Aug 17

Today we bring you a vacation recap, updates on some books we’ve covered in previous podcasts, and a progress report on our summer reading. We’ve also got two books we can’t wait for you to read — these are good, so grab a pen to write them down.

Hi there! We’re back from vacation, with quite the chatty podcast. We missed you all! We’ve both had book-filled vacations, and we tell you a bit about what we did on our break.

Some of our favorite books, back in the news:

We’re thrilled at the shortlist announcement for The Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, awarded by The Center for Fiction. Four of their seven shortlisted titles were featured on Books on the Nightstand. The full list:

Also this week, Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, announced that the Henrietta Lacks Foundation has made its first grant awards to some Henrietta’s descendants. These grants were made possible by donations from Rebecca Skloot and from readers of the book.

A progress report: (11:22)

In segment two, we update you on the progress we’ve made with the summer reading that you’ve assigned us. Michael is reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and I’m reading Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. We both are on schedule to finish by Labor Day, as promised. We are making plans for an online discussion where you can call in and join us live. Stay tuned for more details.

Two books we can’t wait for you to read: (21:00)

The TigerToday, segment 3 features two great new works of nonfiction. Ann talks about The Tiger by John Vaillant which will be in bookstores on August 24th. This nonfiction look at a man-eating tiger in Siberia has been known to give readers nightmares, though it just kept me up late because I wanted to keep reading. The author video, below, will make you want to read this book — I guarantee it.

Let's Take the Long Way HomeMichael is loving Let’s take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell, a memoir of one woman’s very important friendship, which he says more than lives up to the tremendous amount of acclaim that it has received. Melissa Klug, longtime friend of Books on the Nightstand, wrote a beautiful review of this book that you should read.

Jul 14

Hey everyone-

A couple of weird things happened today: the podcast didn’t go up until this afternoon (we usually publish late Tuesday night) and then there was the scam email some of you might have received from my personal email address. No, I am not in London,  no I was not mugged, and no I wasn’t emailing you asking for cash!

Apologies to any of you who might have gotten this. While the hacker had access to my account, he wiped out all of my contacts, so I can’t even tell who might have been spammed. Chances are, if I ever replied to an email from you, you were hit. As far as I know, there is no virus to be concerned about. It was just a phishing attack looking for cash.

Rest assured, I have regained control of my account and the password is now VERY complex and convoluted!

Michael

p.s. many folks have told me that they immediately knew it wasn’t me because of the atrocious spelling and grammar. I guess it pays to speak (and write) correctly!

Jun 08

We recap our highlights of Book Expo America. Then we announce the winners of our Summer Reading voting and invite you to read along with us. And in “Two Books We Can’t Wait for You to Read,” Ann tells us about American Music by Jane Mendelsohn, and Michael discusses Mrs. Somebody Somebody by Tracy Winn.

Book Expo America

Ann and I tell you all about our trip Book Expo America, where we saw lots of authors and new books coming out this fall. Check out our Flickr Photo Set from images of some of the things I saw. It was wonderful for to see all of the enthusiasm at the show for The Passage, a book we told you about several months ago. The title and release date were plastered on everything from badge holders to giant banners.

Join Us for our Summer Reading (14:22)

Thank you to everyone who voted for the books than Ann and I will read this summer. Here we tell you about the books that won – Middlesex for me and The Poisonwood Bible for Ann – in the hopes that you’ll join us in reading one or both of these. We’ll talk about the books in late August and hope to be able to have a live call-in book group of some kind (more to come on that).

Two Books We Can’t Wait For You to Read (19:21)

My book for segment three is Mrs. Somebody Somebody by Tracy Winn, a collection of linked short stories which all take place in the mill town of Lowell, MA, and which span the last half of the 20th century. Ann tells us about American Music by Jane Mendelsohn, author of I Was Amelia Earhart. The new novel is about an Iraq War veteran and his masseuse, who can “feel” stories as she massages him.


Jun 06

No, this is not some scam being run by a Nigerian Prince. I don’t need you to wire me money. I swear.

