Collection Development

365 Thank Yous, American Library Association, Book Buzz, Book Clubs, Books, CBS Evening News, Collection Development, Family, Happiness, HarperCollins Publishers, Hyperion, Inspiration, John Kralik, Katie Couric, Libraries, Memoir, Relationships, Thank You

365 Thank Yous

Kralik We at HarperLibrary are very excited about the buzz surrounding an extremely fascinating book entitled, 365 Thank Yous by John Kralik.  Kralik's book, published by Hyperion (on sale now), is an amazing story of how John turned his life around simply by learning the importance of two simple words…Thank you.

John Kralik tells how his life was on a downward spiral, and by simply writing thank you notes to those he interacted with changed his perspective and his life overall.  John was recently featured on the CBS Evening News.  If you missed the interview, you can watch it here!

If you haven't picked up 365 Thank Yous, what are you waiting for?  I know you'll be glad you did…and you can say "thank you" later (hahaha!).

Enjoy!

-Bobby

Collection Development, Current Affairs, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

We've been lucky to have Gayle Lemmon appear at both ALA Annual (2009) and ALA Midwinter this past month.  And with this new pre-pub blurb from Angelina Jolie, it looks like Gayle's librarian fans will have some company! Jolie wrote the following: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana gives voice to many of our world’s unsung heroines. Against all odds, these young women created hope and community, and they never gave up. This book is guaranteed to move you—and to show you a side of Afghanistan few ever see.” Check out this message from Gayle, and see for yourself!

-Kayleigh

Book Buzz, Book Clubs, Books, Collection Development, Harper Perennial, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries

Book Club Selections

We at HarperLibrary are always on the lookout to find ways to make life a little easier for you.  We know how important book clubs are to you, so we have created a list of selections we know would be great!  Here is just a sample of what we have to offer:

 

Paperback Originals

Drinking Closer to Home

Born Under a Lucky Moon

Don't Breathe a Word

Hello Goodbye

Jerusalem Maiden

The Book of Lies

Miss Timmins' School For Girls

Paperback Reprints

The Financial Lives of the Poets

Hummingbirds

Wench

Secret Daughter

A Drink Before the War

Mrs. Kimble

The Space Between Us

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

The Rebellion of Jane Clarke

Russian Winter

Stiltsville 


Graphic Novels

The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel

Cowboys and Aliens

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

The Griff

Please visit us often as we will be adding more titles for you to choose from!  Just click the tile ad for the complete and up-to-date list.

Enjoy and happy reading!

-Bobby

 

American Library Association, Books, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Mary Jane Clark, To Have and to Kill

Why We STILL Love Mary Jane Clark

To Have and To Kill hc c We here at HarperLibrary are so excited about Mary Jane Clark's new book, To Have and To Kill.  Her new book, on sale now launches a new series and we couldn't be happier.  If you missed Mary Jane's interview on Good Morning America, check it out right here!

If you haven't picked up To Have and To Kill, what are you waiting for?  You will be so glad you did!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

American Library Association, Book Buzz, Books, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, Librarians, Libraries

It is time to get…BUZZED!!!

Bees1 

The HarperCollins Library Marketing Team
cordially invites you to attend our
Summer 2011 Book Buzz
at
The American Library Association's Midwinter Conference

Saturday, January 8, 2011
10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
San Diego Convention Center
Room 26 A/B
San Diego, California
(Please note that we will be presenting adult titles only…no children’s books)

Get the inside track on your favorite authors and discover a few new ones along the way!

Seating is limited, so RSVP your attendance to:
Bobby.Brinson@harpercollins.com

Light refreshments will be served.  We hope to see you in sunny San Diego!

-Bobby

American Library Association, Avon, Books, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, Laura Lippman, Libraries, The Girl in the Green Raincoat

The Girl in the Green Raincoat

GirlintheGreenRainCoat pb c Laura Lippman has done it AGAIN!  I just finished The Girl in the Green Raincoat on sale in January 2011.  The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a new Tess Monaghan novel that first appeared in serial format in the New York Times Magazine. 

In this new novel, we visit Tess Monaghan, who is now seven months pregnant and confined to bed rest.  So instead of being able to track the next case, she spends her time looking out her window watching a girl wearing a green raincoat walking her dog.  Everyday is business as usual until one day Tess notices the dog running loose and the girl in the green raincoat is nowhere to be found.   Using her instincts, Tess believes something has happened to the young woman and the search begins to find her fate.

I found the book to be delightfully entertaining…a real page turner!  I think it's an excellent read for those who are hardcore Laura Lippman fans.  I also think it's great for those who haven't discovered her yet and are dying to add a new author to their reading lists.

