Read It? No, but You Can Skim a Few Pages and Fake It
By Alan Riding

PARIS, Feb. 23 — It may well be that too many books are published, but by good fortune, not all must be read. In practice, primed by publishers, critics, teachers, authors and word-of-mouth, a form of natural selection limits essential reading to those classics and best sellers that become part of civilized intellectual and social discourse.

Of course, many people don’t get through these books, either, and too embarrassed to admit it, they worry constantly about being exposed as philistines.

Now Pierre Bayard, a Paris University literature professor, has come to their rescue with a survivor’s guide to life in the chattering classes. And it is evidently much in need. "How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read?" has become a best seller here, with translation rights snapped up across Europe and under negotiation in Britain and the United States.

"I am surprised because I hadn’t imagined how guilty nonreaders feel," Mr. Bayard, 52, said in an interview. "With this book, they can shake off their guilt without psychoanalysis, so it’s much cheaper."

Mr. Bayard reassures them that there is no obligation to read, and confesses to lecturing students on books that he has either not read or has merely skimmed. And he recalls passionate exchanges with people who also have not read the book under discussion.

He further cites writers like Montaigne, who could not remember what he read, and Paul Valéry, who found ways of praising authors whose books he had never opened. Mr. Bayard finds characters in novels by Graham Greene , David Lodge and others who cheerfully question the need to read at all. And he refuses to be intimidated by Proust or Joyce.

Having demonstrated that non-readers are in good company, Mr. Bayard then offers tips on how to cover up ignorance of a "must-read" book.

Meeting a book’s author can be particularly tricky. Here, Mr. Bayard said there was no need to display knowledge of the book, since the author already has his own ideas about it. Rather, he said, the answer is "to speak well of it without entering into details." Indeed, all the author needs to hear is that "one has loved what he has written."

Domestic life is another potentially hazardous zone. People often want their spouses and partners to share their love of a particular book. And when this happens, Mr. Bayard said, they can both inhabit a "secret universe." But if only one has read the book, silent empathy may offer the best way out.

Students, he noted from experience, are skilled at opining about books they have not read, building on elements he may have provided in a lecture. This approach can also work in the more exposed arena of social gatherings: the book’s cover, reviews and other public reaction to it, gossip about the author and even the current conversation can all provide food for sounding informed.

One alternative, he said, is to try to change the subject. Another is to admit not knowing a particular book while suggesting knowledge of the so-called "collective library" into which the book fits.

But Mr. Bayard’s most daring suggestion is that nonreaders should talk about themselves, using the pretext of the book without dwelling on its contents. In this way, he said, they are forced to tap their imagination and, in effect, invent their own book.

"To be able to talk with finesse about something one does not know is worth more than the universe of books," he writes.

That Mr. Bayard enjoys the role of iconoclast is evident in the titles of some of his earlier books, including "How to Improve Failed Literary Works," in which he examines "failed" books by Proust, Marguerite Duras and others, and "Inquiry Into Hamlet," in which he sets out to prove that Claudius did not murder his brother and Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark.

With his new book, he is also a tad subversive because "How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read?" is not really what it appears to be. "It is told by a fictional personality who boasts about not reading and is obviously not me," he explained. "This is not a book written by a nonreader."
But he chose this device, he said, because he wanted to help people conquer their fear of culture by challenging the way that literature is presented to students and the public in France.

"We are taught one way of reading," he said. "Students are told to read the book, then to fill out a form detailing everything they have read. It’s a linear approach that serves to enshrine books. People now come up to me to describe the cultural wounds they suffered at school. ‘You have to read all of Proust.’ They were traumatized."

"They see culture as a huge wall, as a terrifying specter of ‘knowledge,’ " he went on. "But we intellectuals, who are avid readers, know there are many ways of reading a book. You can skim it, you can start and not finish it, you can look at the index. You learn to live with a book."

So, yes, he conceded, his true aim is to make people read more — but with more freedom. "I want people to learn to live with books," he said. "I want to help people organize their own paths through culture. Also those outside the written word, those who are so attached to the image that it’s difficult to bring them back."

Then why, he was asked, did he write a book that seems to justify nonreading?

"I like to write funny books," he said. "I try to use humor to deal with complex subjects."

Serious Book to Peddle? Don’t Laugh, Try a Comedy Show
By Julie Bosman

FEW authors, no matter how serious or scholarly, can afford to be so stubbornly Pynchonesque as to refuse to participate in a book tour. If they want to sell books, that is.

But fewer still could have guessed until recently that their best pitchmen — and most engaged interviewers — would be the comedians of late-night cable.

Take Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi “banker to the poor” who recently appeared on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” on Comedy Central after it was announced that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Tell me about microfinancing and microlending,” Mr. Stewart asked earnestly. “Because there’s a theory that you developed through your work in economics that has really proven to be incredibly effective in fighting poverty.”

Mr. Stewart has also interviewed Ishmael Beah, the young Sierra Leonian who just published “A Long Way Gone,” a memoir about his wrenching experience as a child soldier; Jeffrey Rosen, the George Washington University law professor who wrote “The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America”; and Vali Nasr, the Middle East expert who was promoting “The Shia Revival,” an examination of ethnic conflict in Iraq.

Since when did microlending, global poverty, constitutional law and civil wars in Africa become topics for frank discussion on fake-news comedy shows?

Publishers say that particularly for the last six months, “The Daily Show” and its spinoff, “The Colbert Report,” which has on similarly wonky authors, like the former White House official David Kuo, have become the most reliable venues for promoting weighty books whose authors would otherwise end up on “The Early Show” on CBS looking like they showed up at the wrong party.

Mr. Yunus’s appearance gave a jump-start to his national press tour and sent his rank on the online bookseller Amazon soaring, said Susan Weinberg, who is the publisher of PublicAffairs. “It was our pièce de résistance,” Ms. Weinberg said. “It had a huge impact on the book.”

