Bookseller Barbie

My one-year blogiversary came and went, and I didn’t even know it! Maybe tonight I will have a cupcake (or four…) in celebration.

It’s been a great year, and I thank you all for reading! It means a lot when I’m at the grocery store and someone will stop me in the chip aisle to tell me how much they enjoyed my most recent post. I know my face may not reflect how grateful I am, because you have just busted me in my pink sweatpants. But, thank you.

Lately, I have done nothing but read. I’m seriously considering joining a gym. What the heck is zumba? Sounds like something I should do, especially if I keep frequenting the chip aisle and making up excuses to eat cupcakes.

One of the funnerest (it’s a word) and most challenging parts of my job is sifting through the dozens (and dozens… aaaand dozens…) of advance reader copies and galleys I get on a weekly basis. I know I can’t even begin to read a small fraction of them, and I have to keep what I read very broad so I can better recommend books to my customers.

Sometimes, I have to sign my life away for a galley, and then I’m not even supposed to say that I have a copy in my possession (that’s probably not true, but they make it sound that way and I don’t want to go to jail and eat powdered eggs). That was the case for The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. John Green is worshiped by teenagers (in particular, the group that I like to call the “Starbucks and Sushi Set”), and fans will do anything to get their hands on anything he touches. Two things about this book: 1) OMGGGGG so dramaaaaaaatic and 2) so *THIS* is what’s wrong with teenagers, they LOVE stuff like this… I haven’t cried so hard over a book since Where the Red Fern Grows. If you’re into the Drama Festival of Dark, don’t read The Fault in Our Stars in public. Ever. I’m glad I read it on my day off, when I didn’t have to go anywhere. It truly is a great book (I’m just awkward about crying). Parts made me think, “I cannot BELIEVE he said that!” but it was in a good way. Go there at your own risk.

Other times I go to bookseller conferences, and I get my pick of books. It’s like conventions you might go to for work, but publishing houses have booths and they’re trying to get you to buy books instead of office products and computer software. Pretty nerdily awesome. While I was at SIBA Trade Show in Charleston this fall, I went by and visited my friends at the Penguin booth. Everyone was absolutely ga-ga over Alex George’s A Good American, so I made sure it was one I took home with me. A Good American is one of those beautifully crafted generation spanning books that you just want to put on your comfy pants and curl up with. The year is 1904. Frederick and Jette are newly married, and find themselves on a boat to NOLA to start a new life together in America away from disapproving family members. They settle in Beatrice, Missouri. Their story is told by their grandson, James, who quickly realizes he is clueless as to his own story. Such a well written novel and I think anyone would enjoy it because it contains a little bit of everything: Prohibition, illegal prize-fighting, jazz music (oh! the jazz!), gumbo, love story (oh! the love story!)… A Good American is also the #1 Indie Next Pick for February, so I’m not the only bookseller diggin’ it. I am honored to say that I picked the passage Alex will read to audiences on his book tour. He’s doing a few events with THE Amy Einhorn, so if you get an opportunity to go to an event, you should! Think of all the fun questions you could ask…

Then there are the times I get ARC bombed with several copies of the same book, and I don’t pay attention. “Emily, you really had three copies of The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson and you DIDN’T EVEN OPEN ONE?” Bad timing. Wow, what a book. There are books you hear tons of buzz about, and then they end up not being so great. The Orphan Master’s Son is NOT one of those books. It is a brilliant work of fiction. If you have any interest in learning about North Korea, grab it. Pak Jun Do lives at Long Tomorrows, which is a work camp for orphans that his father runs. Famine and horrible living conditions closes Long Tomorrows, and Jun Do is turned into a solider, trained to fight in the dark. I LOVED this book, which is so unlike me. If you aren’t a fiction reader, this one is worth picking up simply for the insight into North Korea.

The Fault in Our Stars and The Orphan Master’s Son are available now, and A Good American’s book birthday is Tuesday, February 7^th.

Since the first of the year, I have read AND quite enjoyed: Midnight in Peking by Paul French (April 24^th), Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli (March 15^th), Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick (June 12^th), The Cove by Ron Rash (April 10^th), and Trapeze by Simon Mawer (May 1^st, and I hear the ending is changing, so I’ll have to revisit it). I’ll do more in depth “why I thought these books were rad” closer to their release dates.

