Michael Connelly at Murder on the Beach


Sunday night I had the pleasure of attending a talk and book signing given by Michael Connelly at Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore in Delray Beach, Florida. Connelly is usually not all that comfortable with public speaking, but this is a small bookstore, and it was his second event of the day so perhaps that contributed to a greater comfort level than I've seen before. He spoke a bit about how he constructs his novels, in particular his latest, ECHO PARK. Then he took questions from the standing-room-only crowd - and there were lots of questions.

The Lincoln Lawyer is one of my favorite Connelly books, so I was happy to hear that another story featuring Mickey Haller will be forthcoming. However, when I asked if the two series - Harry Bosch & Mickey Haller - would at some point be merged into one, Connelly was quick to point out that Haller is not a series, and Bosch is the only series he writes. He did concede that since they are half brothers, at some point there will undoubtedly be a book where they come together.

Connelly also explained that Harry is getting near retirement age. He was born in 1950 (no birthdate ever given besides the year) and cops in L.A. don't generally work past age 60 because it's a money-losing proposition for them at that point. He also gave the impression that it is extremely unlikely that Harry would ever be killed off - and a collective sigh of relief was heard.

Raymond Chandler was cited as one of Connelly's biggest influences, along with Joseph Wambaugh and Ross MacDonald - and it shows in his writing, in my opinion. But that led me to ask another question, about the Janet Maslin review in the NY Times (Oct. 16, 2006) in which she stated, "And Mr. Connelly now does some of his writing in Mr. Chandler’s old apartment, a place he uses for inspiration. No living crime writer has a better right to be there."

Connelly was quick to point out that it was a mistake - yes, in the NY Times. He does rent an apartment in Los Angeles but it isn't Chandler's apartment. However, there is a connection - the apartment is at the address of Chandler's famous fictional character, Phillip Marlowe. Connelly said he didn't think that Chandler had ever stepped foot in it.


pictured, left to right: Tom Corcoran, Jonathon King, the BookBitch, Michael Connelly, James O. Born



The audience was appreciative and there was a long line of people waiting to get their books signed. A lot were serious fans and some were wanna-be crime fiction writers. I also ran into Oline Cogdill, mystery reviewer for the Sun-Sentinel, and some local authors, including James O. Born, Tom Corcoran, and Jonathan King. King told me that the Miami Book Fair was gearing up for Mystery Sunday on November 19, and I'm really looking forward to that!

THE KING IS COMING TO LONDON
(or going, depending on where you are)

Stephen King will soon make his first UK appearance in 10 years to coincide with publication of LISEY'S STORY. This exclusive event, presented by The Times, Hodder & Stoughton and Waterstone's, will take place at Battersea park Events Arena on November 7th at 7.00pm. Tickets cost £15.00 each. Book yours now on: 08708 303 488

I wish I could go, but since I can't, I'd love to hear all about it!

A Crowded Autumn Book Season Presents a Pileup of Name Authors
By JULIE BOSMAN
NY TIMES

Fall has always been the busy season in publishing, with its inevitable crush of titles scrambling for attention and a toehold in bookstores, but at no time in recent memory has there been such a traffic jam of big-name authors unleashing top-drawer books.

Already, the October best-seller lists read like a who’s who: Mitch Albom, Bob Woodward, Frank Rich, John Grisham, Michael Connelly, John le Carré, Cormac McCarthy, Charles Frazier and Janet Evanovich.

In coming weeks, they are likely to be joined by literary rock stars like Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Richard Ford, Thomas Harris and Thomas Pynchon.

To the great delight of retailers, autumn is packed with big-budget, name-brand writers, and winners have already begun to emerge, though there have been some crackups as well, and the climate has made it a particularly difficult season for lesser-known writers. The nonfiction star of the season, Mr. Woodward’s “State of Denial,” has moved 309,000 copies since it went on sale Sept. 30, according to Nielsen BookScan, and stores are having trouble keeping the book in stock. “Right now, it’s like printing money,” said Gerry Donaghy, a purchasing supervisor at Powell Books, an independent bookstore in Portland, Ore.

Last week, Mr. Grisham came out with “The Innocent Man,” his first work of nonfiction, a book that has inspired so much confidence in his publisher, Doubleday, that it has already printed 2.8 million copies.

The latest Bill O’Reilly book, “Culture Warrior,” made its debut at No. 1 on the best-seller list of The New York Times and has sold roughly 121,000 copies since it was published Sept. 15.

