If you're headed to the beach and you still don't know what to take, here are a few more resources for you:
NPR readers have voted and come up with the 100 Best Beach Books Ever. As with any list of this nature, it's not going to please everyone, but I think it's a pretty great selection of books. There's truly something for everyone. The list even includes a couple of Jack Murnighan's selections from Beowulf on the Beach.
Speaking of our Summer Reading Challenge, here's Jack reading from The Iliad:
(You can listen by using the player above. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)
First, we'd like to thank everyone for your wonderful comments about our change to a weekly podcast schedule. We're so happy that you like what we do, and we're thrilled to talk with you more often.
Eric from Wisconsin loves us so much that he called in and sang our voicemail number -- complete with new lyrics that he wrote especially for Books on the Nightstand. Eric, thank you so much!
Barbara from Wyoming called in with 2 questions. First, how do you choose a book for your book club that will give you enough to talk about on book club night? Michael and I weigh in with some suggestions. Feel free to call, email, or comment with your own ideas.
Some resources for choosing the right book:
Reading Group Choices has been compiling book clubs' favorite reading group books since 2002, and they offer a year-by-year list.
The editors of Readinggroupguides.com also have yearly lists of their favorite books for discussion.
And as Michael told us, this year's Book Expo America featured a panel called "Book Club Facilitators Sound Off". The session was recorded and is available as a podcast. It's about an hour long, but there is a great deal of valuable information for anyone who is interested in book clubs or reading groups.
In her voicemail, Barbara also asked how to start a co-ed book group. In podcast episode #18, we talked about books that would appeal to book clubs made of men and women, but we'd like to ask our readers and listeners to send in any advice they may have for Barbara. You can email us at comments@booksonthenightstand.com, leave a comment here, or call our voice mail line: (209) 867-READ (7323).
Michael and I each chose a book that we think makes for great reading group discussion. Michael chose Identical Strangers by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Ann talks about The Attack by Yasmina Khadra.
In "Two Books We Can't Wait For You To Read", Ann tells you about That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo, a novel that is perfect for summer and will be a delight to Russo fans. Michael talks about Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, a novel that revolves around four separate main characters, all of whom witness a tightrope walk between the unfinished World Trade Center towers in New York City. __________________________
We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post: Identical Strangers by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein, Random House trade paperback The Attack by Yasmina Khadra, Anchor trade paperback That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo, Knopf hardcover Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, Random House hardcover (all information is for the U.S. editions).
But here's the problem: we all do it. It is estimated that 275,000 books were published in 2008, in the U.S. alone. A book has to work hard to get noticed, and its cover is one of its best weapon. I bring up this topic because Ann and I are heading into a week-and-a-half of sales teleconference meetings. We'll be discussing books coming out in the first four months of 2010. Invariably, several times throughout conference, someone will ask, "Is that the final jacket?" which usually translates to, "I really hope that's not the final jacket." Sales reps often try to play backseat designer!
Like the books themselves, jackets are a matter of opinion. Few, if any, are universally loved, but still, there are so many good ones out there. The Book Cover Archive is a fantastic site, currently showcasing over 1100 book covers, searchable by designer, author, illustrator, publisher, even typefaces used! They've also got links to designers' sites as well as other sites devoted to book cover design. I've spent many hours on The BCA and it's addictive. So if you've got work to do, don't click on that link!
The BCA lists several books on the topic of jacket design. One of my favorites is designer-specific and is a work of art in and of itself. Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated look at the work of one of the most popular book designers working today. (It also wins the award for most colons in its title.) In addition to finished jackets, this book also includes preliminary sketches and some of the work he's done on comics and graphic novels.
Speaking of comics, there's a site, similar to the BCA, just for comic books. Cover Browser features over 450,000 covers from comics (and some books). It's not quite as easy to navigate as the BCA, but I've still spent way too much time clicking around. It's so much fun and very nostalgic for me.
Finally, Cover Love is an occasional feature from our friend Rob Burdock at Rob Around Books. I love seeing these covers because I love seeing what books look like in different countries. Sometimes it's books we don't have over here, sometimes it's a book I know with a completely different look. Plus, the Brits do a fantastic job of creating sets of books with matching covers. I usually want them all!
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
In this week's podcast, I raved about When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. The kind folks at Random House Children's Publishing have provided me with FIVE SIGNED copies for giveaway!
In the book, Miranda, the main character, is always carrying around a copy of A Wrinkle in Time. She says she's "probably read it a hundred times."
So here's my question for you. What book would you carry around with you at all times? What book would you read a hundred times? We'd love to know and we'd love to share your answers with our readers.
