“The Times’ book staff offers 50 picks in fiction and nonfiction, as well as asking its online columnists to weigh in with their choices in mysteries, science fiction, children’s and more.”LAT In London, the Sunday Times has also posted their books of the year package. They name Toni Morrison’s A MERCY as novel of the year.Times And in Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King lists his ten (or so) favorite reads and emphasizes the value that books deliver: “Books are still the best bang for your entertainment buck, and 2008 was a great year for reading. Below are my personal best for […]
January 2009 Indie Next List
Beat the Reaper: A Novel by Josh BazellSing Them Home by Stephanie KallosThe Little Giant of Aberdeen County: A Novel by Tiffany BakerTwo Rivers: A Novel by T. GreenwoodStill Alice: A Novel by Lisa GenovaThe Book of Unholy Mischief: A Novel by Elle NewmarkA Day and a Night and a Day: A Novel by Glen DuncanBone by Bone by Carol O’ConnellShelter Me by Juliette FayTinkers by Paul HardingCouch by Benjamin ParzybokNever Tell a Lie: A Novel of Suspense by Hallie EphronThe Piano Teacher: A Novel by Janice Y.K. LeeDaemon by Daniel SuarezMiles From Nowhere by Nami MunGoing to See the […]
Awards: Longlist for Best Translated Book of 2008
Open Letter has posted a list of 25 contenders for the best translated book of 2008 (into English), which makes a fine guide to recently-published literature from around the world. Ten finalists will be named in late January 27, with the winning titles announced on February 19th at a party at the Melville House offices.Open Letter
Greyish Thursday: Add to Your List
– HarperCollins “plans to delay pay increases until after July 1, 2009…a response to the U.S. recession, according to spokesperson Erin Crum, Bloomberg reports. “HarperCollins hasn’t decided whether to eliminate jobs, she said.”Bloomberg – “Last month, John Sargent, chief executive of Macmillan, whose publishing houses include Farrar, Straus and Giroux and St. Martin’s Press, said in a companywide meeting that he could not guarantee that everyone would have a job going forward. Mr. Sargent declined to comment.” – Pearson has a companywide freeze on nearly all raises, which includes Penguin. – Bowker announced internally a restructuring in “a couple of […]
Bertram's Sale Imminent?
Michael Neil’s latest quote on Bertram’s: “We are up for sale and a sale agreement is imminent. We are confident it will be sorted by the end of the week.”Norwich paper
There is Good News–In Canada, and Currency Markets
BookNet Canada, which tracks point-of-sale data covering approximately 75 percent of the market, says that for the four weeks ending November 23, dollar sales rose 2 percent and unit sales rose 4.9 percent, concluding that “Canada might be the only English book market still in positive territory.” Unfortunately, that could be due in part to the relative cheapness of books in Canada compared to the US, with the Canadian dollar still trading at a very low .80 against the US dollar.Release In general, the dollar has retained its recent strength, which for the time being helps lift the performance of […]