My friend Steve Himmer is a novelist. I’ve now read three books by him and I loved them all. Sadly, he has yet to sign with an agent or a publisher. I’m convinced that will change someday, but in the meantime, you can read his most recent book The Bee-Loud Glade for free, but only if you download it this Monday, June 7.

Word Riot, an online literary journal is sponsoring what they’re calling “Published For a Day.” They are putting up links to downloadable novels and short-story collections from folks who have been previously published on their site, or on a handful of other lit sites. The files will only be up for Monday, June 7. After that, they’re gone… so don’t procrastinate!

Since I’m writing this post before the links have gone up, please just go to their site and look for “Published For a Day,” and then for Steve Himmer’s The Bee-Loud Glade. Check it out and let me know what you think!

In closing, I wanted to share a photo my wife took of a car that was in front of her. Needless to say, it reminded her of me!

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May 31

I will be reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, which received 35% of the votes, and Ann will be reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which 37% of you voted for.

Over 350 people voted and we thank each and every one of you for helping choose these books! We’ll read these over the Summer and tell you our thoughts by the end of August.

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May 14

My friend Kim is on a crusade. She and her family have embraced the 100-mile diet, locavore way of life more than just about anyone I know (with the possible exception of Ann Kingman herself). Kim has set up a wonderful blog to chronicle this journey: Cute Fan Girl Goes Local. Her most recent post is all about an author event she attended in Harvard Square.

The book is The Locavore Way and I actually just bought my copy a few weeks ago. I urge you to read Kim’s blog post, Freeze-Dried Inspiration, and to check out the book if you’re taking the 100-mile journey too.

May 04

We were so very honored when Jennifer Entwistle and Vicki Hendrickson invited Books on the Nightstand to be part of the Newburyport (MA) Literary Festival! It was a wonderful day full of author talks and book signings. Our live Books on the Nightstand session took place in a stunningly gorgeous old church, with a crowd of about 75 people in attendance — intimidating to be sure.  Jennifer moderated our discussion and did a fantastic job! And since technology was on our side, we were able to record the episode, presented here. It runs about an hour, including a Q&A session at the end.

Ann, Michael and Jennifer

Ann, Michael, and moderator extraordinaire, Jennifer Entwistle

As we begin the discussion, technology takes center stage: we talk about the history of Books on the Nightstand, how technology and social networking are changing the publishing industry. Then we move on to discussing online book discussion, which morphs into our ideas of what makes a good “book group book.”

Michael and I each talk about some of our favorite recommendations for book clubs:

First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist Church, Newburyport, MA

Then, it’s a live version of “Two Books We Can’t Wait For You To Read”:  Michael talks about The Handbook for Lig

htning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone, a novel about two people who come together through their individual experiences of being struck by lightning.  Ann tells about The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller, which is a powerful, thought-provoking novel about living and grieving in the wake of tragedy.

Lastly, some questions from the audience, which we attempt to answer. Please note that the audience members’ questions cannot be heard on the podcast recording, but we’ve tried to repeat the question so that it’s clear.

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

Book Blogs:

Books Podcasts:

NetGalley – Based in Newburyport, MA, this company works with publishers to make electronic advanced reading copies available to the media and book reviewers

Random House Readers Circle Author Chats – lists authors that are willing to call in to a book group discussion

Vintage/Anchor Reading Group Center – lists authors that are willing to call in to a book group discussion


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Apr 06

The Swimming PoolMichael is away, so today’s podcast features an interview with first-time novelist Holly LeCraw, author of The Swimming Pool.  Holly and I talk about her path to being published by Doubleday, and her adventures in finding a literary agent for her book.

Learn more about Holly at Hollylecraw.com, and be sure to check out her tour schedule. If you have a chance, I’d love you to attend one of her events — and tell her you “met” her on Books on the Nightstand!

Many thanks to Holly for her patience with me as a new interviewer. It’s not a role that I’m used to. I very much enjoyed our conversation, and I hope that you do, too.