I would love to hear your comments.  I will send free advance reader copies of The Girl in the Green Raincoat  to the 10 lucky people who send us a comment or an email at librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com.  If you would be so kind as to send a brief review of the book after you read it, I would greatly appreciate it!

Congratulations Laura on this excellent book.  It's sure to be a winner!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

Books, Collection Development, Ecco, HarperCollins Publishers, Just Kids, Libraries, National Book Award, Patti Smith

Patti Smith, National Book Award Winner!

JustKids hc cCongratulations to Ecco author Patti Smith!  Patti has won the National Book Award for nonfiction for Just Kids.

Check out all the amazing coverage Just Kids has received:

The New York Times
November 18, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/books/18awards.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=national%20book%20awards&st=cse
 

USA Today
November 18, 2010
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2010-11-18-NatBookAwards18_ST_N.htm

The Los Angeles Times
November 18, 2010
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-national-book-awards-20101118,0,5196901.story 
 
The Washington Post
November 18, 2010
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-bookworm/2010/11/2010_national_book_awards_winn.html

The Huffington Post
November 18, 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/18/smiths-just-kids-is-award_n_785268.html

NPR.org
November 18, 2010
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2010/11/18/131403634/surprise-jaimy-gordon-wins-the-national-book-award-and-patti-smith-weeps 

AOL.com / Spinner
November 18, 2010
http://www.spinner.com/2010/11/18/patti-smith-just-kids-national-book-award/

Bloomberg.com
November 18, 2010
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-18/patti-smith-punk-legend-wins-national-book-award-for-mapplethorpe-memoir.html
 
 
JustKids pb c Please join us as we wish Patti Smith a hearty and well deserved CONGRATULATIONS!  We are over the moon!  If you haven't picked up Just Kids, please do so ASAP!

Enjoy,

-Bobby

Book Buzz, Books, Collection Development, Dennis Lehane, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Moonlight Mile

Moonlight Mile – Guest Review

Moonlight hc cWe at HarperLibrary are very excited about the new book from Dennis Lehane entitled Moonlight Mile.  Clearly we are not the only ones!  Check out this great review from Lesa Holstine, Library Manager from Arizona:

Lesa's Book Critiques
Books and Authors, with an emphasis on Mysteries.
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane

Twelve years ago, Angela Gennaro walked out on her partner, Patrick Kenzie when he turned four-year-old Amanda McCready over to her mother in Gone, Baby, Gone.  There was one more book in the series, then Dennis Lehane moved on to standalone novels, leaving Kenzie/Gennaro fans begging for more.  We've waited eleven years for Moonlight Mile, but we finally have the novel that concludes the series in a way we can live with.

Twelve years after the events of Gone, Baby, Gone, Patrick Kenzie is still a private investigator.  He's also a desperate man, "Sucking it up doing jobs I don't like for a company I'm not terribly in love with so that eventually I can get hired permanent and we can get insurance and benefits and a paid vacation."  He and Angie are married.  She's close to getting her doctorate, and they have a four-year-old daughter.  But, they're hurting in a bad economy just as everyone else is.  He lost his free office as a consequence of the church reforms in Boston following their failure to deal with bad priests.  Patrick is feeling the same desperation as so many people in the bad economy, worrying about money and mortgage payments.

And, Amanda McCready has disappeared again.  Her aunt never forgave Patrick for giving Amanda back to her lousy mother.  Since Bea blames Patrick for the past, she wants him to find the sixteen-year-old. But, now, she's a sixteen-year-old on the run from her crazy mother and gun-toting husband, with just a few members of the Russian mob after her.  So why wouldn't Patrick look for Amanda when, "A girl disappears again twelve years after her first disappearance brought down a gang of cops and cost the city a few mil during a bad budget year?"  Of course, he'll take the case that drove a wedge between him and Angie twelve years earlier. 

Dennis Lehane has brought us full circle with Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro Kenzie.  And, he is still the master at telling the story of the couple and their community.  They're brought up-to-date in a city suffering from a bad economy; empty houses, unfinished developments, and people desperate to survive.  It's a story of consequences, consequences as a result of events twelve years earlier, and consequences of events the characters have no control over, the economy.   Moonlight Mile allows Patrick and Angie to team up for one more case, while Angie reminds him "Why we got out of the rough stuff business.  It wasn't just because you got shot.  It was because we were junkies to it.  We loved it.  We still love it."  

