jun Do is, as the title suggests, the son of the orphan master. His mother, vanished, was a singer. Because he grows up among the orphans, though, everyone assumes that he too is an orphan. He is put to work doing the jobs that orphans are given, the lowliest tasks in the country. Eventually Jun Do is trained as a soldier and sent to patrol the pitch black tunnels running under the DMZ and over to South Korea. He learns to fight without seeing. From there, Jun Do is recruited to become a professional kidnapper, stealing unlucky citizens from Japan. He accomplishes his missions, but he also glimpses the world outside of North Korea, where the electricity doesn't shut off in the evenings, where people are free to talk and play and go where they please. Jun Do, though, returns to his homeland.

Koreans mourning Kim Jong Il's
death

He works as an intelligence officer on a fishing vessel. He travels to Texas as part of a delegation meeting with a Senator. He suffers in a forced labor camp. And Jun Do, the ultimate John Doe character, transforms himself into a completely different person and finds his way into Kim Jong Il's inner circle.

Author Adam Johnson

The Orphan Master's Son is a thriller, an epic adventure story, a cultural critique, a love story, a story of hope and transformation. It is remarkable for its vibrant characters and plot, but it's also a literary book. This is a book into which you can happily lose yourself for a week, and about which you'll think for weeks afterward. Adam Johnson has written something brilliant. The Orphan Master's Son is one of those books where readers band together to share their love. I can't wait for everyone to read this book, and luckily it goes on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10th.

Doing What You Love: A Guest Post from Randy Ham

2012-01-08T14:52:00.000-06:00

We asked one of our favorite people to be a guest bloggerfor the day. Randy Ham was a buyer with Hastings Entertainment for aspell (and was one of the best buyers we ever had the pleasure of working with), and is now a librarian in Odessa, Texas, where was integral in starting the hugelysuccessful One Book Odessa campaign. Randy is also the biggest Stevie Nicks fanwe've ever known...but that is another blog for another time.

Randy Ham

It’s soooo cliché, but the phrase “Do what you love”always comes to mind when I think about how lucky I am to be doing what I amdoing. Like most people in this profession, I grew up with a deep, abiding lovefor books. Many of my fondest childhood memories are of getting books from myparents, family, and friends (some of them I still have to this day). I read like a fiend, often devouring three or four booksin a week.

Soon after high school, I was strolling through the mall,and noticed the B. Dalton’s was looking for help. Wait a minute! I can work ina place surrounded by books? They would PAY ME to be around books???? Icouldn’t believe my luck. B. Dalton is where I cut my bookselling teeth. I can still remember the parquet floors and the shelves,always coated with a layer of West Texas dust no matter how many times wedusted. The children’s section was just outside the office door, and I would walkby a faceout [faceouts are bookstore lingo for books shelved with the covers facing the customer, as opposed to spineout] of some book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneeveryday, thinking, “I should read that.” I was able to work my way up to StoreManager just in time for parent company Barnes and Noble to start phasing outthe B. Dalton stores. By then, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do. Ihad the skill set to sell books. I enjoyed waiting on customers, showing themthe books that I loved, and discovering new authors to read. Even selling thatdamned loyalty card was a small price to pay for the little slice of Nirvana inOdessa.

Luckily, on the other side of the mall was a Waldenbooks,and they took me in. The Walden/Borders experience was very different from theB. Dalton/B&N one. At B. Dalton we were always awarethat we were selling Books. At Walden, it felt more like Product (from acompany standpoint). Luckily, our store was staffed with well-qualified BookLovers. We became a very tight knit family, sharing our passion for books notonly with the customers, but also with each other. It was not unusual for thestaff to take in a Sunday night film adaptation of one of our favorite booksafter closing. It was at Walden that I became aware of ARCs [advance reading copies]. (Excuse me? The publishers will send you books, BEFORETHEY ARE RELEASED? FOR FREE???!!!) One such book that made it into my hands wasa finished, first edition of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay byMichael Chabon. I did finally get into Harry Potter. Book Three was beingreleased, and this was the first time there were release parties beingscheduled throughout the country. Ours was not a Midnight Release, but an AfterSchool Party. I read the first two books in preparation, and became hooked. Wetransformed our children’s section into our own little Diagon Alley (and Ifinally got to wear a cape to work)!

Time went on, and I was able to make a move to Barnes andNoble in Midland. I thought I had made it! This was playing with the big boys. B&N taught me a lot, too. I learned the value ofmerchandising well, and keeping a large store like that neat and alphabetized.It was rigorous work, and it was my first introduction to task work overtakingcustomer service. Our store manager was from Office Depot and didn’t like toread. Never a good sign. Nonetheless, the rest of the management staff ralliedaround the booksellers and passed along important new release information andbacklist promotions. [Backlist: book industry term for books that aren't new releases.] You can’t really teach Book Passion to anyone, but whatyou can do is teach Book Knowledge. Give booksellers the tools to be able tohelp the customers find the right book for them.

By this time, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire wasbeing released, and we did our very first midnight release. I was given freerein to plan the event, and it was a huge success. Two seeds were planted thatnight that would serve me well: (1) I can plan and execute events successfullyand (2) I can entertain and educate children with ease. And, I liked doing both.

That’s when I was approached to become the Book Managerat my local Hastings. It was really the best of both worlds: I would beresponsible for everything that went on in the book department without theburden of being store manager and worrying about things like labor, inventorycosts, etc. This is where I really began to work at full throttle. At thispoint, Hastings was the only bookstore in town, but sales were less thanstellar. Most people would rather drive to Midland and go to B&N (a realbookstore). It was an uphill battle, but after 3 years in the position, oursales became something of note, as did our events. We really became a communitycenter, especially for children. I learned about things like Read AcrossAmerica, and Drop Everything and Read. We began to celebrate these days withbig events, drawing customers in, selling books, and most importantly, gettingchildren excited to be in a bookstore. I couldn’t be more proud of my staff andthe work we accomplished.

How many of you have heard of Friday Night Lights? When this book was published, Buzz Bissinger becamepersona non grata in Odessa. The citizens of this town felt betrayed by theirportrayal in his book. Ultimately, he had to cancel his book signing in 1990out of safety concerns. Years later, the film was being produced and much of itwas filmed here in Odessa. The boost to the economy and the prospect of beingup on the big screen seemed to wash away every hurt feeling. Bissinger was in town for the filming and graciouslyoffered to do a signing in my store. No security was needed, as over 800 peoplefiled in to get their book signed. I thought I couldn’t do any better thanthat. I was wrong.

Billy Bob Thornton was in the store shopping one night,right before Read Across America. Our celebrations usually entailed localcelebrities reading from their favorite Seuss books. Why not get a nationalcelebrity? I asked, and he graciously read to the kids three days later.

Someone in our home office must have taken notice,because I was asked to interview for a buyer position in Amarillo. I packed mybags, and away I went.