Mar 03

Day 53: A Kind of Miracle

Embarrassed to dog-ear

It’s true: in segment 1, I confess to turning down the corners of books to mark my place, especially on advanced reading copies. Michael and I talk about various ways to mark a page in a book, and it appears that we have different rules for different types of books. What do you do?

No Bookmark Required for these (05:10)

We love big fat books, but sometimes short books are just the thing needed at a particular moment. Of course we have some recommendations:  Michael likes The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett, a novel about a middle-aged couple in London who discover that they have been robbed and that everything they own has been taken except for the clothes on their back. He also recommends You’re an Animal, Viskovitz, by Alessandro Boffa, which is a collection of short stories featuring the character Viskovitz, who in each story is a different animal.

Since I can’t pass up an opportunity to gush about Ian McEwan, my choice for short book is The Comfort of Strangers. This is a a brilliant, dark, psychological novel that could be considered a horror novel in a sense, though there are no monsters or zombies.

You're an Animal, Viskovitz The Comfort of Stangers

One Book We Can’t Wait for you to Read (Outsourced edition) (14:15)

Walking to GatlinburgMichael and I both loved Howard Frank Mosher’s early novel, A Stranger in the Kingdom, and we both wanted to talk Howard’s latest novel, Walking to Gatlinburg. But truly, nobody talks about a Howard Frank Mosher novel better than our colleague Ron Koltnow. So we asked Ron to call in and be our guest recommender for this segment.  I hope you enjoy hearing a different voice this week!

And we’re off!

Michael and I will be gone next week at a company sales meeting, hearing about books that will be published in the Fall of 2010. So we’re going to turn next week’s show over to our listeners. Many of you called in recommendations for your favorite “big” books, and have the chance to win a copy of The Passage. Next week we’ll play some of those calls. I hope you enjoy it!

photo credit: :Day 53: A Kind of Miracle by quinn.anya via Flickr

Feb 23

Ann discusses the Percy Jackson movie and shares her daughter’s opinion on how it compared to the book. But there’s more news for Rick Riordan fans: the first book in his new series, The Kane Chronicles, comes out on May 4, 2010. Click on the link to read an excerpt.

Screen 1 at The Orpheum

Next, we discuss books that have been made into movies that are just out, or due out soon: The Last Station, a look at Tolstoy’s final year; Thinking in Pictures, the basis for HBO’s Temple Grandin; Creation a new movie about Charles Darwin, might lead moviegoers back to The Origin of Species; the new HBO miniseries The Pacific drew inspiration from both Helmet for my Pillow and With the Old Breed; the non-fiction book Imperial Life in the Emerald City is the basis for Matt Damon’s new movie The Green Zone. Michael ends the segment with a look at two comics series. One has been made into a movie, The Losers, and one is the basis for the Fox TV show Human Target.

In segment three, Michael recommends Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, the story of an unlikely friendship in a small English village. It was recently reviewed – glowingly – in the New York Times. Ann tells us about Henning Mankell’s latest novel, The Man from Beijing. Mankell is best known for his Kurt Wallander mysteries set in Sweden, and while this book does begin with a Swedish mystery, the story also travels to 19th-century California and to Africa. (Click here to listen to an NPR story about the book and to read an excerpt.)

movie theater image by katstan

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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:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Hyperion trade paperback
The Kane Chronicles, Book 1: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, Hyperion hardcover
The Last Station by Jay Parini, Anchor trade paperback
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin, Vintage trade paperback
The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin, Modern Library trade paperback
Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie, Bantam trade paperback
With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge, Presidio Press trade paperback
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajov Chandrasekaran, Vintage trade papeback
The Losers, Vols. 1 and 2 by Andy Diggle and Jock, Vertigo trade paperback
Human Target: Chance Meetings by Peter Milligan, Vertigo trade paperback
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, Random House hardcover
The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell, Knopf hardcover
(all information is for the U.S. editions).

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