And, we still love Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro.  So, thank you, Dennis Lehane, for Moonlight Mile.  Here's a fan who accepts Moonlight Mile as a satisfying conclusion to a beloved series.

Dennis Lehane's website is http://www.dennislehanebooks.com/

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane.  HarperCollins, ©2010. ISBN 9780061836923 (hardcover), 336p. 
 
Thank you!
Lesa

Many thanks Lesa!  Pick up your copy of Moonlight Mile  NOW!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

Book Buzz, Books, Civil Rights, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Marshalling Justice, NAACP, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall

Marshalling Justice

Marshallustice hc cI just finished a book entitled Marshalling Justice: The Early Civil Rights Letters of Thurgood Marshall, by Michael G. Long.  Marshalling Justice will be on sale in January 2011. The year 2011 marks the 75th anniversary of Marshall's arrival at the NAACP offices in New York and the 50th anniversary of his move to the Federal bench, and with that we are proud to publish this book.  Many may think that this is just a collection of letters, but I can truly attest to the fact that it is much more than that.  Marshalling Justice really taps into who Thurgood Marshall was how he managed to stay active in the cause of civil rights. 

Marshalling Justice also shows what motivated him to champion certain cases, and what we discover is that it was not always for the greater good.  In some instances, it was personal.  Thurgood Marshall, being a native of Maryland always wanted to attend the University of Maryland Law School.  Unfortunately at the time he wanted to attend, blacks were not allowed admission.  After he graduated from Howard University School of Law, he had the opportunity to take on the case of another young black man craving admission to the University of Maryland Law School.  When the case was won, Marshall took it a step further.  He made it his business to ensure the young man succeeded in every aspect of his studies.  Whether the young man needed a tutor, a mentor and just a shoulder to lean on, Thurgood Marshall was there, so that he could show just how successful this young man could be.

I am SO excited about this book and would love to hear your comments.  I will send free advance reader copies of Marshalling Justice to the 15 lucky people who send us a comment or an email at librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com.  If you would be so kind as to send a brief review of the book after you read it, I would greatly appreciate it!

Marshalling Justice shines a light on an unsung hero in the area of civil and human rights.  I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Enjoy!

-Bobby

Books, Collection Development, Family, Happiness, HarperCollins Publishers, Librarians, Libraries, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Stiltsville, Susanna Daniel

Stiltsville – Guest Review

Stiltsville hc c We are so happy about the huge response we received for Stiltsville, by Susanna Daniel.  The love for Stiltsville continues! 

We received a great review from Lisa Steckhahn, Reference Librarian from the West Allis Public Library in Wisconsin.  Here is Lisa's review of Stiltsville:

This book is a look at the lifespan of a marriage and a friendship starting at the beginning and checking in at all of the major milestones along the way.  Frances meets Dennis and Marse at the same time.  Marse likes Dennis but he ends up falling for Frances.  Even with this rocky start Marse and Frances become best friends.  This is a testament to the author’s ability to create characters that are likeable but still fully realized with authentic flaws and strengths.  Susanna Daniel manages to avoid clichés and craft a believable story filled with a marriage’s mistakes and triumphs.  The Miami setting is another character in the book that lends an unforgettable setting.  It would be a great book to return to during the coldest days of winter. 

-Lisa Steckhahn
Reference Librarian
West Allis Public Library

Many thanks to Lisa and everyone at the West Allis Public Library.  If you have not added Stiltsville to your reading list, what are you waiting for? I believe you will love Stiltsville as much as we do!

Enjoy,

-Bobby

Booklist, Books, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, Kirkus, Libraries, Man in the Woods, Publishers Weekly, Scott Spencer

Man In The Woods gets the Trifecta!

ManWoods hc c Scott Spencer delivers the goods in his new novel and receives STARRED reviews in Kirkus and Booklist and Publishers Weekly.

The Washington Post says:
“This is a book to savor and read aloud, a book that is variously wise, funny and heartbreaking…The outcome must not be revealed here, except to say that it is as powerful as everything else in the book… ‘MAN IN THE WOODS’  is one of the three best novels I've read this year… and if you pressed me, I'd put it at the top of the list."

Want to read Man in the Woods?
Send an email to librarylovefest at harpercollins dot come and we’ll send a copy your way – with our compliments!

- Virginia

Abraham Lincoln, Bloody Crimes, Books, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, History, James L. Swanson, Jefferson Davis, Libraries, Library Journal

Praise for Bloody Crimes

BloodyCrimes hc c Congratulations are in order for James L. Swanson!  He just received a starred review from Library Journal for his new book, Bloody Crimes

*Swanson, James. Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse. Morrow. Oct. 2010. 448p. ISBN 9780061988479. $26.99.

