11.24.2004

Books of Grace

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. In addition to the norms like family, friends, opportunity and health, here are the books that I'm thankful for.

Written on the Body. Jeanette Winterson. A story about love where gender is a mask and the players jump around in time.

Light in August. William Faulkner. Okay, let the debate begin, but I think this is Faulkner's greatest work.

Voyages of Dr. Doolittle. Hugh Lofitng. The best part is his ocean journey home.

Have a safe and happy holiday.


11.14.2004

This Week's Bestsellers (And Other Books You Should Be Reading)

First, a tip of the hat to the Sunday Book section from the NY Times. Laura Miller's essay about the National Book Awards finalists--and the whiners who weren't. She provides an interesting juxtaposition between an honor bestowed by writers and an honor expected by readers.

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Sean Rocha wrote a great column for Slate about the infamous Bestsellers list.

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Margo Baldwin, publisher of indi-press Chelsea Green Publishing, takes on the NY Times and its book categorization in this essay on Alternet.

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Without further ado, this week's Bestseller and Web Mentioned lists:

The Weekly Bestsellers List: The Tops Tens
Publishers Weekly
Hardcover Fiction
Week of 11.15.04.
1. Baldacci, David. The Hour Game. Warner: 448 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:1.
2. Evanovich, Janet. Metro Girl. HarperCollins: 304 pgs. Times on List:1. Last Position:na.
3. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. Doubleday: 454 pgs. Times on List:85. Last Position:2.
4. Alborn, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Hyperion: 198 pgs. Times on List:58. Last Position:4.
5. Roth, Philip. The Plot Against America: A Novel. Houghton Mifflin: 400 pgs. Times on List:7. Last Position:3.
6. Steele, Danielle. Echoes. Delacorte: 336 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:5.
7. Salavatore, R.A. The Two Swords. Wizards of the Coast: 352 pgs. Times on List:3. Last Position:6.
8. Shreve, Anita. Light on Snow. Little, Brown: 320 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:7.
9. King, Stephen. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. Scriber/Grant: 864 pgs. Times on List:7. Last Position:8.
10. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition. Doubleday: 480 pgs. Times on List:1. Last Position:na.

NY Times
Hardcover Fiction
Sales Week Ending 11.06.04
1. Evanovich, Janet. Metro Girl. HarperCollins: 304 pgs. Times on List:1. Last Position:na.
2. Baldacci, David. The Hour Game. Warner: 448 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:1.
3. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code: 454 pgs. Doubleday. Times on List:86. Last Position:4.
4. Steele, Danielle. Echoes: 336 pgs. Delacorte. Times on List:2. Last Position:2.
5. Alborn, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Hyperion: 198 pgs. Times on List:59. Last Position:5.
6. Roberts, Nora. Northern Lights. Putnam: 562 pgs. Times on List: 4. Last Position:3.
7. Roth, Philip. The Plot Against America: A Novel. Houghton Mifflin: 400 pgs. Times on List:7. Last Position:6.
8. Flagg, Fannie. A Redbird Christmas. Random House: 240 pgs. Times on List: 1. Last Position: na.
9. Shreve, Anita. Light on Snow. Little, Brown: 320 pgs. Times on List:4. Last Position:8.
10. King, Stephen. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower. Scriber/Grant: 864 pgs. Times on List:7. Last Position:10.

Book Sense: Bestsellers From Independent Bookstores
Hardcover Fiction
Week of 11.11.04, Sales For Week Ending 11.07.04
1. Roth, Philip. The Plot Against America: A Novel. Houghton Mifflin: 400 pgs. Times on List:7. Last Position:1.
2. McCall Smith, Alexander. The Sunday Philosophy Club. Pantheon: 256 pgs. Times on List:6. Last Position:2.
3. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. Doubleday: 454 pgs. Times on List:85. Last Position:4.
4. Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Bloomsbury. Times on List:10. Last Position:45.
5. Baldacci, David. The Hour Game. Warner: 448 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:3.
6. Evanovich, Janet. Metro Girl. HarperCollins: 304 pgs. Times on List:1. Last Position:na.
7. Shreve, Anita. Light on Snow. Little, Brown: 320 pgs. Times on List:4. Last Position:6.
8. Alborn, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Hyperion: 198 pgs. Times on List:59. Last Position:7.
9. Moore, Christopher. The Stupidist Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Holiday Terror. William Morrow: 288 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:8.
10. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition. Doubleday: 480 pgs. Times on List:1. Last Position:na.