Among the casualties of the season have been “The Interpretation of Murder,” by Jed Rubenfeld, a literary murder mystery starring a fictionalized Sigmund Freud that has fallen well short of its publisher’s expectations. Also falling short has been “The Meaning of Night: A Confession,” by Michael Cox, published by W. W. Norton on Sept. 18. “A Spot of Bother,” by Mark Haddon, appeared briefly on the Times’s expanded best-seller list but then dropped off completely, a disappointment for an author whose last book, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” spent 58 weeks on the paperback list.

Publishers and retailers are hoping for an industrywide lift during this high season, when holiday gift giving pushes up bookstore traffic. It may also be a respite for booksellers, who have been grumbling for several years about sluggish sales and a dearth of dependable blockbuster fiction.

“This is one of the best fall seasons for fiction that we’ve seen in a long, long time,” said Stan Hynds, a book buyer at Northshire Bookstore, an independent bookseller in Manchester Center, Vt. “The category has been hurting for a few years because political books have been so dominant, so it’s nice that it’s going to bounce back this season.”

The lineup of writers this season includes many who have large and loyal fan bases, the kind of customers who will buy anything a favorite author writes. One of those authors, Mr. Albom, has a new book, “For One More Day,” to yank at his readers’ heartstrings; it has sold roughly 319,000 copies, according to BookScan. The much-anticipated “Thirteen Moons,” Mr. Frazier’s follow-up to his hit novel, “Cold Mountain,” has been closely watched since its debut on Oct. 3. So far, 74,000 copies have been sold, according to BookScan, a sizable number for a literary novel, but hardly Albom territory.

Others are expected to sell more modestly but reliably, like Mr. le Carré’s “Mission Song,” which was published by Little, Brown on Sept. 19. “It’s like bread: grocery stores know they’re going to sell it,” said Margaret Maupin, a buyer at the Tattered Cover in Denver. “He is such a comfortable sell because people who love him will come in and ask for him.” So far, the book has sold 41,000 copies.

And the next several weeks will bring potentially best-selling books by Erik Larson, whose previous nonfiction book, “The Devil in the White City,” has held a place on the paperback best-seller list for more than two years; and Mr. Harris, whose “Hannibal Rising,” a prequel to his “Silence of the Lambs” featuring America’s favorite serial-killing cannibal, is to be published on Dec. 5 by Delacorte Press, a Random House imprint.

BookScan measures sales at bookstores, online retailers and some mass merchandisers, which make up roughly 70 to 80 percent of a new hardcover’s sales. (Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, does not provide sales figures to BookScan.)

Publishers attribute the crowded house of fall fiction to a handful of factors, some planned and some coincidental. Since the fall months see higher sales in stores and online, publishers purposely release big books during this season to maximize attention and sales. Some authors who publish books only sporadically, like Mr. Pynchon and Mr. Frazier, happened to have new works this year, squeezing the market even more.

For companies that choose fall publication dates, it means taking a risk that a book that might snatch a best-seller list spot in a quieter month will be muscled off by an even bigger book. “There’s some cannibalization that goes on,” said David Rosenthal, the publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint. “You can only carry so many books at the register.”

By the same token, Mr. Rosenthal added, whatever sales might be lost because of the crowded market are usually made up in the higher sales in bookstores.

Some publishers took pains to avoid being swallowed up by the big names this season, releasing their books during quieter months. “A lot of people we have pushed to January or pulled forward to August because we knew it was going to be a killer fall,” said Neil Nyren, the publisher and editor in chief of G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a Penguin imprint. He moved one such book, “The Afghan,” a novel by Frederick Forsyth, to August. “I just didn’t want to plunk it down in the middle of all that,” he said of October and November. “Putting it in those slots would just be killing it.”

HarperCollins has chosen to wait until Jan. 9 to release “Sacred Games,” a 900-page novel by Vikram Chandra that has been described as the Indian version of “The Godfather.” A book by Norman Mailer, “The Castle in the Forest,” will be published by Random House Jan. 23.

It appears that the crop of books by big-name authors may have squeezed out some mainstays in the fall season. For instance, celebrity memoirs are scarce, and the few examples in that category that are holding spots on best-seller lists could practically be classified as political books, like “In the Line of Fire,” by President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, or “Saving Graces,” by Elizabeth Edwards.

One or two historical biographies usually emerge during the fall season, as “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin did last year and “John Adams” by David McCullough did in 2001. So far this year, none have occupied that space, so some bookstores are depending on the paperback version of “Team of Rivals,” released on Sept. 26.

