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Fans of Downton Abbey, the UK-produced drama about the Crawley family and their servants that PBS imported for Masterpiece Classic, will be happy to know that NY publishers have taken notice.   In addition to the companion book, The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes, dozens of 20th century novels about the British aristocracy are being rushed to print in hopes of cashing in on  what one New York editor describes as the Downton Abbey wave.  According to the New York Times “Mad for Downton?” , the last time this much interest in the British aristocracy was shown by the book buying public occurred in the 70′s when “Upstairs, Downstairs” was the PBS darling.  Booksellers are also looking to push titles about the Titanic and World War I as well.

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For an inside peek at the real Downton Abbey, the Countess of Carnarvon has written a biography of  Lady Almina and  Highclere Castle, the setting for the series.  As Bookbeast so aptly puts it,

Despite the fact that Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle  contains no references to Downton Abbey beyond its sales-friendly title, it is a fascinating insight into how the seriously rich once lived.

The British online Daily Mail suggests the following Downton  inspired literature on shelves now.

1.   New paperback edition of Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford

2.  The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy by David Cannadine

3.   Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

4.   A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd

5.   Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor by Rosina Harrison

]]> http://helensreads.com/2012/01/reading-the-downton-abbey-wave/feed/ 0 http://helensreads.com/2012/01/2012-reading-trends/ http://helensreads.com/2012/01/2012-reading-trends/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:58:26 +0000 helen http://helensreads.com/?p=3958

Happy 2012 readers!  Even tho’ I can’t predict what new titles will become this year’s hot reads, I did run across a few note worthy trends that book insiders are betting on and buzzing about.

Contemporary dilemma-type titles, sequels of classic tales, YA/adult crossover titles and short story collections are just a few of the fiction trends that Bookseller editor Alice O’Keefe reflects on in Looking Ahead to 2012.  

“There’s a strong showing for unreliable narrators—always an intriguing read. Three of the best I’ve read so far are Alys, Always (W&N, February), a debut by Harriet Lane and a Barbara Vine-esque tale about a lowly newspaper sub-editor who sees an opportunity to upgrade her social circumstances. The heroine of Charlotte Hogan’s The Lifeboat(Virago, March) relays her experiences of three weeks on the open sea—was she innocent or complicit in the events which took place? And In When Nights Were Cold (Mantle, March) by Susanna Jones, a young Edwardian lady escapes her stifling upbringing to pursue her mountaineering dreams, with tragic consequences.”

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There has been a lot of  TV hoopla surrounding the ‘exclusive’ interviews with Ruth Madoff and her youngest son Andrew as part off the promotion for a new book Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family by Laurie Sandell.  Bernie Madoff, of course, is the financier convicted of running a 50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme which led to his oldest son, Mark, committing sucide.  What you might not know is that Mark Madoff’s widow, Stephanie Madoff Mack,  has written her own book The End of Normal which was released last month to much less fanfare.  Below is part one of an interview Mack did with Robin Roberts when she appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America.  I could only find the link to the second part of that interview which I have provided for you  here.

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My son and daughter have been out of college for several years now, but I still love to see what schools are asking their incoming freshman to read.  I found this  list on the College Confidential Forum.  Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks looks to be the favorite pick this year.  Do you know what your Alma Mater is reading?

UPDATE: 9/12/2011  NPR recently asked their listeners to suggest books that they feel incoming college freshman should read.  http://www.npr.org/2011/09/08/140266970/you-recommend-freshmen-common-reads

Adelphi University – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Amherst College – Race and Class Matters at an Elite College by Elizabeth Aries (just Ch. 3)

Bates – Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession, by Francesco Duina

Baylor U. Honors Program – The Whole Five Feet, by Christopher R. Beha

Beloit College – The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

Bentley U. – The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

Brown University – Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, by Leslie T. Chang

California State U. at Northridge – The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

Colgate U. – Acts of Faith, by Eboo Patel

College of Wooster – Brother, I’m Dying, by Edwidge Danticat

Colorado College – Ludlow, by David Mason (professor English at CC)

Cornell University – Homer & Langley, by E.L. Doctorow

Duke – Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

Earlham College – Rooftops of Tehran, by Mahbod Seraji, and How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer

Elon University – Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammed Yunus

Florida Gulf Coast University- Life Safari, by John P. Strelecky

Florida State University – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Hampshire College – Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other, by Sherry Turkle

Illinois Wesleyan University – “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri

Johns Hopkins: Strength in What Remains, Tracy Kidder.