Send an email to comments [at] booksonthenightstand [dot] com and tell us what book you'd carry around with you and why. Use "When You Reach Me Contest" as your email subject, and send your email by July 31, 2009. We'll randomly pick 5 winners from the entries we receive, and announce the winners on August 3.
The fine print: We can only ship books to the US and Canada. Also, by entering, you give us permission to possibly use your email in a future blog post (with full credit, of course!)
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
How's everyone doing on the Reading Challenge? I've set aside the month of August to return to Moby Dick. I'll be done with most of my work reading by then and will be able to dive back in. Let us know in the comments how your challenge is going! In the meantime, here's Jack with this week's video:
(You can listen by using the player above. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)
The rumors are true! Books on the Nightstand is now a weekly podcast! Thanks to all of you who took our poll and asked for more BOTNS, not less. We listened and we're delivering.
However, if we're going to keep up a grueling weekly schedule, we're going to need your help. Use our new voicemail number (209.867.READ) to call us with a question, a book recommendation or a comment. Put the number in your cell phone and call us from a bookstore or library to tell us about that great new book you just saw. You can also share your thoughts via e-mail: comments@booksonthenightstand.com.
Summer often means road trips and Ann has found a perfect one for booklovers to start planning for. The 2009 National Book Festival takes place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 26. There are 71 amazing authors attending and Ann and Michael really wish they could make it. If you do go, take pictures, post them to Flickr and tag them "botns" so we can feel like we're there.
If your summer plans do include a road trip, be sure to get yourself a copy of The Little Road Trip Handbook. It's filled with fun facts, helpful tips, music to play, books to read. It's a fantastic little book that's fun to read on its own. Author Erin McHugh gave Michael her personal playlist; the one she plays at her book signings. Michael created an iMix on iTunes, so check out this great list of songs! Ann and Michael also mention a few books, both fiction and non, that feature road trips.
Michael urges us "not to judge a book by its category." He raves about When You Reach Me, which happens to be a young adult novel. It's a book that can be enjoyed by adults and teens alike, and it features a wonderful protagonist named Miranda, who is never without her copy of A Wrinkle in Time. We all know Ann is a fan of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (evidence here and here). Finally, the sequel is out here in America, and, believe it or not, Ann thinks this one is "even better!"
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post: The Little Road Trip Handbook by Erin McHugh, Sterling trade paperback When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, Wendy Lamb Books hardcover The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, Knopf hardcover
Lately I've been lamenting the fact that Twitter, Facebook and email cut into my reading time way too much. It turns out I'm not alone. But, whereas I just whine about it, Susan Danziger has actually done something. She created DailyLit, a service that will email you books in easy-to-read chunks. You pick the book (they have over 1000 books to choose from, many are free), the schedule (daily, only weekdays, or just M, W, F), enter your email, and you're good to go!
They're running a special offer right now, as part of their Big Read: A Jhumpa Lahiri story for FREE! The story is Hell-Heaven and it's pulled from her bestselling collection An Unaccustomed Earth, a book Ann has ravedabout. I'm 3 segments into the story, which will run 10 segments. I love that I can read each daily piece in a few minutes. If I were to fall behind, I can suspend my subscription to any title and restart it whenever I want. I can also have previous segments resent, in case I accidentally delete one or forget what I've read. If you get totally sucked in, each email includes a link to have the next segment sent immediately.
They seem to have thought of everything and have created a fantastic service. I think I'm a little late to the party. Have any of you tried out DailyLit yet? If not, click here and get started!
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
It's time for this week's video of Jack Murnighan reading his favorite line from one of the classics he discusses in Beowulf on the Beach. Rather than split up The Bible, here are two videos, one for the Old Testament, one for the New:
(You can listen by using the player above. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)
Are you able to read on vacation? In today's episode, Michael is just back from a week on Cape Cod, and he reports on his reading activity. The two of us decide that having young children is a serious detriment to vacation reading. However, Michael and I are both lucky that we can claim "work-related reasons" to send the kids off with our wonderful spouses for a bit of time with our books.
Ann also announces that she has moved Books on the Nightstand headquarters to Lockeford, CA. Well, not really, but our new voicemail number is headquartered there. The new number is (209) 867-READ -- which reminds Ann of the hit song from the 80s, 867-5309/Jenny. And thus, a contest was born. Call our number, sing the new number in the tune of the hit song, and maybe win a prize.
