Apologies for the tardiness! I was hangin’ in Jersey with the fam. We’ve got the scoop on the latest by LJ bestseller Carl Weber; West Coast cooking; the two faces of Miles Davis; the cholera epidemic of 1854; guitar love; and the missives of Mozart in our web-only Xpress Reviews section.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Dec. 26, 2006

FICTION
Weber, Carl. The First Lady. Dafina: Kensington.

NONFICTION
Atkinson, Greg. West Coast Cooking. Sasquatch.

Davis, Gregory with Les Sussman. Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis. Backbeat: Music Player Network.

Hempel, Sandra. The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera. Univ. of California.

Hodgkinson, Will. Guitar Man: A Six-String Odyssey; Or, You Love That Guitar More Than You Love Me. Da Capo.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Mozart: Letters. Random.

Hello there to my fellow staffers who aren’t able to take a week or two off over these holidays!  How are you doing? (And hello to those of you actually on vacation and still checking out this blog!  Go enjoy your break, and we’ll welcome you back in the New Year!)

It’s busy in the library, right?  But I’m glad you’ve found a moment to steal a glance in this direction. A lot of people actually on vacation figured it would be a good time to head into your library, eh? I remember when I was a practicing librarian, at a NYC independent research library that was open on a walk-in basis. The day after Thanksgiving was just about the busiest day of the year in the reading room, but the time around Christmas was busier than usual as well.

It’s been busy here at LJ, too, simply because the February 1st issue has deadlines plunk in the middle of this time that finds many staffers away. I’ve just finished up most of my work on that issue’s annual roundup of Spring 2007 baseball books. I haven’t come up with a snappy kicker for it yet. Last year, I felt quite smug about “Readers will be caught looking at these winners!” (not present in the online version) because it used two baseball idioms, and turned them around from their usual meaning, but I never heard back from anyone about it (”How clever you are!”), so maybe “Here are some upcoming baseball books” would do as well! Look out for the column and you’ll see what I come up with.

My fellow roundup reviewers, Bob Cottrell, Paul Kaplan, Gilles Renaud, and I, found no spring 2007 baseball title quite with power comparable to last spring’s Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, by David Maraniss, but you will find some good ones for your baseball readers nonetheless, including an historical summary of the role of cheating in baseball, a friendly and accessible viewing guide to the game’s ins and outs, a narrative of Jackie Robinson’s first year in the majors (April 2007 will be the 50th anniversary of his first Dodger at bat), and an impressively reflective autobiography by the new Tiger in Detroit’s tank, Gary Sheffield.

Well, another week or so of the holiday daze to get through! So let’s play a game! No, not baseball! If you could invite a handful of authors to your workplace, both to entertain your readers and to help you out with your end-of-year work chores, which authors, whom you read in 2006, would you pick?

Okay, I’ll start. I would pick Georgina Kleege (Blind Rage: Letters to Helen Keller. Gallaudet Univ. Press) for her perceptivity, her strength, and her skill at newly presenting a popular subject to us. I would pick Ruth Scurr (Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution. Metropolitan: Holt) because she’d clearly be able to handle the most irascible of library visitors with grace and skill. I would pick Rich Cohen (Sweet and Low: A Family Story. FSG) for his ability to juggle a bunch of non-fiction plots with authenticity, humor, and self-knowledge.

Just the three of them for now. I have to get back to reading some files here.  But I’ll be around, so send me your own thoughts! The distance from your library to this Library Journal blog is just a few keystrokes! Cheers!  

Ah, the fun never ends. Here’s this week’s web-only, freely-accessible Xpress Reviews.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Dec. 19, 2006

FICTION
Browne, Jill Conner with Karin Gillespie. The Sweet Potato Queens’ First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn’t Actually Do, but Could Have, and May Yet. S. & S.

Crichton, Michael. Next. HarperCollins.

NONFICTION
Beletsky, Les. Birds of the World. Johns Hopkins.

Bennett, Connie & Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life—And How You Can Get Back on Track. Berkley: Penguin Group (USA).

Deane, John (photogs.) & Nan Deane Cano (text). Acts of Light: Martha Graham in the 21st Century. Univ. Pr. of Florida.