Macalester College – What Is the What, by Dave Eggers

Marquette University – “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore

Methodist U. – Scratch Beginnings, by Adam Shepard

Miami University (OH) – “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Meredith College – Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario

Mount Holyoke – “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn

NC State – “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

Northwestern University – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

Occidental College – Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith

Pomona College – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Reed College – The Odyssey

Rice – The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen, by Kwame Anthony Appiah

Rutgers Honors – Monsters of Templeton

St. John’s College (Md. and N.M.) – Iliad, Homer

Saint Michael’s College – Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer

Shepherd U. – This I Believe, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman

Smith College – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

Stanford University -
• March, Geraldine Brooks
• The Violence of Peace: America’s Wars in the Age of Obama, Stephen Carter
• One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, Nathaniel C. Fick

Tufts University – Zeitoun by David Eggers

Tulane University- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) – Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Dr. Temple Grandin.

University of Delaware – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

U. of Maryland-Baltimore County – Outcasts United, by Warren St. John

University of Missouri – Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

UNC-Chapel Hill: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

University of Pennsylvania – Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal

University of Pittsburgh – Oryx and Crake

University of South Carolina – No Impact Man

U. of Tennessee at Knoxville – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

U. of Virginia School of Engineering – Packing for Mars, by Mary Roach

Vanderbilt – The Good Life, by Peter Gomes

Virginia Tech – “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” by Barbara Kingsolver

Washington U. in St. Louis – The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway

Whitman College – “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures” by Anne Fadiman

Wofford – Memoirs of a Geisha

1. (of a person) Utter a loud call or cry, typically as an expression of a strong emotion.

It’s not often you get to use the words librarian and shout in the same sentence, which is exactly why we all should be paying attention to the Shout ‘n’ Share that happened in the waning hours of this year’s BEA.  I’ve included a link to the entire 54 title, one hour panel presentation here if you are so inclined.  I chose to pick one book from each shouter (librarian) that definitely left me wanting to read more.

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Rin Tin Tin : The Life and Legend by Susan Orlean (October, Simon & Schuster)

This just sounds like a great big nostalgic read to me by a wonderful writer (The Orchid Thief). What boomer did not grow up watching The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on Saturday mornings?  Barbara A. Genco, Collection Management, Library Journal  ”This is everything you would want to know about Rin Tin Tin and much much more….From his sweet beginnings as a puppy during WWI, to being rescued by a Doughboy and brought to America where he became a movie star…certainly an important part of my growing up in the 1950′s, children’s television, ‘Open the gates – Rinti needs to get in’.”

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Wunderkind: A Novel by Nikolai Grozni (September, Europa)

Set in Bulgaria,  a year in the life of a classical piano prodigy, Constantine, who must decide to stay in school and lose his soul or rebel and lose the music that he loves.  Barbara Hoffer, Editor of Library Journal’s “Pre Pub Alert”  ”this should be given to anyone that loves music, politics or coming of age stories”.

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Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt (October, New Directions)

I’m thinking this novel is a tongue in cheek business book…but I’m not quite sure.  Due to technical difficulties with the video feed, just exactly what this book is all about was a bit garbled.  What I do know is  that Douglas Lord, Library Journal’s “Books for Dudes” needs his own late night comedy hour (19:35 into the Shout ‘n’ Share tape).  His hook as to why you need to read this book?  ”It’s like when you get a hair of somebody else’s in your mouth when you’re eating or drinking and you have to do something about it…. You can not NOT pay attention to this book.”  OK, enough said.

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The Burning by Jane Casey (August, Minotaur)

This says it all.  Robin Nesbitt, Technical Services, Columbus Metropolitan Library quote ” …SERIAL KILLERS…Why I’m grabbing this is, anyone read Tana French?  ”Into the Woods”.  Oh my God.”

