Stay Awake by Dan Chaon

(Gianna)

When I left Random House last year to become sales manager at UT, I failed to give enough thought to one important thing: I wouldn’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 to talk about his story collections Fitting Ends and Among the Missing, or his novels You Remind Me of Me and my favorite book of 2010, Await Your Reply. I mean, 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. Frankly I am surprised that no one grabbed me by the shoulders (who am I kidding? the hair) 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 back with an outstanding collection called Stay Awake (Feb 2012). Fasten your seat belts; I have decided to unofficially sell the hell out of this new book as well. Stay Awake is a reminder of why I was drawn to Chaon in the first place: he is a master of the short story.  You think you don’t like short stories, by the way? This collection can change your mind in the same way Lorrie Moore’s Birds of America brought so many fans to read stores for the first time.

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

My favorite selection is the title story, "Stay Awake." A young couple gives birth to a baby who has a parasitic twin.  I have long been fascinated by this incredibly rare medical condition (I believe there have been less than a dozen cases) 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 for days. [Twins are creepy!...says the twin.]

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

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

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

We asked one of our favorite people to be a guest blogger for the day. Randy Ham was a buyer with Hastings Entertainment for a spell (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 hugely successful One Book Odessa campaign. Randy is also the biggest Stevie Nicks fan we'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 am doing. Like most people in this profession, I grew up with a deep, abiding love for books. Many of my fondest childhood memories are of getting books from my parents, family, and friends (some of them I still have to this day). I read like a fiend, often devouring three or four books in 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 in a place surrounded by books? They would PAY ME to be around books???? I couldn’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 we dusted. The children’s section was just outside the office door, and I would walk by 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 Stone everyday, thinking, “I should read that.” I was able to work my way up to Store Manager just in time for parent company Barnes and Noble to start phasing out the B. Dalton stores. By then, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do. I had the skill set to sell books. I enjoyed waiting on customers, showing them the books that I loved, and discovering new authors to read. Even selling that damned loyalty card was a small price to pay for the little slice of Nirvana in Odessa.

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

 

Time went on, and I was able to make a move to Barnes and Noble 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 of merchandising well, and keeping a large store like that neat and alphabetized. It was rigorous work, and it was my first introduction to task work overtaking customer service. Our store manager was from Office Depot and didn’t like to read. Never a good sign. Nonetheless, the rest of the management staff rallied around the booksellers and passed along important new release information and backlist promotions. [Backlist: book industry term for books that aren't new releases.]  You can’t really teach Book Passion to anyone, but what you can do is teach Book Knowledge. Give booksellers the tools to be able to help the customers find the right book for them.

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

That’s when I was approached to become the Book Manager at my local Hastings. It was really the best of both worlds: I would be responsible for everything that went on in the book department without the burden of being store manager and worrying about things like labor, inventory costs, etc. This is where I really began to work at full throttle. At this point, Hastings was the only bookstore in town, but sales were less than stellar. Most people would rather drive to Midland and go to B&N (a real bookstore). It was an uphill battle, but after 3 years in the position, our sales became something of note, as did our events. We really became a community center, especially for children. I learned about things like Read Across America, and Drop Everything and Read. We began to celebrate these days with big events, drawing customers in, selling books, and most importantly, getting children excited to be in a bookstore. I couldn’t be more proud of my staff and the work we accomplished.

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

Billy Bob Thornton was in the store shopping one night, right before Read Across America. Our celebrations usually entailed local celebrities reading from their favorite Seuss books. Why not get a national celebrity? 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 my bags, 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 the business side of bookselling. It was a rough first year, but the sales reps and the other buyers were incredibly helpful. I took what I knew about handselling and 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, I thought about how lucky indie bookshops are in this regard. They get the reps visiting the store itself, and more often than not, the buyer for an indie also knows (or is) the manager or senior bookseller. It helps facilitate the flow of info from the publisher to the customer. With larger chains, the info tends to stop at the buyer level, and not really get to the bookseller who is talking to the customer. I don’t think it’s really the fault of the buyers, just the nature of the beast. There’s only so much info you can filter down to 145 stores, especially stores in which employees regularly have to juggle books, music and video duties. I spent three years at that post, and I learned a lot. Let me tell you, sales reps know their stuff (especially Liz and Gianna...but mostly Liz)! [Damn straight.] What would always impress me was when some rep would 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 I believed we could sell on a national level. It was like handselling on steroids. What I missed was the personal connection to the customers. It was one thing to see numbers 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 get back into the trenches.