Book Passion can only take you so far, and I have to say,as a buyer and national event coordinator, I got an amazing education into thebusiness side of bookselling. It was a rough first year, but the sales reps andthe other buyers were incredibly helpful. I took what I knew about handsellingand used it to approach buying on a national scale, learning about print runs,publicity, cover art, author tours, you name it. As I was fed all this info, Ithought about how lucky indie bookshops are in this regard. They get the repsvisiting the store itself, and more often than not, the buyer for an indie alsoknows (or is) the manager or senior bookseller. It helps facilitate the flow ofinfo from the publisher to the customer. With larger chains, the info tends to stop at the buyer level, and not really get to thebookseller who is talking to the customer. I don’t think it’s really the faultof the buyers, just the nature of the beast. There’s only so much info you canfilter down to 145 stores, especially stores in which employees regularly haveto juggle books, music and video duties. I spent three years at that post, andI learned a lot. Let me tell you, sales reps know their stuff (especially Lizand Gianna...but mostly Liz)! [Damn straight.] What would always impress me was when some repwould say, “Here, I know you’re gonna love this, but it’s not for your market.”Most of the time, they were right. What I really enjoyed was seeing a book Ibelieved we could sell on a national level. It was like handselling on steroids. WhatI missed was the personal connection to the customers. It was one thing to seenumbers climbing on a spreadsheet, it’s quite another to hear a customer say“Thank You, that is an excellent book! What else do you have for me?” It was time for me to getback into the trenches.

I came back to Odessa and took up my old position as bookmanager. I was very fortunate in that I was able to use my new skills andknowledge to improve my bookselling abilities and those of my staff. It didn’thurt that many of my rep friends would still send me ARCs and catalogs, so Iwould know what the next big thing was. Unlike working from an office, tryingto figure out what “my market” was, I was free to be able to push whatever bookI thought my customers would enjoy. More often than not, the enthusiasm mystaff and I would show for a book hooked the customer, no matter the genre. Iknow many people, who would never read horror, picked up The Passage by JustinCronin just because we loved it so much. Many of them came back for more. Wesold the crap out of that book based solely on our excitement. This is whatbookselling is all about for me. It never feels like work because all I’mdoing is telling people that I love this book, and I think they will too!

Randy talking about
One Book Odessa

I wasvery excited to partner with my local library on our first every city-wide read: One Book Odessa. Nine months of me running all overtown, telling people that should be reading The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer.As we were wrapping up the program and Brad was signing books, a young lady inline looked at me and asked if I had worked at Waldenbooks. I replied in theaffirmative. Looking right into my eyes, she said, “You recommended Memoirs ofa Geisha to me years ago and it rekindled my love of reading. Thank you somuch.” Brad Meltzer punched me in the arm, and said, “See? Look at what yourlegacy is!” Brad Meltzer.

One of the best things to come out of One Book Odessa wasmy working relationship with our school district. It went beyond InstitutionalOrders and morphed into sponsoring an essay contest for One Book, and mevolunteering at the high school library twice a month. As One Book wound down,I got a call asking if I would like to interview for a librarian position atone of the elementary schools.

Let me see: work with books? check. Work with children?check. Weekends and nights off? Check. Black Friday off? Check. Good pay? Well,who really works in books and expects to get paid well? We’re not in it for themoney.

I’ve been in my library for a whole semester now, and ithas been amazing. Children LOVE to read, and they get excited over the samethings that excite me. I got to host a Diary of a Wimpy Kid Party for the uppergrades. And for my little ones, we wrote fan letters to Michael Chabon becausethey loved The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man so much. Mr. Chabon wrote thestudents back, and they went crazy over a piece of paper from a guy theydon’t even know. I get to foster this love of books every day. It’s not a job;it’s a privilege. I am so lucky to be doing what I am doing. I read all aboutthe turmoil publishing is having, and the digital revolution, but what I don’tread about is how there are still book sellers and librarians out there,nurturing the love of the written word, no matter what platform. I am proud andlucky to be a part of this industry, and so happy to know so many other greatpeople who are a part of it as well. We fight the good fight, and no matterwhat anyone says, we’re winning!

Generally Horrible Questions: Scott Montgomery

2012-01-05T18:39:00.000-06:00

MysteryPeople's Scott Montgomery

Our first bookseller profile for 2012 is the mystery guru and driving force behind MysteryPeople, the store-within-a-store at Austin's BookPeople. Scott reads lots and lots of mysteries, the tougher the better. (Secretly we think he loves The Cat Who series, but he won't cop to it.) Let's ask him a bunch of questions and see if we can make the tough guy cry.

Generally Horrible Questions: Scott Montgomery

1. How did you get into the bookselling business?
I was in LA's The Mystery Book Store so often Igot mistaken for an employee. [That's funny--Liz is regularly mistaken for a Random House employee.]

2. Favorite mystery/thriller of all time?

James Crumley's The Last Good Kiss. [...Yeah, we're not touching this one.]

3. Three desert island books?
Lonesome Dove, True Detective by Max Allan Collins, and HW Brands' great Theodore Roosevelt biography TR. All good, long books.

4. What are you currently reading?

I'm juggling four books--an involving thriller called The Dispatcher, James Carlos Blakes' engaging look at Missouri border guerrillaBloody Bill Anderson, The Wildwood Boys, The Professionals which is living upto its hype, and Elmore Leonard's Raylan.

5. What is your favorite part of your job?

Money for nothing and your chicks for free...ohwait, that was Dire Straits cover band days. The friendships with the authorsand customers. [Gianna claims to see Scott chatting up the ladies all the time. They MAY be talking about books....]

6. What books changed your life?

Swag by Elmore Leonard, The Day The Cowboys Quitby Elmer Kelton, Reed Farrel Coleman's Walking The Perfect Square. [So...no Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb?]

7. What is your second favorite bookstore?

Murder By The Book in Houston. Like any good niche bookstore they're out there to promote the genre and not just sell stuff.

Scott with author
Reed Farrel Coleman

8. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A veterinarian. [Great! Someone can start administering Zorro's medications!]

9. I have never read ______________ and I'm so ashamed.

Jackie Collins.

10. The most important question on the list: Liz or Gianna?

Liz. It's that warm, open personality. [The correct answer is always Liz.]

11. Choose one: Craig LaMorte (Gianna’s nephew), Craig Johnson, Craig T. Nelson, Craigslist, Daniel Craig, Craig Biggio or you know what the hell….LarryCraig?

Author Craig Johnson

Selling Craig Johnson's books pays my rent, soI'll so with him. That said, I'm a big fan of James Bond and Coach. [What, no love for Mr. Wide Stance?]

12. Which mystery series should we all be reading?

Reed Farrel Coleman's Moe Prager series. Ialways suggest the first book, Walking The Perfect Square, when people say thegenre can't be literary. It suppresses my instinct to yell or punch.

13. Last good non-mystery book you’ve read?

HW Brands' American Dreams; great look at the US from the atomic bomb toObama.

14. Coolest author you’ve ever met?

You two broads are trying to get me into troublesince many of my friends are authors. Outside of the writers I normally hangout with, George Pelecanos. He's the definition. The man writes, walks, andtalks cool. [Scott is the only person who can call us 'broads' and not risk injury.]