Tony Fox, a spokesman for Comedy Central, said that though “The Daily Show” has been on the air since 1996, the number of authors featured has increased significantly in the last five years.
Authors are treated to a fairly straight conversation with Mr. Stewart, but Stephen Colbert, who remains in character as a Bill O’Reilly-type commentator, can be a more challenging interviewer who forces the author to play along with his schtick. “It’s a different experience,” Ms. Weinberg said wryly.

Television programs that devote significant attention to serious authors have practically gone the way of the illuminated manuscript, publishers lament. Brian Lamb’s long-running “Booknotes” program on C-Span was permanently shuttered in 2004. “The Charlie Rose Show” doesn’t generate as much buzz as it used to or translate into higher sales after an author appearance, some publishers say. And the morning shows seem to prefer a bad Britney to a good book.

Many publishers shrug off “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on NBC and “Late Show With David Letterman” on CBS, saying they are too celebrity-driven to be interested in serious authors, and usually fail to generate a bump in sales anyway.

All that’s left are programs like “60 Minutes” on CBS, “Imus in the Morning” on MSNBC, “Larry King Live” on CNN, and, of course, “Oprah” — all extremely competitive venues for placing an author.

“The people who have abandoned us have abandoned us,” said Martha K. Levin, the publisher of Free Press, which last fall released “In the Line of Fire,” a memoir by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan. “Particularly for nonfiction, we are so dependent on media. And television has an impact that is unparalleled.”

But the Comedy Central shows are also becoming extremely competitive for publicists placing their authors. After a “Daily Show” appearance, several publishers said, the author’s Amazon ranking rises and the daily sales figures “pop,” in industry parlance. It is not at all unusual, one book publicist said, for a title to go from a 300,000 rank to a spot in the Top 300 — not often the case after shows like “Charlie Rose.”

“If I had my choice between Charlie Rose and Jon Stewart, I’d pick Jon Stewart, no question,” said one publicist who spoke anonymously because she didn’t want to anger the bookers on “Charlie Rose.”

About a year ago, publicists began noticing that Mr. Stewart was interviewing serious authors, said Lissa Warren, the senior director of publicity for Da Capo Press. “It was almost an ‘oh my God’ moment,” she said. “There aren’t that many television shows that will have on serious authors. And when they do have one, it’s almost startling.”

Part of the surprise, publishers said, is that the Comedy Central audience is more serious than its reputation allows. The public may still think of the “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” audience as a group of sardonic slackers, Gen-Y college students who prefer YouTube to print. But publishers say it’s a much more diverse demographic — and more important, a book-buying audience.

“It’s the television equivalent of NPR,” Ms. Levin, of Free Press, said. “You have a very savvy, interested audience who are book buyers, people who do go into bookstores, people who are actually interested in books.”

According to Nielsen Media Research, the nightly audience for “The Daily Show” averages about 1.6 million, while “The Colbert Report” attracts an average of 1.2 million. (“The 1/2 Hour News Hour” on Fox, the conservative answer to the Comedy Central shows, had its premiere with 1.5 million viewers last Sunday but does not plan to do author interviews, a Fox spokeswoman said.)
Michael Mandelbaum, a professor of American foreign policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, said during his interview last year on “The Daily Show” to promote “The Case for Goliath,” Mr. Stewart drew out the most important themes of the book — points that were ignored by other interviewers.

“In my experience, it’s not just that serious books get a hearing on comedy shows,” Mr. Mandelbaum said. “But serious books get a serious hearing, as well as a funny one, on comedy shows.”

And if it is true that comedy thrives on opposites, then perhaps the combination of serious and slapstick makes perfect sense. “They can be themselves on the show,” said Mr. Fox of Comedy Central, describing the dynamic between authors and Mr. Stewart. “They can be the straight guy and he’s the funny guy.”

Not that Mr. Stewart injects comedy into every interview. He all but wept when he interviewed Mr. Beah, saying, “I’ve rarely read a book that makes my heart hurt — but this really does.”
Jeff Seroy, a spokesman for Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Mr. Beah’s publisher, said the Stewart appearance had a huge effect, doubling the online sales of the book the day after the show.
Mr. Seroy said that in meeting Mr. Beah before the show Mr. Stewart said, “I don’t know how I’m going to make this funny.”

Jon Stewart - Stephen Colbert - Serious Book to Peddle? Don’t Laugh, Try a Comedy Show - New York Times

MARTIN COUNTY BOOKMANIA

I wasn't going to post anything about this event (because they pissed me off - read on) but since a few of you asked, yes, I went. It was the first time that I didn't go for the entire day. The authors that were speaking, other than the three panels I attended, didn't warrant me getting up early or staying late. Not that their books aren't wonderful, because they very well may be, but I'm not a boomer interested in retirement investing, although I probably should be, (and if you are you can listen to the discussion here for as long as the link works: Jonathan D. Pond on You Can Do It!: The Boomer’s Guide to Retirement) and I don't have a dog so have no need of dog training advice (again, you can listen here: Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D. - For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend) In fact, if you want to hear any of these panels, the library set up a page with links to podcasts of each event.

So I arrived late. About ten minutes before the start of the third panel of the day, and judging by the line I was waiting in, the most popular: "Once upon a Crime", featuring the always smart and personable Tess Gerritsen (The Mephisto Club); J. A. Jance, who I've never met and was a fascinating speaker (Web of Evil); Sujata Massey, another new-to-me author (Girl in a Box); Katherine Hall Page, a writer of traditional mysteries (The Body in the Ivy: A Faith Fairchild Mystery); the Florida half of P. J. Parrish, Kris Montee (An Unquiet Grave); and one of my favorite thriller writers, Lisa Unger (Sliver of Truth). The crime fiction panels have been moderated by Scott Eyman, Books Editor of The Palm Beach Post for as long as I've been going to this thing, and as always, he did a fabulous job.

While waiting in line, I ran into Judi Snyder, the Director of Programming for the Martin County Library who hosts this event, and basically the woman who runs the show. I asked her if there was going to be any accomodations for press going forward with this event, and she laughed and said, "No, it's a free event." Now eight or nine years ago when I first started attending this event, it was lovely. They always had top flight authors from all over the country, but the crowds were small and manageable. Seating was never a problem, even if I wanted to go have a book signed or chat with an author between events. Now, that is not an option.