Still, Mr. Rosenthal said the fierce competition in the fall can be traced to the high level of store traffic that is irresistible to publishers. “It is Darwinian,” Mr. Rosenthal said. “Some books will live, and some books will die.”



Fall Season - Books - Report - New York Times

At Reuters, a New Book and a Lost Job
By NOAM COHEN

On Tuesday, Joe Maguire, one of two editors in charge of markets coverage at Reuters, handed his bosses the galleys of his new book, “Brainless: The Lies and Lunacy of Ann Coulter.” On Wednesday, Mr. Maguire discovered he would have plenty of free time to promote his book, which comes out this week. Neither side in this dispute would say that he was fired.

“There was a difference of opinion about the approval I received to write this book,” Mr. Maguire said. “I thought I had met the conditions, and proceeded accordingly. As a result, I no longer work there.”

Mr. Maguire, who joined Reuters in April, said the book “looks at Ann Coulter’s arguments, and deconstructs them to show how misguided they can be.”

He added: “When the political discourse has dropped to the unfathomable levels it has, someone has to say this is wrong.”

He said he was unable to interview Ms. Coulter for the book, or even get her to return e-mail or phone messages left through her publicist.

Reuters confirmed that Mr. Maguire was granted conditional approval to write his book on Ms. Coulter — a conservative lightning rod, author and TV talking head. When asked what changed once the book was ready, a company statement pointed to Reuters’ principles of “integrity, independence and freedom from bias.” The statement reads: “Our editorial policy and The Reuters Trust Principles are prominently displayed for all to see on www.about.reuters.com. Mr. Maguire’s book will soon be available. Both speak for themselves.”

Mr. Maguire’s publisher, the William Morrow imprint of HarperCollins, said, “It would be very disappointing if Joe Maguire’s dismissal from Reuters had anything to do with him authoring, ‘Brainless,’ ” which it described as a “compelling and witty book.”

A Reuters employee who insisted on anonymity out of concern at angering management said that the 20 or so employees at the markets desk where Mr. Maguire had been one of two editors in charge “took a group coffee break” in solidarity on Thursday.

On Friday, the employee said, there was a meeting with Reuters management informing the workers there that Mr. Maguire would no longer be working there and that they “weren’t allowed to ask why.” Printed copies of the principles of trust were handed out, however. NOAM COHEN, NY Times

Thanks to an anonymous comment on a previous post about BRAINLESS by Joe Maguire, I was easily able to find this article. ~Stacy


At Reuters, a New Book and a Lost Job - New York Times

Web Event with Paulo Coelho

At 3 PM ET on Wednesday, October 11th, Paulo Coelho will be discussing his books and answering readers' questions. To participate in this free event, readers will need to register and login at 3 PM ET on October 11th.

To register for the event, readers should visit:
http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=27697&s=1&k=D0DBA084ADF0D73D3CFA29491E49B1A4&partnerref=BR

Throughout this web event readers can submit questions to Paulo and hear his responses. Participants will need access to a computer, an Internet connection and audio capabilities (built-in or external speakers). The questions will be posed to Paulo by a moderator --- Beliefnet Spirituality Editor Valerie Reiss. While Paulo is talking, participants can view a slide presentation about him and his books and submit questions via the event interface. Upon registration, participants will be sent to a confirmation page, which will have information on system requirements and how to login to the event.

For more details about Paulo Coelho and his work, please visit: http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/1858/Paulo_Coelho/index.aspx and http://www.paulocoelho.com.

Beliefnet's feature on Paulo Coelho can be read at http://www.beliefnet.com/paulocoelho.

Young Adult Book Club Gathers in Unusual Location

A cooperative effort between the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) supports the biweekly meeting of the Freedom Reads Book Club. This reading group is composed of young adult males, ages 16 & 17, housed at Jail North. Their reasons for being in jail are varied but not relevant to participation. The only requirement is an interest in reading.

Until recently, the group met at 8:30 on Wednesday mornings. Most adults would not voluntarily arise and attend a book club meeting at 8:30 a.m. But these young men did and continue to attend on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. In addition to reading, activities are planned that replicate opportunities available at ImaginOn.

Club members created puppets and produced a puppet show using folk tales such as the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Four members registered for the summer reading program at PLCMC. They maintained a log of their reading that was recorded by MCSO librarian, Margo Fesperman, on the PLCMC website. Several won prizes at the 10, 20 and 30-hour levels.

