Do you know "Where She Went"?

A couple of years ago I read a book that stuck with me. It was one of those teen novels that an adult can pick up and devour, one which I’ve seen more adults love than teens. I loved this book, spoke about it often, wrote about it, and even spoke about it at the 2009 Warwick’s Reading Group Recommends Night. Here’s a brief snippet of what I had to say:

“Mia is a promising cellist living a fulfilling life with her parents, young brother, and boyfriend, when in the blink of an eye her entire world is taken away. As she sees her past and the promise of an uncertain and painful future Mia must make a heart wrenching choice: let go of her tenuous hold on life, or stay, live without all that she holds dear. If I Stay by Gayle Forman is the most compelling book I’ve read this year, and surprisingly enough it is a teen novel. This is an amazing debut novel that pulls you in and does not let go.”

It’s true, this book stayed with me, and two years on I still remember the visceral effect this book had on my emotions. It is one of the few books I had to sit and contemplate upon finishing, rather than hop directly onto the next book. I even downloaded the music mentioned in it - and have become a fan of many of the songs - because I wanted those unique feelings to last.

Where She Went, the sequel to this amazing debut came out on the first Tuesday in April. Taking place three years after the horrific accident that destroyed Mia’s family, this book is told from the point of view of Adam, Mia’s former boyfriend, the person who made Mia stay in this world, when it would have been so easy to let go. Adam, now a famous musician, is barely holding it together mentally, emotionally, and socially when a chance encounter with Mia, a rising star in the classical world, sets off a night of remembrance that will finally give him the answer to where she went and why she stayed.

I don’t know how she does it, but Gayle Forman manages to tap into your emotions in a way few authors can. You feel not only for the characters, but also with them. If I Stay was such an emotional roller coaster, dealing with the pain of loss and question of living with that pain or leaving it all behind, and Where She Went is equally brilliant emotionally, but here it is the anger of being left (physically and metaphysically) behind that rolls over the reader like a tidal wave. Her use of music and lyrics are inspired - truly tapping into the importance of music within the lives of Mia and Adam, but also how much we, the readers rely on music and its cathartic powers in our everyday lives. It’s as though she has this brilliant score running beneath the text, not so noticeable that it detracts, but just enough to add to our understanding of the plot and character development. She moves us with music without us ever hearing a single chord. I don’t know how she does it, but I want more.

If every book could this good, more people would be reading. I don’t know how to put it more succinctly than that. There are “must reads” and there are “read this nows”. Read this set of books now, you will crave more.

- Heather

Rep Pick Night 2011

On the evening of Monday, February 28th, Warwick's hosted seven representatives from some of the best publishing houses around for a Rep Pick Night, where the reps selected some of their favorite recent and forthcoming titles to tell our customers about. We had a packed house, chips & salsa were eaten, wine was drunk, and free books were given away - not to mention that everyone in attendance received an extra discount on every book purchased. Here's a sampling of the evening's picks with a video included:

Wade Lucas, Random House:

Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

The Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel

Sandy Pollack, Random House
I Was a Dancer by Jacques d' Amboise
House of Prayer No.2 by Mark Richard
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

Andrea Tetrick, PGW/Perseus Book Group:
Eden Hunter by Skip Horack
Granta 113
The Still Point by Amy Sackville
Towards the Setting Sun: John Ross, the Cherokees and the Trail of Tears by Brian Hicks
The Veganist by Kathy Freston

Tom Benton & Amy Comito, Penguin/Putnam:
You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

When the Killing's Done by T.C. Boyle

The Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Mike Slack, Macmillan:

Quadrivium

Tiger Tiger by Margaux Fragoso

Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

20 Under 40

Gabe Barillas, HarperCollins:

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

She Wolves by Helen Castor

Caribou Island by David Vann

Wench by Dolores Perkins

Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

Bent Road by Lori Roy (review)

In a season of remarkable debuts it is often difficult to choose which new novel to pick-up. Do I want a thriller? A tear-jerker? A literary tour de force? It can prove to be nearly impossible to choose the “right” debut. As a lover of the dark and edgy I tend toward the debuts that are a little less literary and a little grittier, but despite my love of the sinister, I found myself pulled into debut novelist Lori Roy’s Bent Road.

