Recordpub.com - One for the Books: Memoirs

A memoir is often much more than a recounting of someone's life; it can be a reflection of the world, the culture and the constraints of the time.

"Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House" by Valerie Plame Wilson starts out as an account of her work as a covert CIA agent and ends up as a chronicle of life as the target of partisan political wrath. The author describes her training as a CIA operative and her search for evidence of weapons of mass destruction around the world; her marriage to former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson; and the legal attempts to nab whoever committed the federal crime of outing her as a spy.

The hows and whys of all this are explained very nicely, except for one thing: The CIA's redactions are all in place. In some cases, entire pages are blacked out. Wilson's style is simple and easy to follow, but the redactions sometimes left me dizzy. Obviously, the CIA doesn't want us to know dates and names, but it's fun to see what else the Agency thinks should be censored. How do we know? Conveniently, Wilson's text is followed by an "afterword" by reporter Laura Rozen, who fills in much of the redacted material that was already in the public record.

As if she didn't have enough trouble, Wilson suffered horrible postpartum depression after the birth of her twins, and here she provides a list of resources for women. The book also has a section of color photos.

I don't have space to go into detail here -- and there are plenty of details -- but it was a surprisingly good, fast-paced read. Here's a fun challenge for you; it was part of her CIA test: "Imagine you are meeting an agent in a foreign hotel room and there is suddenly a loud banging at the door. You hear 'Police, let us in!' What do you do?"*

What's it like to endure a life of privilege, parties, fox hunts and all things British? In "P£aying on a Shoe$tring: Sporting Bachelor at Large," the high-born, fun-loving man-about-town Nigel Kenyon tell us, in no uncertain terms, that it's quite a bit of fun, thank you very much.

According to his own family history, Kenyon was born into a "sophisticated environment"; his great-grandparents were friends of King George V and Queen Mary. He writes about growing up in a 1592 manor house, having a nanny, attending boarding school, excelling at sports, being sent to Canada to learn the family business, and eventually starting his own financial services firm. He takes us on his travels and to his parties, and he introduces us to colorful characters while handing out opinions such as "There is no excuse for mixing bad drinks." Along the way, Kenyon is involved with quite a few ladies: "I astonished my great-aunt by leaving her grandson's wedding with a girl on each arm and being seen bundling them into a hardtop E type Jaguar."

This one is tons of fun for Anglophiles, but I had occasional trouble with the vocabulary. The book has a section of color photos, an appendix with recipes so you can eat and drink like a playboy, and a "UK Shopping Arcade for the Real Players." As the charming author said to me on the phone, "I hope that you had a good laugh ... that's what it's meant to be." It was, indeed. The hardcover book is available for purchase at www.kenbiz.co.uk and will be shipped from New York.

She was the envy of female Beatles fans everywhere during the '60s and '70s and was the muse for two of rock 'n' roll's most shining stars, who wrote "Something," "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" for her. Who is she? It's Pattie Boyd, who, helped by Penny Junor, has written her life story in "Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me."

The account of her younger years is told very quickly, but it's filled with travel and intriguing characters. If she wanted to, she could expand it into an interesting book on its own, or turn it into a novel. In her teens, the lovely blonde became an iconic model during the '60s, when London's fashion scene was "abuzz with creativity, bristling with energy." Her meeting with future-husband George Harrison of the Beatles is well documented, as it happened on screen in "A Hard Day's Night." But we get to see it from behind the scenes, and we get insight into George's creativity.

George became "totally withdrawn and I felt alone and isolated" for long periods, she writes. He started cheating on her -- even with Ringo Starr's wife. In 1974 she left him for his friend, master guitarist Eric Clapton: "What I had felt for George was a great, deep love. What Eric and I had was an intoxicating, overpowering passion." Clapton turned out to be rather abusive and was caught up in drinking and drugs, and she left him when he fathered another woman's child.