Last year I got there early, got a great seat up front and basically planted my butt in the chair for the duration - the entire day - and had a friend hold it for me (which was no easy task, let me tell you) to do what I needed to do. Forget lunch, bring a bottle of water, and dig in. Also last year was the first time CSPAN's BookTV filmed the event, probably because the big gun of the day was Joe Scarborough, but CSPAN was nowhere to be found with this year's event. So when I asked about accomodations for press, the giggly Judi Snyder was kind enough to point out that I could watch the event on monitors out on the patio. Does she seriously think I drove an hour to watch this event on a TV on a patio? I pointed out that other venues like the Miami Book Fair and the Broward Literary Feast always have press passes and seating, she looked at me like I was crazy and said but they are so much bigger. Yes, this is a much smaller event but frankly, it's just as crowded on a room by room basis as any of the larger book fairs. And if you want press coverage, which obviously she does not (other than the sponsoring Palm Beach Post), than you make those accomodations so I can a) get a seat within hearing distance b) get a seat within photo distance - with a very good Canon digital but not one of those newspaper-photojournalist-enormous-hanging-lens type cameras (so no pictures this year folks, sorry) and c) have access to the authors without losing that seat. Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Unger and Kris Montee spotted me across the room and waved and I would have loved to chat with them, and I really wanted to meet Judy Jance and Sujata Massey, but with this venue it simply wasn't possible. (This piece is turning into quite the whine-fest, isn't it?)

So, from the best of my recollection and no notes (I can't write while standing and juggling bags and such) here goes - waiting in line garnered me a standing position along the wall for the Crime Fiction panel, so at least I could see and hear for the most part. I learned that J.A. Jance (Judy) wanted to be a writer as a student, and applied to a creative writing program to get a masters degree, but was told that women should be teachers or nurses, so she did that instead (I think a teacher but I wouldn't swear to it.) She became a single mom at some point and started writing while working full time and raising her kid(s) and now has published dozens of books. You've come a long way, baby! Lisa Unger talked about how she thought Beautiful Lies was going to be a stand alone, but the character's voice kept coming back so Sliver of Truth was born. Yes, Lisa hears voices in her head. So do most writers, if they'll admit it. I enjoyed the panel but frankly, the details are too sketchy to say much more about it.

I lucked out and got a seat for the next panel as all the mystery buffs went running after the authors to get autographs. The next panel was "Separating Fact from Fiction": A Conversation with... Jeff Shaara, (The Rising Tide: A Novel of the Second World War) and Hampton Sides (Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West) which was moderated by Edie Donohue, who does at least one panel every year. She's always extremely prepared and asks good questions, and when warranted, tough questions. She should give lessons on moderating panels, or at least, write an article about how to do it. Share, Edie! Both these guys were smart and funny, a joy to listen to, not to mention easy on the eyes, too. Jeff Shaara talked a bit about his dad (Michael Shaara) but never mentioned the newest writing member of the family, his sister Lila. Hampton Sides was very entertaining and told a great story about a lecture he gave in Texas on what he calls "faction", that cross over between fiction and facts. And he was kind enough to point out that despite popular opinion, Texans do read. He also talked about how he does at least two years of research to every year of writing; Shaara is more of a one to one ratio.

The last panel I attended is one that Barnes & Noble does every year, their Discover Great New Writers program. Jill Lamar, the Director of Discover Great New Writers at Barnes & Noble bookstores, moderates and selects the authors for this event and every year it has been a treat. This year was no exception. Probably the most well known author on the panel was Kim Edwards of The Memory Keepers Daughter fame, but since I wasn't as huge a fan of that book as a lot of other people, I was more interested in some of the other writers like Nathaniel C. Fick, author of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, who was one of a possible dozen Ivy League college graduates that actually served on the front lines in Iraq. I asked him how he ended up there and he said when he joined the Marines it was pre-9/11 so it was a bit of a surprise to him as well. He was deeply affected by the war, especially when the officer who replaced him (that he "tapped", or selected) was killed shortly thereafter.

Another author I was delighted to see was Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood, which was, with regrets to John Grogran, basically the pig version of Marley & Me. The book was funny and poignant and all that good stuff, and listening to Montgomery was a hoot.

I had never heard of Uzodinma Iweala, the author of Beasts of No Nation, but I was very glad to hear what he had to say. He is a very young man, he wrote this novel about child soldiers in Africa while a student at Harvard. Iweala will be starting medical school at Columbia University this fall, but he has a two book deal with Harper Collins. He said that it may be difficult to write another book while a med student, but he seemed fairly confident that he would get it done. Lest you think this is a fictionalized yet autobiographical account, a la A Long Way Gone, the memoir of Ishmael Beah who was a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, be advised that it is not. Unlike Beah, Iweala grew up in an affluent Washington D.C. suburb, a child of two professionals with roots in Nigeria where Iweala often visited. He is an obviously brilliant young man with a very bright future, who has won accolades for this first novel, and I'm looking forward to reading his Beasts of No Nation.

Was it worth the two hours of driving for three hours of author events? Yep. These were great panels, although if I can add one more criticism (and I can!) there were too many authors on the crime fiction panel. Each author had such a short time to talk, and some were hardly heard from at all, despite the terrific moderating by Scott Eyeman. I would have liked to have seen it broken up into two panels so they could have been a little more personal, a little more in depth, but that is just my opinion. Same with the new writers' panel, although that is always six and since so many of them are unknown, it really is a great opportunity for readers to learn about new authors, and Jill does such a great job that it works despite the numbers. But in general, I really don't think a panel should exceed four or five authors as a rule, it just gets too unwieldly after that.

I'm just so damn opinionated. But isn't that why you're here?

