It’s May already - how time flies, alas.

Here are the titles reviewed in our web-only, freely accessible Xpress Reviews section.

Xpress Reviews for Week of May 1, 2007
** - means that it is a starred title

FICTION
Conroy, Robert. 1945. Ballantine.

**Ignatius, David. Body of Lies. Norton.

**Koontz, Dean. The Good Guy. Bantam.

**Los Angeles Noir. Akashic.

Miner, Valerie. After Eden. Univ. of Oklahoma.

Skloot, Floyd. Patient 002. Rager Media.

NONFICTION
After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age. Smithsonian: HarperCollins. 2007. 256p. ed. by Martin Collins.

Bego, Mark. Billy Joel: The Biography. Thunder’s Mouth: Avalon, dist. by Publishers Group West.

Carr, Matthew. The Infernal Machine: A History of Terrorism, from the Assassination of Tsar Alexander II to Al-Qaeda. New Pr, dist. by Norton.

Cliff, Nigel. The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama and Death in Nineteenth-Century America. Random.

Cruise, Jorge. The 3-Hour Diet™ Cookbook: Lose up to 10 Pounds in the First 14 Days. Collins: HarperCollins.

**Gura, Trisha. Lying in Weight: The Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women. HarperCollins.

Kolata, Gina. Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting. Farrar.

**Morwood, Mike & Penny van Oosterzee. A New Human: The Startling Discovery and Strange Story of the “Hobbits” of Flores, Indonesia. Smithsonian: HarperCollins.

AUDIO
Binchy, Maeve. Whitethorn Woods. Books on Tape.

Roby, Kimberla Lawson. Love & Lies. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America.

While book review pages are being cut drastically (see “Save This Endangered Species: Book Reviews“), Sundance catalog is doing its part to promote literature—or to weasel its branding onto everything. The Sundance Reader’s Collection offers eight paperback “staff favorites, guaranteed to inspire lofty dreams and earthly passions” for $98.

Apparently, they are banking on their recommendation alone.  Sure, they can peddle a nice western flowing skirt for $150, But who said they had good taste in literature? The only information offered about the books is title and author, that they are paperbacks, and their page counts—they are fiction, history, memoir, YA, essay collections, anything goes.

The collection includes a YA book that School Library Journal recommends, John Knowles’s A Separate Peace; a “classic of outdoor literature,” Beryl Markham’s West with the Night; a 1998 novel that LJ’s review calls a “bland modern-day fairy tale” and “A marginal purchase for large public libraries,” Murray Bail’s Eucalyptus; and a collection of New Yorker pieces by Adam Gopnik, Paris to the Moon; among others.  

If these odd bundled-buys take off (which I can’t help but doubt), perhaps Sundance can do its part to save book reviews and advertise their collections in book review pages. Or, they could invest in external intellectual property and offer reviews from an established source instead of empty recommendations that almost seem to mock the craft.

It’s hard to be a book. That is to say, it’s hard to be a book and get noticed because there are so many and, as National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) member Scott McLemee pointed out in his April 25th “Critical Mass” column, book review coverage in newspapers is making like the dodo and dying out.

To stop this insanity, the NBCC is launching an awareness campaign throughout the month of May that is calling for people to sign a petition to stop the nixing of The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s book review section. I’m going to echo McLemee and our own Wilda Williams (see her blog Save This Endangered Species: Book Reviews) and say that librarians can and should play their part in this initiative. Without books, many of you wouldn’t have a pay check, much less a rewarding profession. Without book dialogue, you wouldn’t have patrons to browse your stacks.

This is my ninth year in the book review world, and I can’t imagine fitting in anywhere else (except maybe the chocolate-tasting arena, if that even exists). My point: I want to give back, and the best way I can is to expand LJ’s coverage of our pulp friends. Doing so in print is not feasible owing to paper costs, etc. Doing so online via our weekly Xpress Reviews, however, is easy.