15. If you could be any detective in any novel, whowould it be? Please don’t say Stephanie Plum….

Since the best detective writers have haunted orwounded heroes, I'd be Richard Prather's Shell Scott. He was oddly good lookingwith a white buzz cut and piece of his ear cut, drove a cool car, always had agreat quip, never seemed to want for cash, and slept with at least two greatlooking babes in under 180 pages. Don't know if I'd want to be him when the wasnaked on top of the hot air balloon. [There's a mental image that'll linger.....]

Here's Scott recommending blog pal Taylor Stevens' newest book and upcoming MysteryPeople at BookPeople event.

Keep Austin Noir.

Quick Questions: More Holiday Books

2012-01-04T18:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's post was so popular (and because we received some responses after we published last night), we've slapped together a follow-up entry. Same two questions: 1. What was the best book you received as a gift this holiday season? and 2. What was the best book you gave/sold? Here are the responses.

Caren Creech Berlanga – B&N Community Relations Manager& cat hoarder

Sorry...just now getting tothis. For kids, If You Give a Dog a Donut, The Son of Neptune, and Janitors(Tyler Whitesides). For teens...Vanish...the new book by Sophie Jordan...also Through Her Eyes...a ghost story set in the panhandle. For adults...the Mike Leach bookSwing Your Sword for sports fans. And David Liss, Joe McKinney and RhiannonFrater...any of their books for fiction fans.

Tracy Kaempfe - HastingsEntertainment buyer and one of the only people in Amarillo who still speaks toGianna

I am back to reading theclassics, or, more accurately the banned classics. Currently, I am reading InCold Blood by Truman Capote and then will move on to Lolita by Nabakov, neitherof which I was allowed to read in high school.

Brucette Beitz -- B&N Bookseller who can’t seem to retire

The ONLY book I receivedthis year as a gift was, My Last Supper: The Next Course and it isa second after My Last Supper. 50 chefs tell what they would eat,who they would eat it with and who would cook it! I LOVE IT!!!!

Tiffany's cat Wombat

Hand sold more vegancookbooks than I can count!

Tiffany Gale – Bookseller at BookPeople

Got: Wolf: The lives of JackLondon by James L. Haley- Recently read The Call of the Wild and White Fang andabsolutely loved both of them so I'm excited to read this biography.

Gave: Infidel by AyaanHirsi Ali- I've given this book so many times. It's an incredible story, toldby an incredible woman.

And here's my cat: Wombat

Julie Bach - BookPeoplePublicist and one of our favorite people

Julie

The best books I gave thisseason were to my mom. The Art of Fielding and a signed copy of A Visit From theGoon Squad. She cried. Apparently she'd gone to her bookstore in Fargo, ND, halfa dozen times debating whether or not to spend the money on a copy of GoonSquad and talked herself out of it every time (money's tight). Art of Fieldingdeals with baseball, and it's in hardcover, so it was a big hit.

The best book I got thisseason wasn't quite a gift. Well, it was a gift I gave myself - a reader of APartial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois. It isn't out until March.This was the perfect book to take on the plane. It's big and made me looksmart. But also, it's a great story. I was quickly and totally immersed in theworld of Cold War Russia and the plight of one chess player to be WorldChampion, and the simultaneous story of a young woman dealing with her diagnosisof Huntington's Disease (and not dealing with it gracefully, either). Judgingby her author photo, Dubois looks to be young, so I was skeptical when I pickedit up because I don't believe anyone younger than I am can do anything verywell unless her name is Tea Obreht, but man can this girl tell a story. Sweptme right up. I can't wait to start handselling it.

What did I handsell themost - well, the Steve Jobs bio was probably in my hand more often than anyother book, but....Okay, I didn't handsell this book the most, but I didhandsell one copy of Gene Wilder's My French Whore to someone. TimelessChristmas classic, indeed. Probably hand sold The Tiger's Wife more thananything else.

Carla Buckley

Carla Buckley – Author of Things That Keep Us Here (which Giannaloved) and Invisible due out 2012

This year, I gave myhusband Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and sure enough, he can't turn the pagesfast enough. I think it's a brilliant book, but really--that's like saying theEarth is round. I gave my older daughter Still Alice and Left Neglected by LisaGenova, because she's an aspiring writer and I wanted her to see how any careerpath a writer chooses can shape and influence their work in marvelous ways. Igave, at her request, my younger daughter the Hunger Games trilogy because shehad borrowed the copies she'd read and she wanted her own set to keep.

Dr. Who and James

This year, my husband gaveme The Paris Wife because I'd done an event with Paula McLain last year and heknew I was eager to read her latest release. I LOVED IT. My sister gave me Before I Fall Asleep, and I gave myself The Drop because no holiday is completewithout a solid thriller at hand. I think it's Connelly's best.

James Parker -- Hastings graphic novels buyer and unabashed geek

Best I got: (Graphic Novel) Finder: Voice by Carla SpeedMcNeil (one of my favorite indie graphic novel series). Best I gave: AmericanGods By Neil Gaiman (I have read this book at least 10 times. So good!)

Pat's cat Fred

Pam Kaufman -- Random House Telephone Sales Rep and Regular Words With Friends Loser (to Liz)

Hey watch who you call a loser, missy. [Heh.] This is really sad, but I didn’treceive any books for the holiday, however I gave one of my favorite books tomy mom. And that book is ChinaberrySidewalks on CD. I thought my mom wouldreally like this because she grew up in the South and I thought she would loveRodney Crowell’s story, which is full of humor and a great sense of place. The bonus in the CD is that he reads ithimself.

Stacey

Stacey Carlini -- Random House Telephone Sales Rep and Words With Friends Loser (to Liz)

1) Sadly, I received no books this holiday season. I think after helping me move my entire book collection this summer, my friends and family firmly believe I own enough books!

2) I gave my ex-husband a copy of Monica Bellucci, a lovely Rizzoli book filled with 150 (scantily clad) photos of his all-time favorite actress. I think he wept.

Anne Holman -- Bookselling Goddess at The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah

The best book I received is ThePruning Book by Lee Reich because a girl's got to know how toget rid of the dead wood. [...We don't think this statement is a euphemism for anything, but one never knows.]

The best book I read/sold was I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen because it isnothing short of brilliant.

Quick Questions: Holiday Giving

2012-01-03T19:33:00.003-06:00

We asked some of our pals in the book business two questions--1. What is the best book you received as a gift this holiday season? and 2. What is the best book you gave/sold? Here are some of the answers.

Seth Ransom Osborn–musician, BookPeople bookseller, pal of Vanny (pictured)

Gave: Desert Solitaire byEdward Abbey.

Seth's pal Vanny

Received - I got a prettyok picture book of Big Bend but that's it. I bought myself a copy of TheWay to Start a Day by Byrd Baylor. It's real pretty.

