Shelfari

Getting your book on shelf

From Daily Planet

Veteran bookseller and publisher David Unowsky offers no-nonsense advice on how to place your book on store shelves (and ensure that it doesn't just sit there). Read Article

Chasing Bruce Chatwin

by Steve King at Today in Literature

On this day in 1940 Bruce Chatwin was born. Even leaving out the literary controversy and the personality cult, Chatwin's life has dramatic scope -- middle-class Birmingham teenager to Sotheby's clerk, to art-world star, to ultima thule by backpack, to a handful of best-sellers, a burst of fame, and death at forty-eight. Adding the debate over the books and the author back in might shift the drama closer to opera, but few since Hemingway have attracted such attention, or been credited with establishing "a new definition of the Writer as Hero." (more)

       

Happy Reading,

Amanda

"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. I know they are as lively, and as vigorously productive, as those fabulous dragon’s teeth; and being sown up and down, may chance to spring up armed men."

~John Milton (1608–1674)

The Last Lecture

When Randy Pausch was given the opportunity to speak at Carnegie Mellon University's annual "The Last Lecture" series, it was only the beginning.  Recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, this father of three (pictured above) gave a lecture titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". His inspiring lecture on valuable life lessons quickly caught media attention and he has spent the last 7 months recounting his story.  At the urging of his wife, Pausch wrote a book fittingly titled "The Last Lecture" (released April 8th).  The author graciously did an interview with Amazon prior to the book release: 

Amazon.com: Your lecture at Carnegie Mellon has reached millions of people, but even with the short time you apparently have, you wanted to write a book. What did you want to say in a book that you weren't able to say in the lecture?

Pausch: Well, the lecture was written quickly--in under a week. And it was time-limited. I had a great six-hour lecture I could give, but I suspect it would have been less popular at that length ;-).

A book allows me to cover many, many more stories from my life and the attendant lessons I hope my kids can take from them. Also, much of my lecture at Carnegie Mellon focused on the professional side of my life--my students, colleagues and career. The book is a far more personal look at my childhood dreams and all the lessons I've learned. Putting words on paper, I've found, was a better way for me to share all the yearnings I have regarding my wife, children and other loved ones. I knew I couldn't have gone into those subjects on stage without getting emotional.

Amazon.com: You talk about the importance--and the possibility!--of following your childhood dreams, and of keeping that childlike sense of wonder. But are there things you didn't learn until you were a grownup that helped you do that?

Pausch: That's a great question. I think the most important thing I learned as I grew older was that you can't get anywhere without help. That means people have to want to help you, and that begs the question: What kind of person do other people seem to want to help? That strikes me as a pretty good operational answer to the existential question: "What kind of person should you try to be?" (to read complete interview)

Amanda

Infected!

Tomorrow marks the release of Scott Sigler’s Infected.  Becky LeJeune at No More Grumpy Bookseller (an avid Shelfarian), did a great review of Sigler’s novel. 

                          

I've been anxiously awaiting Scott Sigler's Infected ever since I first learned of its publication, and the circumstances behind it. 

Sigler, author of two previous novels, Earthcore and Ancestor, is the kind of author you just have to admire, if not downright adore. Stubborn as can be, Sigler refused to take rejection sitting down, and thank GOD. When he couldn't get published, he began offering his books as weekly podcasts, soon after, developing a hard-core fan base. The industry finally took notice and like David Wellington, another web-based author with the same sort of idea, Sigler was snatched up by Random House and now has a major multi-book deal.

Infected is a story about "biological possession" (Sigler's own words). People all over the country are showing strange symptoms that include severe paranoia and extreme violent tendencies. The CIA and the CDC are working together to find the cause of this strange outbreak before it gets too widespread. Meanwhile, ex-football star Perry Dawsey has just become infected. The reader is treated to a totally grossed-out play-by-play as the infection spreads and I have to tell you I have not been so creeped out since The Hot Zone. Sigler's use of graphic description and really believable science make this an exceptional read. I have buggy skin just thinking about the book!

Similar titles brought to mind by this book are, as mentioned, Preston's non-fiction account of marburg and ebola outbreaks in The Hot Zone and, believe it or not, Tess Gerritsen's Gravity (the last of her medical thrillers). Oddly enough, Infected seems to have been at least partially inspired by the totally weird Morgellon's disease.

So, if you're in the mood for an incredibly yucky and wonderfully gory sci-fi/horror/thriller, I highly recommend you run out and get Infected when it hits shelves on April 1. This book junkie is thoroughly enjoying every agonizing minute of it!

Visit Scott Sigler on Shelfari.

Happy Reading,

Amanda

Released this Week:

            

·         Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman

·         The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

·         Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Don & Susie Van Ryn & Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak

·         Climate Confusion: How Global Warming Hysteria Leads to Bad Science, Pandering Politicians and Misguided Policies that Hurt the Poor by Roy Spencer

·         Sports Illustrated: Brett Favre: The Tribute by Sports Illustrated

·         The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer

·         Dark Day in the Deep Sea by Mary Pope Osborne & Sal Murdocca

·         Worlds at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West by Anthony Pagden

·         Hollywood Crows: A Novel by Joseph Wambaugh

·         Wrath of a Mad God by Raymond E. Feist

·         Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton

·         Buckingham Palace Gardens: A Novel by Anne Perry

·         Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball by Jose Canseco

Happy Reading,

Amanda

Have you entered The Panic Years?