She says it wasn't easy being a muse: "Having beautiful, powerful love songs written about me was enormously flattering" but made her feel like someone who "was there to fulfill every fantasy; and that's someone with not much of a voice. It's not realistic: no one can live up to that kind of perfection." I enjoyed the book, but some of the writing is a little hurried, and I lost track of who's who among her thousands of acquaintances and party-goers, especially in the world of fashion. The book has a section of color photos.

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What's Happening: This is the weekend for book sales. Today, Saturday and Sunday, books will be on sale at Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna. Today and Saturday, the Friends of Aurora Memorial Library will have a sale, as will the Friends of the Pierce-Streetsboro Library. The Friends of the Garrettsville Library will host a sale from April 3 to 5 with a pre-sale for members on April 2.

Finally, I want to wish a happy birthday today to my beloved aunt, Priscilla Griffith. One must never ask a lady her age, so please don't. But let me just say that she is a woman of faith who wears her years with grace and charm and fills the space around her with love. I am so lucky to have her.

*For Wilson's response, along with a list of best-sellers and other book news, go to www.recordpub.com, click on "Lifetimes," and check out "One for the Books" online.

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BOOK NOTES,
One for the Books Extra Online Exclusives:

*ANSWERS TO QUESTION IN COLUMN:
In her book, Plame reveals her response to the agent who was testing her: "My immediate thought was that excluding espionage, there is only one good reason for an unrelated man and woman to be in a hotel room together. "I would take off my blouse, tell the agent to do the same, and jump into bed before telling the police to come in.' Her barely perceptible smile told me I had hit on the right answer."

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As referred to in Wilson's memoir, here are links to the information on where and when President George W. Bush referred to the U.S. Constitution as "just a g--d----- piece of paper":

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7779.shtml

http://www.gnn.tv/threads/10799/Bush_on_the_Constitution_It_s_just_a_goddamned_piece_of_paper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmc60JmaLbE

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Can't get enough memoirs? Try these.

Joe Wilson's book is "The Politics of Truth."

Eric Clapton has written his own "Clapton: The Autobiography."

Publishers Weekly suggests "Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere: A Memoir" by John Nathan

Book Sense recommends "A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants" by Jaed Coffin -- a "wonderful memoir from a young Thai-American about his choice to spend time being a monk in Thailand."

Book Reporter recommends "Riding Toward Everywhere" by William T. Vollmann -- a portrait of trainhopping "that is both lyrical and unsettling."

Others:

"sTORI Telling" by Tori Spelling

"Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower" by Cynthia Cooper

"In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures" by Helen Mirren (comes out March 25)

"Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time" by Valerie Bertinelli

I personally recommend "Behind the Veil: An American Woman's Memoir of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis" by local author Debra Johanyak.

