Hiya,

Here are the titles reviewed in our web-only, freely-accessible Xpress Reviews section. Don’t forget to add Xpress Reviews to your RSS reader!

Xpress Reviews for Week of Apr. 3rd, 2007

FICTION
Baldacci, David. Simple Genius. Warner.

Connelly, Michael. The Overlook. Little, Brown.

Harris, Charlaine. All Together Dead. Ace: Berkley, dist. by Penguin Group (USA).

Mostert, Natasha. Season of the Witch. Dutton.

Milton, Giles. Edward Trencom’s Nose: A Novel of History, Dark Intrigue, and Cheese. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin’s.

White, Kate. Lethally Blond. Warner.

NONFICTION
Good Birders Don’t Wear White: 50 Tips from North America’s Top Birders. Houghton.

Hine, Robert V. & John Mack Faragher. Frontiers: A Short History of the American West. Yale Univ.

Katzenstein, Larry. Living with Heart Disease: Everything You Need To Know To Safeguard Your Health and Take Control of Your Life. AARP: Sterling.

Kingsolver, Barbara with Steven L. Hopp & Camille Kingsolver. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. HarperCollins.

Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion. AMACOM: American Management Assn.

Rinzler, J.W. The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. Del Rey.

Witt, Carolinda. The 10-Minute Rejuvenation Plan: T5T; The Revolutionary Exercise Program That Restores Your Body and Mind. Three Rivers: Crown.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Ando, Natsumi & Miyuki Kobayashi. Kitchen Princess. Vol. 1. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Carey, Mike (text) & Glenn Fabry (illus.). Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Vertigo: DC Comics.

Chiba, Tomohiro & others (text) & Tokita, Kouichi (illus.). Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X ASTRAY. Vol. 2. Tokyopop.

Ma, Wing Shing. Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword. Vol. 1. DrMaster.

Remender, Rick & Kieron Dwyer (text) & Paul Harmon (illus.). Sea of Red. Vol. 3: The Deadlights. Image Comics.

Shaw, Dash. The Mother’s Mouth. Alternative Comics.

Takada, Rie. Punch! Vol. 3. Viz Media.

Tanemura, Arina. The Gentlemen’s Alliance †. Vol. 1. Viz Media.

Look Ma! I’m on time!

We’ve got fiction, nonfiction, audio, and graphic novel reviews for you this week in our web-only, freely-accessible Xpress Reviews section…with cover images! Shiny! And remember, you can always add Xpress Reviews to your RSS reader.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Mar. 27th, 2007

FICTION
Carcaterra, Lorenzo. Chasers. Ballantine.

Greene, Jennifer & others. Like Mother, Like Daughter (but in a Good Way). Harlequin Next.

Hand, Elizabeth. Generation Loss. Small Beer.

Montiel, Dito. Eddie Krumble Is the Clapper. Thunder’s Mouth: Avalon, dist. by Publishers Group West.

Sharpe, Matthew. Jamestown. Soft Skull.

Smith, Wilbur. The Quest. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin’s.

NONFICTION
Figgis, Mike. Digital Filmmaking: The Essential Guide to the Digital Film Revolution. Faber & Faber.

Koff, Ashley. Recipes for IBS: Great-Tasting Recipes and Tips for Your Systems. Fair Winds: Quayside.

AUDIO
Clarke, Richard A. Breakpoint. Books on Tape.

Grimes, Martha. Dust. Books on Tape.

Kellerman, Jesse. Trouble. Books on Tape.

Tademy, Lalita. Red River. Books on Tape.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Akimoto, Yasushi (text) & Mayumi Shihou (illus.). One Missed Call 1 + 2. Dark Horse.

Campbell, T. (text) & Amy Mebberson (illus.). Divalicious! Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

[composite review] Ellis, Warren (text) & Adi Granov (illus.). Iron Man: Extremis. Marvel.
Knauf, Daniel & Charles Knauf & Patrick Zircher (illus.). Iron Man: Execute Program. Marvel.

Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor. Vol. 2. Dark Horse.

Kuper, Peter. Stop Forgetting To Remember. Crown.

Miyasaka, Kaho. Kare First Love. Vol. 10. Viz Media.

Shinjo, Mayu. Sensual Phrase. Vol. 18. Viz Media.

Tamura, Yumi. Basara. Vol. 22. Viz Media.