Gallo, Marcia M. Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement. Carroll & Graf.

Rudell, Wendy. The Raw Transformation: Energizing Your Life with Living Foods. North Atlantic.

Sale, Kirkpatrick. After Eden: The Evolution of Human Domination. Duke Univ.

Woodward, Sarah. The Food of France: A Regional Celebration. Kyle: Kyle Cathie, dist. by National Bk. Network.

Worldchanging: A User’s Guide to the 21st Century. Abrams.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Abouet, Marguerite & Clément Oubrerie (illus.). Aya. Drawn & Quarterly. (GN)

Amano, Akira. Reborn! Vol. 2. Viz Media. (manga)

Amano, Jeff (text) & Andy MacDonald (illus.). Red Warrior. Vol. 1: Assassin for the Thieves World. Image Comics. (GN)

Bendis, Brian Michael (text) & Michael Gaydos (illus.). The Pulse. Vol. 3: Fear. Marvel. (GN)

The Dark Horse Book of Monsters. Dark Horse. (GN)

Grine, Chris. Chickenhare: The House of Klaus. Dark Horse. (GN)

Gunter, Mike (text) & Victor Santos (illus.). Zombee. Image Comics. (GN)

Hornschemeier, Paul. Let Us Be Perfectly Clear. Fantagraphics. (GN)

Kamio, Yoko. Boys over Flowers. Vol. 21. Viz Media. (manga)

Keret, Etgar (text) & Asaf Hanuka (illus.). Pizzeria Kamikaze. Alternative Comics. (GN)

Kishimoto, Seishi. O-Parts Hunter. Vol. 1. Viz Media. (manga)

Kotegawa, Yua. Line. ADV Manga. (manga)

Kubo, Tite. ZOMBIEPOWDER. Vol. 2: Can’t Kiss the Ring (of the Dead). Viz Media. (manga)

Mhan, Pop. Blank. Vol. 1. Tokyopop. (original English-language manga [OEL])

Millar, Mark (text) & Greg Land with Mitch Breitweiser (illus.). Ultimate Fantastic Four. Vol. 6: Frightful. Marvel. (GN)

Powell, Eric. The Goon. Vol. 5: Wicked Inclinations. Dark Horse. (GN)

Ragawa, Mirimo. Baby & Me. Vol. 3. Viz Media. (manga)

Seagle, Steven T. (text) & Becky Cloonan & Jim Rugg (illus.). American Virgin. Vol. 1: Head. Vertigo: DC Comics. (GN)

Sheikman, Alex. Robotika. Archaia Studios. (GN)

Takanashi, Mitsuba. Crimson Hero. Vol. 4. Viz Media. (manga)

Vaughan, Brian K. (text) & Adrian Alphona & Craig Yeung (illus.). Runaways. Vol. 6: Parental Guidance. Marvel. (GN)

Controversial publisher Judith Regan was fired by her HarperCollins bosses Friday night, reports the Los Angeles Times. Apparently it was not the O.J. Simpson debacle that finally broke HarperCollins camel’s back but several comments she made on a radio show and in a phone call to HarperCollins lawyers. (For full gory details, see the blog Galleycat’s  extensive coverage.) While the publishing diva is sure to land on her feet with another career opportunity, one wonders what will happen to her imprint.  Although  HarperCollins won’t take immediate action, stating that ”any future decisions relating to the imprint name or the publication of unpublished books will be addressed at the appropriate time”, already there is a small storm of controversy brewing over another Regan title, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel by Peter Golenbock. Dubbed an “inventive memoir” by Golenbock and “reality fiction” by the publisher, the book has been deemed pornographic and vile by some who have read early galleys. Now that Regan is out, will HarperCollins still publish this book or send it to the dugout of never-released titles? I am in a bit of a quandry because I have just received our review, which I had planned to run in the Feb. 1 issue (just in time for our spring baseball roundup!). I can’t reveal what my reviewer said except that he noted that the tagline for the book should read: Broads, Booze, and Baseball. Stay tuned! 