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Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson (June, Harper)

This psychological thriller has been getting great press.   Basically it’s a story about memory loss and what a 47 year old married woman, suffering from amnesia, goes through trying to get her memory back. The hook comes from Nora Rawlinson, Co-Founder and Editor, EarlyWord.com “…there’s an undercurrent…she has this journal that she keeps going back to and the begining of the journal says ‘don’t trust Ben’(her husband)…very suspenseful.”

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (September, Doubleday)

I’ve already posted abut the buzz that this book is creating.  It’s one thing to want to read it after listening to a book editor rave about it. Having a well read librarian the likes of Alene Moroni, King County Library, rave about it too is icing on the cake!

Of the six books pitched this year, I must say I’m most drawn to  Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus pitched by Alison Callahan, Executive Editor, Doubleday. Callahan recalls how her heart started banging after reading the first 30 pages of Morgenstern’s manuscript.  Finishing the manuscript some five hours later in the Random House cafeteria, she knew she had to have this book. The novel is set at the turn of the 19th century in a circus, a circus unlike any you or I have ever been to before.  Black and white tents pop up in the middle of the night, anywhere in the world, without warning.  Each tent holds a unique amazement.  The heart of the story is about a dual between two magicians who must keep fighting until there is only one left standing. The trouble is they fall in love.  Callahan uses words like “feast for the senses”, “like reading in 3D”, “a great big romantic spell casting love story”, “it’s for everyone…13 to 80 years olds”.  The book comes out on September 13th, its been sold to 25 countries and the film rights have been snapped up by Summit Entertainment.  Can’t wait to enter The Night Circus.

I’ve provided the link if you wish to view the entire 1 hour presentation of  BEA Editor’s Buzz session http://bookexpocast.com/2011/05/24/2011-bea-editors-buzz/

Below, author Erin Morgenstern signs copies of The Night Circus for BEA attendees. (via Shelf Awareness)

Just six more weeks until William and Kate tie the knot.  For those Anglophiles out there (and you know who you are) that can’t bear the wait,  here are some literary suggestions to help you while away the hours.

READ:

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The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Who can resist a quirky family novel set in the mid west about a scholarly English professor who has brought his three daughters up to communicate by spouting Shakespearean dialogue.

Publisher’s Weekly says you don’t have to be a fan of the Bard to enjoy, but it wouldn’t hurt either.

WATCH:

The latest film adaption of Jane Eyre is slowly being rolled out to theaters nationwide.

KNIT:

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Throw on a pair of wellies and knit your own Corgi.  There are 24 other breeds to choose from including English Bulldog, English Bull Terrier and Old English Sheepdog.  This activity alone should bring you right up until wedding eve.

I love a book that wraps you up in the story and makes the characters feel like people you are friends with.

My kind of book!

What books are the librarians loving this season?  Emma Donoghue‘s The Room, Susan Henderson’s Up From The Blue and Tom Franklin‘s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. Already on the NY Times bestseller list coupled with a stellar audio version, Donoghue’s Room looks to be ‘the’ book of the fall season.  ~via Earlyword

Calling all Henning Mankell fans.  Wallender is back!  Faceless Killers, the first of this years three part Wallender II series aired last Sunday on PBS?   If you missed out, fear not.  You still have time to tune in and catch The Man Who Smiled which airs this Sunday, October 10th followed by The Fifth Women on  October 17th.

In case you’re wondering just who is Mario Vargas Llosa, the winner of this year’s Nobel prize for literature. Book Beast comes to the rescue by telling  you all you need to know about this prolific Peruvian novelist.

Several good books have been adapted into good movies and are showing now.  The American, Never Let Me Go, The Town, Freakonomics, The Social Network, Secretariat, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest (10/29).

For book clubs in need of filling out their reading calendar,  Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) announced their Great Group Reads 2010.  The website states

These titles were selected on the basis of their appeal to reading groups for whom they are bound to open up lively conversations about a host of timely and provocative topics, from the intimate dynamics of family and personal relationships to major cultural and world issues.