Publishers Weekly
Trade Paperback
Week of 11.15.04.
1. Housseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Riverhead: 384 pgs. Times on List: 10. Last Position: 1.
2. Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Vintage: 240 pgs.
Times on List: 25. Last Position: 2.
3. Agatston, Arthur. South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide. Rodale: 160 pgs.
Times on List: 44. Last Position: 8.
4. Cussler, Clive. Sacred Stone (Oregon Files). Berkley: 404 pgs. Times on List: 5. Last Position: 6.
5. Bissinger, H.G. Friday Night Litghts: A Town, A Team, and a Dream. De Capo: 400 pgs. Times on List: 5. Last Position: 9.
6. Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. Random House: 384 pgs. Times on List: 43.
Last Position: 3.
7. Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. Harcourt/Harvest: 536 pgs. Times on List: 24. Last Position: 7.
8. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. The 9/11 Commission Report. Norton: 516 pgs. Times on List: 16. Last Position: 4.
9. Monk Kidd, Sue. The Secret Life of Bees. Penguin: 320 pgs. Times on List: 92. Last Position: 5.
10. Sparks, Nicholas. The Wedding. Warner: 256 pgs. Times on List: 19. Last Position: 13.

Book Sense: Bestsellers From Independent Booksellers
Trade Paperback: Fiction
Week of 11.11.04, Sales For Week Ending 11.07.04
1. Housseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Riverhead: 384 pgs. Times on List: 28. Last Position: 1.
2. Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Vintage: 240 pgs.
Times on List: 25. Last Position: 2.
3. Jones, Edward P. The Known World. Amistad: 432 pgs. Times on List:24. Last Position:4.
4. Monk Kidd, Sue. The Secret Life of Bees. Penguin: 320 pgs.. Times on List: 92. Last Position: 8.
5. Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. Harcourt/Harvest: 536 pgs. Times on List: 24. Last Position: 3.
6. Eudenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. Picador: 544 pgs. Times on List:60. Last Position:5.
7. Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Mariner: 304. Times on List:15. Last Position:6.
8. McCall Smith, Alexander. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Anchor:240 pgs. Times on List:91. Last Position:7.
9. Tyler, Anne. The Amateur Marriage. Ballantine: 336 pgs. Times on List:2. Last Position:9.
10. Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Harvest: 336 pgs. Times on List:. Last Position:10.

Bookwatch: An Online Site Tallying Book Mentions in Blogs
Top Five
Week Ending 11.14.04.
1. Frank, Thomas. What's The Matter With Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Metropolitan Books: 320 pgs. 23 mentions.
2. Stewart, Jon and The Daily Show staff. The Daily Show Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Warner: 240 pgs. 20 mentions.
3. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. Doubleday: 454 pgs. 16 mentions.
4. Lakoff, Dean and Hazen. Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--the Essential Guide for Progressives. Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 144 pgs. 10 mentions.
5. Anonymous. Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror. Brassey's, Inc: 309 pgs. 8 mentions.

All Consuming: A Second Online Site Tallying Book Mentions In Blogs
Top Five
Week Ending 11.14.04
1. Stewart, Jon and The Daily Show staff. The Daily Show Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Warner: 240 pgs. 24 mentions.
2. Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. Doubleday: 454 pgs. 18 mentions.
3. Frank, Thomas. What's The Matter With Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Metropolitan Books: 320 pgs. 15 mentions.
4. Lakoff, Dean and Hazen. Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--the Essential Guide for Progressives. Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 144 pgs. 9 mentions.
5. Roth, Philip. The Plot Against America: A Novel. Houghton Mifflin: 400 pgs. 8 mentions.

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Don't believe in bestseller or web mentioned lists? Email your picks on what to read to bookaday@gmail.com.

11.12.2004

Ebooks and Book Bloggers

The New York Public Library is breaking down the barriers to get more people reading. NY Public Library patrons can now check out ebooks-- instantly downloadable to your computer, PDA or Ipod. Hopefully, more libraries will follow this path.

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Publishers have started to look at blogs as an alternate means of publicity, as well as review hotspots. This is especially true of smaller publishers. So, let's get this "off the porch" as Karen Grigsby Bates says in her report. Keep reading. Tell your friends. Link to BookADay Book Review Blog. Champion the books you love. Write reviews. Read reviews. This is the place for more reviews to come. (Audio story from NPR.)

Currently Reading:
Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. Signet Classic: 2004 (or. pub: 1847). 137/322.

11.08.2004

Back Online

Welcome to the new and improved version of BookADay.

Sorry about the down time. We hope you'll find it as time well-spent. Enjoy our new look and new sections: Current Book Reviews and a Book Review archive. (Good idea for a book review blog, huh?)

You'll also notice some new contributors. Thanks to Maxwell, Matt Larsen and Shane Wilson for your great reviews.

You'll still be able to find your old favorites, such as current book publishing news, library information and the Currently Reading section.

If you have a review you would like to write, have a book that you would like reviewed or suggestions for what you'd like to see on BookADay, please query Brandi at bookaday@gmail.com.

It feels great to be back.

Currently Reading:
Wuthering Heights. Bronte, Emily. Signet Classic (reprint): 121/322.