Swanson, Edgar Award–winner for his best-selling Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, now brilliantly reveals how, when Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis each relinquished executive power in April 1865, one as a result of assassination and the other through military defeat, they set in motion two enduring myths—the legend of the Union's emancipating, secular saint and the South's cult of the Lost Cause. Lincoln's assassination, national mourning, and funeral pageant, and Davis's manhunt, imprisonment, exoneration, release, and long postwar life, insists Swanson, continue to unsettle Civil War and Reconstruction historiography, not to mention American society, to this very day. Despite an artful job of portraying the rebel president of the Confederate States of America in a benign light, Swanson concludes that the 20th and 21st centuries belong to Lincoln, not Davis, whose legacy of favoring sectionalism and slavery has been lost through time, much as his beloved Beauvoir plantation was swept away during the Katrina disaster of 2005.

Verdict: Swanson successfully fuses the strengths of historical integrity, balance, and masterful prose into one compelling work. Bloody Crimes should be required reading for every American.

—John Carver Edwards


Job well done James!  Keep that star shining bright!

-Bobby

Books, Charlaine Harris, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, Kill the Dead, Libraries, Publishers Weekly, Richard Kadrey, Sandman Slim

Book Giveaway! Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey

KilltheDead.HC.c Richard Kadrey returns with high-octane follow-up to his addicting SANDMAN SLIM. Publishers Weekly has given it a nice shout-out:

“James Stark, antihero of 2009's Sandman Slim, returns in this gritty, over-the-top tale of supernatural mayhem. Having taken his revenge on the rival magician who got him sent to Hell, Stark settles in sorcery-infested Los Angeles and gets a part-time gig with the Golden Vigil, an angelic hit squad of dubious morality that's somehow allied with Homeland Security. He spends the rest of his time as a freelance slayer of monsters. When Lucifer comes to Earth, supposedly to oversee a Hollywood biopic of his life, he hires Stark to be his bodyguard, but something isn't quite right and soon the city is awash in murderous zombies. Stark has to get to the bottom of the mystery or risk being sent back to Hell, along with everyone he cares about.
Profane, intensely metaphoric language somehow makes self-tortured monster Stark sympathetic and turns a simple story into a powerful noir thriller.”
Publishers Weekly
Eos, $22.99 (448p) ISBN 978-0-06-171431-3; October 2010

SandmanSilmHC_c Richard Kadrey’s series is snarky, sarcastic, dark, twisted, and totally addicting. If you haven’t read this author, you’re in for a treat. 

“If Simon R. Green wrote an episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter, it would read much like Sandman Slim—violent, vivid, non-stop action of the supernatural kind. I couldn’t put it down.”
Charlaine Harris

Send an email to librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com and we’ll get you started with a copy of SANDMAN SLIM.

-Virginia

Abuse, Book Buzz, Books, Collection Development, Conor Grennan, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Little Princes, Nepal, Next Generation Nepal

Little Princes

LittlePrincesHC C
We are so excited about the upcoming release of Little Princes, by Conor Grennan.  Last month, I wrote about this amazing story.  If you missed it, click here.

We received a great review from Lisa Steckhahn, Reference Librarian from the West Allis Public Library in Wisconsin.  Here is Lisa's review of Little Princes:


A three month stint volunteering in an orphanage in Nepal on a trip around the world became a life mission that not only changed Conor Grennan’s life but the lives of many of Nepal’s children forever. Most of these orphans are not really orphans at all.  Their parents were conned by human traffickers who convinced them that they could give their children a better life by allowing them to be taken away.  So inspired by his time volunteering he started a nonprofit foundation called Next Generation Nepal (NDP).  This book recounts his story from his arrival in Nepal to trekking across the Himalayas in search of the children’s parents.  When I started this book I knew next to nothing about Nepal. But this engaging story has educated and touched me about this little know part of the world.  This book is sure to become a hit when it's released in January.

-Lisa Steckhahn
Reference Librarian
West Allis Public Library

Many thanks to Lisa and everyone at the West Allis Public Library.  If you would like a copy of Little Princes and didn't request one previously, please post a comment or email us at librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com and I would be more than happy to send you one.  I'd love to hear your comments!  I truly believe you will love Little Princes as much as we do!

Enjoy,

-Bobby

Booklist, Books, Collection Development, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Tom Franklin: a star for a star!

CrookedLetterREV BOOKLIST
September 1, 2010

*Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter.  Franklin, Tom (Author)
Oct 2010. 288 p. Morrow, hardcover, $24.99. (9780060594664).