Right now, I’m reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (July 24^th) which will take a back seat when I get my special delivery later in the week (GASP!), Home by Toni Morrison (May 8^th).

I’m trying to stay ahead, but always love suggestions!

I realize it isn’t grammatically correct, but if you’ve ever been forced to watch Zoolander…

A few days ago, the mailman delivered an unexpected happy: a copy of Praying for Strangers by River Jordan, with a handwritten note from River for a stranger tucked inside. Since I already have a bound galley, an ARC, and a hardcover copy of the book on my shelf (I kinda love the book and River Jordan… lil’ bit), I set the unexpected happy copy free into the wild. I tweeted a single clue: “It is in a three block radius of the store at an establishment that sells strawberry cake.” I checked yesterday. The book found a new home. I have no idea where it landed.

I do this all the time (I have a lot of books hanging around) but I never thought about registering with Book Crossing until this week. Book Crossing is a handy website that lets you register your book and print off a tracking sticker to put in it so you can see where it lands. Totally cool. Customers come in the store on a daily basis and say, “Oh, I love physical books. But I don’t have any room left on my shelf for new ones. That’s why I have an e-reader.” Well…  why not set some free, make a stranger’s day, AND clear space for new ones? Sounds like winning to me… (*disclaimer: make sure when you set a book free that you actually OWN the book… no library books or books you “borrow” from friends and never return*)

Speaking of free books, here’s another heads up. World Book Night will take place on April 23, 2012. “The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, to share your passion for a great book. The entire publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing, and paper community is behind this effort with donated services and time.” I signed my store up to be a pick up location for books, but they are looking for volunteers all over the country to help distribute ONE MILLION books. You have until February 1^st to put your name on the list. The 30 different titles that will be given away are super stellar. Sign up! Sign up!

Things I have said this week:

“Did we really just run out of tape?”

“Please don’t cry. I’m a nice lady.”

“I’m missing half of my plastic fork! Oh… I ate it.”

“What day is it?”

“I’m telling Santa.”

I finished my gift buying in record time, and everything came from a local business. I’m in good shape in that department. Can I keep my eyes open? No. Have I read anything since November? Absolutely not. The last book I read was Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” and it was huh-larious. Will my mind allow me to write an entire blog post? We’ll see.

I kicked off my holidays with our 4^th annual Friendsgiving. I wish we could have extended the fun by a few days, but when you work in retail… that’s impossible.

It is hard to juggle the influx of customers while keeping things in working order, and when you add author events on top of that, it can get completely out of control.

Know what’s completely out of control? Authorpalooza: thirteen authors at the same time.

My sales reps and bookseller friends thought I was insane for taking on such an event. With a little help from my friends, awesome co-workers, and big strong husband (he was such a good furniture mover!)… it went off without a hitch. And hey, it was even chosen as the Image of the Day in Shelf Awareness (totally cool, since the previous Image of the Day was one of Bill Clinton’s book signings and he was like, a President and stuff)!

I hope to continue the tradition (this was actually Authorpalooza #2, last year’s Authorpalooza was beyond spectacular as well!), and it is worth a road trip to the 2011 All America City to attend.

Just sayin’.

It’s been two weeks now, and the tables are still covered in felt. No one has had time to break them down and hide the evidence. Where books were piled high, you’ll now find empty spaces.

I haven’t given up on solo author events in December, and in fact… I have three this week.

I think I’ll follow sweet Ralph’s lead, and settle my brain for a long winter’s nap.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all… a good book.

 Last night, a childhood friend made a Facebook post about introducing her four children to the movie Casper (oh Devon Sawa, where are you now?). I chimed in with, “I think YOU introduced me to the movie Casper!” and her response was, “We probably watched it in your haunted house.”

 SKRRRRRRRT. Do you hear the crickets?

 Halloween was never short on fun in our home. My brother, sister, and I took decorating to the extreme, which I thought was “the norm” until I got older. We had hundreds of trick-or-treaters knock on the door every year, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for the candy.