While I would hesitate to call Bent Road a psychological suspense or even a dedicated mystery, I can say that it is an engrossing read. This new novel brilliantly captures the small town aura of 1960’s Kansas. Flitting between the 3rd person narratives of four characters; Celia, her two youngest children Daniel and Eve-ee, and her sister-in-law Ruth, the novel manages to be both literary in its encapsulation of small town life and prejudice and intriguing in it’s presentation of two mystery subplots, the unexplained death of Eve (Celia’s sister-in-law) decades before, and the sudden disappearance of a young girl. I say subplots because while both are essentially the blood in the veins of this story, their strength in terms of plot falls in comparison to the infinitely more interesting character study that this novel becomes. It is easy to become sucked into the world of these characters, to feel sorrow with them, fear for them, and to be angered by their actions. One becomes far more concerned with the thoughts and actions of these individuals than the (to my mind) less interesting mystery-plot. The ability of Roy to elicit this response from a reader as a first time novelist says a lot about her writing prowess. In this period of phenomenal debuts, I would highly recommend this new novel to lovers of solid character-driven fiction.

-Heather

Are You Seth? vol.12

Alright, so it's been awhile since I posted a review of any kind on the Warwick's blog - in fact, the last volume of "Are You Seth?" was posted in July 2010 and was for Anthony Doerr's Memory Wall. I mention this because Doerr just recently won the 2011 Story Prize for that very same collection - clearly I was on to something! So, in an effort to breathe new life into the blog - which we think could really use a better name & are open to suggestions - here are 2 new books that I think you should read.

Wait, no, you HAVE to read these.

We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen

First of all, feast your eyes on that beautiful jacket art. (Illustrated by Joe McLaren, jacket design by Susanne Dean, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.) If this isn't reason enough to keep books in a physical format, I don't know what is. (The artwork is definitely the reason I picked this up in the first place.) I really have nothing against eBooks, but this is the sort of thing we lose when we go all-digital. I'm just sayin'.

Even better, it's a gorgeous novel on the inside as well. Originally published in Danish in 2006, it won the highest literary prize in Denmark and was picked as the best Danish novel of the last 25 years by the readers of the country's largest newspaper. Spanning the years & generations from 1848 to 1945, We follows the sailors of Marstal - a tiny island town & the center of Danish seafaring pride - as they travel the oceans of the world - from Samoa to Newfoundland, Australia to London, Casablanca to Dakar, Murmansk to Greenland, and back home to Marstal. Always back to Marstal, where the women wait, worry, and grieve.

Through the years, as Marstal's place in the world evolves, a different narrator escorts us across the globe and back to Denmark again. As each narrative voice moves on, another from their life picks up the tale & makes it their own. When on dry land, the people of Marstal tell the story in a collective “we” – a narrative device that Jensen wields with majestic clarity & grace. Funny & poignant, heartwarming & powerful, yet dark & foreboding in a way that only the events of our own world can actually be. After 674 pages, I was still blown away by the final, heart-rending page. One of the best books I've ever read.

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht

This is already turning into the hot book of the year, so forgive me if you've already heard about it. (Seriously, it's huge right now - Random House has already gone back to press at least three times, even though it's only been on sale for a week.) Last summer, Obreht - at the tender age of 24! - was named one of the New Yorker's 20 Under 40 and this is her subsequent stellar debut novel. She had this to say to the New York Times this week about her new fame:

"I still haven’t taken it all in. It already seems like such a long time from the moment when I said to myself, ‘Somebody likes it, somebody bought it, and it’s going to have a cover!’ The other evening I gave a reading, and someone came up to me afterwards and said, ‘The Deathless Man is my favorite character.’ My immediate reaction was: how do you know about the Deathless Man? When you’re writing, you’re working on this private world that becomes more and more real to you, but it’s still your own. And then to discover that suddenly other people can access it - in a way that really shocks me."

The rundown: Natalia is a young doctor on a diplomatic mission across the border of her war torn Balkan homeland to deliver vaccines to an orphanage. While there, she learns that her beloved grandfather has died in a remote village far from his home. Knowing that he was gravely ill & never would never have travelled without a reason, she becomes convinced that he was in search of "the deathless man" - a longstanding, mysterious figure from the stories he told her as a child. As Natalia sets out to uncover the mystery of her grandfather's final days, she learns more about herself, her family's past, and her country than she ever though possible and finds that all the answers she seeks lie within the stories of her grandfather.

Obreht mixes together Natalia's contemporary story of life in her ravaged homeland (she was born in the former Yugoslavia, herself) with her grandfather's incredible stories of "the deathless man" and "the tiger's wife," to create a fantastical world grounded in the harsh reality of a region recovering from decades of war.  Foreign, yet familiar; impossible, yet true; unsentimental, yet emotional - the elements that she has managed to cull together here are melded absolutely perfectly. A stunning, stunning debut, and one that will stick in your head for long after you've turned that final page, I guarantee it.