Like most book clubs, this group reads a book and discusses the plot, characters and appeal during the meeting. Kelly Czarnecki, Teen librarian from ImaginOn, clearly understands the nature of teenage behavior. The library standard of "Casual but not Chaotic" provides an atmosphere that encourages self expression and exploration of ideas. "We want the teens to feel comfortable coming to the public library once they reenter the community", Czarnecki concluded.

Although the club was formed in January 2006, it has reached several milestones already. It was selected as a GreatStories CLUB by the American Library Association and received an award of 10 copies each of 3 popular young adult titles.

GreatStories CLUBs are an ALA project aimed at "Connecting Libraries, Underserved Teens and Books." The group was also featured at the Diversity Fair during the ALA convention in New Orleans in June.

Reading is not limited to the book club members. Approximately 75% of all youthful offenders at Jail North request to come to the library and nonfiction books are as popular as fiction. During a recent month, 73 kids checked out 370 books.

Because these young men are such avid readers, the partnership between PLCMC and MCSO is invaluable. However, extra support is always needed. Neither library has endless resources. MCSO Library has a special fund for monetary donations that are tax deductible. Liquid funds help us procure designated titles that are specifically needed for the young adult collection, Fesperman said. Another avenue of support is the Adopt a Book Club program. Eight to ten copies of a book are needed for each session of the club so everyone can read the book simultaneously. Interested persons or groups can purchase copies of an upcoming title and donate them to the book club.



News Releases

Let's Talk About Blogs

You can't talk about books and the Internet without talking about blogs. Or maybe I shouldn't be; according to Websters New Millenium Dictionary, "blog" is a word, but "blogs" is unrecognizable.

Nevertheless, there are more book blogs than you shake a stick at (although why you'd want to shake a stick at a blog is beyond me.) Something for everyone, or so it seems. I got an email last night about a new one - Detectives Beyond Borders: A Forum for International Crime Fiction "Because Murder is More Fun Away From Home" written by a copy editor from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Hey, I wonder if he knows John Grogan, a columnist at the Inquirer who was a former columnist for the south Florida Sun-Sentinel, and is the author of the mega-bestseller Marley & Me, and a really nice guy. If he is, he hasn't said so he's not cashing in on that at any rate. But how can you not be intrigued by a blog with a subtitle like that!

Crime fiction has spawned all manner of blogs. Some of the best are:

Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
Sarah Weinman, crime fiction columnist for The Baltimore Sun, blogs for mystery and suspense lovers.

Crime Fiction Dossier
Commentary on the world of crime fiction, including mystery and thriller novels, authors, reviews and publishing. From David J. Montgomery, a writer and critic specializing in crime fiction - who I believe has a first novel in the works.

Crime Lab Project Forum
A place to talk about the Crime Lab Project, forensic science,
and news from the CLP News/CLP Morgue.
The CLP Forum is moderated by Jan Burke on behalf of the Crime Lab Project , a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the needs of public forensic science agencies.

First Offenders
Four mystery authors share their journey: Karen E Olson, Jeff Shelby, Alison Gaylin, & Lori G. Armstrong.

Girl-Detective: Baby Got Crime...
The Girl Detective is Diana Killian, mystery writer and fan of vintage crime films and books. She'll be cracking wise on movies, books, writing and publishing--and whatever else catches her magnifying glass.

It's a Crime (or a mystery...)
UK based reader of crime fiction brings you the best of crime and mystery fiction.

The Lady Killers
Rhys Bowen, Lyn Hamilton, Meg Chittenden, Mary Anna Evans, Cara Black: Five female writers of mystery fiction share their wit and wisdom, writing tips and travel
experiences.

The Lipstick Chronicles
Where the book tarts - Harly Jane Kozak, Nancy Martin, Susan McBride, Sarah Strohmeyer & Elaine Viets - talk love, laughter, laundry and the mysteries of the writing life.

The Little Blog of Murder
Confessions of six Ohio mystery writers: Don Bruns, Judy Clemens, Casey Daniels, Jeffrey Marks, Sharon Short, Heather Webber, with an occasional guest blogger.

Murderati
7 mystery writers dedicated to Mysteries, Murder and Marketing: Pari Noskin Taichert, Denise Dietz, Naomi Hirahara, Simon Wood, JT Ellison, Elaine Flinn & Jeffrey Cohen.

Paperback Mysteries
Reviews of new paperbacks by Dick Adler, who writes the crime fiction column in the Chicago Tribune on Sunday.

Rap Sheet
Information about new and forthcoming books, special author projects, genre innovations, and distinctive crime-fiction-related Web sites.

And no list of book blogs would be complete without mentioning these gals --

BookSlut
Do you really need an explanation? Suffice it to say: for the literati.