Alison Kothe Nihlean – Mother of two and BookPeople bookseller

Books I gave as presentsthis christmas:

Bossypants on cd

Chris

Plenty by Ottolenghi

I Want My Hat Back by Klassen

Books I loved to hand sell:

The Tiger's Wife

Cutting For Stone

Home Field

Homesick Texan Cookbook

Chris Hoyt -- BookPeople receiving guy and proud Texan

The only book I was gifted this year was a Jack Chicktract from a well dressed hobo squatting near the Walgreen's Redbox. It was theperfect gift.

Elaine in the snow.

As for gifts given, I've lost count of how many copies ofDobie's Tales of Old Time Texas I've given to people. Strangersoften stop me on the street asking how is it that I have come to embody allthat is rugged and handsome and utterly Texas. To this I reply Dobie.

Elaine “Lainey”Rathgeber – Sales representative for Southern Territory Associates and tennisnut

One of the best books Igave (because the recipient was so happy to get it) was The Art of Fielding andone of the best books I received was Rules of Civility.

Charley's pal Ophelia

Charley Carroll – Barnes & Noble Bookseller, community relations manager andgenerally cool person

You probably already knowmy book of the year...Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I handsold hisfirst, The Name of the Wind, dozens of times and gifted it to my brother.Sadly, I did not receive any books as gifts.

Elizabeth Jordan – BookPeople book buyer and woman afterGianna’s heart

Best received: A signedfirst printing of The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. (It's the best not onlybecause it was the only one I got).

Elizabeth...and a firearm.

Best given: The CompletePogo Strips Volume 1 by Walt Kelly. My 80 year-old grandmother is obsessed withPogo - quotes it all the time. She's not reading much anymore so it was greatto see her so excited about a book again.

John Kwiatkowski, Anne Kimbol and Matt Keogh from Murder by the Book in Houston

Apparently, our friends andfamily don't seem to love any of us. None of us got books as gifts this year.

Anne’s book that shegave/and hand sold the most was Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James.

John, who loves Celine Dion

The book Matt --gave wasThe Friends of Eddie Coyle be George Higgins.

I (John) gave my nieces andnephews a big box of some of my favorite YA books for Christmas. Here's whatwas in it: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Spellwright by Blake Charlton, HeistSociety by Ally Carter, The Oracles of Delphi Keep and The Curse of theDeadman's Forest by Victoria Laurie, Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, andBeautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Michele Sulka -- Liz's Random House rep partner for Colorado

Best received: A Storm of Swords, otherwise known as Book # 3 in George Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series, because I have gone completely batshit crazy for these books. Can you say batshit on your blog? [We've certainly said worse. You go with your batshit self!] I flew through book #2 and made it known that if book 3 wasn’t immediately at the ready when I needed it, there might be violence. People have described the series as The Lord of the Rings but with lots of sex, and that’s pretty accurate, but I like to think of it as The Sopranos with swords. And dragons. And lots of sex.

I gave a copy of Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl to my best friend’s daughter, who is 11 and reads constantly. We’re not sure where she got it because neither of her parents are great readers but she devours books and she’s in love with Jerry. She called to thank me and was so excited that it was one of the best moments of the whole holiday season for me.

Jeremy Ellis – Store Manager, Brazos Bookstore

Jeremy

Daniellewins the prize for giving me the best books this year. First, a beautifuledition of James and the Giant Peach in French, because we like to imagine wecan read/comprehend the French. And second, an amazing craft edition ofRimbaud's A Season in Hell, in French and English, translation by NickSarno.

Igave lots of copies of Schott's Quintessential Miscellany (at least 6) becausethey're endlessly fascinating and everyone can find something neat inside. Thebook I enjoyed handselling most was We Need a Horse by Sheila Heti, painted byClare Rojas from McSweeney's Press. It's not for everyone, but for those whoconnect with the fable, it is the among the most remarkable illustrated booksthey have ever read.

Danielle Dubois Dimond – Bookseller andbuyer at Brazos Bookstore

Danielle

BESTBOOK I RECEIVED THIS HOLIDAY - The best book(s) I received this year were firsteditions of three volumes of Anais Nin's Diaries. I don't believe thewhole set is still in print, so my husband did a little local used-book sleuthingfor me. I love reading authors' diaries because, as a writer myself, I'mreally interested in what's going on behind the scenes with an artist'screative process. Nin's diaries are kind of the holy grail because notonly are they beautifully written, exhaustive, and subtly psychedelic, butthey're naughty as hell, too. High-brow wank material is clearly whereit's at.

BOOK I HANDSOLD THE MOST - Definitely The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes - weactually sold so many copies of that one that the Knopf editors sent me asigned copy! I read this one immediately because the super-savvy bookclub I run at Brazos wanted to check the new Man Booker winner out as soon asthis year's prize was announced. It blew me away. Barnes is a seriousand intellectually rigorous writer who still manages to keep the pagesturning. His ruminative exploration of memory, responsibility, and agestood out from the crowd immediately as a "grown up" book - somethingwe don't see a whole lot of these days, to be frank. I certainly didn'tsell the book to anyone looking for light and fluffy reading, but then againBrazos isn't known for light and fluffy! The fact that book is so shortseemed to help me sell it as well; shorter books tend to make better gifts, andeven those customers who were apprehensive about reading something"serious" felt that they could weather it for 130 pages. Almosteveryone I've spoke to who's read the book has read it twice through. Adefinite Brazos favorite.

Toni and Pat Conroy

Toni Hetzel -- Liz's Random House rep partner for Texas and Mississippi

I didn’t get any books for the holidays. I think people are reluctant to give them to me because I work in the industry. However, I set aside a copy of The Sense of an Ending to read during my break and loved it. A wonderful present to myself!

I, in the guise of Santa, gave my kids books for Christmas this year and the one they’ve loved the most is the National Geographic Ultimate Weird But True.

Nicole Magistro -- Owner of The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado

Are you kidding? Bookstore owners never receive books forChristmas. It's a travesty!

My favorite book sold was PeterSis's Conference of the Birds. A work of art, and a book that can't beduplicated on a digital reader. Just feel that paper quality!

Kester Smith -- BookPeople bookseller

Kester, Harry, and Rachel

I didn't get onebook this holiday. I don't get books MOST holidays.

One of the (very few) downsides of being a bookseller inthe know is that people don't think to buy me books or are intimidated by theidea of buying me books. They think of ME as the guy who gets THEM books (whichI am). Best book I gave? Pulphead. To more than one person. Best book Ihand-sold? Same. To around 25 or so customers.

Not that you asked, but my best sale was The Red Book byCarl Jung. A customer came to my register and saw it sitting behind me (wherewe keep the $200 books) and asked, "Hey, is that The Red Book?" WhenI responded in the affirmative, he said, "I've heard it's cool." Myresponse was then, "It is. You should buy it." And he did.

Lisa Newman --bookseller and blog princess, Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi

1. Sadly, nobody gave me a book.

2. I think the best book I sold was 1Q84.

Maggie

Maggie Lowery Stevenson -- bookseller, Lemuria Books

Since I startedworking at Lemuria no one gives me books anymore so I have to give them tomyself. This year I gave myself theDelta Magazine Cookbook.

