Big exciting book news!

Okay, well, not all that big or exciting. But I am excited! As of today, my new reader's guide, Now Read This III: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction (co-authored with Nancy Pearl), is finally available! It can be had through either Libraries Unlimited (the publisher), or Amazon. I fully realize it's a big chunk of change for any individual to spend, but I would be honored if you would suggest that your local library purchase a copy for their collection. It's been a long time in the making and I'm pretty proud of it, and I hope that it is useful to readers' advisors and readers.

Last week I got asked by some librarians with senses of humor* if I was going to have a big book release party, but the answer to that one is, I've already had it. It consisted of way too many milano cookies and a beer (a strange combination, but it worked for me) when I sent off the manuscript. We each celebrate in our own ways!

If you're wondering what the book looks like inside, I can give you a sampler. Pearl and I considered fiction titles (mainstream, or literary, ones; other guides take care of the genres) from the past 5-10 years and organized them according to what readers might find most appealing about them: their setting, their characters, their story, or the language and writing style of the author. Then we annotated each title and provided "related reads" for it. A sample entry looks like this:

Cleave, Chris.
Little Bee. Simon & Schuster, 2009. 271 pages. ISBN 9781416589631.
Although the jacket copy implores those who have read this novel not to tell their friends the story (because “the magic is in how the story unfolds”), what can be divulged is that it is the story of two women, from different parts of the globe, whose lives collide once, violently, on a beach in Africa, and then come together a second time as a result of that first meeting. The narrative follows the exploits of Little Bee, a young woman from Nigeria, who makes her way to Great Britain, and through no little amount of ingenuity, ends up on the doorstep of Sarah O’Rourke (and her family, although Sarah’s husband Andrew commits suicide—seemingly just days before Little Bee’s arrival).

Subjects: Africa; Book Groups; British Authors; Family Relationships; First Person; Great Britain; Immigrants and Immigration; Marriage; Men Writing as Women; Multicultural; Multiple Viewpoints; Parenting; Quick Reads
Now Try: Cleave has written another novel centering on current political events, Incendiary. Critics have compared this novel to Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (primarily for its moving characters and plot, which make it a solid book club choice); other novels about moral choices and unforeseeable events might also be offered to these readers, including William Styron’s classic Sophie’s Choice and Anne Tyler’s somewhat lighter but still thoughtful Saint Maybe. Abraham Verghese’s novel Cutting for Stone also follows a character from one continent to another; another formidable female character can be found in Monica Ali’s Brick Lane. Also of interest might be nonfiction titles from Africa, particularly Ishmael Beah’s memoir of his time as a child soldier, A Long Way Gone, or Helene Cooper’s The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood, about her youth in Liberia and how she had to flee the country during its civil war (leaving behind an adopted sister).

The book will also be available for your inspection at the Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO boothat the upcoming Public Library Association conference, held at the end of March, in Portland, Oregon (and I think they usually offer purchase deals there too). Last but not least, Nancy Pearl will be doing a book signing for the book on Thursday, March 25, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.!

*My very favorite kind of librarians.

Comments

[Venta]

Congratulations, CR! I am looking forward to seeing the book. I'm glad your hard work paid off!!

[sherry]

Congratulations! If I still owned my bookstore, I would definitely buy your book.

[Donna]

Congratulations. I'm looking forward to seeing the book in my library.

[Citizen Reader]

Thanks, Venta! I hope the hard work paid off--you'll have to let me know if I have more "hits" than "misses" in my read-alike sections (or vice versa!).

Donna, Sherry,
Thanks to you too! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Donna, I hope if your library gets the book, it is a helpful addition to their collection.

[katharine]

awesome.

[Rachael]

Congrats, CR. I'll make sure my library adds it to our professional collection. (Don't worry, we make it browsable by the general public.)

Wait, I thought you hated fiction? Or is that more like battle fatigue due to too much time in the trenches?