Buzz Girl
A publishing insider gets the skinny on tomorrow's bestsellers.

Finish reading all those then come back for more. I'm just getting warmed up. I haven't even touched on author blogs...

What's Cookin?

I love cookbooks. For years I collected them, but it got completely out of control when I started working for Borders. Take a walk through the remainder tables at your local bookstore - they are any cookbook junkie's demise.

I bought tons to add to my collection but very quickly ran out of places to put them. They were everywhere: the kitchen, on top of and buried in cabinets; in the living room wall unit; in the piano bench; and I'm embarrassed to say, on a shelf in the laundry room. But when I needed one, I would have to turn the house upside down to find it. And no, the rest of my books are no different. I am coming out, here on my blog: I am an unorganized bibliophile, causing me to have duplicates and sometimes triplicates of the same title and still not being able to grab hold of the book I need when the author comes to town or a friend wants to borrow it or when I want to reread it or refer to it. So sad.

But I digress; back to cookbooks. I've tempered my collecting. For a while, I just collected cookbooks that were put out as fundraisers, you know, Junior League, Cerebal Palsy, B'Nai Brith, your local high school drama club. Which reminds me, my daughter's high school drama club is putting out a cookbook - if you're interested, they will be available in November in time for gift giving. I contributed a recipe for Hot Clam Dip because it is one of her favorites. Just drop me an email if you're interested.

Soon that collection also got out of hand so I just stopped. I have become a discriminating cookbook acquirer, only bringing home those cookbooks that I feel merit the precious shelf space they will take up. They must have recipes I will use - not just one or two, which is what I find with most cookbooks, but lots of recipes I like and want to try. That doesn't mean they have to be big cookbooks, but they have to shelf-worthy.

So what makes a cookbook shelf-worthy? Besides lots of usable recipes, I like pictures, lots of pictures. Tempting pictures. Pictures that let me know that what I just made looks the way it's supposed to. I want a good index. Don't send me scrambling from letter to letter to find a recipe with chicken and wine. I like well thought out directions - don't assume I know every culinary term used at the Cordon Bleu, because I don't. Recipes should use ingredients that I can buy without making too many trips to specialty stores.

That's about it. I can handle days of prep work, hours of chopping, kneading, marinating, what have you. I just wait to make those kinds of recipes until I have a day off. But most of the recipes should be doable in an hour or so. I can't come home from work and start three hours of prep time, I just can't.

That said, a couple of new cookbooks have come out this fall that seem like they will be making the grade. I just got the Bon Appetit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild. It's a big honker, over 1200 recipes and almost 800 pages. Bon Appetit is my favorite food magazine and I've collected any number of their recipes over the years. Not always easy, but almost always wonderful and that means a lot, especially when you have to work for it. Is there anything more discouraging than slaving over a hot stove for hours and hours to end up with a mediocre dish?

This new cookbook says right on the cover, "easy-to-make recipes" and I will be checking them out. Give me a few weeks, and I'll fill you in.

The other new cookbook that has me excited is Baking by Dorie Greenspan. I haven't gotten that one yet, but I hope to soon. I did take a peek at it - there is an entire chapter devoted to brownies! And I like her style, the recipes are written in plain English with substitutions mentioned right off the bat. And serving tips are also nice, and there are lots of them in this cookbook.

Then there is the Tasting Club: Gathering Together to Share and Savor Your Favorite Tastes by Dina Cheney which is a different kind of cookbook that sounds very intriguing. It offers ten different tastings (parties) all focusing on a particular food along with wine pairings. I will be checking this out for sure.

Happy eating!

Giller Prize short list announced Tue Oct 3, 1:51 PM ET

Five Canadian fiction writers have made the short list for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the country's richest and glitziest literary award, organizers announced Tuesday.

Since its inception, the Giller has become Canada's most talked-about literary honor, with an awards dinner attracting a mix of politicians, musicians, actors and authors. Past winners have included Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Mordechai Richler.

This year's list is made up of lesser known writers.

Rawi Hage was recognized for his debut novel, "De Niro's Game," which tells the story of two friends coping with the civil war in Beirut, Lebanon. Toronto doctor Vincent Lam got a nod for his collection of short stories, "Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures," about a group of young physicians.

Pascale Quiviger is in the running for "The Perfect Circle," about a woman who pursues a mysterious older man. The book, written in French, was translated into English. Gaetan Soucyvwas short listed for "The Immaculate Conception," a novel set in a working-class Montreal neighborhood in the 1920s. Carol Windley is in the running for her collection of short stories called "Home Schooling."