Almost two years into our online book review experiment, things are going better than I ever expected. Not only have we increased the number and quality of books covered (Ann Burns now contributes audio books), we’re finding an increasingly appreciative audience. I can’t supply any hard numbers, but I think it’s safe to say that even the die-hardest of print-demanding librarians are beginning to see the perks of online reviews—they’re free; they’re always there; they’re informed, impartial, and to the point (like LJ’s print sisters); and they’re going to multiply like rabbits if I have anything to say about it.

With this blog, I hereby invite the closeted book reviewers of the world to bust out of their moth-balled existences and join my online-only roster. Whatever your subject area, I need you to make this venture a success. Submit an application today, save book reviews, and maybe even save the world.

Hullo!

Here are the titles reviewed in this week’s web-only, freely-accessible Library Journal Xpress Reviews section. (Remember, there’s that handy-dandy RSS feed!). Also, we always welcome suggestions, comments, praise, criticisms, kittens, rainbows, and flowers.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Apr. 24, 2007
** - means that it is a starred title

FICTION
Abani, Chris. The Virgin of Flames. Penguin.

Hall, Oakley. Love and War in California. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin’s.

Leonard, Elmore. Up in Honey’s Room. Morrow.

Pradhan, Monica. The Hindi-Bindi Club. Bantam.

NONFICTION
Axelrod, Alan. Blooding at Great Meadows: Young George Washington and the Battle That Shaped the Man. Running Pr.

Ford, Anne with John-Richard Thompson. On Their Own: Creating an Independent Future for Your Adult Child with Learning Disabilities and ADHD. Newmarket.

Sarig, Roni. Third Coast: Outkast, Timbaland, and How Hip-Hop Became a Southern Thing. Da Capo.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Bagge, Peter. Buddy Does Jersey: The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from “Hate” Comics. Vol. 3 (1994–98). Fantagraphics.

Bendis, Brian Michael (text) & Steve McNiven & Mike Deodato. The New Avengers. Vol. 4: The Collective. Marvel.

The Duchess of Northumberland (text) & Colin Simpson (illus.). The Poison Diaries. Abrams.

Kisaragi, Hirotaka. Innocent Bird. Vol. 1. BLU: Tokyopop.

Kuwabara, Yuko. Alcohol, Shirt & Kiss. Juné: Digital Manga.

Lapham, David. Silverfish. Vertigo: DC Comics.

Lien-Cooper, Barb & Park Cooper (text) & Jimmy Bott (illus.). Half Dead. Dabel Brothers: Marvel.

Sakuishi, Harold. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. Vol. 7. Tokyopop.

**Slott, Dan (text) & Will Conrad & others (illus.). She-Hulk. Vol. 4: Laws of Attraction. Marvel.

**TenNapel, Doug. Gear. Image Comics.

Williams III, J.H. & Dan Curtis Johnson (text) & Seth Fisher (illus.). Batman: Snow. DC Comics.

Yamada, Futaro (text) & Masaki Segawa (text & illus.). Basilisk. Vol. 4. Del Rey: Ballantine.

AUDIO
**Clinch, Jon. Finn. Recorded Bks.

Parker, Robert B. High Profile. Books on Tape.

Steel, Danielle. Sisters. Books on Tape.

Thanks to pressure from corporate owners and shareholders eager to turn a quick profit, newspapers in recent years have been cutting back or eliminating their book review coverage. Their main excuse: not enough advertising from publishers to support the reviews. But manufacturers of sporting equipment don’t advertise either, and I see little cutback in the sports pages.

Just last week the Los Angeles Times folded its book review section into an opinion section , although editor David Ulin argued in his editor’s note that these were  changes “to forge a synthesis between print and online content that will allow us not only to maintain our commitment to engaged reviews and criticism but also to expand the very nature of our books coverage.”

Also last week the Atlanta Journal-Constitution eliminated its book reviewer position but did “generously” permit its reviewer, Teresa Weaver, to apply for another position at the newspaper. Fed up with the increasing erosion of book coverage, the National Book Critics Circle has launched a campaign to save book reviews, including a petition to save AJC’s well-regarded book review section, and a new series on the NBCC’s blog Critical Mass that will feature posts by concerned writers, interviews with book editors, and more.