The Weird Sisters

“I dreamt last night of three weird sisters…”

Told in the collective voice ala the original “weird sisters” of Macbeth fame, The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown is a wonderful new novel which follows the three Andreas sisters - young women brought up by their Shakespearean professor father to speak in verse and find life’s answers between the pages of a book. When their mother’s breast cancer draws them all home, the three sisters are inexplicably forced to deal with each other’s disappointments and face their own personal failures and fears.

“See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much.”

What I loved about this book is the wonderful contradiction between the feelings of the sisters, who live by the concept of loving each other because they must, but are unable to find joy within the bitterness that they feel toward each other, and the fact that these three women who are so separate are telling their story as one being. "I" is never used in this novel, it is always we, or our, or us. This is a group of women, who although they strive to be separate from each other (to the point of alienation), cannot stop being a group, are literally not whole unless together. This contradiction between plot and the narrative is inventive and compelling, a rather original use of storytelling by the author.

Also, Brown’s depiction of the strange and often bitter relationship between sisters is so smoothly and heart-wrenchingly drawn that I found myself nodding along recognizing if not actual events, but themes from my own life as a sister and my observations of sisters over the years. She does not hold back in creating a picture of the brutality of words and actions that only a sister can use to cut apart her sibling, and also the comfort and insight that only a sister can bring to a painful situation. No one can quite hurt you or comfort you like a sister and Brown captures that feeling intelligently and emotionally.

The Weird Sisters is deceptive in that at first glance it appears light, almost chick-lit, but after close reading is far more insightful than one would ever think. This is a touching and creative novel sure to bring laughter, tears, happiness, and at times, anger to even the most casual of readers.

-Heather

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Graham Moore

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Graham Moore is the author of the novel, The Sherlockian, a graduate of the religious studies program at Columbia University, and an awesome Monopoly player. You can check out his blog, The Sherlockian to learn about all things, well, Sherlockian. (As in Sherlock Holmes.)

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• I have never lost a game of Monopoly. (True story.)

2. What is your greatest fear?

• This is one of those question that most people must just answer "clowns" to, isn't it? And those who don't say "clowns" are clearly lying.

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• Finding lost objects. It occasionally occurs to me that in the amount of time I have spent looking for car keys, house keys, socks, random documents, cuff links, and the like I could have easily written another novel by now.

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• It would almost seem mean for me to answer anything other than "Arthur Conan Doyle," right, since I just wrote a whole book about him?

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• (Sigh) My car. This officially makes me a horrible person, but it's true. I live in LA. I'm sorry. The car was the first thing I bought with the advance from my book, and it has air conditioning. My previous car did not have air conditioning. It was a really big moment in my life.

6. Which living person do you most admire?

• This is cheesy, but my little brother Evan. He's like a perfected version of me. All the good parts, none of the bad parts. I just want to be him.

7. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• Record producer, hands down. I actually worked as a record producer and sound engineer for years before I started getting paid for the writing. It was my day job of sorts for five years, except that I did it at night while writing during the day. I still miss it a lot. There's something so unique about being in the studio with a group of musicians, just making something, together, communally. You don't get that with writing.

8. What would your Baker Street Irregular "investiture" be? (From Graham's website: Investiture -  (n) Every member of the Baker Street Irregulars is given an official title, or nickname, upon their admittance into the group. This is called his or her “investiture.” These investitures are all titles, phrases or characters from the Canon. E.g., “The Abbey Grange,” or “The Giant Rat of Sumatra.”)

• Well, it's awfully presumptuous to consider investing oneself in the Irregulars. But my dream investiture would probably be "Simpson's," or something revolving around the place. It was Holmes' favorite local restaurant. I eat a lot. Seems like it would make sense.

9. What are you most looking forward to on your tour stop in San Diego?

• I have been told that San Diego fish tacos are different from LA fish tacos. I have every intention of investigating this.

10. What is your motto?

• Arthur Conan Doyle had three rules for the aspiring writer, and I have them tacked above my desk where I work every day. They are, in order of importance, "1) Be intelligible. 2) Be interesting. 3) Be clever." I think this is absolutely perfect, and the best writing advice I've ever heard.

Debut Author Erin Kelly brings her Poison Tree to the 'Wick

Fans of Tana French rejoice! No, she doesn’t have a new novel out yet, but debut author Erin Kelly will most assuredly captivate fans of French’s fluid prose and suspenseful plots. The Poison Tree is a winding road of intrigue and psychological drama. Kelly’s prose unfolds brilliantly, smoothly interweaving past and present as the narrator, Karen, tells of her mystifying, obsessive relationship with the Capel siblings and the murder which took place one hot, drug-filled summer.