Mystery Writers of America Launches Edgar® Awards Website
Site is the Exclusive Destination for All Things “Edgar”
New York, NY—February 15, 2007—

Mystery Writers of America (MWA), the premier organization for mystery writers and professionals allied to the crime writing field, today announced the launch of www.theedgars.com, the exclusive online destination for information about the Edgar Awards.

“This is the first time in the history of the Edgar Awards that individuals can go to one destination to find all of the information they would ever want about the awards and the various Edgar Week activities,” stated Daniel J. Hale, Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. “The creation of www.theedgars.com is just one of the many steps that MWA is taking not only to make the Edgar Awards more accessible to the public, but also to raise the profile of the awards as a whole,” Hale added.

The Edgar Awards, or "Edgars," as they are commonly known, are named after Mystery Writers of America's patron saint Edgar Allan Poe and are awarded to authors of distinguished work in various categories. The 2007 Edgar Awards Banquet will be held on April 26, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. At the 2007 Banquet, Stephen King will receive the Grand Master Award, the highest honor bestowed by MWA. Additionally, the event will be hosted by Al Roker of NBC’s Today Show

Included on the website is in-depth information about each of the 2007 Edgar Award nominees and their nominated works. Visitors to the site can also learn about and buy tickets for the Edgar Awards Banquet, where the winners will be announced in each of 12 categories. Additionally, www.theedgars.com includes a detailed overview of the Edgar Symposium, an entire day of top-notch panels featuring some of the most respected names in the mystery/crime fiction genre.

“One of the most important functions of the website is to inform visitors about the 2007 Edgar Symposium. The Symposium presents a rare yet invaluable opportunity for both published and non-published crime writers to come together and exchange information about strategies for all facets of writing and publishing,” said author PJ Parrish, who is producing and chairing the event. She continued, “Among others, this year’s Symposium features best-selling authors Nelson DeMille, Janet Evanovich, Harlan Coben, and our 2007 Grand Master Award recipient, Stephen King. We hope that the new website will be a vehicle by which we can attract both professional and novice writers to this year’s amazing Symposium workshops.”

About Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. MWA is dedicated to promoting higher regard for crime writing and recognition and respect for those who write within the genre. We provide scholarships for writers, sponsor MWA:Reads (our youth literacy program), organize symposia and conferences, present the Edgar Awards, and conduct other activities to further a better appreciation and higher regard for crime writing. With 11 chapters covering the 50 states, membership is open to the public, and you need not reside in the U.S. to join. MWA is a nonprofit organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. www.mysterywriters.org

AUDIES AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Audio Publishers Association has announced the finalists for its annual Audies Awards gala. The June 1 event, which considers audio titles released between November 1, 2005, and October 31, 2006, will be hosted by actor and audiobook narrator Jim Dale.

Fiction, Unabridged
Restless by William Boyd, narrated by Rosemund Pike, Audio Renaissance
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen, narrated by Carol Monda, Recorded Books, LLC
Telegraph Days by Larry McMurtry, narrated by Annie Potts, Simon & Schuster Audio
The Prestige by Christopher Priest, narrated by Simon Vance, Blackstone Audio Inc.
The Two-Minute Rule by Robert Crais, narrated by Christopher Graybill, Brilliance Audio
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, narrated by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones, HighBridge Audio

Biography/Memoir
Diana by Sarah Bradford, narrated by Katie Kelgren, Penguin Audio
Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper, narrated by Anderson Cooper, HarperAudio
Elizabeth by J. Randy Taraborrelli, narrated by Lynne Maclean, Hachette Audio
Sound and Fury by Dave Kindred, narrated by Dick Hill, Blackstone Audio Inc.
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt, narrated by Frank McCourt, Simon & Schuster Audio
The Great Escape by Kati Marton, narrated by Anna Fields, Tantor Media Inc.

Children's Titles for Ages 8-11
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End by Lemony Snicket, narrated by Tim Curry, HarperChildren's Audio
Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams, narrated by Colleen Delany, HarperChildren's Audio
Jumping the Scratch by Sara Weeks, narrated by Stephen Spinella, HarperChildren's Audio
Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan, narrated by Bianca Amato, Recorded Books LLC
Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman, narrated by Morris Gleitzman, Bolinda Publishing Inc.

Judges' Award: Politics
Faith and Politics by former senator John Danforth, narrated by former senator John Danforth, Listen & Live Audio Inc.
Hubris by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Blackstone Audio Inc.
In Time of War by Pierce O'Donnell, narrated by Raymond Todd, Blackstone Audio Inc.
The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind, narrated by Ed Herrmann, Simon & Schuster Audio
Wake Up Call by Kristin Breitweiser, narrated by Kristin Breitweiser, Hachette Audio

AUDIES AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Audio Publishers Association has announced the finalists for its annual Audies Awards gala. The June 1 event, which considers audio titles released between November 1, 2005, and October 31, 2006, will be hosted by actor and audiobook narrator Jim Dale.

Fiction, Unabridged
Restless by William Boyd, narrated by Rosemund Pike, Audio Renaissance
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen, narrated by Carol Monda, Recorded Books, LLC
Telegraph Days by Larry McMurtry, narrated by Annie Potts, Simon & Schuster Audio
The Prestige by Christopher Priest, narrated by Simon Vance, Blackstone Audio Inc.
The Two-Minute Rule by Robert Crais, narrated by Christopher Graybill, Brilliance Audio
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, narrated by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones, HighBridge Audio

Biography/Memoir
Diana by Sarah Bradford, narrated by Katie Kelgren, Penguin Audio
Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper, narrated by Anderson Cooper, HarperAudio
Elizabeth by J. Randy Taraborrelli, narrated by Lynne Maclean, Hachette Audio
Sound and Fury by Dave Kindred, narrated by Dick Hill, Blackstone Audio Inc.
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt, narrated by Frank McCourt, Simon & Schuster Audio
The Great Escape by Kati Marton, narrated by Anna Fields, Tantor Media Inc.