And yes, my parents were right there with us.

Sadly, Halloween isn’t the same as it was when I lived in the big spooky house. We celebrate Halloween our own special way in The ’Sip. 

I still carve pumpkins.

My dog Ralph loves Halloween (and we can’t put him in costumes anymore because he won’t let us take them off).

And Robby G uses Halloween as an opportunity to embarrass me in public.

Tomorrow night, our neighborhood is hosting a trunk-or-treat (don’t we teach children NOT to take candy out of strangers’ cars?). I love it, because it makes things so much easier on us. I don’t love that someone (cough cough… Robby G) bought our candy LAST WEEK, which means I have eaten 75% of it. His reward? He gets to clean out the pumpkins this year. Speaking of which, I can smell them and I hear gagging coming from the kitchen, so I think we’re almost ready to start carving.

I hope you all have a very fun and safe Halloween! I’m going to keep count of how many Batmans I see.

I am currently reading The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. A fellow bookseller HIGHLY recommended it (as in grabbed me with both hands, shook me, and said, “YOU. HAVE. TO. READ. THE. ART. OF. FIELDING.”), and I trust her judgment.

The Art of Fielding is a book about baseball that seems to appeal to both men and women. The main character, Henry, is a college baseball player with high hopes of playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. One really bad throw causes a chain reaction… and well… you’re just going to have to read it. There is enough story for the ladies not to get bored with the sports-talk, and there is enough sports-talk to keep the dudes interested.

I have always thought of myself as a “football girl” and it became quite a mystery as to why I am enjoying this book so much. Could it be because my youngest brother-in-law is a college baseball player at an SEC school?  I took a ride in the “way back” machine and realized… I have loved baseball since I was born.

Allow me to explain.

As a little Emily, I was shuffled to A LOT of practices and games. My older sister and brother were both all-star players, and I ate Fun Dip in the stands. We made weekly trips to Sporty’s (our local sports memorabilia store) so my brother could add to his growing baseball card collection. All I really wanted to do was go next door to TCBY for some white chocolate mousse with sprinkles, but I eventually caved and developed a taste for rock hard sticks of pink gum.

My friends collected Lisa Frank stickers. I collected baseball cards.

Every summer, we would drive five hours to Cincinnati to watch Paul O’Neill, Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo, and Eric Davis take on the New York Mets (DARRRRRYYYLLLLLLLLLLL). It was there that I discovered peanuts IN THE SHELL (which are the coolest things in the world to a five year old) and to this day, I can’t look at Busch beer without yelling, “BUSCH BEEA HEAH!” We were very happy kiddos when the Reds won the World Series in 1990, and I was allowed to stay up after eight oh-oh to watch (my bedtime was at 8:00 and man, I’d let you know it if you kept me awake a minute past eight oh-oh).

My dad wanted to expose us to different teams (the Cincy connection was because of my mom), so some time in the early 1990s, we went to St. Louis to see Ozzie Smith and his famous backflip.

In 1994, I  followed in my siblings’ footsteps and signed up for softball. Try-outs were mortifying, especially since I have Goofy-caliber hand-eye coordination. I was placed on the worst team in the league as a right fielder. I spent most of my time picking dandelions, and for the sake of keeping friends in those tough and crucial middle school years, I hung up my cleats after one season.

I didn’t particularly have a strong interest in the game again until one of my BFFs started dating a St. Louis Cardinal. When you know someone who is actually playing in the World Series, it’s amazing how quickly you become a fan again. When the Cards lost the series and she stood by her man, I knew the game would never be the same for me. It is a pretty surreal feeling when you go to Autozone Park with the people you spend Thanksgiving with, and the guy who makes apple and cranberry dressing is being honored with his own Bobble head…

Last year, Robby G talked me into playing church league softball. I tried to explain that I was not a good addition to the team, but he thought I was just trying to get out of playing. He surprised me with a pink glove, pink batting gloves (like I need those, I whiff every single pitch thrown at me), and really rad sweatbands. I was stuck out in right field again (until our catcher decided not to show one game, so they made ME play catcher… dumbest idea EVER, and I caused one umpire so much grief and nard pain from SLOW PITCHES I couldn’t catch that he wouldn’t come near me again). I wanted to quit, but the boys needed me to stick with it. My batting stance was so provocative that I would either get nailed by a pitch or walked each time I stepped up to the plate. I scored quite a few runs without ever having to swing at the ball. Now THAT, my friends, is what you call “MAD SKILLZ.”

