National Novel Writing Month!

November has arrived and it is National Novel Writing Month!  National Novel Writing Month is a 30 day writing challenge that pushes writers to abandon self-conscious writing and standard to meet the challenge of completing a 50,000 word novel in just a month.  It's challenge for all willing to step up and try no matter what his or her experience level.  To sign up just go ahead and check out http://www.nanowrimo.org/ for instructions on how to become a participant.

There is also a Young Writer's Program which encourages writers under 17 to participate as well.  There is a lower word count and tons of resources for the those wishing to give this challenge a try for the first time.

So ever wonder if you really ever could write a whole novel?  Well stop wondering and sign up, because here is the perfect challenge to really see what you can do!

New Short Fiction from the Book Nerd

The book nerd is expanding her horizons into writing fiction in addition to writing about it.  Here is one the first installments of what should be an intriguing new series, Shadows of the Past.  Hope you enjoy and keep on the look out for more updates!

Shadows of the Past

New York Times Fiction Hardcover Bestsellers 10/10/2010

This Week		Last Week	Weeks on List
1	FALL OF GIANTS, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $36.) Five interrelated families from five countries are caught in the upheavals of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Book 1 of the Century trilogy.		1
2	DON'T BLINK, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. (Little Brown, $27.99.) After a gruesome murder in a New York steak house, a reporter finds himself involved in a war between the Italian mob and the Russian mafia.		1
3	FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years; by the author of "The Corrections." Excerpt	1	5
4	SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central, $25.99.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.	2	3
5	SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK, by David Sedaris. (Little Brown, $21.99.) The humorist looks at human nature through stories with animals as characters.		1
6	THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist. Excerpt	3	19
7	NAKED HEAT, by Richard Castle. (Hyperion, $24.99.) Nikki Heat’s latest murder investigation is complicated by a reunion with the journalist Jameson Rook.		1
8	LEGACY, by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte, $28.) A writer’s stunning family discovery leads to Paris, the French aristocracy and a mysterious Sioux ancestor.		1
9	BAD BLOOD, by John Sandford. (Putnam, $27.95.) Virgil Flowers is summoned to investigate a monstrous multigenerational conspiracy.	4	2
10	THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.	7	79

New York Times Non-Fiction Hardcover Bestsellers 10/10/2010

This Week		Last Week	Weeks on List
1	OBAMA'S WARS, by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster, $30.) How decisions were made on the war in Afghanistan, the campaign in Pakistan and the fight against terrorism.		1
2	EARTH (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart and others. (Grand Central, $27.99.) A visitor’s guide to the human race, presented by "The Daily Show."	1	2
3	------ FINISH FIRST, by Tucker Max. (Gallery, $25.99.) Stories of bad decisions, debauchery and sexual recklessness.		1
4	THE ROOTS OF OBAMA'S RAGE, by Dinesh D'Souza. (Regnery, $27.95.) D’Souza argues that Obama’s policies are defined by the anti-colonialist sentiments of his father.		1
5	THE GRAND DESIGN, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. (Bantam, $28.) Central questions of philosophy and science, from the author of “A Brief History of Time.”	2	4
6	PINHEADS AND PATRIOTS, by Bill O'Reilly. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The Fox News commentator scrutinizes the meaning of change in the era of Obama.	3	3
7	OPERATION DARK HEART, by Anthony Shaffer. (Thomas Dunne, $25.99.) An intelligence officer discusses the role of spycraft and special operations in Afghanistan.		1
8	_____ MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.	4	22
9	EVEN SILENCE HAS AN END, by Ingrid Betancourt. (Penguin Press, $29.95.) Betancourt, a Colombian presidential candidate at the time, was kidnapped by leftist guerrillas in 2002 and held for six years. Excerpt	6	2
10	CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY, by David Limbaugh. (Regnery, $29.95.) A political indictment of Obama’s presidency. (†)	7	6

Nobel Prize in Literature Announced!!!!!

It was announced in a press release on Thursday Oct. 7 2010 that Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa has received the Nobel Prize in LIterature for 2010 for "his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat."  This year's prize money has been set at an amount of 10 million Swedish kroner (SEK).  

Llosa is the author of a multitude of essays, stories and novels including Death in the Andes and Conversation in the Cathedral.  Mario Vargas Llosa was born on March 28, 1936 in Arequipa, Peru.  He once had a failed bid for president of Peru in 1990 and has opposed the leftist governments in Latin American such as Cuba.  