Children's Titles for Ages 8-11
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End by Lemony Snicket, narrated by Tim Curry, HarperChildren's Audio
Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams, narrated by Colleen Delany, HarperChildren's Audio
Jumping the Scratch by Sara Weeks, narrated by Stephen Spinella, HarperChildren's Audio
Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan, narrated by Bianca Amato, Recorded Books LLC
Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman, narrated by Morris Gleitzman, Bolinda Publishing Inc.

Judges' Award: Politics
Faith and Politics by former senator John Danforth, narrated by former senator John Danforth, Listen & Live Audio Inc.
Hubris by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Blackstone Audio Inc.
In Time of War by Pierce O'Donnell, narrated by Raymond Todd, Blackstone Audio Inc.
The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind, narrated by Ed Herrmann, Simon & Schuster Audio
Wake Up Call by Kristin Breitweiser, narrated by Kristin Breitweiser, Hachette Audio

Awards: Borders Original Voices

The awards honor "emerging and innovative" authors and musicians. Winners receive $5,000. Borders store employees and corporate office employees made nominations; winners were selected by a panel at the corporate office. The following were the four book winners of the 2006 Borders Original Voices Awards, with comments from the selection committee:

Fiction: The Brief History of the Dead (Knopf). "A powerful first novel. The language was poetic and the intertwining stories were the most lyrical accounts of death ever read."

Nonfiction: The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin). An "extraordinary story of the 1935 Dust Bowl."

Children's picture book: Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser (HarperCollins). "A cute, playful story with a lot of colorful vocabulary making it fun to read aloud. It's the perfect book for parents and grandparents to read to the aspiring princess in their lives."

Young adult: Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock (Houghton Mifflin). A novel about "a young girl learning to be comfortable with herself while juggling caring for her uncommunicative family, boys and sports."

Barbara Seranella

I'm sad to say that Barbara Seranella passed away on January 21 after a long hard fight. Many members of the mystery community feel the loss and have posted their thoughts on various mystery related listservs. They have been collected in a lovely memorial posted here:
http://moldy-cockroach.sakienvirotech.com/Barbara%20remembered.htm

Another reason I love Boston...
Tobin wants a city poet, if council's not averse
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff January 24, 2007

O Mayor, my Mayor!
Or: To get betimes to Boston town, I avoid the I-90 connector.

Saying it is time to update the extensive but somewhat musty canon of poetry about Boston, a city councilor is proposing that a poet laureate be appointed to record in verse the ins and outs of local life.

In addition to composing works about Boston, according to a proposal by Councilor John Tobin, the city's poet laureate would be charged with educating the public about the ancient art form. He or she would also compose poems for functions such as the State of the City address, swearing in municipal officials, and high school graduations.

"It would bring another special quality to major city events and chronicle the everyday happenings of the city, from a poetry point of view," Tobin said.

According to his measure -- which he has asked a local poet to put into verse for presentation to the City Council next week -- Boston's poets laureate would be selected by a committee of city officials and representatives from arts communities. They would serve terms of one or two years. Tobin said he is unsure yet whether there would be a stipend.

Despite a rich tradition of poetry in New England, neither Boston nor Massachusetts has had a poet laureate. But in recent years, cities across the country increasingly have been designating official bards, possibly a reaction to war and a widespread sense that these are momentous times.

"People are searching for something that has some more meaning to it," said Doris Stengel, president of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.

Thirty-nine states have poets laureate , and in the last year St. Paul, Vancouver, and Santa Fe have all established poet laureate positions. Legislation pending in the Massachusetts House by Representative Paul K. Frost, an Auburn Republican, would create a state post.

The quality and prestige of the positions seem to vary across the country, as does the pay. The poet laureate in Denver gets a $2,000 stipend, while the position in Queens, N.Y., is purely honorary.

There has been controversy. A New Jersey poet laureate, Amiri Baraka, was asked to resign after he wrote a work titled "Somebody Blew Up America" that some considered anti-Semitic. When he refused to resign, the Legislature eliminated the position.

Tobin said he wants Boston's poets to have the authority to write about whatever they want, even if that involves negative imagery or emotions, for instance, violence in Roxbury or resentment in Allston over Harvard's expansion plans.

"They would capture moments in time," Tobin said. "It's kind of a chronicler of events that happen in the city."

Boston has a long history of poets who have used the city as their muse . Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a poem about the USS Constitution in 1830 that was credited with saving the ship. Walt Whitman wrote "A Boston Ballad," and T.S. Eliot wrote "The Boston Evening Transcript." Robert Lowell's mournful lament "For the Union Dead" features images of digging an underground parking garage at the Common and industrial decay in South Boston.

John B. Hynes, Boston's mayor in the 1950s, wrote a 13-stanza poem titled, "Boston." ("Don't you love this city with its wrinkled brow/ And its streets laid out by the wandering cow?")

Local poets are excited about the idea of creating a poet laureate job, but say the position should be structured to allow the poets to write about what inspires them, not just ceremonial events.
"Very often when a poet writes something on deadline, it doesn't really work out," said Benjamin Paloff, poetry coeditor at Boston Review, a literary magazine.

One challenge, some say, would be in filling the new position . The area is full of poets, but Cambridge is considered the hotbed.

"If you just want to do people who reside in Boston, it may be harder than you think" to find one suitable for the job, said Jeff Robinson, founder of the Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam and host of the biweekly radio show "Poetry Jam" on WMBR-FM (88.1).

Some area residents aren't so sure about the whole idea.

"I don't even know what that is," said Dave Hutchinson, a downtown worker ordering coffee at Starbucks.

"It's nice and makes everybody feel good, but there are telling things that need to be addressed before something fluffy like this," said his friend Kevin Cronan.

"I'm sure there will be opposition to this," Tobin said. "And knowing how smart Boston is, it will probably be in poetry."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.



Tobin wants a city poet, if council's not averse - The Boston Globe

Raves For Sale
How to buy a favorable book review
By Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Friday, Jan. 19, 2007, at 3:43 PM ET
Slate.com

Vanity presses for amateur writers who want to see their manuscripts in print were once limited to a small group of publishers. The service, now called "books-on-demand" or "print-on-demand," has proliferated in the digital era. Amazon.com's recently acquired print-on-demand division, BookSurge.com, offers several tiers of publishing programs with menus of services starting at $99.