Tanabe, Yellow. Kekkaishi. Vol. 8. Viz Media.

Yoshinaga, Fumi. Ichigenme…The First Class Is Civil Law. Vol. 1. 801 Media: Digital Manga.

Yumeka, Sumomo. The Day I Become a Butterfly. Juné: Digital Manga.

In my first performing arts assigning (I recently adopted the section from Heather McCormack), the grand theme was pop celebs writing. Due out in May from three big publishers, we have Don’t Hassel the Hoff, David Hasselhoff’s autobiography from Thomas Dunne, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock ‘n’ Roller’s 12 Steps to Becoming a Gold Addict from Crown, and Criss Angel’s Mindfreak coming from HarperCollins, complete with “40 mindfreaks you can master.”

 This odd little group, linked primarily by the similar chuckle they brought forth as I flipped through them (after all, they feature two TV stars and one musician; cover sports, magic, and memoir; and appeal to vastly different audiences) somehow seems more than the trashy celebrity cash-in book. Nicole Ritchie’s disparaged dip into writing comes to mind: see Bookroom classics “Anticlimactic didactic,” on Judith Regan’s less-than-classy buys, and Heather McCormack’s reaction to book awards season, ”The biggest losers.”

 Maybe it is the artist behind these performing arts titles—whether he is a master of rippling muscles, shock rock, or street magic—that makes these books worth looking at for something a little more than dissing a now-defunct publishing powerhouse or dreaming up awards for the biggest literary bombs. Or maybe they’ll go down with an even bigger splash!  Look for reviews in forthcoming issues.

Hullo! Here are the titles reviewed in this week’s web-only, freely-accessible Xpress Reviews section. And we have cover images for some of them to stimulate your visual pleasure.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Mar. 20th, 2007

FICTION
Hornby, Simonetta Agnello. The Marchesa. Farrar.

NONFICTION
Barish, Eileen. Bestspasusa: The Guidebook to Luxury Resort, Hotel, and Destination Spas. Bestspasusa.

Glancy, Diane. Asylum in the Grasslands. Univ. of Arizona.

Hauer, Rutger with Patrick Quinlan. All Those Moments: Stories of Heroes, Villains, Replicants, and Blade Runners. HarperEntertainment: HarperCollins.

Healy, Bernadine, M.D. Living Time: Faith and Facts To Transform Your Cancer Journey. Bantam.
Nathan, David G., M.D. The Cancer Treatment Revolution: How Smart Drugs and Other New Therapies Are Renewing Our Hope and Changing the Face of Medicine. Wiley. [composite review]

Leonard, Kendra Preston. The Conservatoire Américain: A History. Scarecrow.

McClanahan, Rue. My First Five Husbands…and the Ones Who Got Away. Broadway.

Marchand, Philip. Ghost Empire: How the French Almost Conquered North America. Praeger.

Ramin, Cathryn Jakobson. Carved in Sand: When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife. HarperCollins.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Chabot, Jacob. The Mighty Skullboy Army. Dark Horse.

David, Peter (text) & Ryan Sook & Dennis Calero & others (illus.). X-Factor. Vol. 1: The Longest Night. Marvel.

Ellis, Warren (text) & Stuart Immonen (illus.). Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. Vol. 1: This Is What They Want. Marvel.

Fujima, Takuya. Free Collars Kingdom. Vol. 1. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Fukushima, Haruka. Kedamono Damono. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Kim, Seyoung. Boy Princess. Vol. 5. Netcomics.

Kirkman, Robert (text) & Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn (illus.). The Walking Dead. Vol. 5: The Best Defense. Image Comics.

Nightow, Yasuhiro. Trigun Maximum. Vol. 11. Dark Horse.

Omote, Sora. Metamo Kiss. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Togashi, Yoshihiro. YuYu Hakusho. Vol. 11. Viz Media.

Togashi, Toshihiro. Hunter x Hunter. Vol. 13. Viz Media.

Ueda, Miwa. Peach Girl: Sae’s Story. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Last week sister magazine Publishers Weekly launched its newly redesigned website, including a new blog from its book review editors. (Don’t worry: our new website is coming shortly.)  Although we all work on the same floor, our busy editing and production schedules keep us from interacting on a personal level as often as we would like. So I am enjoying reading Kevin Howell’s personal trauma of reading 16 gay romances (who knew there was such a category!) for the Lambda Book Awards and Jonathan Seguera’s wry interpretation of bold new voices in fiction.(not!). 