I sold manybooks over the holidays, but probably the ones I sold the most copies of wereThe Keeper of Lost Causes by Jusi Adler Olsen, The Night Circus by ErinMorgenstern, Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, and Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. I also I am very proud that I was able tosell 7 copies of Crafting with Cat Hair by Kaori Tsutaya! [...No comment.]

Joe's son

Joe Hickman -- Bookseller, events guy, manager type, Lemuria Books, self-described "bad ass"

1. You know no one evengave me a book. I think it's like giving a florest flowers - people are afraidto. Except I know other booksellers get books so maybe it's me - maybe I'm anass. Actually, I didn't get too many gifts so....

2. 1Q84

Clint Carroll -- BookPeople bookseller

I didn't get any books for Christmas, but I bought myselfa copy of The Collected Plays Of Tennessee Williams, and I love it.I gave only one book this year and it was Home Field, published byUT Press!

Nolan Fellows -- BookPeople bookseller and talented artist

Nolan

I didn't get any books for Christmas, which isn't much ofa surprise. My tastes are quite picky when it comes to books, movies, records,etc.

The book I love to tell people about and would give when Ineed to is How Soon is Never by Marc Spitz. It's a really great, quick readperfect for anyone who has ever loved music or a band way too much.

Gianna -- Book Land Adventurer, most willing to dispose of Liz's body in a remote location

Books I gave this year - I gave the photography bookTimeless Mexico to my brother Chris, the Stephen King novel 11/22/1963 to my brother Ron. Igave my father the latest John Grisham (The Litigators)and the ESPN book Those Guys Have allthe Fun. I also gave my mother the latest Stephanie Plum book - she loves theseries - and I bought my girlfriend a Running Press book calledUpcycling...which she asked for...I think it's a crafty book which scares me.

I received two excellent books. One from Lizzy and onefrom the old lady. Liz gave me a signed first edition of the Diane Keatonmemoir Then Again. I haven't read it as I don't want to mess it up. Hoping someone elsewill give me a unsigned 3rd edition so I can actually read it. My girlfriendgave me a truly cool book published by Lonely Planet called The Cities Book. Ithink she wants me to be smarter. To her I say good luck.

Liz and Gianna...awkwardly.

I also gave signed copies of Molly Shannon's children's book Tilly the Trickster to my best friend Lulu (who is a real choo choocharlie), and to my little friend Eleanor who is a class act.

I gave myself It Chooses You by Miranda July and an Art ofFielding UK first edition. I also gave myself a hangover on Jan 1st. My first inyears.

Liz -- Book Land Adventurer, Gianna's foil

Despite repeated hints, no one gave me the $200 art book on my list. I could be a little bitter. I did receive some non-Random House books (I don't ask for RH books since I read them for work), including Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jabar and Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta.

I gave quite a few books this year, including Gianna's signed Diane Keaton memoir. I managed to part with a signed first printing of Interpreter of Maladies; I considered keeping it for myself. I also gave copies of In the Garden of Beasts, The Destiny of the Republic, and The Sisters Brothers...and about 10 other books. I mostly give books because I mostly want books in return.

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You: 2012

2011-12-29T21:10:00.001-06:00

As we're wrapping up 2011, it's not too early to take a look at the books we're excited about that are scheduled to go on sale in 2012. After all, if the Mayans figured out the end times deadline slightly better than that nutty Christian radio guy last year, we're going to need some good reading to entertain us during the hellfire (and we're not talking about the Left Behind series). Here's a sneak peak at the books calling to us in the upcoming year.

(A note on format--in this case, we're using "Random House" to denote books published by Random House the company, and not necessarily Random House the publisher, so a book from Doubleday, for example, would be listed as Random House.)

Gianna:

Stay Awake: Stories by Dan Chaon
Random House
Feb 2012

I have actually just started these and think they are tremendous. Chaon quickly became one of my favorite writers after the publication of his collection entitled Among the Missing. [Liz: Agree--I love this guy and can't wait to dig into these stories.]

The Technologists by Matthew Pearl
Random House
Feb 2012

From the critically acclaimed author of The Dante Club, The Last Dickens, and The Poe Shadow comes what may be his best historical novel yet. Take a look at the trailer.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
Random House
Feb 2012

Boo is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and MacArthur Genius recipient. Beautiful Forevers chronicles the lives of families striving for a better life in Mumbai.

Welcome to Utopia by Karen Valby
University of Texas Press
March 2012

The paperback will include a reader’s guide and a new afterword by the author. This was one of my favorite books of 2010 when I was with Random House and I am incredibly proud to have it in paper with University of Texas Press.

Enchantments by Katherine Harrison

Random House
March 2012

Harrison is an incredibly talented writer; can not tell you how excited I am to read this.

The Expats by Chris Pavone
Random House
March 2012

This thriller is already generating tons of buzz – great quotes from John Grisham and Christopher Reich. I am
hearing this is impossible to put down.

Deep Zone by James Tabor
Random House
April 2012

A suspense novel from the author of one of my favorite nonfiction books, called Blind Descent, about cave diving, which was absolutely incredible. This book looks great.

Killer on the Road Violence and the American Interstate by Ginger Strand
UT Press
April 2012

Did we become more violent as we became more mobile? [I certainly did.] This is technically historical/cultural history but it reads like excellent true crime. It’s the story of American highways and highway killers. Sold!

Last Launch by Dan Winters
UT Press
May 2012

Dan Winters was one of only a handful of photographers to be invited to photograph the last launches of Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis. This book is gorgeous, filled with intimate images the general public has never really had an opportunity to see.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Random House
June 2012

Oh man oh man how I am looking forward to this book. From the author of the insanely good Sharp Objects and Dark Places, Flynn totally gets me.

Liz:

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Random House

Jan 2012

I can't shut up about how much I love this book. It's not only one of the best novels of the year, it's one of the best novels I'VE EVER READ. Luckily for us, it goes on sale in just a couple of weeks, on 1/10/12. Here's the trailer.

Mr. G by Alan Lightman

Random House

Jan 2012

Mr. G is God, and this is a creation story unlike any you'll ever read, from the author of Einstein's Dreams.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank: Stories by Nathan Englander

Random House

Feb 2012

Nathan Englander is at his absolute best when he's writing short stories, such as his debut collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges. This new collection has garnered advance praise from Michael Chabon, Geraldine Brooks, Tea Obreht, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Franzen, and well, a whole bunch of others. Read their blurbs here.

Watergate by Thomas Mallon

Random House

Feb 2012

This historical fiction account of the Watergate scandal is outstanding! Told from the perspectives of seven people involved, from both Pat and Richard Nixon to lesser known participants like Fred LaRue and Nixon's secretary, the book brings to life the circus and tragedy of the scandal. It's a 20th Century Paradise Lost.

Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru

Random House

Mar 2012

An autistic child goes missing in Joshua Tree National Park. Also, a religious cult awaits the end times/aliens. Coyote legends. UFOs. The American West. They're all blended together in a terrific novel by the great Hari Kunzru.

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

Random House

Mar 2012

This novel from the author of The Gone-Away World is bad ass. Monk ninjas, a doomsday machine, a World War II spy, the mob, a serial killer--Angelmaker is a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride of a novel (in the best of ways).