The winner, to be announced at a gala awards ceremony on Nov. 7, will receive $35,000.

The prize was created in 1994 by businessman Jack Rabinovitch to honor his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller


Giller Prize short list announced - Yahoo! News

Redefining Irony

Timing is everything and you just have got to love this -- challenging a book about challenging books during Banned Books Week is just too much.

Parent criticizes book 'Fahrenheit 451'
By: Kassia Micek , Courier staff

A Caney Creek High School dad is fired up because the Conroe Independent School District uses the book "Fahrenheit 451" as classroom reading material.

Alton Verm, of Conroe, objects to the language and content in the book. His 15-year-old daughter Diana, a CCHS sophomore, came to him Sept. 21 with her reservations about reading the book because of its language.

"The book had a bunch of very bad language in it," Diana Verm said. "It shouldn't be in there because it's offending people. ... If they can't find a book that uses clean words, they shouldn't have a book at all."

Alton Verm filed a "Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials" Thursday with the district regarding "Fahrenheit 451," written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953. He wants the district to remove the book from the curriculum.

"It's just all kinds of filth," said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read "Fahrenheit 451." "The words don't need to be brought out in class. I want to get the book taken out of the class."

He looked through the book and found the following things wrong with the book: discussion of being drunk, smoking cigarettes, violence, "dirty talk," references to the Bible and using God's name in vain. He said the book's material goes against their religions beliefs. The Verms go to Grand Parkway Church in Porter.

"We went them to go after God," said Glen Jalowy Jr., Grand Parkway Church youth minister. "We encourage them that what you put in your mind and heart is what comes out."
Alton Verm said he doesn't understand how the district can punish students for using bad language, yet require them to read a book with bad language as part of a class.
Diana Verm and another classmate decided to read an alternative book. They leave the classroom when the class reads or discusses "Fahrenheit 451," she said. The two students were given "Ella Minnow Pea" by Mark Dunn because it shares common themes with "Fahrenheit 451," said Chris Hines, CISD assistant superintendent for secondary education.

"Fahrenheit 451" is a science fiction piece that poses a warning to society about the preservation and passing on of knowledge as well as asks the question about whether the government should do the thinking for the people, Hines stated in an e-mail to The Courier. Other themes include conformity vs. individuality, freedom of speech and the consequences of losing it, the importance of remembering and understanding history and technology as help to humans and as hindrances to humans, Hines stated in the e-mail.

"They're not reading books just to read them," Hines said in a telephone interview. "They're reading it for a purpose. ... We respect people's rights to express their concerns and we have a policy in place to handle that."

A selection process is used for materials other than textbooks, according to district policy. The materials must meet various standards, be appropriate for the subject, age and social and emotional development of the students and motivate students to examine their own attitudes and behavior, according to district policy.

While the district does not know of any other challenges to "Fahrenheit 451," there may have been students who have decided to read a different book. The district estimates about 1 percent of students request to read a different book than assigned, according to the e-mail. "Fahrenheit 451" has been used in CISD curriculum for at least 19 years and "likely prior to that," Hines said in the e-mail.

The district hasn't received challenges on any other books in the four years he's been with the district, Hines said.

A district student, employee or resident can challenge any educational material in CISD on the basis or appropriateness, according to CISD EFA (local) policy. An informal reconsideration is first attempted. Informal requests are not documented, so Hines said he did not know how many requests were handled informally.

The person can make a formal challenge, which Alton Verm did. A committee will be appointed to review the material, discuss the material and report findings about the request to the principal, parent and superintendent, Hines said. The process takes about two weeks.
The Montgomery, New Caney, Splendora and Willis school districts have similar policies.
NCISD banned "Draw Me a Star" by Eric Carle and "Absolute Power" by David Baldacci, but it has not received a book challenge in three years, Cindee Reynolds, NCISD superintendent/community relations executive assistant, stated in an e-mail to The Courier. Montgomery ISD received one request from a parent to review instructional material, but the district has not banned any books, Babette Eikenberg, Montgomery ISD human resources executive director, stated in an e-mail to The Courier.

Alton Verm's request to ban "Fahrenheit 451" came during the 25th annual Banned Books Week. He and Hines said the request to ban "Fahrenheit 451," a book about book burning, during Banned Books Weeks is a coincidence.

"Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read" is observed during the last week of September each year, according to the American Library Association Web site, www.ala.org. The week celebrates the freedom to choose or express one's opinion, even if it might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them, according to the Web site.

