Knopf 100--Day 7

Hollywood owes a ton to Knopf publishing. Even though the press is mostly thought of in terms of numbers of Nobel laureates and prestige, Alfred and the subsequent editors loved the dark and stormy nights. Since it's rained for two straight days in Austin, indulging in the noir seems appropriate today. (Note on the list: I've added numbers to Gianna's picks from yesterday, so we're now up to #21.)

21. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in 1931. No Knopf? No Hammett. No Humphrey Bogart (possibly a stretch). Dashiell Hammett was a house author for Knopf, so I just plucked one of his novels off the list. A bird statue with a fortune, a dead partner, cops, dames, and the wise cracking Sam Spade made The Maltese Falcon a huge hit. If you've seen the movie, read the book. It's exactly what you'd want it to be.

22. Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway, originally published in 2012. It hasn't made it to the silver screen yet, but I would love to see a film adaptation of Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. Harkaway happens to be John LeCarre's son, and his second novel is a crazy send-up to spy thrillers and the Cold War era. An octogenarian granny super spy, the mob, a crazy serial killer with Buddhist ninja minions, and a hapless clock maker at the center of a global conspiracy are racing to locate the clockwork doomsday machine. Some are racing to trigger it, some are racing to keep it from destroying the world. At points Angelmaker is hilarious and so over the top, but it's too much fun to quit reading.

23. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme, originally published in 2006. If you saw Julie & Julia, you quickly realized that Julie Powell was a self-consumed whiner and Julia Child is the mother of all culinary bad asses. The Julia Child parts of that film were based on My Life in France. Julia Child--tall woman, OSS spy, no nonsense destroyer of snooty sexist French chefs, and queen of the French/American kitchen--is larger than life, and one should read her stories of France directly from the star of the show.

24. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, originally published in 2008. As a faithful adaptation of the book, I recommend the Swedish film, but the US version with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig (mmm...Daniel Craig) is none too shabby either. Larsson's thriller was titled Men Who Hate Women in Sweden and that title fits. Lisbeth Salander, the protagonist of Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, has been abused, raped, robbed, called insane, and abandoned by family and caretakers, but she's also the epitome of tough revenge-seekers. If you're lucky, she'll just hack your computer, steal your fortune, and provide evidence of your criminal activity to the authorities. Piss her off and expect much, much worse treatment. I love Lisbeth Salander for her anger and for being both damaged and fearless. She's one of the most compelling characters I've ever read.

New Year, New 30 Day Book Challenge, Day 27

Day 27: Favorite Book Cover

Gianna:

We have attacked this question before so we’ve decided to limit ourselves to our favorite book cover of the past twelve months. It wasn’t long before we realized we would have to change that to favorite book covers; there was no way we could decide on just one.

Full disclosure; there are a few books on my list that I haven’t read, a couple that I probably won't read, and I have included a culinary book so you can gather pretty quickly I will never read it.  In fact, let's start with that book because it sure is pretty, and it’s the best book treatment I have seen in quite a while. 

Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts) – cover design by Praline Studios. I came across this book when I was in New York for work a couple of weeks ago, and the cover image here doesn’t come close to giving you an idea of how gorgeous this book is. Go to the Praline website and check out the detail, especially the spine. It’s a complete work of art; how Bloomsbury did this for $50 I will never understand. 

Next up for me is a sentimental favorite which has already won a couple of small press jacket design awards.  We had lots of discussions about this jacket for Let the People In at work, lots of back and forth, but in the end our designer (Lindsay S.) did an absolutely fantastic job. [I totally agree. It's iconic.]

As usual, any time we do a list of any sort, I like to include a story collection; annoying ain't it?  I Am An Exectuioner: Love Stories by Rajesh Parameswaran (call me if you would like me to mispronounce that for ya) [Email me if you want Gianna's phone number] is a book I was drawn to by because of this really cool, really perfect cover design. Oh, I have been burned before, purchased a real stinker that looked pretty (still talking books), but this book was really fantastic. I can't remember if it made my top ten or not (I don't actually read our blog because I've heard it's quite bad), but I did like this book a lot. 

My next book has sat unread on my bookshelf for a year. I quickly became so tired of hearing my blog-partner-in-life go on and on about how good of a read it was, that I decided to put it on the back burner.  Like any life partnership, it's very difficult, and certainly a mistake, to acknowledge the other is right in any situation (I used to be a couples therapist), so while I really want to read Watergate by Thomas Mallon, I think it's best I don't for fear Liz will be right. [First, this is a lifetime gig? Shit. Second, I'm always right.]

This next book is as handsome to look at as Tom Cruise in Risky Business! 

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright. Some subjects are hard to capture for a book cover. It leads to many different designs, many arguments, and often times one has to just sit down to with a couple of empty soup cans on a string--also known as an e-meter--and process it with your auditor to figure out what's really bothering you (that will be my only crack about Scientology...if you don't include the Tom Cruise comment. Seriously, I am done now). Anyway, my point is that sometimes typography is the way to go and this jacket is an absolute home run. Its thetan-tastic!  [I'm sorry, but this blog, though crappy, remains a pun-free zone.]

I was only going to do five books, but I want to give an honorable mention to The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin. Actually, this author has hit the jackpot when it comes to book covers; her past three books have had really great looks, hardcover and paperback versions. I think historical fiction is a touch genre to cover--it has to be clear that it's a historical novel--but it also has to look modern enough for us to be interested.  I will let you look up her previous books but here is a look at her latest. [A quick shout out for Melanie Benjamin, who was kind--foolish?--enough to answer our horrible questions once. She's made the New York Times extended bestseller list and success couldn't come to a nicer person.]