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 1901 to "a person who has produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction" Past Literature Nobel Laureates include authors such as John M. Coetzee, Seamus Heaney, Nadine Gordimer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Pearl Buck.  The Nobel Prize is named for its founding benefactor the Swedish Alfred Nobel who, before he died, signed his will to leave a great portion of his wealth to establish a prize to individuals who "have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" in the categories of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.  The prizes were to be award by the Swedish Academy for Sciences, The Caroline Institute in Stockholm and the Academy in Stockholm and a committee of five people  elected by the Norwegian Sorting.  No extra consideration was to be given to Scandinavian candidates.

The 19th Wife

The 19th Wife

This book had been laying around my apartment for weeks.  My roommate had dived into it and had told me how fascinated she was by the world it introduced her to.  But still I managed to find reasons not to pick it up.  Until I saw the movie on Lifetime.  I only saw half, but still it gave me enough information about what might be in the book to draw me in.  

My roommate was blown away that there might still be polygamy in the United States today.  I on the other hand remembered the case in Texas a few years ago where the state when into a compound and took all the children into child protective services.  But still the news report in that case had been surreal and not too in-depth as to what that lifestyle really looked like.  This book did not skimp on the details.  While a work of fiction, the 19th Wife does try to stick as closely as it can to providing a historical account of the life of the "19th" wife of Brigham Young, one of the earliest leaders of the Mormon Church, Ann Eliza Young.  Ann Eliza, after growing up in the early mormon church and polygamy left as she sought a divorce from her religious leader.  Afterwards, Ann Eliza dedicated her life fighting against polygamy and lobbied Congress to stop its practice in the United States.

The book does a fabulous job of informing and drawing the reader into Ann Eliza's story.  The contemporary one that accompanies it however, does not have that same strength.  The story  becomes at time a little contrived and this is where the movie provides a nice compliment to the book.  The Lifetime Movie version of this book primarily focuses on the contemporary mystery of who killed one the the leading men in this old-fashioned polygamous community.   There are just touches of Ann Eliza's story to give a touch of context for the struggles of several of the characters to break away from this lifestyle.  

My decision to read this book and then to watch the movie again in full could not have come at a better time considering TLC just came out with a new series called Sister Wives which introduced Americans to a polygamous family that has decided to share their lifestyle with the world.  In this opening episode, the father Kody announces he is courting his potentially fourth wife to his children with the three wives he has already been married to for over a decade.  This show, for obvious reasons, makes a great companion to the book and movie if the topic of polygamy interests you because it present you with the facts about real life in such a family, though at times it does make things seem more perfect and ideal than they could really be.  

Next up on the Book Nerd Reading List to look out for: House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende!

IndieBound's Most Wished for Book List!!!

Check out what all the other book nerds out there want to read!!!!!!

IndieBound's Most Wished for Books!

Faithful Place

Tana French 

Viking Adult

Mr. Peanut

Adam Ross 

Knopf

Still Missing

Chevy Stevens 

St. Martin's Press

The Cookbook Collector

Allegra Goodman

The Dial Press

The Freedom Mistake

Apparently publishing of Jonathan Franzen's newest bestseller, Freedom, has not gone as smoothly abroad as it in the US.  HarperCollins UK mistakenly printed an older version of the novel instead of the finalized corrected copy for the novel's UK release last week.  The Publisher and CEO of HarperCollins UK Victoria Barnsley issued an apology to Franzen and the public on October 1st in which she thanked them for their patience and urged the public to wait to buy the novel until the correct version can be released this week.  Readers who have already purchased the incorrect version of the novel will be able to exchange their books for the updated edition.  

Click here to read the formal apology from HarperCollins UK 

The 2010 Old Favorites

BookFinder.com has released its Fall 2010 100 most sought after out-of-print books list.  I think you would be surprised to see the books that comprise the list.  It is an eclectic combination of novel by popular and well-known authors(including authors such as Nora Roberts, Stephan King and more), obscure reference books, histories and more.  A few books have even become so sought after as to cause their publishers to plan a reissue of them.  BookFinder.com highlights the top books as well as the ones publishers are now reissuing.  Take a look and see what older treasures other book enthusiasts are seeking.  (F.Y.I-the number one most sought after out of print book is Sex by Madonna)

Click here to see BookFinder.com Top 100 Most Sought After Out of Print Books!