And then, things take a darker turn. Inspired by a reading of The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, Ann has dystopic fiction on her mind. The Wikipedia page on dystopia provides a helpful definition ("the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable and characterized by poverty, oppression, war, violence, disease, pollution, and/or the abridgment of human rights, resulting in widespread unhappiness, suffering, and other kinds of pain") and also a list of dystopic fiction. Ann talks about The Unit, the story of a society that demands some to sacrifice for the good of others. The Unit made Ann want to re-read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which is as powerful today as when it was first published. Michael talks about Rupert Thompson's Divided Kingdom (more info on the Hippocratic Humors can be found here),and the graphic novel series Y, The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan.
In our "two books we can't wait for you to read" segment, Michael raves over Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, a graphic novel that Ann is currently reading and loving as well. And Ann talks about Something Missing by Matthew Dicks, a fun novel about a burglar who is charming, eccentric, and a little bit OCD.
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We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, Other Press trade paperback
Driving home from the beach today, we stopped into a bookstore. The store is in a nice, affluent area near the water. It's not a store that I work with, and they didn't know me. Sometimes it's fun to be anonymous in a bookstore, and to be treated like a "regular" customer instead of an employee of a very large publisher. From my exchange with the store owner, however, I don't think I'm a typical customer.
My youngest has fallen in love with Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, having read The Lightning Thief in a day, so we grabbed the other 4 books in the series, plus the first book in the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. My husband found The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross, an excellent look at history through the music of the 20th century. Ordinarily I would also buy something for my oldest daughter, but she has a stack of books out from the library and I want her to finish those first. And me, well, I have a lot to read. No need to buy anything today.
So we took our 6 books up to the cash register. There were two people working, a woman and a man. While the woman rang up my purchases, the man engaged my youngest, asking what she was reading, had she read The Lightning Thief yet, etc. And then came the following exchange:
Bookstore man: "Are you a member of our frequent buyer program?" Me: "No, we don't live around here." Bookstore man: "Oh. Well, would you like to move near here?" Me: "Sure, if you'll buy us a house." Bookstore man: "Hmmmm. How many books do you buy?"
I'm not sure that I'd recommend this marketing technique to any of my bookstore customers, even though the real estate market is down. Still, it made me laugh. And yes, I'll go back, and buy more books, next time I'm in the area. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even pick up the local real estate book....
As you read this, I'm on vacation on Cape Cod. Hopefully the weather is sunny, I've got a book in my lap and a cool drink by my side. (If you're reading this in the morning, the drink is non-alcoholic, I swear.) Thanks to the wonders of blog scheduling, I wrote this last week while I was still packing for my trip. I thought I'd fill you in on the books I decided to take with me.
Moby Dick - The reading challenge continues, and what better place to read Moby Dick than the New England shore?
Last Night in Twisted River - That's right. You can hate me. I've got the new John Irving novel. All you booksellers reading this should get your advanced reader's copy later in July. The rest of you will have to wait until October, but from everything I've heard, it's worth the wait!
Deep Fathom - Here's a book that many would think of as traditional beach reading; a mass market thriller about the end of the world thanks to solar flares causing natural disasters.
Crush It! - Social Media megastar Gary Vaynerchuk's first (non-wine) book is subtitled "Why Now Is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion." Gary's a fascinating guy and the podcast of his talk at BEA was one of the best things I've listened to in a long time. It really got me fired up and I expect his book to do the same.
Four very different books. This way I have something to read no matter what my mood is each day!
And now, here's this week's video of Jack, this time reading from THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN
Dark & Stormy photo credit: jsmjr (via flickr) __________________________
We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
Moby Dick by Herman Mellville, Modern Library trade paperback
What do publishing and fashion have in common? A crazy calendar! I was astounded yesterday to see that Target has 'Back to School' signs up only two weeks after school has ended. And while the fashion cycle is more inconvenient for consumers, the publishing calendar still manages to unsettle me after 20+ years in the business.
So now that July 4th has come and gone, it means that I am settling down with a brand new crop of manuscripts that will be published in 2010. I've taken just one walk on the beach so far this year, but in my professional reading life, it's next January.
So I took a little literary vacation this past weekend before diving into a new year -- I read a novel purely for pleasure. It's not published by Random House, and is not in any way affiliated with my professional activities. It's a book that I first heard about on Twitter. And it's a book that took my breath away.
Last Night in Montreal is the kind of novel that you want to read in one sitting. I made the mistake of starting it late at night, so it took me two sessions to finish. It's the kind of book that grabs you from the first chapter, and you know immediately that the rest of the day is spoken for. You want to cancel your plans, let the family forage for food, order takeout for dinner.