[Citizen Reader]

Katharine, my favorite librarian with a sense of humor,
You're also a sweetie.

Thanks, Rachael! (And double thanks for helping it into your library's collection--I appreciate it.) I laughed so hard when I read your comment. Although it probably often appears as "hate," I think I simply have a more complex relationship with fiction. When I love it, I really REALLY love it (Anne Tyler, J.D. Salinger, Diane Schoemperlen). But when I hate it--hoo boy. I tried very hard not to let it show, because it's not a book of reviews, but I really hated some of the titles that appear in Now Read This III, I'll admit it. And I totally disdain fiction like that produced (not written) by James Patterson. But when I found good titles? Wowza. If anything, I simply got too lazy for fiction--I found I was starting ten books to find one I liked, whereas even in bad nonfiction I can usually skim and find a little something of interest.

It's really interesting, and it was fun to immerse in fiction. I rather hope it made me a stronger readers' advisor, not only in fiction, but across F/NF lines.

[Emily]

Congrats! This looks awesome :)

[Venta]

If you wanted to start your book tour in Seattle, I'd be more than happy to host you!!

[Robin]

"Oh, well, Pearl and I..." :) I'm usually so impressed by your day-to-day niftiness that I forget you're famous! Congratulations! And thanks for all the hard work you do to make book talking easier and more fun.

[Thomas Roberto Wallace]

Congratulations. 'Bout time it came out. It's my most anticipated book release of the year.

Pardon my gentle sarcasm.

So did you slog through Gravity's Rainbow? Infinite Jest? 2666?

I kid, I kid. I haven't read Gravity's Rainbow. Yet.

[Rachael]

Infinite Jest defeated me. I hope you left that one for Nancy* to read.

*She does only go by the one name amongst librarians, right?

[Citizen Reader]

Ha, Mr. T.R.W. Von,
I would HOPE it would be the most eagerly anticipated title of the year. You should know 2666 is included in the annotations--even though I admit I couldn't read the whole thing!

And, if you think I'm touching "Gravity's Rainbow," you're way, way off. I tried "The Crying of Lot 49" and couldn't even make it through THAT! But I did try. But Mr. Pynchon and I are never fated to become author and fan.

I still want to try "Infinite Jest." Just have to find the time. I still feel bad that DFW is no longer with us.

[Citizen Reader]

Rachael,
I think she does go by just "Nancy," but with an exclamation point: Nancy!

Luckily "Infinite Jest" was old enough that Nancy! had already described it, in the first volume of "Now Read This," so I got out of that one.

And, Robin,
You're very nice, but let's not be bandying about words like "famous." But I really like "day to day niftiness," thank you, and although I'm not really very nifty (although I am very "everyday") I'll take it!

[sarah]

AND your Best Business Books of 2009 article just got published in LJ!!!

Guess you won't be at PLA to do a booksigning . . .

[Heather]

Woohoo! Congratulations!

[Rick]

Wow, congratulations. You know Nancy Pearl! I am placing an order. Oh, Baker and Taylor lists the wrong author!

I feel similarly about fiction. I often think "why would I want to read something somebody just made up?" Then I remember something I really like a lot. Most of it is like watching television (oops, I am showing my biases) but there really is some good fiction out there.

[Citizen Reader]

Thanks, Heather!

And thank you too, Rick! (Sorry about the author stuff in B & T, I'll have to ask someone about that. Neal Wyatt was originally under contract to work on this book, but didn't have time; they finally got the authors right at Amazon but we'll have to address the B & T issue too). And thank you for the order! If you're going to PLA, though, they might have better conference deals on it there?

Yeah, fiction. Sadly I find more good TV (but I'm addicted to the PBS spin-off "Create" for the travel and food shows) than good fiction lately. What does that say about the state of culture?

[Jenny]

Wow, this is great! Best of luck with it.

[Citizen Reader]

Thanks, Jenny!
How you doin'? How's the liberry? All well, I hope...