The most interesting add-on BookSurge offers is, for $399, a personally crafted review written by "New York Times bestselling author, Ellen Tanner Marsh." (Ellen Tanner Marsh's bodice-rippers Reap the Savage Wind and Wrap Me in Splendor graced the New York Times trade- paperback bestseller list in 1982 and 1983.) Not surprisingly, many BookSurge titles boast enthusiastic reviews by Marsh. "For anyone seeking a health program that really works ... a motivating and significant book," Marsh gushed about The Beer Drinkers [sic] "Diet". "We are drawn into this seaboard existence, seeing the stars pronging the sails at night, the flying fish that land on deck, and even the birds that fly, unaware, into the mast," Marsh cooed over The Last Voyage of the Cosmic Muffin. Some of these paid-for raves turn up on Amazon. "This well-organized, fun and fact-crammed guide will make any parent a hero … exploring and enjoying all that Long Island has to offer," Marsh enthused about Be the Coolest Parent on Your Block: Your Guide to Long Island and the Internet For Families

To read the rest of the article, see a sample review and an email about how authors may "help" with the wording of their review, go here:
Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2157866/

Astonish Me
By JOE QUEENAN

No one was more excited than I was when Maureen Corrigan of National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air” described Alice McDermott’s new novel as “astonishing.” Several years ago, overwhelmed by the flood of material unleashed annually by the publishing industry, I decided to establish a screening program by purchasing only books that at least one reviewer had described as “astonishing.”

Previously, I had limited my purchases to merchandise deemed “luminous” or “incandescent,” but this meant I ended up with an awful lot of novels about bees, Provence or Vermeer. The problem with incandescent or luminous books is that they veer toward the introspective, the arcane or the wise, while I prefer books that go off like a Roman candle. When I buy a book, I don’t want to come away wiser or happier or even better informed. I want to get blown right out of the water by the author’s breathtaking pyrotechnics. I want to come away astonished.
Thus, I was overjoyed to get the great news about McDermott’s “After This,” because while I’d heard wonderful things about her previous books, I could not recall anyone anointing them “astonishing,” which meant that I never bought any. Having recently picked up Alice Munro’s new story collection, “The View From Castle Rock,” which The Seattle Times described as “astonishing,” and the Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee’s “Slow Man,” deemed “an intense, astonishing work of art” by no less an arbiter of taste than O, The Oprah Magazine, I was rounding out the year in solid fashion with a troika of masterpieces that promised to be nothing short of astonishing.

These are good times for the astonishable reading public. Among the masterpieces by Orhan Pamuk, who won last year’s Nobel Prize for literature, was “The New Life,” described by The Times Literary Supplement as “an astonishing achievement.” Pamuk’s Nobel coincided with the premiere of a Court TV series based on James Ellroy’s “My Dark Places,” a book that had been quite accurately described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as “astonishing ... original, daring, brilliant.” Not long before, Ayelet Waldman came out with “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits,” which, while apparently not astonishing in and of itself, did include a character that the novelist Andrew Sean Greer described as “astonishing.” Then, Abigail Thomas published “A Three Dog Life,” singled out by Entertainment Weekly as “astonishing,” and an “extraordinary” love story — “Grade: A.” Personally, I find the Grade A business redundant; if a book is astonishing, you’re obviously not going to give it a B.

The Book Review itself has not been hesitant to use the word “astonishing,” which appeared recently in reviews of books by Thomas McGuane and George Pelecanos. Some people may protest that it’s ridiculous to make book-buying decisions purely on the basis of a single adjective. I could not agree more. But let me stress that while I buy only books that have been designated “astonishing,” I do not buy every single “astonishing” book.” For instance, Kurt Eichenwald’s “Serpent on the Rock” may very well be the “astonishing inside story of a blue-chip Wall Street firm whose massive securities fraud decimated the savings of a half a million people,” but that wording was supplied by the author’s publisher, not by some amazingly sophisticated person at O or Entertainment Weekly. So it could be a case of an entry-level cheerleader in the publicity department choosing the word “astonishing” when “hair-raising” or “jaw-dropping” might have been more appropriate.

For similar reasons, I shied away from M. T. Anderson’s “Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation,” even though it won last year’s National Book Award for young people’s literature. Just because the author himself uses the term “astonishing” to describe his subject doesn’t automatically make the book astonishing; it could be merely stellar, sensational, breathtaking or un-put-downable. For somewhat different reasons, I avoided Kate Atkinson’s “One Good Turn,” because even though it was described as an “astonishing thriller” in an ad in The New Yorker, this assessment came from one Linda Grana of the Lafayette Bookstore in Lafayette, Calif. Linda Grana may be a critic of the first water, on the same level as Samuel Johnson and Dale Peck, but if the word “astonishing” does not appear as part of a review by a designated cognoscente in a mainstream publication, I do not buy the putatively astonishing product. I can’t be buying books just because somebody in a bookstore somewhere said they were astonishing. I’d go broke.

One personal idiosyncrasy is that while I adore books that are astonishing, I do not feel the same way about other genres. Films as varied as “The Queen,” “The Last King of Scotland,” “The New World,” “Catch a Fire” and “World Trade Center” have all been labeled “astonishing,” but for me the word does not resonate in a celluloid context. And while it may be true that “Half-Nelson,” “Gabrielle” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” are all astonishing motion pictures, I have not seen any of them, as I personally do not enjoy “astonishing” motion pictures.

I prefer movies that are haunting, visually sweeping, mesmerizing or thought-provoking, and am highly partial to films that take no prisoners, challenge me in a way a good piece of speculative fiction should, or make me want to stand up and cheer. “The Squid and the Whale” did not make me want to stand up and cheer, even if Laura Linney is a national treasure; it was the kind of film that did in fact take prisoners. I feel the same way about music; I don’t care how astonishing Maurizio Pollini’s technique is, particularly when he’s playing Lizst’s Sonata in B minor; pianists with astonishing technique are a dime a dozen. Anyway, I prefer pianists who play with icy, laconic detachment.