AND DON'T FORGET
the excellent "Falling Out and Belonging: A Foot-Soldier's Life" by S. Joseph Krause of Kent. It's labeled as fiction, but Krause assures me that it's really his memoir of World War II. He told me: "I say Memoir, because that is what it actually is.At the time I submitted it, there was a to-do about an author who appeared on Oprah erroneously suggesting in his book thathe was into the drug scene.My editor asked me, when I submittedmy bookas a Memoir, whether I had changed anything, andI told him, "Yes,'I had changed names, and I shifted some incidents around for effect.When hesaid that made it fiction, I said then do it as Memoir/Fiction.He said that would be confusing.Guess I should have clarified that some time back." DO NOT MISS THIS ONE.
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. "Change of Heart" by Jodi Picoult (Atria)
2. "The Appeal" by John Grisham (Doubleday)
3. "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press)
4. "Honor Thyself" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press)
5. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown and Company)
6. "A Prisoner of Birth" by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin's Press) (F-H)
7. "Strangers in Death" by J.D. Robb (Putnam Adult)
8. "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana" by Anne Rice (Knopf)
9. "Lush Life" by Richard Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
10. "The Outlaw Demon Wails" by Kim Harrison (Eos)
11. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead Hardcover)
12. "Lady Killer" by Lisa Scottoline (Harper)
13. "Betrayal" by John Lescroart (Dutton)
14. "Duma Key" by Stephen King (Scribner)
15. "World Without End" by Ken Follett (Dutton)
NONFICTION/GENERAL
1. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
2. "Losing It:And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time" by Valerie Bertinelli (Free Press)
3. "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff (Houghton Mifflin)
4. "Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning" by Jonah Goldberg (Doubleday)"
5. "The Age of Miracles" by Marianne Williamson (Hay House)
6. "Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny" by Suze Orman, (Spiegel & Grau)
7. "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan (Penguin)
8. "The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore" by Deepak Chopra (Harmony)
9. "You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty" by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press)
10. "Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day" by Joel Osteen (Free Press)
11. "How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better" by Charla Krupp (Springboard Press)
12. "I Am America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert (Grand Central Publishing)
13. "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions" by Dan Ariely (HarperCollins
14. "The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich" by Timothy Ferriss (Crown)
15. "Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works" by Newt Gingrich (Regnery)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS
1. "I Heard That Song Before" by Mary Higgins Clark (Pocket)
2. "Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Revelation" by Karen Traviss (Del Ray)
3. "Obsession" by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine)
4. "The Perfect Wife" by Victoria Alexander (Avon)
5. "Killer Secrets" by Lora Leigh (St. Martin's Paperpacks)
6. "Predatory Game" by Christine Feehan (Jove)
7. "Thigh High" by Christina Dodd (Signet)
8. "Naughty Neighbor" by Janet Evanovich (Harper)
9. "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" by John Grisham, (Dell)
10. "The 5th Horseman" by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Grand Central Publishing)
11. "The Alibi Man" by Tami Hoag (Bantam)
12. "Vampire Interrupted: An Argeneau Novel" by Lynsay Sands (Avon)
13. "Shifter" by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day and Virginia Kantra (Berkley)
14. "Deep Storm" by Lincoln Child (Anchor)
15. "Sacred Stone" by Clive Custer and Craig Dirgo (Berkley)

TRADE PAPERBACKS
1. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume)
2. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin)
3. "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone)
4. "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin)
5. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library)
6. "The Audacity of Hope:Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press)
7. "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press)
8. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs (Berkley)
9. "Dreams from My Father" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press)
10. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
11. "Atonement" by Ian McEwan (Anchor)
12. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (Algonquin)
13. "Skinny B----" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press)
14. "90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life" by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey (Revell)
15. "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett (NAL Trade)
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USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS

Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback
1. "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) (NF-P)
2. "Change of Heart" by Jodi Picoult (Atria) (F-H)
3. "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone) (F-P)
4. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) (NF-P)
5. "Losing It:And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time" by Valerie Bertinelli (Free Press) (NF-H)
6. "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press) (F-H)
7. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" by Jeff Kinney (Amulet) (F-H)
8. "The Appeal" by John Grisham (Doubleday) (F-H)
9. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words) (NF-H)
10. "Three Cups Of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) (NF-P)
11. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle (New World Library) (NF-P)
12. "I Heard That Song Before" by Mary Higgins Clark (Pocket) (F-P)
13. "Eat This Not That!" by David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding (Rodale) (NF-H)
14. "The Audacity of Hope:Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press) (NF-P)
15. "Nineteen Minutes: A Novel" by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press) (NF-P)
16. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-P)
17. "Naruto, Volume 28" by Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ Media LLC) (F-P)
18. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney (Abrams Books for Young Readers) (F-H)
19. "Honor Thyself" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press) (F-H)
20. "Atonement" by Ian McEwan (Anchor) (F-H)
21. "Horton Hears A Who!" by Dr. Seuss (Random House Books for Young Readers) (F-H)
22. "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett (NAL Trade) (F-P)
23. "Bratfest At Tiffanys" by Lisi Harrison (Poppy) (F-P)
24. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown and Company) (F-H)
25. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers) (F-H)
26. "Naughty Neighbor" by Janet Evanovich (Harper) (F-P)
27. "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff (Houghton Mifflin) (NF-H)
28. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) (F-P)
29. "Skinny B----" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press) (NF-P)
30. "Killer Secrets" by Lora Leigh (St. Martin's Paperpacks) (F-P)
31. "Thigh High" by Christina Dodd (Signet) (F-P)
32. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) (F-H)
33. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (Algonquin) (F-P)
34. "The 5th Horseman" by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Grand Central Publishing) (F-P)
35. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) (F-P)
36. "Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Revelation" by Karen Traviss (Del Ray) (F-P)
37. "90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life" by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey (Revell) (NF-P)
38. "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer (Anchor) (NF-P)
39. "Predatory Game" by Christine Feehan (Jove) (F-P)
40. "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana" by Anne Rice (Knopf) (F-H)
41. "The Alibi Man" by Tami Hoag (Bantam) (F-P)
42. "Obsession" by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine) (F-P)
43. "Strangers in Death" by J.D. Robb (Putnam Adult) (F-H)
44. "Dreams from My Father" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers Press) (NF-P)
45. "Shifter" by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day and Virginia Kantra (Berkley) (F-P)
46. "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss (Random House) (F-H)
47. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead Hardcover) (F-H)
48. "A Prisoner of Birth" by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin's Press) (F-H)
49. "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" by John Grisham (Dell) (NF-P)
50. "The Outlaw Demon Wails" by Kim Harrison (Eos) (F-H)
Reporting stores include: Amazon.com, B. Dalton Bookseller, Barnes & Noble.com, Barnes & Noble Inc., Books-A-Million and Bookland, Booksamillion.com, Borders Books & Music, Bookstar, Bookstop, Brentano's, Davis Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Tenn., Doubleday Book Shops, Hudson Booksellers, Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati, Cleveland), Powell's Books (Portland, Ore.), Powells.com, R.J. Julia Booksellers (Madison, Conn.), Schuler.
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WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS

FICTION
1. "Change of Heart" by Jodi Picoult (Atria)
2. "The Appeal" by John Grisham (Doubleday)
3. "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella (Dial Press)
4. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown and Company)
5. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
6. "Honor Thyself" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press)
7. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
8. "The Outlaw Demon Wails" by Kim Harrison (Eos)
9. "Lush Life" by Richard Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
10. "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana" by Anne Rice (Knopf)
11. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead Hardcover)
12. "A Prisoner of Birth" by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin's Press)
13. "Strangers in Death" by J.D. Robb (Putnam Adult)
14. "Duma Key" by Stephen King (Scribner)
15. "Betrayal" by John Lescroart (Dutton)

NONFICTION
1. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
2. "Losing It:And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time" by Valerie Bertinelli (Free Press)
3. "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff (Houghton Mifflin)
4. "One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life" by Kerry and Chris Shook (WaterBrook Press)
5. "Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning" by Jonah Goldberg (Doubleday)"
6. "StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
7. "Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny" by Suze Orman, (Spiegel & Grau)
8. "The Age of Miracles" by Marianne Williamson (Hay House)
9. "The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore" by Deepak Chopra (Harmony)
10. "You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty" by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press)
11. "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan (Penguin)
12. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Other's Don't" by Jim Collins (Collins)
13. "Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day" by Joel Osteen (Free Press)
14. "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions" by Dan Ariely (HarperCollins)
15. "How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better" by Charla Krupp (Springboard Press)
The Wall Street Journal's list reflects nationwide sales of hardcover books during the week ended last Saturday at more than 2,500 Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Bookland, Books-a-Million, Books & Co., Bookstar, Bookstop, Borders, Brentano's, Coles, Coopersmith, Doubleday, Scribners and Waldenbooks stores, as well as sales from online retailers Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
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Variety reports that HBO will be bringing the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series to the small screen, starting Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982157.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

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from Shelf Awareness:
The winners of the National Book Critics Circle awards are:

Fiction: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Daz (Riverhead)
Nonfiction: Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet Washington (Doubleday)
Autobiography: Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat (Knopf)
Biography: Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal (Yale University Press)
Poetry: Elegy by Mary Jo Bang (Graywolf)
Criticism: The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross (FSG)

In addition, member Sam Anderson of New York Magazine won the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, and Emilie Buchwald, editor, writer, and founder of Milkweed Editions, won the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Check out the latest Christian best-sellers:

http://www.ecpa.org/bestseller/index.php

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from Shelf Awareness:

This year's PEN/Faulkner award for fiction has been given to Kate Christensen for The Great Man. The AP (via USA Today) reported that "Christensen, author of three previous novels, will receive $15,000."

The four other finalists, each of whom gets $5,000, were Annie Dillard's The Maytrees, David Leavitt's The Indian Clerk, T.M. McNally's The Gateway and Ron Rash's Chemistry and Other Stories.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation established the award in 1980; prior winners include Philip Roth, E.L. Doctorow and Don DeLillo.

AND

Egyptian author Baha Taher won the inaugural International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel, Sunset Oasis. The Guardian reported that the award, "styling itself as the Arabic Booker . . . aims to boost the international profile of literary fiction in Arabic." Taher was awarded $50,000 and "assured of being translated into English."
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Australian author Sonya Hartnett is the winner of the $818,000 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature, the largest children's book award in the world, according to the Washington Post.
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from Shelf Awareness -- New Books Out March 11:

Blind Fall: A Novel by Christopher Rice follows a former marine who investigates the murder of his commanding officer.

Another Thing to Fall: A Novel by Laura Lippmanis the 10th mystery featuring private investigator Tess Monaghan.

Curse of the Spellmans: A Novel by Lisa Lutz continues the adventures of the Spellman family when they open a private investigation firm.

Deluge: Book Three of the Twins of Petaybee by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough concludes the science fiction trilogy about twins Ronan and Muriel.

Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein is the 10th legal thriller starring Manhattan assistant district attorney Alex Cooper.

Stori Telling by Tori Spelling is the memoir of the former Beverly Hills 90210 actress.

Intelligence for Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth by John Tesh conveys practical information from Tesh's weekly radio show.

Stop Whining, Start Living by Dr. Laura Schlessinger aims to explain the difference between healthy venting and being stuck in "whining mode."

In paperback:

Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share by Martha Stewart Living Magazine

New Titles Out March 18:

Seen It All and Done the Rest: A Novel by Pearl Cleage follows an actress as she copes with reaching middle age.

Charley's Web: A Novel by Joy Fielding chronicles a newspaper columnist's interviews with a convicted child killer.

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross examines the aftermath of an explosion in Grand Central Terminal that kills a hedge fund trader.

Black Widow by Randy Wayne White is the 15th thriller featuring marine biologist/government agent Doc Ford.

Dead Heat by Joel C. Rosenberg follows the Secret Service's attempts to stop a presidential candidate's assassination.

Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs offers solutions to many current and future world problems.

The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari explores a local translator's efforts to inform the world about Darfur's genocide.

In paperback:

The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace by Ali A. Allawi, in a new edition published on the fifth anniversary of the war.
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Publishers Weekly On-Sale Calendar for Comics
March 4, 2008:
Wonder Woman: Who is Wonder Woman (DC)
Highwaymen (DC/ Wildstorm)
Hazed (Image)
Ultimate Power (Marvel)
Service Industry (Bodega Distribution)
Andromeda Stories Vol. 3 (Vertical)
MPD-Psycho Vol. 4 (Dark Horse)
Pumpkin Scissors Vol. 2 (Del Ray Manga)
Spy Goddess Vol. 1 (Harper Collins)
Rose Hip Rose Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
Dorothy of Oz Vol. 2 (UDON Entertainment)
Psychic Power Nanaki Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
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Publishers Weekly On-Sale Calendar for Comics
March 12, 2008:

DMZ Vol. 4: Friendly Fire (DC/Vertigo)
Avengers The Initiative Vol. 1: Basic Training (Marvel)
X-Men: Die by the Sword (Marvel)
Robin: The Big Leagues (DC)
Switch Vol. 1 (Viz)
Third Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
J-Pop Idol (Tokyopop)
Arab in America (Last Gasp)
Hanami International Love Story Vol. 4 (Dark Horse)
Metro Survive Vol. 1 (DR Master Publictions)
Wise Man Sleeps Vol. 1 (Go! Comics)
Don't Blame Me Vol. 1 (Digital Manga Publishing)

"In Avengers Fairy Tales by CB Cebulski, Joo Lemos, and Christina Strain, familiar Marvel characters take on roles from famous literary stories. In issue #1, on sale this month, Captain America stars as Peter Pan, the Scarlet Witch is Wendy, Quicksilver is her brother, the Wasp is Tinkerbell and Klaw is Captain Hook." -- PW

Here's as link to sample pages:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6540114.html&nid=2789

If that one doesn't work, try this link to one page:

http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/2540/20080311171950/www.publishersweekly.com/articles/images/PWK/20080310/6.jpg

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from Publishers Weekly --

Organizers of the EDS Dylan Thomas Prize are actively seeking submissions from North American writers for the 60,000 ($119,000) pound prize. Entries are being accepted until April 30. "We haven't gotten as many entries from America as we'd like," said prize board member Kurt Heinzelman, head of creative writing at the University of Texas, "We'd like to see many more, especially from poets." Awarded every two years, the Dylan Thomas Prize is intended to honor "the best published writer in English under the age of 30 from anywhere in the world." It is open to any literary work " poetry, fiction, screenplays, film scripts -- published in English by a writer 18-30 years old. While the prize has been around for some 25 years, it was re-launched in 2006 with new sponsorship and much deeper pockets. The winner in 2006was Welch poet Rachel Trezise for her book Fresh Apples. This year's winner will be announced on November 3 at a ceremony in Swansea, Wales.Entries will only be accepted from publishers. Full details about the award, as well as submission guidelines, are online at www.dylanthomasprize.com/

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from Bookseller.com --

Anne Enright's The Gathering, Ronan Bennett's Zugzwang, Joe O'Connor's Redemption Falls and Benjamin Black's The Silver Swan will battle it out to claim the Irish Novel of the Year accolade at this year's Irish Book Awards. Both Enright and Black are also in the running for the Listeners' Choice prize, joining On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Vintage), Judging Dev by Diarmaid Ferriter, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Ghost by Robert Harris. The shortlists emerged from a ballot of more than 300 Irish booksellers and librarians.

For the full list --

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/54278-booker-winner-vies-for-irish-award.html

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Publishers Weekly On-Sale Calendar March 18:

Don't Bump the Glump! by Shel Silverstein (children)

Ranger's Apprentice: Book Four, The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan (children)

Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944"45 by Max Hastings

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The Oprah-Eckhart Tolle Webinar is available as a free podcast on iTunes (search for "Oprah") or at

Oprah.com/ondemand

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from Shelf Awareness: TCU Press is launching a line this spring called Texas Small Books--all 4.5 x 6.5, 96 pages long and priced under $10. The first three titles are Extraordinary Texas Women, Texas Country Singers and State Fare: An Irreverent Guide to Texas Movies. Fall titles are Great Texas Chefs and Texas Football Legends: Greats of the Game. Director Judy Alter says, "We hope these books, geared to increasing the average reader's knowledge of our state, will be 'pick-up' purchases, displayed at point-of-sale locations."
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Authors currently making the media rounds:

--Michael Farr, author of "A Million is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You'll Need"
--Steve McKee, author of "My Father's Heart"
--Mark Halperin, author of "The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: Who the Candidates Are, Where They Come From, and How You Can Choose"
--Jamie Oliver, author of "Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook"
--Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, authors of "The Three Trillion Dollar War"
--Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, authors of "Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis"
--Shashi Tharoor, author of "The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: India the Emerging 21st-Century Power"
--Jodee Blanco, author of "Please Stop Laughing at Us ... One Survivor's Extraordinary Quest to Prevent School Bullying"
--Martin Fletcher, author of "Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World"
--May Pang, author of "Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon"
--C. Vivian Stringer, author of "Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph" (She's the Rutgers women's basketball team coach.)
--Beth Lisick, author of "Helping Me Help Myself: One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus, and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone"
--Jan Egeland, former U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and author of a new memoir, "A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity"
--Amy Sutherland, author of "What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers"
--Jennifer Lee, author of "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food"
--Michael Farr, author of "A Million Is Not Enough: How to Retire with the Money You'll Need"
--Robin Wright, author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East"
--Gregory Rodriguez, author of "Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America"
--Meg Cabot, author of "Allie Finkel's Rules for Girls: Moving Day"
--Alan Gratz, author of "Samurai Shortstop" and "Something Rotten"
--Richard Price, author of "Lush Life"
--Anne Rice, author of "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana"
--Alice Domar, author of "Be Happy without Being Perfect: How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception"
--Dr. Robert Butler, author of "The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life"
--Lewis Hyde, author of "The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World"
--Danielle Steel, author of "Honor Thyself"
--Martin Fletcher, author of "Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World"
--Robin Wright, author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East"
--Bobby Flay, author of "Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchen"
--John Lescroart, author of "Betrayal"
--Russell Banks, author of "The Reserve"
--Lisa See, author of "Peony in Love"
--Jacob Weisberg, author of "The Bush Tragedy"
--Tori Spelling, author of "Stori Telling"
--Michael Parenti, author of "The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome"
-- Ha-Joon Chang, author of "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism"
--Mike Moore, author of "Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance"
--Philip Shenon, author of "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation"
--Edward Lucas, author of "The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West"
--Linda Fairstein, author of "Killer Heat"
--Robin Wright, author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East"
--C. Vivian Stringer, author of "Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph"
--Jodee Blanco, author of "Please Stop Laughing at Us ... One Survivor's Extraordinary Quest to Prevent School Bullying"
--Sebastian Horsley, author of "Dandy in the Underworld: An Unauthorized Autobiography"
-- Debbie Ford, author of "Why Good People Do Bad Things: How to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy"
--Laura Schlessinger, author of "Stop Whining, Start Living"
--Scott Simon, author of "Windy City: A Novel of Politics"
--Tori Spelling, author of "Stori Telling"
--Richard Sennett, author of "The Craftsman"
--Grover Norquist, author of "Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives"
--Steven Waldman, author of "Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America"
--Josh Wolk, author of "Cabin Pressure: One Man's Desperate Attempt to Recapture His Youth as a Camp Counselor"
--Dan Koeppel, author of "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World"
--Joseph Horowitz, author of "Artists in Exile: How Refugees from Twentieth-Century War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts"
--Ronald Kessler, author of "The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack"
--Dr. Laura Schlessinger, author of "Stop Whining, Start Living"
--Grover Norquist, author of "Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives"
--Richard Sennett, "The Craftsman"
--Geraldo Rivera, "His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S."
--Amy Sullivan, "The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap"
--Robert Schimmel, author of "Cancer on $5 a Day* *Chemo Not Included: How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life"
--Geraldine Brooks, "People of the Book"
--Scott Simon, "Windy City: A Novel of Politics"
--Steve McKee, "My Father's Heart"
--Jeff Foxworthy, "Dirt on My Shirt"
--Jim Hightower, "Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow"
--Liz Clarke, author of "One Helluva Ride: How NASCAR Swept the Nation"
--Ralph David Abernathy, author of "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: An Autobiography"
--William Link, author of "Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism"
--Erwin Hargrove, author of "The Effective Presidency: Lessons on Leadership From John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush"
--Mark Lynas, "Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet"
--Brooke Masters, author of "Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer"
-- Patsi Pittman Light, author of "Capturing Nature: The Cement Sculpture of Dionicio Rodriquez"
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Book Sense picks for March:

http://www.booksense.com/bspicks/index.jsp

Number one pick: "Curse of the Spellmans" by Lisa Lutz

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from Shelf Awareness:

John Heilpern, author of John Osborne: The Many Lives of the Angry Young Man (Knopf), was selected as the 2007 Biographer of the Year by the Biographer's Craft, a monthly publication devoted to biographers and biography.

http://www.thebiographerscraft.com/

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also from Shelf Awareness:

The Golden Kite Awards go to children's book authors and artists, selected by their peers and sponsored by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Winners:
Fiction: Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate (Feiwel and Friends)
Nonfiction: Muckrakers by Ann Bausum (National Geographic Society)
Picture Book Text: Pierre in Love by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Petra Mathers (Orchard Books)
Picture Book Illustration: Little Night illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press)

Golden Kite Honor Recipients:
Fiction: Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Nonfiction: 1607: A New Look at Jamestown by Karen Lange (National Geographic Society)
Picture Book Text: The End by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Richard Egielski (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)
Picture Book Illustration: Who Put the B in Ballyhoo? illustrated and written by Carlyn Beccia (Houghton Mifflin)

The Golden Kite Awards will be presented at the Golden Kite Luncheon during the SCBWI's 37th Annual Conference on Writing and Illustrating for Children, which takes place in Los Angeles August 1-4. For more information and lists of previous winners and honor books, go to

http://www.scbwi.org/awards.htm

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from Publishers Weekly--

Ten-year-old Maryn Smith of Great Falls, Mont., has won the Planetary Mnemonic Contest held by National Geographic Children's Books, which invited children to devise a new mnemonic device for the 11 planets in the solar system (including the dwarf planets Ceres, Pluto and Eris). The contest tied into the publication of Planets, Stars and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe (2007) by David Aguilar; next month singer Lisa Loeb will release a song based on Smith's entry ("My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants") in conjunction with the release of another National Geographic title by Aguilar, 11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System.
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Publishers Weekly Children's Books on sale in April:

April 1
Narnia Chronology by Mary Jane Wilkins, illus. by Mark Edwards
The Clique Summer Collection: Massie by Lisi Harrison
In Grandma's Arms by Jayne C. Shelton, illus. by Karen Katz
Goosebumps HorrorLand #1: Revenge of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine
Goosebumps HorrorLand #2: Creep from the Deep by R.L. Stine
Hotlanta #1 by Denene Millner and Mitzi Miller
The Pigeon Wants... by Mo Willems

April 8
Alphabet by Matthew Van Fleet
Septimus Heap, Book Four: Queste by Angie Sage, illus. by Mark Zug
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
Jealous? by Melissa de la Cruz

April 10
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

April 15
Big Plans by Bob Shea, illus. by Lane Smith

April 22
Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words by Jane O'Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Warriors: Power of Three #3: Outcast by Erin Hunter
Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman

April 29
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
The Joys of Love by Madeleine L'Engle
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The Guardian questions Oprah's latest book club choice.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2263979,00.html

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Carol Fitzgerald offers some funny book-related advice for now-ex-governor Spitzer on her blog:

http://www.bookreporter.com/blog/archives/2008_03_12_archive.html

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I don't know if you can see these photos if you aren't signed into Publishers Weekly (which is free, by the way), but the photos of this bookstore remind me so much of my uncle's Old Book Store in Akron in the 1950s and 1960s. There were books EVERYWHERE, in the halls, on the steps, and even stuck in the hanging ceiling lamps! And his house was the same way. I wonder where I got my love of books from ...

http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/660000266/post/1800022180.html

And here's another one. This one has a photo showing just how many new books a bookseller or reviewer is expected to keep up with every month!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/660000266/post/1360022736.html

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Thanks for reading One for the Books. Please let us know what kind of book news you'd like to see on this page. Send e-mail to Books@recordpub.com. Send other mail to Mary Louise Ruehr, Books Editor, Record-Courier, 126 N. Chestnut St. (P.O. Box 1201), Ravenna, OH 44266.