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Random House

Mar 2012

Easily the most talked about book among booksellers that's coming in the next few months. Strayed decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, alone, when she was in her 20's. She was...under-prepared. What follows is the anti-Eat, Pray, Love, a memoir of discovery for the rest of us.

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

Random House

May 2012

Nell Freudenberger is a great writer, the kind who starts writing and you're immediately sucked into the story. Her newest novel involves a Bangladeshi woman who marries an American she meets online.

Top of the Rock by Warren Littlefield

Random House

May 2012

TV fans rejoice! Littlefield was the head of NBC programming during the golden era of Must See TV, and here are the behind the scenes stories of shows like Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, and ER.

Trapeze by Simon Mawer

Other Press

May 2012

I was a huge fan of Mawer's Man Booker Prize finalist novel, The Glass Room. When I heard he had a new novel, I was giddy, and for good reason. This new novel is wonderful--the story of a British woman spy dropped into occupied France during World War II.

Generally Horrible Questions: Taylor Stevens

2011-12-28T14:03:00.000-06:00

In honor of the release of her new novel, The Innocent, we decided to subject author Taylor Stevens to some unwarranted torture and ask her some questions. Taylor broke onto The New York Times bestseller list with her first novel, The Informationist, which unleashed protagonist Vanessa Michael Munroe on the world. A huge fan of Robert Ludlum, Taylor set about creating a book series in the vein of Ludlum's Jason Bourne, but with a bad ass woman at the center. Other things to know--Taylor grew up in a religious cult, has lived all over the world, and therefore has limited formal education and pop culture references. She lives in Texas now, and will be touring to some of our favorite bookstores soon.

Generally Horrible Questions: Taylor Stevens

1.What are your three desert island books (and no, the Twilight books don’t countas just one so choose carefully)?
How to Survive on a Deserted Island, Boatbuilding for Beginners, and Pencil, Paper and Stars: The Handbook of Traditional and Emergency Navigation. I’m practical like that.

2.What is your all time favorite book?

Picking favorites is just way too much commitment. [Hmmm...okay, there, Vanessa Michael Munroe.]

3. What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
Seriously? I was born and raised in a cult, spent my formative years as child labor and out begging on the street and you ask me what the worst job I ever had was? Oh. You mean paying job? Well, in that case, it would be handling customer service for a start-up company whose management felt that in spite of horrendous problems within the shipping department, faulty software, and procedures and “upgrades” that changed every three weeks, that the person at my desk (namely, me) was the cause of the negative customer response. I quit. Then they fired me. Then they shorted me on my last paycheck which also bounced two times before the bank tellers took pity, looked over the company account and told me that if I, wink wink, came in the day after tomorrow before nine, they should be able to get that check counter cashed for me. No, I’m not bitter. (Yes I am.) [So you never worked at Starbucks?]

4. What book can’t you shut up about?
Whatever the next book inside my head is… the one that I’m trying to figure out how to write.

5. What book changed your life?
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Ultimatum. That’s what I was reading when the flash of aha struck and I decided to write fiction. Were there no Jason Bourne, there would be no Michael Munroe.

It’s a character codependent kind of thing.

6. What was the first thing you did when you found out you would be published?
Burst into tears and started laughing all at the same time. I was at work when my agent called me with the news, and although I probably shouldn’t have, since I couldn’t tell my boss what I really thought of the company management, I told her the size of my advance instead. Good therapy.

7. Favorite book to movie? Liz and I like to reenact The Color Purple. I’m Celie, Liz is Nettie.
I have read so few books and watched so few movies that this question is like a pop-quiz for a subject I never studied. [Not a problem. We can act out the whole movie. You'll love it. Liz is Miss Sophia, Gianna is Harpo.]

8. What was your back-up plan?
People have back-up plans?

9. Gianna or Liz?
I read your blog. I know how this game is played. The answer is always Liz. But now that I’ve fulfilled my obligation: I heart Gianna. [Liz. Final answer.]

10. Where do you write?
Sometimes my bed. Sometimes a couch. Sometimes my desk. Kind of depends on the day and how many hours I’m in front of the computer.

11. What’s your cure for writer’s block?
Boy do I wish I had one. I feel like I experience writer’s block every single day. The only remedy I know is to show up at my desk like it’s a job, to sit at my computer and write something, anything: bits and pieces. Threads. Concepts. Until gradually there’s some material there to work with. And then I’m not allowed to do anything else until I’ve finished the words I need for the day. I go to bed, and wake up the next morning, and do that all over again. It’s a good excuse for why my house is a mess most of the time.

12. Do your kids “get” what you do? Are they amply impressed?
They do get it, but I have to admit their “amply” waxes and wanes in direct correlation to whether that day (sometimes hour) is one in which I’m

Iguazu Falls

the “worst mom in the entire world” or “the best.”

13. Robert E Lee, Robert Redford, Robert Ludlum, Robert Louis Stevenson or Julia Roberts?
I don’t understand how this is even a question. [You're right. It's so obviously Robert E. Lee. Gianna loves that beard too.]

14. What is the coolest thing you’ve ever done or seen?
I saw Iguazu (the waterfalls) not so long ago. That, if not the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, ranks pretty high up there. [Wait until you see Liz and Gianna's The Color Purple. You'll never forget it.]

15. What is the total body count in The Informationist and The Innocent?
It’s. Um. Er. I think. Um. Honestly, I have no idea. But people die. [Yes they do....]

The Innocent by Taylor Stevens

2011-12-27T18:03:00.000-06:00

The latest thriller from author Taylor Stevens goes on sale today. The Innocent is the follow-up to Taylor's lauded 2011 debut, The Informationist, which introduced readers to bad ass protagonist Vanessa Michael Munroe. Gianna offers this review of the new book:

She's baaaaack...and baby she has got some demons to workout. Munroe is living on very little sleep, with her mix of brutal nightmaresand her penchant for sleeping with knives next to her bed. It's actually saferthat way. Funny thing, Liz also sleeps with knives next to her bed in order toprotect herself from an overly "affectionate" cat named Zorro. Bookcoming soon. [It's important that Zorro be comfy...so very, very important.]

In Taylor Stevens' excellent follow-up to The New YorkTimes bestselling The Informationist,Vanessa Michael Munroe has agreed to help her best friend retrieve his daughterfrom the religious cult he once escaped. Much of The Innocent draws from first-hand knowledge of cult life; it has been well documented that Stevens spent herchildhood and young adult life in a religious cult, escaping with her childrennot too long ago. That fact alone takes The Innocent to another level, and theintimacy in which Taylor is able to write can not be overlooked.

Vanessa (I like to call her Michael) is kicking oh somuch ass in this novel, just as much as in the first book of this series, butThe Innocent offers more introspection and a bit more heart.

Everything a thriller should be - an excellent post holidayread.