Are there ever times when I worry that my obsession with the word “astonishing” prevents me from buying a great book? Sure. But, the truth is, if nobody describes a book as astonishing, it probably isn’t astonishing, and if it isn’t astonishing, who needs it? Marilynne Robinson’s long-awaited “Gilead” has been described as “poignant,” “absorbing,” “lyrical,” “meditative” and “perfect.” It’s also been called “magnificent,” a “literary miracle,” “Grade A” and, yes, “incandescent” by Entertainment Weekly. But nowhere have I seen anyone officially call it “astonishing.” I’ve already explained how I feel about incandescent books; if I had a nickel for every incandescent novel I’ve ever read, I could retire tomorrow. But I don’t, so I can’t. First book that doesn’t leave me astonished, your mistake; second book that doesn’t leave me astonished, my mistake. Sorry, Ms. Robinson, close but no cigar.

Joe Queenan’s most recent book is “Queenan Country: A Reluctant Anglophile’s Pilgrimage to the Mother Country.”

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

2007 Edgar Allan Poe Awards Nominations Announced by Mystery Writers of America

New York, NY--January 19, 2007
--Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce on the 198th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2006.

The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our 61st Gala Banquet, April 26, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL
The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard (HarperCollins)
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Dead Hour by Denise Mina (Hachette Book Group - Little, Brown and Company)
The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard (Random House – Ballantine Books)
The Liberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson (Random House)
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (Crown - Shaye Areheart Books)
King of Lies by John Hart (St. Martin's Minotaur – Thomas Dunne Books)
Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith (St. Martin's Minotaur)
A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read (Warner Books – Mysterious Press)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Goodbye Kiss by Massimo Carlotto (Europa Editions)
The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson (Coffee House Press)
Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara (Bantam Dell Publishing – Delta Books)
The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine (Bantam Dell Publishing – Bantam Books)
City of Tiny Lights by Patrick Neate (Penguin Group – Riverhead Books)

BEST FACT CRIME
Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger (W.W. Norton and Co.)
Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine by Capt. Joseph K. Loughlin & Kate Clark Flora (University Press of New England)
Ripperology: A Study of the World's First Serial Killer by Robin Odell (The Kent State University Press)
The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe and the Invention of Murder by Daniel Stashower (Dutton)
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Unless the Threat of Death is Behind Them: Hard-Boiled Fiction and Film Noir by John T. Irwin (Johns Hopkins University Press)
The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear by E.J. Wagner (John Wiley & Sons)

BEST SHORT STORY
"The Home Front" – Death Do Us Part by Charles Ardai (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
"Rain" – Manhattan Noir by Thomas H. Cook (Akashic Books)
"Cranked" – Damn Near Dead by Bill Crider (Busted Flush Press)
"White Trash Noir" – Murder at the Foul Line by Michael Malone (Hachette Book Group – Mysterious Press)
"Building" – Manhattan Noir by S.J. Rozan (Akashic Books)

BEST JUVENILE
Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison (Penguin Young Readers – Sleuth/Dutton)
The Stolen Sapphire: A Samantha Mystery by Sarah Masters Buckey (American Girl Publishing)
Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
The Bloodwater Mysteries: Snatched by Pete Hautman & Mary Logue (Penguin Young Readers – Sleuth/Putnam)
The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer (Penguin Young Readers – Philomel/Sleuth)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks (Scholastic – The Chicken House)
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson (Penguin YR – Sleuth/Viking)
Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks (Simon & Schuster – Richard Jackson Books/Atheneum)
Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready (Penguin YR – Dutton Children's Books)
The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci (Harcourt Children's Books)

BEST PLAY
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz (Arizona Theatre Company)
Curtains by Rupert Holmes (Ahmanson Theatre)
Ghosts of Ocean House by Michael Kimball (The Players' Ring)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
The Closer – "Blue Blood", Teleplay by James Duff & Mike Berchem (Turner Network Television)
Dexter – "Crocodile", Teleplay by Clyde Phillips (Showtime)
House – "Clueless", Teleplay by Thomas L. Moran (Fox/NBC Universal)
Life on Mars – Episode 1, Teleplay by Matthew Graham (BBC America)
Monk – "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink", Teleplay by Hy Conrad (USA Network/NBC Universal)

BEST TELEVISION FEATURE/MINI-SERIES TELEPLAY
Conviction, Teleplay by Bill Gallagher (BBC America)
Cracker: A New Terror, Teleplay by Jimmy McGovern (BBC America)
Messiah: The Harrowing, Teleplay by Terry Cafolla (BBC America)
Secret Smile, Teleplay by Kate Brooke, based on the book by Nicci French (BBC America)
The Wire, Season 4, Teleplays by Ed Burns, Kia Corthron, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon & William F. Zorzi (Home Box Office)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY
Casino Royale, Screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Paul Haggis, based on novel by Ian Fleming (MGM)
Children of Men, Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, based on a novel by P.D. James (Universal Pictures)
The Departed, Screenplay by William Monahan (Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Good Shepherd, Teleplay by Eric Roth, based on a novel by Joseph Kanon (Universal Pictures)
Notes on a Scandal, Screenplay by Patrick Marber (Scott Rudin Productions)R

OBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
William Dylan Powell"Evening Gold" – EQMM November 2006 (Dell Magazines)

GRAND MASTER
Stephen King

RAVEN AWARDS
Books & Books (Mitchell Kaplan, owner)
Mystery Loves Company Bookstore (Kathy & Tom Harig, owners)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Bloodline by Fiona Mountain (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Third Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival
January 24-27, 2007

Schedule of Public Events

Wednesday, January 24
8:00-10:00 p.m. Quincy Troupe & Dorianne Laux Reading*

Thursday, January 25
10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon Craft Talks*: "The Marriage of Music and Meaning" by Dorianne Laux "Love's Artifice and Fernando Pessoa" by Stephen Dunn