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

Randy talking about
One Book Odessa

I was very excited to partner with my local library on our first every city-wide read: One Book Odessa. Nine months of me running all over town, 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 in line looked at me and asked if I had worked at Waldenbooks. I replied in the affirmative. Looking right into my eyes, she said, “You recommended Memoirs of a Geisha to me years ago and it rekindled my love of reading. Thank you so much.” Brad Meltzer punched me in the arm, and said, “See? Look at what your legacy is!” Brad Meltzer.

One of the best things to come out of One Book Odessa was my working relationship with our school district. It went beyond Institutional Orders and morphed into sponsoring an essay contest for One Book, and me volunteering 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 at one 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 the money.

I’ve been in my library for a whole semester now, and it has been amazing. Children LOVE to read, and they get excited over the same things that excite me. I got to host a Diary of a Wimpy Kid Party for the upper grades. And for my little ones, we wrote fan letters to Michael Chabon because they loved The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man so much. Mr. Chabon wrote the students back, and they went crazy over a piece of paper from a guy they don’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 about the turmoil publishing is having, and the digital revolution, but what I don’t read 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 and lucky to be a part of this industry, and so happy to know so many other great people who are a part of it as well. We fight the good fight, and no matter what anyone says, we’re winning!

Generally Horrible Questions: Scott Montgomery

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 I got 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 guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson, The Wildwood Boys, The Professionals which is living up to its hype, and Elmore Leonard's Raylan.

5.  What is your favorite part of your job?

Money for nothing and your chicks for free...oh wait, that was Dire Straits cover band days. The friendships with the authors and 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 Quit by 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….Larry Craig?

Author Craig Johnson

Selling Craig Johnson's books pays my rent, so I'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. I always suggest the first book, Walking The Perfect Square, when people say the genre 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 to Obama.

14. Coolest author you’ve ever met? 

You two broads are trying to get me into trouble since many of my friends are authors. Outside of the writers I normally hang out with, George Pelecanos. He's the definition. The man writes, walks, and talks 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, who would it be? Please don’t say Stephanie Plum….

Since the best detective writers have haunted or wounded heroes, I'd be Richard Prather's Shell Scott. He was oddly good looking with a white buzz cut and piece of his ear cut, drove a cool car, always had a great quip, never seemed to want for cash, and slept with at least two great looking babes in under 180 pages. Don't know if I'd want to be him when the was naked 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

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 to this. 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 book Swing Your Sword for sports fans. And David Liss, Joe McKinney and Rhiannon Frater...any of their books for fiction fans.

Tracy Kaempfe  - Hastings Entertainment buyer and one of the only people in Amarillo who still speaks to Gianna

I am back to reading the classics, or, more accurately the banned classics. Currently, I am reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and then will move on to Lolita by Nabakov, neither of which I was allowed to read in high school.

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

The ONLY book I received this year as a gift was, My Last Supper: The Next Course and it is a 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 vegan cookbooks than I can count!

Tiffany Gale – Bookseller at BookPeople

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

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

And here's my cat: Wombat

Julie Bach -  BookPeople Publicist and one of our favorite people

Julie

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

The best book I got this season wasn't quite a gift. Well, it was a gift I gave myself - a reader of A Partial 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 look smart. But also, it's a great story. I was quickly and totally immersed in the world of Cold War Russia and the plight of one chess player to be World Champion, and the simultaneous story of a young woman dealing with her diagnosis of Huntington's Disease (and not dealing with it gracefully, either). Judging by her author photo, Dubois looks to be young, so I was skeptical when I picked it up because I don't believe anyone younger than I am can do anything very well unless her name is Tea Obreht, but man can this girl tell a story. Swept me right up. I can't wait to start handselling it.

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

Carla Buckley

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

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

Dr. Who and James

This year, my husband gave me The Paris Wife because I'd done an event with Paula McLain last year and he knew 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 complete without 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 Speed McNeil (one of my favorite indie graphic novel series). Best I gave: American Gods 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’t receive any books for the holiday, however I gave one of my favorite books to my mom.  And that book is Chinaberry Sidewalks on CD.  I thought my mom would really like this because she grew up in the South and I thought she would love Rodney Crowell’s story, which is full of humor and a great sense of place.  The bonus in the CD is that he reads it himself. 