So put down that book you are reading, get off your couch, and turn on that computer. Join the over 1000 authors (including Ian Rankin, Richard Powers, and Michael Connolly), editors, librarians, and booklovers in signing this petition. Save the Book Review!

Whee! I always look forward to Tuesdays, so I can let everyone know what titles are reviewed in our web-only, freely-accessible, RSS-friendly Xpress Reviews section! We’ve got Fiction, Nonfiction,  Graphic Novels, and Audio reviews this week. Without further ado:

Xpress Reviews for Week of Apr. 17th, 2007

FICTION
Causey, Toni McGee. Bobbie Faye’s Very (very, very, very) Bad Day. Griffin: St. Martin’s.

Kohler, Sheila. Bluebird, or the Invention of Happiness. Other.

Slavin, Helen. The Extra Large Medium. Black Cat: Grove.

NONFICTION
Bauer, Joy with Carol Svec. Joy Bauer’s Food Cures: Easy 4-Step Nutrition Programs for Improving Your Body. Rodale.

Cohan, William D. The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. Doubleday.

Condon, Bill. Dreamgirls. Newmarket.

Duberman, Martin. The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein. Knopf.

Grossberg, George T., M.D., & Barry Fox. The Essential Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interaction Guide: The Safe Way To Use Medications and Supplements Together. Broadway.

A Leaky Tent Is a Piece of Paradise: 20 Young Writers on Finding a Place in the Natural World. Sierra Club Bks., dist. by Univ. of California.

Llewellyn-Thomas, Julie (text) & Ruth Jenkinson (photogs.). Breathe Your Way Through Birth with Yoga. Mitchell Beazley, dist. by Sterling.

McDougall, Wendy (photogs.) & Matt Willis & Paul Burrows (text). Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical Music. Amadeus: Hal Leonard.

Phillips, Adam. Side Effects. HarperPerennial: HarperCollins.

Waitzkin, Josh. The Art of Learning: A Vibrant New Perspective on the Pursuit of Excellence. Free Pr: S. & S.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Aoki, Yuya (text) & Rando Ayamine (illus.). GetBackers. Vol. 17. Tokyopop.

Carey, Mike (text) & John Bolton (illus.). God Save the Queen. Vertigo: DC Comics.

Higuri, You. Gorgeous Carat. Vol. 4. BLU: Tokyopop.

Malkasian, Cathy. Percy Gloom. Fantagraphics.

Matt, Joe. Spent. Drawn & Quarterly.

Modan, Rutu. Exit Wounds. Drawn & Quarterly.

Monchi, Kaori. Wagamama Kitchen. Juné: Digital Manga.

Mutou, Hiromu. Never Give Up. Vol. 4. Tokyopop.

Nilsen, Anders. Dogs & Water. Drawn & Quarterly.

Ogawa, Yayoi. Tramps Like Us. Vol. 11. Tokyopop.

Peach-Pit. Shugo Chara! Vol. 1. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Powell, Nate. Sounds of Your Name. reprint. Microcosm: dist. by AK Pr. & Dist. (revised review)

Soryo, Fuyumi. ES: Eternal Sabbath. Vol. 4. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Toriyama, Akira. Dr. Slump. Vol. 12. Viz Media.

Wagner, Matt. Grendel: Devil by the Deed. Dark Horse.

AUDIO
Crais, Robert. The Watchman. Brilliance Audio.

Crombie, Deborah. Water Like a Stone. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America.

O’Rourke, P.J. On the Wealth of Nations. Tantor Audio.

Reviews of books by David Hasselhoff and Alice Cooper will make it into the May 15 issue of LJ, but Criss Angel seems doomed to blog territory (see “Performing arts celebs spring out this season“). It happens sometimes, to our frustration, that a book doesn’t get reviewed because we don’t have the person for it. As far as Angel’s Mindfreak goes, I just don’t have enough tween boy reviewers.

Based on his popular TV show of the same name, his book is half biography and half how-to for magic tricks. I didn’t get through the introduction: a description of hanging from helicopters by hooks through his flesh isn’t my idea of good Monday morning reading. He writes, “While music [two of my favorite Korn songs, “Right Now” and “Alone I Break,”] pumped from my iPod, I felt so insignificant…The body suspension was as close to an out-of-body experience as I have ever had.” 