If I’m not allowed to watch GAME 7 tonight (I’m kind of a jinx), I’ll finish The Art of Fielding. If I do get to watch the game, I’ll have some “BUSCH BEEA HEAH!” and some peanuts. Either way, isn’t baseball the best?

WHAT A WEEK! Hello to all of my new readers! When I started this blog in January, I had no idea my words would reach so many people. It’s heartwarming, really.

All I have done lately is recommend books that aren’t even available yet, so today I thought I’d change things up a little and give some suggestions that you can actually put in your hands! This is such a fun time of year for new books, and these have been some of my favorite hand-sells for the past few months.

My favorite book of the summer was A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano. I read it in ONE DAY! I already did a whole post about it, which you can read here: A Good Book is Hard to Find

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell is now available in paperback. I shared this book with my delightful author friend River Jordan, and every time I’m with her… she recommends Swamplandia! to at least four people. It is a very different book, but one that you won’t be able to get your nose out of. And… who can resist a book title that has an EXCLAMATION POINT!!!! in it?!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline… oh how I love Ernest Cline. He wrote the movie Fanboys and if you aren’t familiar with it (and I’m sure that’s the case), think “Sheldon, Leonard, Wolowitz, and Raj” humor.
If you don’t know what that means, you probably aren’t going to like Fanboys OR Ready Player One. BAZINGA.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is a must read.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is just beautiful.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty is what I call a “beach book for smart chicks.” Highly entertaining, no serious brain processing involved, and it makes you examine your life (in a good way!) when you’re finished.

The Whole Hog Cookbook: Chops, Loin, Shoulder, Bacon, And All That Good Stuff by Libbie Summers… um, do I really have to explain this one? It’s magical.

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart has one of the best book covers ever (also now in paperback)! When I first saw it, I wanted to pick it up and start skipping around the store with it. Very whimsical and enjoyable little book. I always say the title sideways. “The Tower, The Turtle… wait, no, it’s not a turtle… The Tortoise, The Tower…”

What am I reading now? When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (her first novel, Mudbound, is incredible if you’ve never read it), The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (because my bookseller friend in South Carolina said it was the best book she had read this year), and Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell (because my 87 year old boss enjoyed it and he thought I would as well).

Happy reading to all!

I drove over to Oxford, MS yesterday for a very bookish business meeting and I had the chance to visit with some of my favorite people in the industry. It is always such a treat when I get to do that.

At one point, we got so tickled about “book blurbs” and how hard it is to condense “why you loved a book” into a sentence or two. I do it for publishers as much as I can, but it really is a lot more difficult than you think. A lot of times I can’t explain “why” I loved it… you just have to trust me. I have customers head straight for my “Emily Recommends” shelf and scoop up a month’s worth of reading material, without even questioning my choices.

Sunday, I finally finished The Healing by Jonathan Odell. Now, if you know my reading habits, you know that on average I read two to three books a week. I’m not a super nerd, it’s just part of my job as a bookseller. It took me over a month to finish The Healing. Why?

It’s just that good.

I knew from the opening paragraph of The Healing that I was holding a masterpiece in my hands. I wanted to read every word and remember it, and I even wrote sentences down in my precious Moleskine notebook.

I was so surprised when Jonathan found my blog last week, and a little bit embarrassed because I said I hadn’t finished his book yet. I told him how red-faced I was, and he said, “My goal is to write for those who savor the word and take time to find the music.”

The Healing’s Polly Shine sang to me. I know she will sing to you as well, and I cannot wait until February 21^st when the world gets to read a book that I love so much. It is definitely a page-turner, but a very different kind of page-turner than what you might be used to. You will not WANT to turn the page. You will want to stay right where you are and enjoy it.