Books on the Nightstand, Episode 30 (21:34)
(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)
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!)
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.
__________________________
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, Dial Press trade paperback
If you're new here and like what we do, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, or sign up to receive Books On The Nightstand updates by email. We hope we've given you some great book recommendations. Thanks for visiting!
Have a comment, question, or book recommendation? Call our voicemail line and wait for the beep. Tell us if we may play your message on a future podcast.
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).
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!
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…
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.
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.
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.