This made me think of a galley I recently saw—Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived To Tell My Story by Brian Welch, out from HarperSanFrancisco in July—a book whose audience I don’t predict is similar to that of Mindfreak and may be less easy to pin down. I must confess I was happy to pass this one on to Graham Christian for consideration in our new Spiritual Living column. In an effort for consistency (see the inaugural “Books of a Feather?“) let’s call the link between these two plausible, to use the ratings system of our friends the MythBusters. After all, Angel likes Korn, young boys like both, and both celebs have forthcoming soul-searching memoirs.

Did you know that Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloister Walk and other spiritual memoirs, once reviewed for Library Journal? Or that our primary reviewer of Westerns was a nun, the rootin’ tootin’ Sister Avila Lamb (”no sex or cussin’; violence okay”). Our reviewers are a talented bunch of active and retired librarians, college professors, and freelance writers. And many of them write books as well. The latest to be published is Seattle Public Library’s own  Jeff Ayers, whose Voyages of the Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion was released last November by Pocket Books .

There is a nice interview with Jeff in the Seattle Times. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. In the meantime, I’m keeping Jeff busy reviewing the latest thrillers, another passion of Jeff’s.

Hello everyone!

Here are the titles reviewed in this week’s web-only, freely-accessible Xpress Reviews section. You’re excited, I’m excited, let’s get on with it, shall we?

Xpress Reviews for Week of Apr. 10th, 2007

FICTION
Dickey, Eric Jerome. Sleeping with Strangers. Dutton.

Smith, Alexander McCall. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive. Pantheon.

NONFICTION
American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes. Library of America, dist. by Penguin Group (USA).

Glassman, Keri with Sarah Mahoney. The Snack Factor Diet: The Secret to Losing Weight by Eating More. Crown.

Myers, Mitch. The Boy Who Cried Freebird: Rock & Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling. HarperEntertainment: HarperCollins.

Waldburger, Jennifer & Jill Spivack. The Sleepeasy Solution: The Exhausted Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Child To Sleep—from Birth to Age Five. Health Communications.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Katsura, Masakazu. I”s. Vol. 12: Room 305. Viz Media.

Kikuta, Michiyo. Mamotte! Lollipop. Vol. 1. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Kirkman, Robert (text) & Tony Moore & others (illus.). Brit. Vol. 1: Old Soldier. Image Comics.

Minekura, Kazuya. Wild Adapter. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Porcellino, John. King-Cat Classix: The Best of King-Cat Comics and Stories. Drawn & Quarterly.

Sakuragi, Yukiya. Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs. Vol. 2. Viz Media.

Takahashi, Yashichiro (text) & Sasakura, Ayato (illus.). Shakugan No Shana. Vol. 1. Viz Media.

AUDIO
Child, Lincoln. Deep Storm. Books on Tape.

Orman, Suze. Women & Money: Owning the Power To Control Your Destiny. Books on Tape

This morning a fellow editor left  a copy of Stephen King’s April 6 Entertainment Weekly column in my chair. HIs latest The Pop of King editorial, “How to Bury a Book” raved about Mischa Berlinksi’s debut novel, Fieldwork and chastised publisher Farrar Straus & Giroux for failing to  better market the book. “Under the drab title and the drab cover, there’s a story that cooks like a mother,” he writes.

 A few months ago in an another EW column, “The Secret Gardiner”, King sang the praises of Meg Gardiner, an American thriller writer living and published in Britain.  Lo and behold, shortly after the column appeared, Dutton acquired the U.S. rights to publish her five novels plus two new ones.

Not surprisingly there will probably be increased demand for Fieldwork. A quick check of the New York Public Library’s Leo catalog shows 18 holds for the system’s 11 copies. I would be curious to hear from other libraries about patron response to King’s editorial. Still, I feel a little resentment at how the opinion of one person can sway millions of reading decisions, especially since a few months ago a librarian blogger complained that books that received positive LJ reviews didn’t circulate in his library (Best Books=Best Circulating?).