December 2011
34 posts
“Deborah Blum has done it again – written a fast-paced page-turner, full of action and intrigue, and with TONS of science in it. It reads like a detective novel.Oh wait. It is a detective novel.”
—Scientific American loved Deborah Blum’s suspenseful science book, The Poisoner’s Handbook.
Another honor for Geraldine Brooks! Her novel Caleb’s Crossing is this year’s Reading Across Rhode Island selection. Approximately 25 libraries, 20 public and private high schools, and 60 book clubs across the state will read and discuss the book. We hope everyone loves it!
Salon columnist Mary Elizabeth Williams reminds us that our “bucket lists” don’t have to seem so out of reach. Here’s to PJ’s and gooey grilled cheese!
Feeling exhausted this holiday season? According to Marketwire, 55% of American women expect to spend between 1-5 hours per night on holiday-related tasks this month. Michael Breus, the “Sleep Doctor” and author of Beauty Sleep, offers some smart tips for getting some shut-eye. (Hint: steer clear of late-night egg nog.)
“A question mark walks into a bar?”
—Gotta love bookish humor, like McSweeney’s list of “Seven Bar Jokes Involving Grammar and Punctuation.”
“The other day I posted on Time.com about seven books I’m looking forward to in 2012, and I didn’t mention [John] Green’s book, because I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’d heard his stuff was good, but I’d never read it myself, and because I’m a suspicious and distrusting person, I didn’t take its goodness on faith. Then I picked up The Fault in Our Stars. I am totally devastated by this book. I cried when I read it, and I never cry. You don’t want to throw around phrases like “instant classic,” but I can see this book sitting next to The Catcher in the Rye. It’s that good.”
—Lev Grossman
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"The Help" gets 5 Golden Globe nominations!
Congrats to Kathryn Stockett, Tate Taylor, and the cast of The Help! The Golden Globe nominations were announced early this morning and The Help grabbed 5 of them!
Best Motion Picture - Drama
The Help
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Viola Davis
(2!) Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama
Jessica Chastain
Octavia Spencer
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
“The Living Proof” - Mary J. Blige
John Lescroart is a busy guy. His 23rd book, The Hunter, is due out in January, but the writing life wasn’t always so easy for him. He wrote early in the morning or late at night, between other jobs, and wasn’t a full time writer until age 45. This profile in Publishers Weekly might inspire you to carve out some time to hone your craft, whatever it is.
Healthy living blogger (and Operation Beautiful author) Caitlin Boyle is going to be a mama! She’s chronicling her new adventure at Babble, a parenting website. Follow her posts for updates on how she’s staying active—and hunting for the cutest baby goods on the web.
We loved the fussy floral dresses that the Southern belles wore in The Help, the film based on Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling novel. In this interview with the Los Angeles Times, the film’s costume designer, Sharen Davis, talks about bringing the characters to life—and why Hilly dresses so differently than that other fictional fashion plate, Joan Holloway.
Long commute? The Bookrageous Podcast will help you pass the time in a brainy way.
John Green delivered the keynote at Mediabistro’s Publishing App Expo on Wednesday. (DFTB)Awesome as usual, John left the group with some great tips.
“1) Everybody who made videos in 2007 (except Ze Frank) sucked. It’s better to be first than it is to be great.
2) Work with communities of readers online. Green connected with Ze Frank fans, Lonelygirl15 fans and Harry Potter fans.
3) Remain project focused–doing things with your audience, not doing things for your audience.
4) If you monetize things on your blog, from t-shirts to music to mugs to books, make sure you have ownership of all the items.
5) Authors successful online see the Internet as an extension of their work, they do it to experience the ‘same thrill of co-creating something with their audience.’
6) The biggest problem is discovery. It is going to be the central issue for publishers and writers in the future.”
Check out the full article here.
The Washington Post has named Jared Cohen one of the seven 2011 Top American Leaders. From writing books to helming Google Ideas, Jared’s already accomplished a lot of amazing things…and he’s not even 30 yet. And the Post isn’t the only publication that noticed—Foreign Policy magazine also included him on this year’s list of 100 Global Thinkers.