8:00-10:00 p.m. Thomas Lux & Heather McHugh Reading*

Friday, January 26
3:00-5:00 p.m. Florida Poets Reading: Barbara Hamby & David Kirby*

8:00-10:00 p.m. Alan Shapiro & Mark Doty Reading*

Saturday, January 27
10:00-10:30 a.m. Palm Beach County High Schools Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony (Public free event)

10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon Reading by Workshop-Participant Poets (Public free event)

3:00-5:00 p.m. Favorite Poems by Others Read and Discussed by Mark Doty, Thomas Lux, Heather McHugh, Alan Shapiro, Quincy Troupe, & Ellen Bryant Voigt*

7:30-9:30 p.m. Ellen Bryant Voigt & Stephen Dunn Reading*

9:30-11:30 p.m. Coffee House where jazz, art and language meet: Featured readers: Jeffrey McDaniel & Patricia Smith**

Tickets now on sale at the Crest Theatre Box Office
51 North Swinton Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33444
Call 561 243-7922 ext. 1

*Denotes Crest Theatre ticketed event open to public; ** Denotes Vintage Gymnasium event, admission payable at door. Book signings follow every reading.

Eight authors hit the Richard and Judy jackpot
By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent, Telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 3:03am GMT 05/01/2007

Eight authors were handed virtual blank cheques yesterday when they were chosen as the finalists for this year's Richard & Judy's Book Club Best Read Award, the biggest marketing phenomenon in British book sales.

The eight include the comedian Griff Rhys Jones, a Yale law professor who has previously written only academic books, an American socialite and the British novelist William Boyd.
They are guaranteed huge sales that will push their novels close to the top of the best-selling charts this year.

The Richard & Judy award, which gives plugs for each of the finalists' books on prime-time Channel 4 television, has overtaken better-known — and more highbrow — prizes such as the Man Booker and the Costa (formerly Whitbread) awards in influencing reading habits.

In last week's best-seller list, 21 of the top 100 titles were by authors chosen in the past year on Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan's show. The 21 titles represented sales of 6.5 million books, or 26 per cent of sales of the top 100 list.

As testament to the influence of the TV couple, Kate Mosse's novel, Labyrinth, picked as best read last year, and Victoria Hislop's debut novel, The Island, winner of Richard & Judy's companion Summer Read competition in 2006, were number one and number two respectively on the list with sales of 851,389 and 625,449.

By contrast, Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss, winner of the 2006 Man Booker, did not even make it to the top 100.

The Best Read gives astonishing power to the selectors. Remarkably, it is concentrated in the hands of one woman, Amanda Ross, 44, sister-in-law of the BBC interviewer Jonathan Ross. Mrs Ross — she is married to Simon Ross, Jonathan's brother — runs Cactus TV with her husband, which makes Richard & Judy for Channel 4. Unlike a traditional literary prize, there are no external judges. Not even Madeley and Finnigan are involved in the books' selection.

Publishers are allowed to enter six titles each, so a total of 750 were entered this year.

Mrs Ross and some of her TV researchers whittle the numbers down by reading publishers' synopses or "a couple of chapters" before picking a shortlist of 50 titles. Only then Mrs Ross reads the remaining contenders in full.

"You can tell a lot about a book by picking it up and having a feel of it, then reading a little bit of it," she said yesterday. "If you think it's worth pursuing, you read a bit more. That way getting rid of the first 200 is easy."

Her principal criteria is that a book must be "a cracking good read".

In a dig at prizes such as the Man Booker, she said: "I don't know what a literary book is. As long as it's got a good story, who cares?"

Though the programme favours more commercial fiction, it does not discriminate against "literary fiction". Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell, won the Richard & Judy best read prize in 2004. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker and to the surprise of many did not win.

Finnigan said yesterday her prize was for the ordinary reader. She said: "Most literary programmes, which are on late at night and concerned with 'Literature', intimidate lots of people. For some, that a book has been Booker-nominated is actually a turn-off."

The eight books are:

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
The Girls by Lori Lansens
Restless by William Boyd
Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Semi-Detached by Griff Rhys Jones
This Book Will Save Your Life by AM Homes
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson

Note: Not all of these titles are available in the US yet.

Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, Florida

Bestsellers: Year 2006

Hardcover:
1. Dark Light by Randy Wayne White
2. Echo Park by Michael Connelly
3. Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets
4. Death Dance by Linda Fairstein
5. Eye of Vengeance by Jonathon King
6. Two Minute Rule by Robert Crais
7. Escape Clause by James Born
8. Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen
9. Big Bamboo by Tim Dorsey
10. Murder by Deadline by Mel Taylor
11. Under Orders by Dick Francis
12. Short Straw by Stuart Woods
13. South Beach Shakedown by Don Bruns
14. Sunstroke by Jesse Kellerman
15. No Good Deeds by Laura Lippman
16. Hostage by W.E.B. Griffin
17. Ethical Assassin by David Liss
18. Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter by Blaize Clement
19. Human Predator by Katherine Ramsland
20. Whale Season by N.M. Kelby

Paperback:

1. An Unquiet Grave by P.J. Parrish
2. Suspicion of Rage by Barbara Parker
3. Dirty Harriet by Miriam Auerbach
4. High Heels are Murder by Elaine Viets
5. Dead Roots by Nancy Cohen
6. Miami Noir by Les Standiford
7. Pelican Park 2 by Frank Cerabino
8. Shock Wave by James Born
9. Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine
10. Entombed by Linda Fairstein
11. Kill All the Lawyers by Paul Levine
12. Deadmans Poker by James Swain
13. Last Witness by Jilliane Hoffman
14. Delilah Complex by M.J. Rose
15. Getting Old is the Best Revenge by Rita Lakin
16. Deadmans Bluff by James Swain
17. Gulf Coast Cookbook by Randy Wayne White
18. To the Power of Three by Laura Lippman
19. The Closers by Michael Connelly
20. Geographers Library by Jon Fasman