Author Emily Mandel opens the novel with Eli, who is telling the story of his girlfriend's disappearance. Lilia awoke one morning, showered, and went out to get the newspaper--and then never returned. It feels incredibly intimate in the telling, and I felt the heartbreak come through in a way that usually happens after I've "known" a character through hundreds of pages.
I don't want to say too much, because when I picked up the book, I had no idea what it was about. I'm not sure if knowing would have slanted my perception, so I'm going to just dance around the plot, which is wholly original, and surprising, and tightly constructed. But Mandel's writing is the true star. It's literary but accessible, precise and yet not at all cold. I described the opening as intimate, and it's the word that keeps popping back into my mind as I think about the novel. The other word I have settled on is "haunting."
My literary vacation was a success. I am now prepared to discover the gems of Random House 2010, but I know that I will keep flashing back to moments in Last Night in Montreal. If you're in search of a short, powerful, and beautifully-crafted novel, don't hesitate to pick this one up. _____________________
We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
For those of us in the United States, today is Independence Day. Our friend Paul posted this quote today on his blog, PK in the Terrarium, and it's so fitting, I thought I'd "borrow" it to share with you here.
"The only way to make a library safe is to lock people out of it. As long as they are allowed to read the books 'any old time they have a mind to,' libraries will remain the nurseries of heresy and independence of thought. They will, in fact, preserve that freedom which is a far more important part of our lives than any ideology or orthodoxy, the freedom that dissolves orthodoxies and inspires solutions to the ever-changing challenges of the future. I hope that your library and mine will continue in this way to be dangerous for many years to come."
-- Edmund S. Morgan, in the essay "Dangerous Books" (reprinted in his splendid new book American Heroes)
So many of you have left comments about the books you've chosen for the Beowulf on the Beach Reading Challenge. I'm impressed at all of the reading that has already occurred and is being planned for the rest of the Summer. At the urging of a BOTNS listener, I've set up a couple places for you to discuss your reads.
Goodreads - I've set up a folder for any discussion threads on particular books. I've started a thread on Moby Dick already. For more info check out this post.
Facebook - Unfortunately, Facebook doesn't allow you to group certian topics in a folder like Goodreads does, so check out this post to see how to format new topics.
and now, without further ado, here's this week's video!
(You can listen by using the player above. If you're using Internet Explorer, click twice to listen. If your browser does not support javascript, you won't see the player; click the link below the player to listen, or right-click to download the episode. If you are receiving this post by email and cannot see the player at the bottom of the message, please visit http://www.booksonthenightstand.com to listen)
It's finally here. Our long-promised and long-awaited audiobooks episode. We turn the podcast over to you, our listeners and we really want to thank everyone who called in and left us a message:
Heidi Estrin who writes the great Book of Life podcastasks the question: does listening to an audiobook count as reading the book?
Carla Thompson, one of our Goodfriends from Goodreads describes herself as a "blind audio reader and... a book junkie." Narrators are very important to Carla as are detail-filled and fast-paced stories.
Tanya shares several of her favorite audios and raves about all of the narrators.
Melissa Klug also loved the narrator of The Thirteenth Tale, an audio Tanya recommended
Heather Elia, from the Colgate Bookstore, called in with two older titles that still entertain.
Stanley Hadsell, manager and buyer at Market Block Books recommended The Graveyard Book to me a few months ago. I loved it so much and I'm glad he called in with that recommendation!
Julie from Minneapolis recommends Barbara Kingsolver reading her own book Prodigal Summer.
Hope from Australia buys her audios from Audible.com and raves about the versions of several wonderful books she's found there. [Note: We're unsure if those same versions will be available in other countries] Other ways online to get your audios are Emusic.com and Librivox.org.
Ann and I throw in our two cents throughout and recommend several of our favorites along the way.
This call-in format worked so well, we're opening it up to another topic, one suggested by Melissa on Goodreads: Is there a book that you hated when it was assigned in school, but loved when you read it later in life? Call our voicemail line at (206) 350-2068 to share your story.
NOTE: Michael misremembered... John Irving does not read The World According to Garp. Sorry if he got anyone's hopes up! __________________________
We encourage you to write down or print out the title information and shop at your local bookstore. Titles link to LibraryThing, a social networking site that allows you to catalog your home library. LibraryThing also links to various online purchasing options. Here are the books from this post:
Books on the Nightstand is the blog and podcast of Michael Kindness and Ann Kingman. We are friends and colleagues who work in the publishing industry. For more information and ways to get in touch with us, please see our About/Contact page.
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