My only minor quibble: the blog’s name: Notes from the Bookroom. Hello, we were here first! On the other hand, it’s not easy coming up with a unique blog name. (One LJ editor still thinks our name sucks.) Although titles can’t be copyrighted, fellow LJ book review editor Heather McCormack and I had a brief fantasy of duking it out with the PW editors for the ”bookroom” rights in the grand tradition of Will Ferrell’s Anchor Man news team rumble (Public Television: no commercials, no mercy!). Heather, you bring the trident, I’ll bring the net!

Check out the clip on YouTube.

Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed and I say welcome fellow bloggers. The more we can join forces to promote the written word, the better the world will be.

Hi folks,

I was felled by the flu last week, thus the double-packed post this week. Here are the titles reviewed our web-only, freely accessible Xpress Reviews section for the last two weeks.

Xpress Reviews for Week of March 13th, 2007

NONFICTION
Fulbright, Yvonne K. Touch Me There!: A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots. Hunter House.

Miller, Arnold with Kristina Chrétien. The Miller Method®: Developing the Capacities of Children on the Autism Spectrum. Jessica Kingsley.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Beasts!: A Pictorial Schedule of Traditional Hidden Creatures from the Interest of 90 Modern Artists. Fantagraphics.

CLAMP. Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. Vol. 12. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Cuneo, John. nEuROTIC: Drawings from the Sketchbook of John Cuneo. Fantagraphics.

Duggan, Gerry & Brian Posehn (text) & Rick Remender, Hilary Barta, & Michelle Madsen (illus.). The Last Christmas. Image Comics.

Emura. W Juliet. Vol. 14. Viz Media.

Hipp, Dan. Gyakushu! Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Kang, E-Jin. Good Luck. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Remender, Rick (text) & Eric Nguyen & others (illus.). Strange Girl. Vol. 2: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. Image Comics.

Takahashi, Kazuki. Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist. Vol. 19: Duel with the Future. Viz Media.

Takahashi, Kazuki. Yu-Gi-Oh!: Millennium World. Vol. 5: Tomb of Shadows. Viz Media.

Toyama, Ema. Pixie Pop: Gokkun Pucho. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Watanabe, Taeko. Kaze Hikaru. Vol. 4. Viz Media.

Watsuki, Nobuhiro. Buso Renkin. Vol. 4. Viz Media.

Wight, Eric. My Dead Girlfriend. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Won, Sooyeon. Let Dai. Vol. 5. Netcomics.

Yoshinaga, Fumi. Flower of Life. Vol. 1. Digital Manga.

Yoshinaga, Fumi. The Moon and the Sandals. Vol. 1. Juné: Digital Manga.

Xpress Reviews for Week of March 6th, 2007 (same page as the March 13th; you will have to scroll down past March 13th reviews)

NONFICTION
Allenby-Jaffé, Margaret. National Dance. Crowood, dist. by Trafalgar Square.

Gerstenzang, Sarah. Another Mother: Co-Parenting with the Foster Care System. Vanderbilt Univ.

Johnson, Chalmers. Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. Metropolitan: Holt.

Prashad, Vijay. The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World. New Pr., dist. by Norton.

Shabsigh, Ridwan, M.D. Sensational Sex in 7 Easy Steps: The Proven Plan for Lasting Health and Intimacy. Rodale.

Shook, Robert L. Miracle Medicines: Seven Lifesaving Drugs and the People Who Created Them. Portfolio: Penguin Group (USA).

Tobias, Michael & Jane Gray Morrison. Donkey: The Mystique of Equus Asinus. Council Oak.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Aoyama, Gosho. Case Closed. Vol. 15. Viz Media.

Brubaker, Ed (text) & Trevor Hairsine & Scott Hanna (illus.). X-Men: Deadly Genesis. Marvel.

Dixon, Chuck (text) & Sergio Cariello & Flint Henry (illus.). The Iron Ghost. Image Comics.

Hamme, J. Van & Ben Avery (text) & W. Vance (illus.). XIII. Vol. 1: The Day of the Black Sun. Dabel Brothers: Marvel.