Yesterday morning, I came across a gem of a post on good ole Publib. “Off the Beat” told of the Madison (WI) P.L.’s list of recommended reads by the local police officers, and heavy-hitting history rules the precincts—e.g., Eloise Engel and Lauri Paananen’s The Winter War: The Russo Finnish Conflict, 1939-40 and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the Home Front in World War II. That same poster mentioned that mysteries happen to be very popular with prison patrons. (A Google search I did located an August 2005 story in the China Daily newspaper about the favorite reads of Guantanamo detainees. According to the unidentified prison librarian, Harry Potter was tops, and right on his heels was Agatha Christie.)

In all seriousness, I’d like to see prison patrons’ top picks in the genre because I am fascinated by the genre’s appeal across populations (according to our 2006 Book Buying Survey, “[I]n genre, mystery still reigns supreme”—and demand keeps on keeping on). Just from reading LJ’s Mystery column, I do know that mysteries often involve convicts, so perhaps prison patrons are curious how they’re being portrayed in fiction: Do they come across as three-dimensional? Are they ever heroes? Or maybe it’s simpler than that, and they just want to be transported and entertained.

I’ve never been a big mystery reader, although I love the idea of a character dissecting a crime in between brushes with mortality. Long story short, I’m ready for some leads, and prison librarians and/or their probably discerning customers seem like the go-to audience.

Come one, come all!

Here are the latest batch of titles reviewed in LJ’s freely-accessible, web-only Xpress Reviews. We’re covering international cuisine, theatre essays, brewing beer at home (!), sex secrets, Neal Pollack’s memoir, pregnancy advice, and a slew of graphic novels from Daredevil to gothic manga.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Dec. 12, 2006

NONFICTION
Boulud, Daniel with Melissa Clark. Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine. Ecco: HarperCollins

Brustein, Robert. Millennial Stages: Essays and Reviews, 2001–2005. Yale Univ.

Calagione, Sam. Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiasts Guide to Brewing Craft Beer at Home. Quarry: Quayside

Davis, Pat. The Passion Parties® Guide to Great Sex: Secrets and Techniques to Keeping Your Relationship Red Hot. Broadway

Pollack, Neal. Alternadad. Pantheon

Weiss, Robin Elise. The About.com Guide to Having a Baby: Important Information, Advice, and Support for Your Pregnancy. Adams Media

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Brubaker, Ed (text) & Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano (illus.). Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out. Vol. 1. Marvel (GN)

Cossette House/Aniplex (text) & Asuka Katsura (illus.). Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. Vol. 1. Tokyopop (manga)

Fross, Kitty & Erica David & others (text) & Patrick Scherberger (illus.). Marvel Adventures Spider-Man. Vol. 1. Marvel (GN)

Kannagi, Satoru (text) & Yukine Honami (illus.). Rin! Vol. 1. Juné: Digital Manga (yaoi manga)

Kari, Erika. Vampire Doll. Vol. 1. Tokyopop (manga)

Kim, Young-Oh. Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man. Vol. 1. Dark Horse (manhwa)

Matoh, Sanami. Ra-I. Tokyopop (manga)

Moore, Stuart (text) & Pablo Villalobos & Claude St. Aubin & Frederico Zumel (illus.). Stuart Moore’s Para. Penny Farthing (GN)

Nakamura, Shungiku. Junjo Romantica. BLU: Tokyopop (yaoi manga)

Satoshi, Shiki. Daphne in the Brilliant Blue. Tokyopop (manga)

Takizawa, Seiho. Who Fighter with Heart of Darkness. Dark Horse (manga)

Tsuzuki, Setsuri. Broken Angels. Vol. 1. Tokyopop (manga)

Yoshida, Sunao (text) & Kiyo Kyujo (illus.). Trinity Blood. Vol. 1. Tokyopop (manga)

Yoshinaga, Fumi. Gerald & Jacques. Vol. 1. BLU: Tokyopop (yaoi manga)

I’d like to think that I’ve seen everything in the self-help vein: the bad, the badder, and the so bad it makes me laugh like a hyena. Then along came Melissa Kirsch’s recent release, The Girl’s Guide to Absolutely Everything (Workman). For once, we have a book title in this genre that does not lie—Kirsch, who worked as a senior producer at Oxygen Media, organizes her real-world, woman-to-woman-without-being-wanky advice into sections like “Health & Body Image,” “Spirituality,” “Home Ec for Modern Times,” and, of course, “Dating, Sex, and Romance.” Common sense is taken to another level, with clever, considered sidebars and boxes deicphering, for example, clothing labels, voicing why it’s OK to pass on sex with your significant other, and explaining the benefits of being humble.