New York Times Hardcover Graphic Novels Bestsellers Oct. 1 2010

This Week		Weeks on List
1	THE EXILE: AN OUTLANDER GRAPHIC NOVEL, by Diana Gabaldon and Hoang Nguyen. (Random House, $25.) The story of Jamie Fraser, a kilt-wearing 18th-century Scotsman, and Claire Randall, a World War II-era nurse who has been transported back back in time, is retold in the graphic novel format.	1
2	THE ADVENTURES OF OOK AND GLUK, by George Beard and Harold Hutchins. (Scholastic, $9.99.) Ook and Gluk, two cave boys, must learn kung-fu to save their prehistoric home from a menace from the future.	7
3	BLACKEST NIGHT, by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. (DC Comics, $29.99.) This collected edition of the event mini-series features some surprising deaths and even more surprising rebirths. Green Lantern and the recently resurrected Flash are at the forefront.	11
4	KICK-ASS, by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.. (Marvel Entertainment, $14.99.) A "realistic" look at what would happen if a teenage boy put on a costume to fight crime. Not for the weak of heart.	29
5	DARK TOWER: THE BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL, by Peter David, Robin Furth and Jae Lee. (Marvel Entertainment, $24.99.) This comic series explores the world set forth by Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” novels. Will the evil plans of the Crimson King come to fruition?	6
6	THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD AND OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS, by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart. (Dark Horse Comics, $17.99.) Not just a clever name. This collection of stories by Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, skewers overly familiar gothic genre tropes and features a hero who literally has a screw-on head.	2
7	BLACKEST NIGHT: GREEN LANTERN, by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke. (DC Comics, $24.99.) The War of Light makes for some strange bedfellows as Green Lanterns gains allies whose battle colors include blue, orange, violet, yellow and indigo.	11
8	BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. (DC Comics, $17.99.) This critically acclaimed story from 1988 offers a possible origin for the Joker.	78
9	BLACKEST NIGHT: BLACK LANTERN CORPS, VOL. 1, by various. (DC Comics, $24.99.) Batman, Superman and the Teen Titans confront friends, relatives and allies that have returned from the dead.	7
10	DARK AVENGERS: SIEGE, by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato and Chris Bachalo. (Marvel Entertainment, $24.99.) More secrets of the Sentry, a powerful hero tinged with madness, are revealed.

New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Bestsellers Oct. 1 2010

This Week		Last Week	Weeks on List
1	EARTH (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart and others. (Grand Central, $27.99.) A visitor’s guide to the human race, presented by "The Daily Show."		1
2	THE GRAND DESIGN, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. (Bantam, $28.) Central questions of philosophy and science, from the author of “A Brief History of Time.”	1	3
3	PINHEADS AND PATRIOTS, by Bill O'Reilly. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $27.99.) The Fox News commentator scrutinizes the meaning of change in the era of Obama.	2	2
4	_____ MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern. (It Books/HarperCollins, $15.99.) A coming-of-age memoir organized around the musings, purveyed on Twitter, of the author’s father.	3	21
5	WHITE HOUSE DIARY, by Jimmy Carter. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $30.) The diary Carter kept during his presidency, with annotations.		1
6*	EVEN SILENCE HAS AN END, by Ingrid Betancourt. (Penguin Press, $29.95.) Betancourt, a Colombian presidential candidate at the time, was kidnapped by leftist guerrillas in 2002 and held for six years. Excerpt		1
7	CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY, by David Limbaugh. (Regnery, $29.95.) A political indictment of the Obama presidency. (†)	4	5
8	THE WAVE, by Susan Casey. (Doubleday, $27.95.) A look at giant oceanic waves and the scientists and surfers who love them.	7	2
9	A JOURNEY, by Tony Blair. (Knopf, $35.) A memoir by the former British prime minister.	5	4
10	THE LOST DOGS, by Jim Gorant. (Gotham, $26.) The story of the animals rescued from the dogfighting ring that involved the football player Michael Vick.