Kaishaku. Key Princess Story: Eternal Alice Rondo. Vol. 1. DrMaster Publns.

Kawai, Toko. Loveholic. Vol. 1. Juné: Digital Manga.

Lasko-Gross, Miss. Escape from “Special.” Fantagraphics.

Lee, Jae. Hellshock. Image Comics.

Moore, B. Clay (text) & Steven Griffin & Nick Derington (illus.). Hawaiian Dick. Vol. 2: The Last Resort. Image Comics.

Murakami, Maki. Gravitation EX. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Oh! Great. Air Gear. Vol. 3. Del Rey: Ballantine.

Park, Jin-Hwan. Archlord. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Sala, Richard. The Grave Robber’s Daughter. Fantagraphics.

Tenzen, Momoko. Seven. Juné: Digital Manga.

Trondheim, Lewis. Mister i. Nantier Beall Minoustchine.

Vinton, Will & Andrew Wiese (text) & Fabio Laguna (illus.). Jack Hightower. Dark Horse.

Yoshinaga, Fumi. Solfege. Juné: Digital Manga.

As you  know by now, the steamy novel about baseball great Mickey Mantle that led to publisher Judith Regan’s downfall has found new life and a new home. On April 3 Lyons Press plans to publish Peter Golenbock’s controversial  7: The Mickey Mantle Novel, which was cancelled by HarperCollins after it fired Regan and disbanded her imprint. With an initial print run of 250,000 copies, Lyons obviously has high hopes, although judging from all the negative hoopla when the book was first announced, one wonders.

At least I don’t have to worry about assigning this book for review again. When HarperCollins killed the novel in January, we were put in the embarrassing position of running a review that too late for us to pull from our February 1 issue. But now you can re-read our review and judge for yourself whether to order 7 for your patrons.

If 7 is not your cup of tea, coming out this month is another novel featuring a rookie ball player also named Mickey. Published by Kent State University Press, James T. Farrell’s Dreaming Baseball revolves around the infamous 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal. (Look for our review in the March 15 issue of Library Journal.)  

The author of the classic Studs Lonigan trilogy was a passionate baseball fan, longing to play second base for his beloved Chicago White Sox. HIs 1957 My Baseball Diary is considered one of the very best fan books ever written. At the same time, Farrell was unable to find a publisher for his novel, and the work remained unpublished for more than 50 years, until editors Ron Briley, Margaret Davidson, and James Barbour joined forces with Farrell’s family  to bring the book into print. The trio were careful not to tamper with Farrell’s words except to correct typos and to change Farrell’s fictional names to the historical names of the players involved. The foreword is written by Eliot Asinof, who in 1960 consulted with Farrell when he began his reseach on what is now the classic history of the scandal, Eight Men Out. 

Fiction, nonfiction, and a slew of graphic novels this week in our web-only, freely-accessible Xpress Reviews section. Here’s the list of titles reviewed.

Xpress Reviews for Week of Feb. 27th, 2007

FICTION
Jenoff, Pam. The Kommandant’s Girl. Mira: Harlequin.

Rentschler, Linda Ann. Mother. Madison Square Pr.

NONFICTION
Lindvall, Terry. Sanctuary Cinema: Origins of the Christian Film Industry. New York Univ.

Spivak, Alice with Robert Blumenfeld. How To Rehearse When There Is No Rehearsal: Acting and the Media. Limelight Editions.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Benjamin, Paul (text) & Steven Cummings & Megumi Cummings (illus.). Pantheon High. Vol. 1: Demigods & Debutantes. Tokyopop.

Casey, Joe & Tom Scioli (text & illus.). Godland. Vol. 2: Another Sunny Delight. Image Comics.

Ennis, Garth (text) & Clayton Crain (illus.). Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation. Marvel.

Fukuyama, Ryoko. Nosatsu Junkie. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Kang, Kyungok. In the Starlight. Vol. 1. Netcomics.

Kim, June. 12 Days. Tokyopop.

Kimjin. Lethe. Netcomics.

Kubo, Tite. Bleach. Vol. 17: Rosa Rubicundior, Lilio Candidior. Viz Media.

Linsner, Joseph Michael. Angry Christ Comix. Image Comics.

Melbourne, Drew (text) & Yvel Guichet & Joe Rubinstein (illus.). Archenemies. Vol. 1: Sinners and Saints. Dark Horse.