Best of 2011: The Complete Lists

2011-12-27T08:50:00.000-06:00

Now that our countdown has concluded, here are the full lists. Thanks to everyone for following us and for tolerating our bookish adventures this year. Don't forget that we're also on Facebook (search "Liz and Gianna's Adventures in Book Land" and like us) and Twitter (@AdvinBookLand).

Gianna's Top 30 Books of 2011:

1. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
2. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
3. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
4. Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter
5. The Storm at the Door by Stefan Merrill Block
6. Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner
7. Blood, Bones, & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
8. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
9. The Informationist by Taylor Stevens
10. Timeless Mexico by Hugo Brehme and Susan Toomey Frost
11. Chinaberry Sidewalks by Rodney Crowell
12. The Journals of Spalding Gray by Spalding Gray
13. Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
14. Open City by Teju Cole
15. Hard Ground by Michael O'Brien and Tom Waits
16. The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
17. The End of Country by Seamus McGraw
18. Lime Creek by Joe Henry
19. Trillin on Texas by Calvin Trillin
20. Red on Red by Edward Conlon
21. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
22. My Lucky Life by Dick Van Dyke
23. Austin Chronicle Music Anthology edited by Austin Powell and Doug Freeman
24. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
25. Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mike Bender and Doug Chernack
26. Close Your Eyes by Amanda Eyre Ward
27. The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
28. Don't Make Me Go to Town by Rhonda Lashley Lopez
29. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
30. West of 98 edited by Lynn Stegner and Russell Rowland

And the far superior Liz's Top 30 Books of 2011:

1. Galore by Michael Crummey
2. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
3. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
4. The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
5. Habibi by Craig Thompson
6. The Upright Piano Player by David Abbott
7. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
8. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
9. Chinaberry Sidewalks by Rodney Crowell
10. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
11. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
12. Van Gogh by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith
13. Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch
14. Zone One by Colson Whitehead
15. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
16. The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst
17. Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
18. Moondogs by Alexander Yates
19. Daughters of the Revolution by Carolyn Cooke
20. Snowdrops by A.D. Miller
21. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
22. Into the Silence by Wade Davis
23. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
24. Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
25. Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner
26. Your Voice in My Head by Emma Forrest
27. The Gap Year by Sarah Bird
28. Hemingway's Boat by Paul Hendrickson
29. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
30. Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Best of 2011 Countdown: #1

2011-12-24T18:30:00.000-06:00

We've arrived at our #1 books of 2011! Pop the bubbly and raise a glass (of Diet Coke, of course, as it sure as hell tastes better than champagne).

Gianna:

The Tiger's Wife
Tea Obreht
Random House

Okay, so you’re not surprised. You had to be a littlesurprised that a first novel is at the top of my list (or at least surprisedthat so many first novels were in the list to begin with).

Tea Obreht

I’ve talked about this book so much that I almost thought itwas a 2010 book. I know I’ve said this before but I rarely read a book morethan once, and certainly don’t read a book more than once in the span of just afew months. But that is exactly what I did with The Tiger’s Wife. I don’t know if Idid it because I wanted to check myself; I had been going on and on about thisbook to anyone who would listen and maybe wanted to verify it before Ilooked like a complete idiot. Yeah, turns out I missed so much of this magical,layered, rich, beautiful book the first time around that a second reading justmade me talk about it even more. Annoying right? [Incredibly.] In short, this novel is about ayoung doctor trying to navigate her way after the death of her belovedgrandfather who was once a well respected doctor himself. It is filled with amazingstories, fables, and history. This is a novel that you will never forget; itwill live on your shelf forever (and I am sorry but this is a book you musthave in physical form, some books are just too good for e-readers only…and Iwill die on that hill).

Tea Obreht is an extraordinary writer, a genius.

This was one of the lastbooks I sold when I was with Random House, and I just can’t help but think howincredibly lucky I was to have that opportunity.

Liz:

Galore
Michael Crummey
Other Press

For those people not in the book industry or unfamiliar with the various alignments of publishing houses, allow me a moment of explanation. In my capacity as a district sales manager for Random House Inc, I sell both publishing groups owned by Random House--Knopf, Doubleday, Vintage/Anchor, etc--and I also sell books from independent presses that contract with Random House for distribution services. Other Press is one of those smaller presses, one that specializes in literary fiction and nonfiction. The press publishes books that challenge readers as well as entertain and educate, and the team working for Other Press regularly manages to find surprising, wonderful books from around the world. My top pick for 2011 is one of those books.

Michael Crummey

Sometimes as a reader you just have to let go of the reins and go where the story takes you. In the case of Galore, that place is Paradise Deep, a remote fishing village in Newfoundland so removed from the rest of the country that the only Bible in town is half a book that was found inside a fish that was obviously hungry for the Word. Galore starts with a beached whale, and as the citizens of Paradise Deep begin to break down the beast, they find a man, naked and bleached, inside of the belly. While they stand around making fun of the size of the man's genitalia (and you know that's what Gianna and I would be doing), the man moves. He is alive, he smells like rotten fish, and he has no back story. The people name him Judah--after a debate about whether Jonah or Judas was the biblical whale bait and a compromise--and he becomes a constant in this story of multiple generations and diverse characters. I compare Galore to other favorite books--the storytelling magic of The Hakawati, the folklorish charm of Maritime Canada in The Shipping News. The wonderful cast of characters reminds me of the town people in the Dutch movie Antonia's Line, one of my favorite movies ever.

While Galore was published in the United States in 2011, it was an earlier release in Canada. There it won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Book, the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award, and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. It's full of mythology and sea yarns and terrific characters. It's a book that I would love to see illustrated because Michael Crummey creates so many amazing images that have lingered in my mind all year. Oh, and you know I love my Canadian fiction. Galore is my favorite book of the year.

Best of 2011 Countdown: #2

2011-12-23T17:24:00.000-06:00

Silver medalists! We're so close to #1 that Gianna might pee herself in anticipation. Too much information?

Gianna:

Blue Nights
Joan Didion
Knopf

After a devastating personal loss earlier this year, I hadlittle intention of reading Blue Nights. I knew that this book would be thelast thing I needed. But after a particularly bad night thinking of the friendI lost--and then thinking as I so often do, about her mother--I opened thefirst pages where I read, “When we talk about mortality we are talking aboutour children.” This would be the first of many sentences that took my breathaway.

I am a slow reader; this book, which is under 200 pages,took me nearly a week to read. It was too much for me at times. In fact I setit down at least twice not intending to pick it up again. Yet each day I wouldgo back to it, needing it, maybe on some level knowing that like The Year of MagicalThinking, this would be a book I would need and think about often.

Raw, direct and powerful, Blue Nights reads like Didion isdreaming. She is offering us slices of the most important parts of her life; areal gift considering she claims writing is no longer easy for her. I do hopeit has offered her some sense of solace though, as I know it has, on some levelgiven me some.

Simply the best non fictionbook I have read this year, from any publisher.

Liz:

Swamplandia!
Karen Russell
Knopf

There were two novels published in 2011 that I couldn't shut up about--Swamplandia! and my pick for #1 (all shall be revealed tomorrow). When Gianna and I started this countdown a month ago, I made a spreadsheet of my favorite books, ranked in order, and in the past 30 days I've changed the book in the #1 spot at least eight different times. I am therefore considering Swamplandia! as #1-A in my mind. I think Karen Russell's novel is one of the finest I've ever read.