Jerilynn Williams, Montgomery County Memorial Library System director, said Banned Books Week keeps the public aware that it is imperative to have access to information in a democratic society. Banning books causes libraries to limit access to information by withholding a person's right to explore a wide variety of opinions to form their own opinions, Williams said.

"Not every book is appropriate for every person, but every person should have their work that they choose," Williams said. "The public library is for everyone."
The Montgomery County Memorial Library System has received 65 requests to challenge books since 2002, Williams said. The library has removed "Castro," for factual inaccuracies, and "Tomorrow Wendy," because it was not under the library's current guidelines, Williams said. The library also has a process for people to follow if they challenge a book, Williams said.

However, Williams said a public library is different than a school library.
"As a public library, we are the library for everyone," Williams said. "The school library is meant to be the library for that select group at that school."
To view a school district's policy on book selection or how to challenge a book, visit the individual district's Web site.
Kassia Micek can be reached at kmicek@hcnonline.com.


Houston Community Newspapers Online - Parent criticizes book 'Fahrenheit 451'

BOUCHERCON
The world mystery convention is meeting this weekend and the awards have been announced -- congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients!

9/30/06

The Anthony Awards were presented at a special ceremony this afternoon:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert B. Parker (not in attendance)

Best Mystery Novel: Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger (Atria)

Best First Mystery: Tilt-a-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein (Carroll & Graf)

Best Paperback Original: The James Deans by Reed Farrel Coleman (Plume)

Best Short Story: "Misdirection" by Barbara Seranella (Greatest Hits, Carroll & Graf)

Best Critical/Nonfiction: The Heirs of Anthony Boucher by Marv Lachman (Poisoned Pen Press)

Best Fan Publication: Crimespree Magazine, edited by Jon and Ruth Jordan

Special Service to the Field: Janet Rudolph, for Mystery Readers International

9/29/06

The Shamus Awards were presented tonight by the Private Eye Writers Association:

The Eye - Award for Lifetime Achievement: Max Allan Collins

Best Hardcover: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)

Best Paperback Original: The James Deans by Reed Farrel Coleman (Plume)

Best First Novel: Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure (Mysterious Press)

9/28/06

Earlier this evening the following awards were presented:

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association presented the Dilys Award for the book IMBA members most enjoyed selling in 2005 to Colin Cotterill for Thirty-Three Teeth. This award had been announced at Left Coast Crime in March, but Cotterill had not been present.

The Macavity Awards, voted on by the members of Mystery Readers International:

Best Novel: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)

Best First Novel: Immoral by Brian Freeman (St. Martin's)

Best Nonfiction: Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak (Harcourt)

Best Short Story: "There Is No Crime on Easter Island" by Nancy Pickard (EQMM, Sept-Oct 2005)

Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award: Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt)


The Barry Awards, voted on by the readers of Deadly Pleasures:

Best Novel: Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook (Harcourt)

Best First Novel Published In The U.S. in 2005: Cold Granite by Stuart Macbride (St. Martin's)

Best British Novel Published In The U.K. in 2005: The Field of Blood by Denise Mina (Bantam Press)

Best Thriller: Company Man by Joseph Finder (St. Martin's)

Best Paperback Novel: The James Deans by Reed Farrell Coleman (Plume)

Best Short Story: "There is No Crime on Easter Island" by Nancy Pickard (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2005)

Don Sandstrom Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mystery Fandom: Janet A. Rudolph (voted on by previous recipients)

The American Crime Writers League announced that Dick Adler is the recipient of this year's Ellen Nehr Award for mystery reviewing. Adler reviews for the Chicago Tribune.

Thanks to Black Raven Press for posting all the awards so fast.

Sony to launch web bookstore, e-book device
27 September 2006

Sony said today it will launch an electronic book store on the internet and start selling a device that displays e-books purchased from the store on October 1, after missing an earlier unveiling earlier this year due to technical reasons.

The Sony Connect book store will carry about 10,000 books from the top six publishers, including HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

The launch of the store coincides with the official debut of its highly anticipated electronics book reader, which reviewers have said mimic the quality of regular paper.

The Sony Reader Portable Reader system will sell for about $US350 ($NZ533). For a limited period, new Connect customers will receive a $US50 ($NZ76) credit to buy books from the service.

Electronic books cost on average about 25 percent less than the cover price of physical books, a spokesman said.

Sony's latest generation reader, announced in North America at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, garnered attention for the electronic ink technology it employs made by E Ink of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It uses new technology that allows digital text and graphics to be displayed without power-hungry back-lit screens.