Rural Mississippi in the 1970s was rife with racial tension, but skin color didn’t matter to boyhood companions Silas Jones and Larry Ott. Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother, and Larry, the child of white lower-middle-class parents, were both outsiders, Silas because of his color, Larry because he was quiet and a little odd, his nose always buried in horror novels. The young men’s bond strengthened over time, until the night a pretty local girl went on a date with Larry to the drive-in movies and was never heard from again. No body was found and Larry never confessed, but that didn’t keep the townspeople from suspecting him. Estranged from his friend, Silas heads off to college in Oxford, Mississippi, and more than 20 years later, returns to take a job as town constable. He sees no reason to contact Larry, who’s settled into a lonely existence as a mechanic, unable to escape the relentless whispers and dirty looks. The disappearance of another girl brings the two former friends back together, forcing them to come to terms with buried secrets and dark truths. Edgar Award winner Franklin (Hell at the Breech, 2003) renders luminous prose and a cast of compelling characters in this moody, masterful entry.— Allison Block

Congratulations, Tom!

-Virginia

Books, Collection Development, Electric Barracuda, Tim Dorsey

Tim Dorsey

The unscripted book reviews are often the best.  That’s why I love to roam the halls of HarperCollins with my flip video camera, surprising people with my very favorite question: “What are you reading?”  Here’s the latest!

For more on Tim Dorsey's latest Serge Storms story, Electric Barracuda, check out the catalog page.

-Virginia

Awards, Books, Collection Development, Julia Quinn, Libraries, RITA, Romance, Romance Writers of America

Julia Quinn is a WINNER!

What happens mm c Congratulations to Julia Quinn! Quinn’s book, What Happens In London, has won the 2010 RITA for Best Regency Historical Romance. The purpose of the RITA contest is to promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding published romance novels and novellas. The award itself is a golden statuette named after Romance Writers of America’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for excellence in published romance fiction. 

For more information, including a complete list of winners, please visit: http://www.rwanational.org/cs/2010_RITA_GH_winners

Congratulations to Julia on such an amazing honor!  If you haven't read What Happens in London, add it to your reading list today!

Enjoy,

-Bobby

Books, Collection Development, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Relationships, Wench

Meet Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Wench hc cIf you are a follower of Library Love Fest, you know I am a fan of a book entitled, Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.  Wench is the story of three female slave mistresses and the friendship they built despite living in a period of oppression.   If you missed my article, read it right here.

Check out this video where author Dolen Perkins-Valdez goes into her motivation for writing Wench and why it was such an important story to tell:

If you haven't read Wench yet, please add this to your reading list.  You will NOT be disappointed!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

American Library Association, Book Buzz, Books, Collection Development, Early Word, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries

The “BUZZ” is LIVE!

Bees1 For those of you that could not come to the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. this past June, you definitely missed a lively and energetic "Book Buzz" given by the Harper Library Marketing Team. 

HOWEVER…you can listen to the highlights and obtain additional information on all the titles we presented just by clicking here!  Our Seasonal "Book Buzz" is available for your listening pleasures on EarlyWord.com.

Listen and enjoy!

-Bobby

Abuse, Book Buzz, Books, Collection Development, Conor Grennan, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Little Princes, Nepal, Next Generation Nepal

Little Princes

LittlePrincesHC CWe here at Harper Library are excited about all of our books.  However, the house is buzzing about this forthcoming book by Conor Grennan entitled Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of NepalLittle Princes (on sale in January 2011) will take you on an emotional roller-coaster from sadness and anger to love and optimism.

Conor Grennan decided to quit his day job and take a year off to explore the world.  His first stop landed him as a volunteer at the Little Princes Orphanage in war-torn Nepal.  What he thought would simply be a way to provide service to a needy community transformed into a mission to save the children of that orphanage. What he learned was that these “orphans” were actually taken from their families by human traffickers, and then dumped on the streets of Kathmandu.  It became Conor's goal to bring these children back together with their families…a goal he soon realized would not be easy to accomplish. 

Watch Conor in this amazing video as goes into detail about this labor of love for the children of Nepal.

Also, click here and check out the author's website which is devoted to rescuing these children and reuniting them with their families.

I am SO excited about this book and would love to hear your comments.  I will send free advance reader copies of Little Princes to the 20 lucky people who send us a comment or an email at librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com.  If you would be so kind as to send a brief review of the book after you read it, I would greatly appreciate it!

I can wholeheartedly say that this will not be the last time you hear about Little Princes…and remember you read about it here first!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

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