I enjoy movie previews.  Seriously.  Not to say I appreciate every preview I see. There are times I actually want to watch the movie (instead of spending 5 minutes fast forwarding to get to MENU).  One of my close friends closes his eyes during previews.  His reasoning?  He doesn't want to spoil the movie if he might ever see it.  I can understand the logic, but I need a teaser.  It's the same way with books. I'll be honest, I have grand plans to read all the books in my TBR pile, but it takes a push for a book to land in my purse or on the nightstand.  Today I  got "pushed" by a blog posting about Doree Lewak's "The Panic Years: A Guide to Surviving Smug Married Friends, Bad Taffeta, and Life on the Wrong Side of 25 Without a Ring".

                               

If the "previews" for this book are telling of what's found between the covers, then I can justify adding it to my wish list.  Let me ask you this: Are you one of the millions suffering from the Panic Years?  Watch Doree Lewak humorously diagnose the tell-tale signs of The Panic Years.  If any of this sounds familiar, then you've got to read this book with me.

·         Your mom slips you the number of her tennis partner’s son … for the fifth time.

·         It’s down to you and the five-year-old flower girl at the bouquet toss.

·         Upon hearing “Guess what? I’m engaged!” for the second time in one week, you disconnect your phone.

·         You actively scheme to win back your ex—even though he’s already engaged to someone else.

Happy Reading,

Amanda

Too much? Palahniuk's "Choke" Reviewed

Review from Baby Got Books

“Choke” is a term often used to describe someone who comes up short. In describing Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk (and to quote a phrase used throughout the book), “choke” isn’t the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind.

Palahniuk seems to be somewhat of a counterculture hero (at least according to some folks I’ve heard talk about him), whose most famous book (I think) is Fight Club (a movie a saw and just really didn’t get); he clearly knows how to write for shock value about uncomfortable and disturbing situations.

I read a blurb about Choke and decided to give it a shot. When all was said and done, I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed. I didn’t like the main character/narrator/”protagonist”, Victor Mancini; he’s just flat out unlikeable, although that might be the point. The story follows him around with flashbacks to his childhood, as he deals with a strange mother, his own sexual addiction, and some other strange characters that fill out the story. His struggle to find out who he really is becomes the reader’s struggle. And I just didn’t think it was a worthwhile struggle.

The main storyline, or so I was lead to believe by the commentary that induced me into trying this book, was supposed to be Mancini’s scam of pretending to choke in restaurants, getting saved by a good samaritan, and having that person feel a sense of responsibility for Mancini, sending him money on his birthday and otherwise helping him out. But that really was a small thread of the book. The bulk of the book was spent on his so-called sexual addition (complete with — earmuffs, youngsters — more talk of his “dog” and “white soldiers” than I felt like dealing with) and his mother, who was apparently in the final stages of Alzheimer’s while in a nursing home, and who was giving him reason to question who he thought he was.

I’ll give Palahniuk credit for sort of tying things together at the end. It wasn’t perfect, but considering how low the bar had dropped by the time I was two-thirds of the way into the book, he should get a medal for not making me want to burn the thing when I was through with it. And I guess I shouldn’t hold Palahniuk responsible for my own pre-conceived notions about what the book would be like, which were based on other people’s subjective opinions. In fact, Palahniuk starts the book with the following:

If you’re going to read this, don’t bother.

After a couple pages, you won’t want to be here. So forget it. Go away. Get out while you’re still in one piece.

Save yourself.

Maybe I should have listened. Although I made the mistake of thinking that that the narrator was going to shock or disturb me in some rewarding way, rather than thinking he was going to disappoint me with his story and some of his crude sexual references.

What is a National Treasure?

To some book lovers it's David McCullough!  

McCullough has published several tomes that are collectively a narrative of America. An insightful storyteller, he has tackled the monumental: whether the building of the Brooklyn Bridge or the complex life of man like Harry Truman. His books, John Adams and 1776, are the basis of the truly awesome 7 hour drama now running on HBO. I was blown away by the first 2 (of the 7) episodes I saw on Sunday. His publisher of 40 years, Simon and Schuster, ran a full page ad in The New York Times yesterday congratulating McCullough for his achievements, which include winning the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They, too, called him a national treasure. As someone who has read his books, as well as been lucky to have met him and hear him speak, I would have to agree!

David Nudo

Final Odyssey: Arthur C. Clarke

"Arthur looks like a scientist. His work is infused with science and even more importantly, a respect for science in the same way that a diva's appearances are infused with perfume. But for all that, what has struck me the most in reading his work over the decades is that his science is never dry. It's filled with the same sense of wonder I felt when I first encountered SF as a child, that feeling of amazement and joy that true scientists experience when they make a new discovery, when they contribute some small fact to the great body of human knowledge. Reading Arthur C. Clarke is like opening Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, with one important exception: you always know what you're going to get, and it's all good."

- Alan Dean Foster

A modern day time traveler passed away today at the age of 90.  Sir Arthur C. Clarke was an author and a scientist, his published works include: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rendezvous with Rama, Childhood's Light, and many more.  Clarke was a visionary force in technology, best known for conceptualizing the geostationary communications satellite.  He is also famous for Clarke's Three Laws:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right.  When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficient advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Thank you, Sir Arthur Clarke!  You have indeed left your mark.

-Amanda