Much like regular paper, the Sony Reader screen is not back-lit and requires a light source in the room to view the page.

The sales of the device and launch of the book store was delayed to work out kinks in the integration of the device, service and computer software required to connect the two, Sony vice president of marketing Ron Hawkins said in an interview.

"There's a lot of moving parts to make it work well," Hawkins said. "In the spring, we decided we needed to take more time."

The device and service will also let users download from the Really Simple Syndication or RSS Feeds of popular blogs, including Salon, Slate, Huffington Post, engadget and Gizmodo to read on the device. But it will only downloads from approved feeds, restricting users from freely downloading from any RSS feed.

"We'll be expanding and improving it beyond that," he added.

Newspapers and other periodicals will not be offered at first, although Hawkins did not rule out such features down the line.

"We're taking a serious look at it," he said. "But we're focusing on books and personal content at launch."

Sony to launch web bookstore, e-book device - New Zealand's source for technology news on Stuff.co.nz

Update on BRAINLESS

A website that features video of Ann Coulter getting pied and other goodies.

www.anncoulterisbrainless.com

KILLER YEAR - THE CLASS OF 2007 LAUNCHES
Designed To Promote Debut Suspense Novelists

Every best-selling author began as a debut novelist. But making the step from promising beginner to proven success can be tricky, which is why four online friends, Brett Battles, JT Ellison, Jason Pinter and Sandra Ruttan decided to start Killer Year.

Founded in May 2006, Killer Year is a now a collective of suspense novelists who have banded together, sharing promotion and marketing for their debut novels. "Fiction is a crowded market," said founding member J.T. Ellison. "By working together, we hope to reach a larger audience than we could alone."

"We wanted to find a way to have equitable attention paid to all types of publication formats, from mass-market paperbacks to hardcovers,"
said Brett Battles, a co-founder. "One voice to promote 14 authors seemed to be our best bet to sell our books."

Spurred by a mention on Sarah Weinman's award winning blog, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, the four put up a website and blog, and Killer Year was born. The ranks quickly filled with excellent authors who, like the founders, are debuting in the fiction genre in 2007. All the books will be released from major New York publishing houses and first class small publishers, and will be commercially available in all retail outlets.

International Thriller Writers (ITW), the first professional organization for thriller writers, is lending a hand to the 14 novelists. The idea resonated with M.J. Rose, who heads up ITW's marketing committee. "One of our mandates is to build a community of writers who can help each other. Another is to get serious attention for our authors and make them stand out from the crowd. Not just established authors, but debut authors as well. This program fits both those goals."

One ITW member will mentor each Killer Year member, providing individual advice, blurbs and a short review of their book they can use in promotional material. They will also introduce Killer Year at a special breakfast during ThrillerFest 2007, the premier event for the thriller writing community. After 2007, Killer Year will remain an ongoing program, with ITW welcoming a new class of debut novelists.

"Only in the suspense genre can something this exciting, this cutting edge happen," founder Sandra Ruttan said. "We work as a team," added Jason Pinter. "We're here to support each other and make sure all of our members succeed in their first year as published authors."

Killer Year is an elite group of 14 debut suspense novelists working to create an interactive community with potential readers, buyers, reviewers and publishing professionals. The Killer Year founders are Jason Pinter (THE MARK, Mira), Brett Battles (THE CLEANER, Bantam Dell), J.T. Ellison (ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS, Mira) and Sandra Ruttan (SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES, Tico).

Members include Robert Gregory Browne (KISS HER GOODBYE, St. Martin's), Bill Cameron (LOST DOG, Midnight Ink), Toni McGee Causey (BOBBIE FAYE'S VERY (very, very, very) BAD DAY, St. Martin's), Sean Chercover (BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD, William Morrow), Patry Francis (THE LIAR'S DIARY, Dutton), Marc Lecard (VINNIE'S HEAD, St. Martin's Minotaur), Derek Nikitas (PYRES, St. Martin's Minotaur), Gregg Olsen (A WICKED SNOW, Kensington), Marcus Sakey (THE BLADE ITSELF, St. Martin's Minotaur) and Dave White (WHEN ONE MAN DIES, Three Rivers Press).

Visit the KillerYear website for more information on these fine authors.
WWW.KILLERYEAR.COM.

Update on National Book Fest

Be sure to check out the author podcast at www.loc.gov/bookfest/podcasts.html with John Hope Franklin, Poet Laureate Donald Hall, Khaled Hosseini, Marcus Samuelsson, Lisa Scottoline and Judith Viorst