Books on the Nightstand Podcast, Episode #30: We Go Viral

May 06

Books on the Nightstand Podcast, Episode #30: We Go Viral

By Michael Kindness Podcasts, Uncategorized Add comments

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netherland We start today’s episode by talking about some celebrities that influence the book-buying public. Oprah is an obvious one. For our UK listeners, Richard and Judy are often responsible for books selling hundreds of thousands of copies (and they’ve just put up their list of summer reads). But there’s one other person who’s been helping books sell. A recent New York Times interview with President Obama included the fact that he’s been reading Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland (also one of Ann’s favorites), and sales picked up right away. The publisher even rushed the paperback to stores – it now goes on sale May 7, 2009. So, tell us, does a famous person recommending a book mean more than a friend, a colleague, or, dare we say it, a trusted blogger/podcaster?

Merry, from our Goodreads group, suggested an episode on plague/pandemic books and now seemed the perfect time to do it. When the news is particularly bad, many of us turn to books for more information or for entertainment. We have chosen several non-fiction books and one novel dealing with the flu and other diseases. If you want more book recommendations, check out the Plague Books Group on Goodreads. (Thanks to Lee for telling us about the group!) dark places

born to run

In segment three, Ann tells us about Born to Run, a book about long-distance runners of northern Mexico. She only planned to dip into the book, but just couldn’t stop reading. Michael recommends Dark Places, the new novel from Gillian Flynn, author of Sharp Objects. If you like your books dark and your protagonists damaged, this book is for you. Michael also reminds us about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society, which is now out in paperback.

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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:

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill, Vintage trade paperback

Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen, Random House trade paperback

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, Anchor trade paperback

Flu by Gina Kolata, Touchstone trade paperback

Panic in Level 4 by Richard Preston, Random House trade paperback

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, Knopf hardcover

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, Shaye Areheart Books hardcover

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, Dial Press trade paperback

(all information is for the U.S. editions).

http://www.litchick.typepad.com Melanie

I think my husband would like Born to Run and I’ve been waffling on the new Flynn book. Maybe after the baby…I don’t know if I can stomach it
Thanks for the recommendation of Fraction of the Whole – I never would have read it otherwise and it is unlike anything else. Next up – Cutting for Stone (finally).
http://www.litchick.typepad.com Melanie

I think my husband would like Born to Run and I’ve been waffling on the new Flynn book. Maybe after the baby…I don’t know if I can stomach it
Thanks for the recommendation of Fraction of the Whole – I never would have read it otherwise and it is unlike anything else. Next up – Cutting for Stone (finally).
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Ann Kingman

Melanie,
I had a friend who insisted that while pregnant, she would only read “happy” books in case the baby was somehow sharing in the experience. She ended up reading only classics, and when I pointed out that most classics had sadness, she said that since she didn’t understand most classics, chances were good that the baby wouldn’t either!

Glad you liked Fraction of the Whole — can’t wait to hear what you think of Cutting for Stone!
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com Ann Kingman

Melanie,
I had a friend who insisted that while pregnant, she would only read “happy” books in case the baby was somehow sharing in the experience. She ended up reading only classics, and when I pointed out that most classics had sadness, she said that since she didn’t understand most classics, chances were good that the baby wouldn’t either!

Glad you liked Fraction of the Whole — can’t wait to hear what you think of Cutting for Stone!
Tanya

LOL! While I was pregnant, I was proofing a series of Southern Gothic audiobooks (a LOT of Shelby Foote and Faulkner.) I was afraid my daughter was going to be born a half-mad Southern belle! It’s been six years though, and there’s neither sign nor symptom of a coquettish drawl…
Tanya

LOL! While I was pregnant, I was proofing a series of Southern Gothic audiobooks (a LOT of Shelby Foote and Faulkner.) I was afraid my daughter was going to be born a half-mad Southern belle! It’s been six years though, and there’s neither sign nor symptom of a coquettish drawl…
Sarah Barresi

I found out via Huffington Post that I was reading Netherland simultaneously with Pres. Obama and I have to admit that I got a kick out of that. I’d be interested in hearing what his opinion is on the book as I thought it was only OK. The pacing was a bit slow and the protagonist, with his inability to break through his internal fog, irritated me.

I just started Edgar Sawtelle and I’m looking forward to Fraction of the Whole.

Thanks so much for all these suggestions. I see lots of great summer reading on the horizon.
Sarah Barresi

I found out via Huffington Post that I was reading Netherland simultaneously with Pres. Obama and I have to admit that I got a kick out of that. I’d be interested in hearing what his opinion is on the book as I thought it was only OK. The pacing was a bit slow and the protagonist, with his inability to break through his internal fog, irritated me.

I just started Edgar Sawtelle and I’m looking forward to Fraction of the Whole.

Thanks so much for all these suggestions. I see lots of great summer reading on the horizon.
http://www.bostonbibliophile.com Marie

Dark Places sounds very intriguing- probably not my cup of tea really but I really enjoyed listening to you talk about it on the podcast. I know some horror/suspense fans who would probably love it. I’m intrigued by the moral complexity in the premise combined with the horror elements.
http://www.bostonbibliophile.com Marie

Dark Places sounds very intriguing- probably not my cup of tea really but I really enjoyed listening to you talk about it on the podcast. I know some horror/suspense fans who would probably love it. I’m intrigued by the moral complexity in the premise combined with the horror elements.
Graceann Macleod

You asked where we get our book recommendations, and I wanted to tell you about a reviewer/blogger whose work I quite enjoy.

http://fashion-piranha.livejournal.com/profile

My number one source for recommendations is my yahoo group, bookcrazy, where I hear about all sorts of wonderful things. A close second is Books on the Nightstand. FashionPiranha is close on the heels. Her reviews are interesting, witty, and often lead me to investigate a title further.
Graceann Macleod

You asked where we get our book recommendations, and I wanted to tell you about a reviewer/blogger whose work I quite enjoy.

http://fashion-piranha.livejournal.com/profile

My number one source for recommendations is my yahoo group, bookcrazy, where I hear about all sorts of wonderful things. A close second is Books on the Nightstand. FashionPiranha is close on the heels. Her reviews are interesting, witty, and often lead me to investigate a title further.