Liz:

Yes, I do judge a book by its cover on a regular basis. I don't claim to know anything about good cover design, but like porn, I know it when I see it. It's simple: great covers lure customers into picking up the book. Less simple: nailing hundreds of pages worth of text with a single image. If Gianna hadn't already picked them, both Let the People In and Watergate would appear here. Consider them part of my list, but for the sake of variety, and since you just looked at them, I'll spare you.

Let's start with what I consider possibly the best book cover I've ever seen. Seriously. Peter Mendelsund, the designer, is the genius behind the covers of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the gorgeous new translation of Doctor Zhivago, the Jo Nesbo books like The Snowman. His cover for The Flame Alphabet, though, literally made the reps gasp when we saw it as sales conference. That day I wrote a note to a colleague that said "They better not change that one. It's perfect." (Covers often change between sales conference and on sale.) I wanted to own this book for the cover alone. I would frame this cover.

I love the look of The Beautiful Ruins, from the image to the script. It evokes a time and place and draws in readers. Don't you want to know the story that matches this setting? Me too. It's on my to-be-read pile right now.

For shear badassery, it's hard to beat Angelmaker's cover. It captures the clockwork mechanics that play a central role in the novel, it's has a code hidden in the design that's waiting to be cracked, and it's shiny.

My Random House Children's division colleagues loved Wonder, a book about a boy who can't hide his facial deformity from classmates. It's a book that passionately advocates for compassion and crusades against bullying. The cover conveys a message of fragility and surprise without beating you over the head with, like, Eric Stoltz's made-up face from the movie Mask. That would have been too much. This is not.

I was totally charmed by Where'd You Go Bernadette, and I'm totally charmed by this cover. It captures Bernadette's quirky nature and missteps--she's a world class architect trapped in suburban hell that's partially of her own making. It's just cool.


Speaking of cool, this reissue of Invisible Man is very, very cool. I already own Invisible Man, I've already read Invisible Man (it's great and a must read, by the way), so I really don't need this copy. But I want it. 

The Books We Want for the Holidays: Angelmaker

The paperback
is available now.

So sometimes you want to read a book that's just bad ass in the best ways.  You want some adventure, you want some sexy times, you want some gangsters, and you want, say, a doomsday machine that a hapless hero accidentally activates and must figure out how to destroy before it destroys the world.  If you can throw in some killer elephants, a serial killer, a geriatric granny spy, and an army of militant monks standing in the hero's path, all the better.

The hardcover jacket
has a hidden code to
decipher, because it's
cool like that.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway.  Nick is spy novel master John LeCarre's son (daddy wrote Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, among many other books), and his exposure to great thriller plotting is evident.  What I love about Harkaway's writing, though, is that he's hilarious, he's outrageous, and yet he's completely engrossing.  Sometimes I'm reminded of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club and Choke, and sometimes I'm reminded of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, and sometimes I'm reminded of the new wave of snarky movie heroes like Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man.  But really, Nick Harkaway is a riot, and an original.  No one is writing books quite so entertaining right now.  

Come on--clockwork bees are going to destroy the world?  How can you resist?

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You: 2012

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.

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 28

Day 28: The Last Book You Read

Gianna:

I have no interest in money. I know it’s terrible.  I know. This debt ceiling thing is kicking my ass. Plus I have a brother who really gets into the nitty gritty of money management and likes talking to me about his mortgage lender and their conversations. I had like two conversations with my mortgage lender by the way; why he has so many conversations with his mortgage lender is just really alien to me. [Recipe swapping?] But he enjoys it like I enjoy listening to old Lily Tomlin Live records (good old Lud and Marie) so…. I let the boy be.

Anyhoo, Bill Brands (H.W. Brands) has a slim volume called Greenback Planet: How the dollar Conquered the World and Threatened Civilization As We Know It, due out by the University of Texas Press. Think of it as everything you always wanted to know about the dollar but didn’t know to ask. Brands hit all the topics you would expect (if you knew to expect them): from the Civil War, flat money, and Black Friday to the creation of the Federal Reserve. Oh, and the who’s who is in here as well: Alexander Hamilton, JP Morgan, FDR, Jay Gould, Alan Greenspan (the sex symbol of the book), Ben Bernanke, and a load of others. The book concludes with the dissection of the 2008 financial debacle. The best part for me? Incredibly readable and truly succinct.

Liz:

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

I was a big fan of Harkaway after reading first book, The Gone-Away World, and I'm now an even bigger fan.  Harkaway, if he's new to you, is thriller master John Le Carre's son.  He's forging his own literary reputation by focusing on terrific plots and pacing, quirky and witty characters, and humor.  His newest novel, Angelmaker, comes out early in 2012 and it's worth placing it on your must read list for the new year. 

Nick Harkaway

Angelmaker is a combination of a spy thriller and Kakfaesque critique of contemporary society with a doomsday device ticking away to keep the story moving.  The main character, Joe Spork, had fought against his mobster father's legacy by following in his grandfather's footsteps with a career in repairing clockwork.  Joe is not above taking on semi-shady commissions, though, and when a friend presents him with a strange, mechanized book, Joe, takes up the challenge by fixing it and installing it into a beehive-like larger machine.  Then the clock starts ticking toward the end of the world.  The woman who possessed the book, an octogenarian named Edie Banister, was a super-spy from World War II intent on bringing down the ruler of a small principality, and Edie waging a fifty year spy vs. spy war against him.  Joe is suddenly in over his head and Edie's terrific past is revealed.  And in Harkaway fashion, there are terrorist monks, a famed serial killer, mobsters, government agents.  There are elephants and clockwork bees and torture hospitals and a secret train and a mobster underworld market.  Who wouldn't want to read this book?