Gianna wrote about Swamplandia! yesterday, and this book represents the closest that our Top 30 lists came to duplicated book and rank. This is a book that spoke to me in the way that The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao did a few years ago...and that book won the Pulitzer. It's the story of an American family, and perhaps representative of the times in which we live, the dissolution of that family. It's a coming-of-age story, a loss of innocence story, a survival story. And it's set on a tourist trap alligator wrestling park.

When the alligator-wrestling matriarch of the Bigtree clan dies, her 12 year-old daughter Ava attempts to pick up the slack and wrestle the reptiles. What's excited about watching a voluptuous adult wrestle gators is disturbing when swapped with a kid, and the park--and Bigtree family is sent reeling financially and emotionally. Ava's father disappears, her older brother Kiwi runs off to work for the rival theme park on the highway, and her sister starts dating a ghost for lack of actual suitors in the swamps of the Everglades. Ava then goes on her own odyssey with the Birdman. This is a book full of quirky characters and scenes, but don't be fooled--this is a serious literary novel that is often heartbreaking.

Best of 2011 Countdown: #3

2011-12-22T19:31:00.002-06:00

Bronze Medals! It's like Belgium at the Winter Olympics! (I actually have no idea how Belgium performs in the Olympics. They could be horrible. I just like the idea of Belgium.)

Gianna:

Swamplandia!
Karen Russell
Knopf

I have a deep love and appreciation for the FloridaEverglades. In fact I lived in Pembroke Pines, Florida, for quite a while…andsadly that huge town was once part of the Everglades. When they were buildingit up one would see alligators chugging along the backyards of new homes. Ihope they took a contractor or two with them on their travels. The Evergladesare a rich, mysterious, beautiful place. The locals that live nearest the heartof Everglades National Park (also known as Shark Valley, no...there are nosharks but plenty of gators) can be, in the nicest terms…characters. I thinkSusan Orlean did a great job of writing about the people that live in andaround Everglade City in The Orchid Thief. Anyway, the Everglades is a trulyspecial and amazing place and if you’re going to write about such a place, manyou better nail it.

Yeah, Russell nails it in Swamplandia! So many great thingshave been said about this novel (yes, another first novel on our list – though Russelldid write an outstanding book of stories called St. Lucy’s Home for GirlsRaised by Wolves – based on Liz’s life), that I will only say a few things. One, you aren’t going tofind a more original plot. You will not find a group of characters like these whonot only are strange but completely human and lovable. [Gianna is strange and lovable but possibly not human, I'm strange and human but not exactly lovable.] The book revolvesaround the Sawtooth family who own a struggling alligator wrestling farm, andif you don’t come out the other end of this book adoring this family, you havea heart of stone. You won't find a smarter, wittier book this year. You justwon’t. Okay, I will leave it at that, but you haven’t heard the last about thisbook.

Liz:

The Sense of an Ending

Julian Barnes

Knopf

I think this is the third or fourth time I've written about The Sense of an Ending on our little blog. What more is there to say? Is it a surprise that the Man Booker Prize-winning novel is my #3 pick of 2011? Probably not. This book is pretty much perfect. Short, tightly plotted, great characters, and a holy shit ending that smacks the reader upside the head. It's a book that begs for discussion. It's a literary novel that will appeal to book groups. Did I mention that it's really, really, really good?

The Sense of an Ending is part Dead Poets Society, part A Separate Peace, part The Graduate. It's a story about friendship and love and the secrets kept. It's a story about betrayals and the over-intellectualizing of emotions and human relations. Four friends, particularly Adrian and Tony, bond while in prep school. Adrian, the genius of the bunch, goes to the elite university, while Tony goes to the respectable college. There Tony meets a girl, one who is more cultured, more worldly, and in his mind, too cool for him. He also meets her family. Tony and his girlfriend visit Adrian at school. Months later, after Tony and the girl break up, she begins dating Adrian. Flash to the present: Tony is notified that he's inherited Adrian's journal after his friend's death. What the journal reveals about Adrian remains a mystery though; the ex girlfriend from 20 years earlier won't relinquish it. The plot twists keep moving a philosophical novel, and here is Julian Barnes at his absolute best.

Best of 2011 Countdown: #4

2011-12-21T17:21:00.001-06:00

You know what's insane about working for a publisher? I already have a few contenders for the #1 book of 2012. It's exciting, but I never know what the actual month is since I'm almost always reading books that go on sale six (or more) months later. Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, here are our #4 picks for 2011.

Gianna:

Bright's Passage
Josh Ritter
The Dial Press/Random House

Well some reviews are so perfect, so professional, and soartistic, that you can’t expand on it. I offer to you my original post about my#4 book on our list, Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter. If you are familiar at allwith Ritter's music you won't be at all surprised at how wonderful this bookis. If you aren't familiar with Josh Ritter the musician you are really missingout; he is widely considered to be one of our best songwriters at work today. My original post:

Josh Ritter

I love this fucking book. (And let that be a quote on anyjacket – it's called "class"). I read this book in a fury of passion. I would notput it down; everything else could wait. The story of Henry Bright (and whatcan only be described as his journey) is so vivid, beautiful, funny, andpassionate…ahhh, I sound crazy already. Anyway, it will stay with you long afterthe novel ends. It is as haunting, as it is luminous (and Liz…. I never saythat about a book do I? In fact when someone calls a book luminous I run, butdon’t run because I never use that word!) [We make fun of people who use theword 'luminous' to describe books. Does it glow in the dark? Doubtful. This is a very good book though.] This small book has so much going for it: setduring the First World War, a battle between good and evil, it's only $22,and of course it's a love story. It’s a first novel to be sure, but my God whata wonderful novel.

Rainn Wilson, Mary Louise Parker, and Glen Hansard (among others) readingfrom Bright's Passage:

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/14/josh-ritter-brights-passage/

Liz:

The Devil All the Time

Donald Ray Pollock

Doubleday

Gianna's already included The Devil All the Time, but obviously she should have ranked it much higher. I guarantee that this is the absolute best novel ever written by a former paper mill worker. It's Chuck Palahniuk without the goofy Chuck shtick, it's Flannery O'Connor on steroids, it's a cousin of Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply and Philipp Meyers' American Rust. It the Pulitzer Prize committee had the huevos to choose a book that is populated with rapists, killers, religious zealots and LOTS of darkness, The Devil All the Time could absolutely win.

Donald Ray Pollock

The story revolves around a father and son coping with the dying mother in their little nuclear grouping. The father convinces the son that if they pray long enough, faithfully enough, crazily enough (complete with the sacrifices and ritual abuses), his mother will survive. The world, of course, doesn't work that way. This is a book of broken dreams and pain, and one of survival. It's a beautiful book; it's also the most violent fiction I've ever read. The Devil All the Time isn't for the faint of heart, but I can't sing its' praises enough.