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 The Pruning Book by Lee Reich because a girl's got to know how to get 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 is nothing short of brilliant. 

Quick Questions: Holiday Giving

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 by Edward Abbey.

Seth's pal Vanny

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

Alison Kothe Nihlean – Mother of two and BookPeople bookseller

Books I gave as presents this 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 Chick tract from a well dressed hobo squatting near the Walgreen's Redbox. It was the perfect gift.

Elaine in the snow.

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

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

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

Charley's pal Ophelia

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

You probably already know my book of the year...Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I handsold his first, 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 after Gianna’s heart

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

Elizabeth...and a firearm.

Best given: The Complete Pogo Strips Volume 1 by Walt Kelly. My 80 year-old grandmother is obsessed with Pogo - quotes it all the time. She's not reading much anymore so it was great to 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 and family don't seem to love any of us. None of us got books as gifts this year.

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

John, who loves Celine Dion

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

I (John) gave my nieces and nephews a big box of some of my favorite YA books for Christmas. Here's what was in it: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Spellwright by Blake Charlton, Heist Society by Ally Carter, The Oracles of Delphi Keep and The Curse of the Deadman's Forest by Victoria Laurie, Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, and Beautiful 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

Danielle wins the prize for giving me the best books this year. First, a beautiful edition of James and the Giant Peach in French, because we like to imagine we can read/comprehend the French. And second, an amazing craft edition of Rimbaud's A Season in Hell, in French and English, translation by Nick Sarno. 

I gave lots of copies of Schott's Quintessential Miscellany (at least 6) because they're endlessly fascinating and everyone can find something neat inside. The book I enjoyed handselling most was We Need a Horse by Sheila Heti, painted by Clare Rojas from McSweeney's Press. It's not for everyone, but for those who connect with the fable, it is the among the most remarkable illustrated books they have ever read.

Danielle Dubois Dimond – Bookseller and buyer at Brazos Bookstore

Danielle

BEST BOOK I RECEIVED THIS HOLIDAY - The best book(s) I received this year were first editions of three volumes of Anais Nin's Diaries.  I don't believe the whole set is still in print, so my husband did a little local used-book sleuthing for me.  I love reading authors' diaries because, as a writer myself, I'm really interested in what's going on behind the scenes with an artist's creative process.  Nin's diaries are kind of the holy grail because not only are they beautifully written, exhaustive, and subtly psychedelic, but they're naughty as hell, too.  High-brow wank material is clearly where it's at.

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

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

Kester Smith -- BookPeople bookseller

Kester, Harry, and Rachel

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

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

Not that you asked, but my best sale was The Red Book by Carl Jung. A customer came to my register and saw it sitting behind me (where we keep the $200 books) and asked, "Hey, is that The Red Book?" When I responded in the affirmative, he said, "I've heard it's cool." My response 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 started working at Lemuria no one gives me books anymore so I have to give them to myself.  This year I gave myself the Delta Magazine Cookbook.

I sold many books over the holidays, but probably the ones I sold the most copies of were The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jusi Adler Olsen, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, and Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.  I also I am very proud that I was able to sell 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 even gave me a book. I think it's like giving a florest flowers - people are afraid to. Except I know other booksellers get books so maybe it's me - maybe I'm an ass. 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 myself a 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 by UT Press!

Nolan Fellows -- BookPeople bookseller and talented artist

Nolan

I didn't get any books for Christmas, which isn't much of a 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 I need to is How Soon is Never by Marc Spitz. It's a really great, quick read perfect 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 book Timeless Mexico to my brother Chris, the Stephen King novel 11/22/1963 to my brother Ron. I gave my father the latest John Grisham  (The Litigators)and the ESPN book Those Guys Have all the Fun. I also gave my mother the latest Stephanie Plum book - she loves the series - and I bought my girlfriend a Running Press book called Upcycling...which she asked for...I think it's a crafty book which scares me.

I received two excellent books. One from Lizzy and one from the old lady. Liz gave me a signed first edition of the Diane Keaton memoir Then Again. I haven't read it as I don't want to mess it up. Hoping someone else will give me a unsigned 3rd edition so I can actually read it. My girlfriend gave me a truly cool book published by Lonely Planet called The Cities Book. I think 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 choo charlie), and to my little friend Eleanor who is a class act.

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

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

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.