Morris, Steve. Blessed Thistle. Dark Horse.

Oshimizu, Sachi. Twin Signal. Vol. 1. AnimeWorks: Media Blasters.

Otsuichi (text) & Setsuri Tsuzuki (illus.). Calling You. Tokyopop.

Pope, Paul (text & illus.) & Jose Villarrubia (illus.). Batman Year 100. DC Comics.

Powell, Nate. Sounds of Your Name. reprint. Microcosm, dist. by AK Pr. & Dist.

Tennohji, Mio. The Sky over My Spectacles. 801 Media: Digital Manga.

Tanaka, Meca. Pearl Pink. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Way, Daniel (text) & Javier Saltares & Mark Texeira (illus.). Wolverine: Origins & Endings. Marvel.

Yamada, Norie (text) & Kumichi Yoshizuki (illus.). Someday’s Dreamers: Spellbound. Tokyopop.

Yuiga, Satol. E’S. Vol. 1. Broccoli Bks.

Hello everyone,

Here are this week’s titles in our web-only, freely accessible Xpress Reviews for the Week of Feb. 20th, 2007.

NONFICTION
Sellers, John. Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life. S. & S.

Stepp, Laura Sessions. Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both. Riverhead: Putnam.

Tellington-Jones, Linda with Bobbie Lieberman. The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book: Enlightened and Revolutionary Solutions for the 21st Century. Trafalgar Square.

Thyre, Sarah. Dark at the Roots: A Memoir. Counterpoint: Perseus.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Bergting, Peter. The Portent. Vol. 1: Duende. Image Comics.

Cogan, Adam (text) & Ryan Cody (illus.). Villains. Vol. 1. Viper Comics. 

Goodwin, Archie (text) & John Byrne (illus.). Wolverine Classic. Vol. 4. Marvel.

Konomi, Takeshi. The Prince of Tennis. Vol. 18. Viz Media.

Kusanagi, Mizujo. Mugen Spiral. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Lee, Youjung. Let’s Be Perverts. Vol. 1. Netcomics.

Maeda, Jun (text) & Rei Idumi (illus.). Hibiki’s Magic. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Ridley, John (text) & Georges Jeanty & Karl Story (illus.). The American Way. Wildstorm: DC Comics.

Sakurakoji, Kanoko. Backstage Prince. Vol. 1. Viz Media.

Schaffer, Dan. The Scribbler. Image Comics.

Tsuda, Mikiyo. Princess Princess. Vol. 2. Digital Manga.

Ultimate Annuals. Vol. 2. Marvel.

Yamazaki, Housui. Mail. Vol. 1. Dark Horse.

Hello,

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

Xpress Reviews for Week of Feb. 13th, 2007

NONFICTION
Chambers, Veronica. Kickboxing Geishas: How Modern Japanese Women Are Changing Their Nation. Free Pr: S. & S.

Cummins, Joseph. History’s Great Untold Stories: Larger Than Life Characters & Dramatic Events That Changed the World. National Geographic, dist. by Random.

Groopman, Jerome, M.D. How Doctors Think. Houghton.

Rieff, Philip. Charisma: The Gift of Grace, and How It Has Been Taken Away from Us. Pantheon.

Zinn, Howard. A Power Governments Cannot Suppress. City Lights, dist. by Consortium.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Asamiya, Kia. Junk: Record of the Last Hero. Vol. 1. DrMaster Publns.

Delano, Jamie (text) & Goran Sudzuka & Goran Parlov (illus.). Outlaw Nation. Image Comics.

Hino, Matsuri. Vampire Knight. Vol. 1. Viz Media.

Inoue, Takehiko. Vagabond. Vol. 24. Viz Media.

Lee, Ki-Hoon (text) & Seung-Yup Cho. Phantom. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Mihara, Mitsukazu. IC in a Sunflower. Tokyopop.

Oh, Se-Kwon. Utopia’s Avenger. Vol. 1. Tokyopop.

Ueda, Rinko. Tail of the Moon. Vol. 2. Viz Media.

Urasawa, Naoki. Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. Vol. 6. Viz Media.

Yabuki, Kentaro. Black Cat. Vol. 6. Viz Media.

Yuki, Kaori. Godchild. Vol. 4. Viz Media.