New York Times Hardcover Bestsellers Oct. 1 2010

This Week		Last Week	Weeks on List
1	FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) A family of Midwestern liberals during the Bush years; by the author of "The Corrections." Excerpt	2	4
2	SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central, $25.99.) The arrival of a mysterious young woman in a small North Carolina town raises questions about her past.	1	2
3	THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of a trilogy about a Swedish hacker and a journalist. Excerpt	4	18
4*	BAD BLOOD, by John Sandford. (Putnam, $27.95.) Virgil Flowers is summoned to investigate a monstrous multigenerational conspiracy.		1
5	MINI SHOPAHOLIC, by Sophie Kinsella. (Dial, $25.) Keeping a surprise party on budget has domestic perils.		1
6	WICKED APPETITE, by Janet Evanovich. (St. Martin’s, $27.99.) A dangerous man needs Elizabeth Tucker’s help to find an ancient power source.	3	2
7	THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn/Putnam, $24.95.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s ­Mississippi.	5	78
8	THE FALL, by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $26.99.) A war erupts between Old and New World vampires. Book 2 of the Strain trilogy.		1
9	ROOM, by Emma Donoghue. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) A mother’s prison is her young son’s entire world.	10	2
10*	SANTA FE EDGE, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) A murder in a golfer’s hacienda brings Ed Eagle a new client.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners Announced!

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize which was created in 2006 as an offshoot of the Dayton Peace Prize and is the first and only US literary award to recognize the power of the written word to promote peace.  The award is given in the categories of adult fiction and nonfiction book published within the last year.  Books nominated help readers gain an understanding of other cultures, people, religions and political points of view.  Each award carries a $10,000 cash prize.

Winners

Nonfiction:  Zeitoun by Dave Eggers 

Fiction: The Book Of Night Women by Marlon James

Runners up:

Nonfiction: In the Valley of Mist by Justine Hardy 

Fiction: The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie 

In addition, historical novelist Geraldine Brooks (People of the Book, March, Year of Wonders) will receive the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

Breaking Night: The Homeless to Harvard Story

This month marked the release of Breaking Night, the memoir of Liz Murray.  Liz was the inspiration for Lifetime's movie, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story.  Liz completed high school while homeless and went on to win a New York Times Scholarship and attend Harvard University, which she graduated from in 2009.  She has also been awarded the White House Project Role Model Award, a Christopher Award and the Chutzpah Award given to her by Oprah.  Because of Liz's experiences with hunger as a child she now works with the non-profit organization, Blessings in a Backpack.  This organization supplies children in need with food for the weekend when they won't have access to it at school.  

Liz is combining the release of her book with Hunger Action Month (September) to help bring awareness to this issue. In addition she will be making appearances around the country sponsored by Meijer and Navistar to help increase the amount of children supported by this program every year from 38,000 to 50,000.  

The rest of this month's appearances are listed below:

* Thursday, September 23 Chicago, IL (Meijer, 10138 Indianapolis Blvd., Highland, IN)

* Friday, September 24 Chicago, IL (Meijer, 1251 Golf Road, Rolling Meadows, IL)

* Monday, September 27 Lexington, KY (Meijer, 351 W. Reynolds Road)

* Tuesday, September 28 Louisville, KY (Meijer, 4100 Town Center Drive)

* Sunday, October 10, Berkeley, CA (4:30pm, Redford Center, 2150 Allston Way)

For those interesting in purchasing Breaking Night please click the link below:

The Shadow of the Wind

I wanted to let me mind absorb everything from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo before I plunged into the sequel so I decided to pick up a book a friend recommended to me, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  If I was looking for a quiet break from the suspense of the Stieg Larsson novel, this wasn't it.  

When I picked it up, it seemed to be the perfect read for a book nerd. It followed the main character, Daniel, the son of a rare books dealer as he becomes entangled in the mystery surrounding a mysterious book entitled Shadow of the Wind.  (A book about a book, does it get any better?).  Daniel after becoming intrigued by the novel seeks other written by the same author, Julian Carax.  But few seem to know anything about him except that for some years a dark and mysterious stranger has been collecting all the remaining copies of Julian Carax's novels and destroying them.  Before long this mysterious stranger approaches Daniel to obtain his copy, but Daniel strongly refuses to sell.  Daniel hides the book to protect it but years later that is still not the end to this mystery.  As Daniel learns more about the enigma that was Julian Carax, the greater danger he is in because someone is power is trying to keep a dark secret.  