Long story short, I love this damn book—it ranks up there with former LJ editor Tania Barnes’s self-help favorite It’s Called a Breakup Because It’s Broken—and would make a killer stocking stuffer for women of all ages (though it’s geared toward twenty- and thirtysomethings). But don’t just listen to me: LJ’s self-help columnist, Deborah C. Bigelow, raves about it in the forthcoming January 15th, 2007 column and will announce her best of the genre in 2006 shortly.

     As the saying goes, everyone loves a winner—except, it seems, when it comes to book awards, which can be notable for the amount of naysaying they inspire. So at this late date, having finally overseen the completion of LJ’s best books list for the January issue (check out this blog in the coming weeks for some backstory), I have the time to reflect on last month’s National Book Awards.

     No naysaying this time; I’m perfectly content with the winners. What’s more interesting to me are the criss-crossing lines among the adult trophy bearers. While Timothy Egan’s nonfiction The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl is notable for its story telling, Richard Powers’s fiction winner, The Echo Maker, is the fluid and engaging account of what happens when a story gets interrupted—when, after an accident, a young man cannot put the pieces back together correctly. And Nathaniel Mackey’s poetry winner, Splay Anthem, which blends two ongoing series to consider ancient African cosmology, is essentially social history reimagined. 

     Sometimes fiction readers can’t be persuaded to read nonfiction, and creative writing doesn’t always engage lovers of history or biography, but with this trio I can see readers crossing lines. It’s not the proverbial something for everyone but everything for everyone. In the end, my one big disappointment with this year’s NBAs came with the news coverage, which as always slighted the poetry winner; one story I read didn’t even mention Mackey. The assumption seems to be that the average reader finds poetry just too abstruse—hardly true of much poetry published today and certainly not true of Splay Anthem, a rhythmically rich work as addictive as any toe-tapping score. More readers should try it—and more cultural editors at newspapers nationwide should try giving poetry the light it deserves. Or else we’ll all be losers.

‘Tis the season for stocking stuffers, caroling…and romance novels? Last year, when LJ expanded its romance reviewing to six times a year, one reason was to make sure we could provide early coverage of the flood of titles we always anticipate for Valentine’s Day. This year’s December column includes a few little red-hot treats, but, like the October 15 column, it is piled high with a veritable sleighload of Christmas romances. In addition, the October 15 issue featured our second roundup of general Christmas fiction, with titles ranging from mystery (Anne Perry’s A Christmas Secret) to humor (Dave Barry’s The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Dog) to biblical retellings (Elizabeth Berg’s The Handmaid and the Carpenter). So why is the Nativity so hot? Perhaps it is the success of Richard Paul Evans’s seasonal fables, starting with The Christmas Box; or the holiday’s high profile in our consumer society; or, alternately, and especially regarding romance, the neat parallel between the reclamation promised by Christmas as holy day and the reclamation promised by love. Or maybe Valentine’s Day had worn out its possibilities. In any case, as we anticipate the spring season, with titles like Christopher Moore’s You Suck: A Love Story on the horizon, here’s betting that the next big holiday for romance is Hallowe’en.

The e.coli outbreak that has sickened Taco Bell customers in New Jersey and on Long Island has now spread to  New York City, Delaware, South Carolina, and Utah. Health officials have traced the tainted green onions thought to be responsible back to a California farm. While this indicates a problem in the oversight of our national food production chain, your patrons and the local restaurants in your community also need to be reminded of the importance of safe food handling practices. Margaret Merrill’s November 1 collection development article,  “Handle with Care”, offers an excellent overview of key resources for both consumers and restaurants. Post a link to this article on your website, make a display of the titles you do have in your collection, or create hand-out flyers listing these titles. Get the word out!