But the book goes even beyond an enticing literary mystery.  Originally written in Spanish and published in Spain, the story is completely tied with Spanish history of World War II, a time period full of dissent and tension in Spain.  As you go through the novel, you realize that what happened to Spain during this time period is significantly different from what was going on in the rest of the world.  Its unique political history is irrevocably tied with the older character who set up the complex mystery which sweeps up Daniel and his friends.  If you are looking to be swept away to unfamiliar world where everything is possible, give this book a try.  

Isreal in Comics

Now I'm sure no one thought they would be exploring a tense political situation through a comic instead of  traditional book, but this is exactly what Sarah Glidden does in her upcoming comic, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less.  The comic chronicles Glidden's experience on a Birthright trip to Israel, an opportunity open to young Jewish Americans to help them connect with their Jewish heritage and Israel.  The comic will be released Nov. 3 in comic stores and Nov. 6 where books are sold, so keep your eye out for this new work.  

Sarah has links to some of her pre-pulication work on this comic available on her website.  There she also provides links to her reviews in Publisher's Weekly and The Daily Cross Hatch

Censorship or Protection?

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals struck down 2 Oregon laws meant to protect minors from exposure to pornography and prevent child abuse in POWELL’S BOOKS v. KROGER.  The laws in question made it illegal to sell or give materials to children under 13 that were sexually explicit and another law which made it illegal to distribute materials to children under the age of 18 "visual, verbal, or narrative descriptions of sexual conduct,".  The suit was brought by Powell Books and many other booksellers and organizations including  the Oregon ACLU.  They claimed that the law violated the First Amendment and was overly broad to include such common children's books as those written by Judy Blume.  


The court agreed.  Though the state claimed that the laws were only meant to target the distribution of hardcore pornography, the court noted, The statutory text makes no mention of “hardcore pornography,” but rather refers to “sexually explicit material” and a “visual representation or explicit verbal description or narrative account of sexual conduct.” .  This term "sexually explicit" the court decided was too broad and could include many common books intended for children because the law made no exception for the purpose of the work as a whole and whether "the work possesses any “redeeming social value.”

Stevie Wonder Tries to Bring Light to Those in the Dark

Yesterday, singer Stevie Wonder spoke to the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization to press them to alter copy right laws so that it is easier to make educational materials and books into audiobook formats to make these more readily available to the blind.  Right now it is extremely expensive to do so, limiting access for the blind in poor countries.  This is just one of issues that the World Intellectual Property Organization must deal with as there is a need to update copyright laws in general to catch up with all the new media which has been created in recent years.  The Internet in particular has caused many issues.  While Wonder is encouraging the organization to help with cheaper access he still recognizes ( considering his role as an artist) the need to protect the rights of the creators.  He jokingly urged his audience to seek a compromise or "I'll have to write a song about what you didn't do".   To read the source article please see the Huffington Post.

2010 PEN USA Literary Awards

PEN Center USA the West Coast center of International PEN was founded in 1943.  Its membership includes more than 800 writers, poets, playwrights, essayists, novelists as well as writers for TV and film, critics, historians, editors, journalists and translators.  They have now announced the winners of its 2010 Literary Awards competition.  In this competition PEN USA gives out awards in 11 separate genres.  These awards will be given out at the 20th Annual Literary Awards Festival (LitFest) held at the Beverly Hills Hotel Wednesday, November 17, 2010.  At LitFest each of the winners will receive a check for $1000.  Past winners of this award have included: Woody Allen, George Cloony, Ray Bradbury, Betty Friedan, Maxine Hong Kingston and Neil Simon.

The 2010 Winners are:

Fiction

Victor Lodato: Mathilda Savitch (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)

Poetry

Amy Catanzano: Multiversal (Fordham University Press)

Creative Nonfiction

Vicki Forman: This Lovely Life (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Research Nonfiction

Minal Hajratwala: Leaving India: My Family’s Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company)

Children’s/Young Adult Literature

Paul Fleischman: The Dunderheads (Candlewick Press)

Journalism

Mary Melton: Julius Shulman in 36 Exposures (Los Angeles Magazine)

Translation

Fady Joudah: Mahmoud Darwish’s If I Were Another (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Drama

Julie Hebert: Tree

Screenplay

Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner: Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)

T eleplay

Peter Blake: House: “The Tyrant” (NBC)

The Graphic Literature Award

Matt Fraction: For His Outstanding Body of Work

The University of California Press Exceptional First Book Award

Angela Garcia: The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession along the Rio Grande (University of California Press)