This book is mesmerizing in that the reader is never quite sure who in this shady cast of characters was murdered until the very end of the novel. Told in the first person, the narrative is filled with secrets and lies with the narrator successfully manipulating the reader with red herrings and partial truths. The story journeys through the events of that summer, occasionally flicking into the a present 10 years on where Karen is raising a daughter and Rex Capel has been released from prison, having served ten years for manslaughter. Kelly successfully draws on those past events to create a tense present for Karen and Rex, as everything Karen holds dear is placed on a knife-edged balance, teetering out of her carefully held control.

A thoroughly enjoyable psychological suspense, well written, with a twist of an ending sure to jolt readers from any sense of complacency, The Poison Tree is a must read for any lover of the genre.

And because I’m a shameless promoter of Warwick’s events, Erin will be speaking and signing here at Warwick’s on Wednesday, January 19th at 7:30pm. As part of a new debut author program we will not only be serving refreshments, but will also offer a 20% discount off the price of The Poison Tree (that night only).

-Heather

The Warwick's Staff Presents: The Best Books of 2010

Booksellers are a passionate bunch - we've been arguing for the last few weeks about what the "best" books of 2010 are and of course, everyone on staff has a different opinion. While we did take a democratic vote to decide our Top 5 Fiction & Top 5 Nonfiction (see the list at the bottom of this post), it seemed like a good idea to open things up for everyone at Warwick's to offer their personal opinions. Thank God we have a blog, right? So, here are the Best Books read by the staff of Warwick's in the year 2010. Enjoy.

Nancy Warwick, owner: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. As a reader, I love that moment of realization, that electrifying instance, that one sometimes has the pleasure to experience at the very start of a new book.  Whatever qualities one is looking for in a favorite read, it's that occasional, almost immediate, experience of wonderment and anticipation,  and the joy that these feelings arouse, that helps define a favorite book.  Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is my selection for the Warwick's Best Book of 2010.  I was hooked before I finished page one. Set in rural Mississippi, the story is beautifully written, powerful, intensely atmospheric and character-driven.  I couldn't put it down.

Steven, bookseller: I wish I knew what to say about Citrus County by John Brandon. True, it's expertly paced and delicately well-written. And yes it left me more emotionally confused than anything else I read this year. Ultimately, however, the fact that three months after finishing it I inexplicably cannot stop thinking about this book makes it my top choice for 2010.

Joe, General Manager: Who would have thought that looming foreclosure, divorce, and bankruptcy could be so hilarious? Jess Walter's The Financial Lives of the Poets is a sometimes sidesplitting, sometimes brutal look at the recession from the eyes of one way-out family.

Phoebe, Office Supplies: The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall - A well written portrayal of a polygamist trying to balance 4 wives, 28 children, his demanding job and his position in the Mormon Church. He has compassion for his family, yet loses sight of his purpose. Another important character is his son, Rusty. He grabs your heart with his desire to be accepted and especially to be loved by his mother. It’s a funny, sad, complicated story, but I was totally compelled to follow the story to the end.

John, bookseller/book buyer: Why the West Rules - For Now - Historian and archaeologist Ian Morris tackles one of the most hotly debated questions in the study of history: what accounts for the global dominance of the West in the modern era? Morris finds his answer by discerning patterns in the long sweep of human history - patterns he depicts through a combination of fascinating anecdotes, exciting narrative, and innovative analyses of historical data. Interdisciplinary and ambitious, Morris’ book not only offers a compelling explanation for the rise of the West but also suggests how the East-West divide might transform over the next hundred years. This is a great book for lovers of big history and a slam dunk for anyone who enjoyed Guns, Germs, and Steel.

Janet, bookseller: It's a tough choice - I read lots of good books this year, but I'll have to choose The Distant Hours by Kate Morton as my favorite novel of 2010. It has everything I love in a plot: a crumbling castle, mother-daughter angst, 3 eccentric sisters, long-lost love AND a mysterious death shrouded in the past. What's not to love?

Susan, Event Coordinator: The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee. Lee’s stunning fourth novel is an exquisitely haunting journey of three memorable characters: June Han, an orphan girl in the Korean War; Hector Brennan, a young GI to whom June clings when their paths cross at a Korean orphanage; and Sylvie Tanner, the troubled wife of a missionary assigned to the orphanage. As June and Hector vie for the affections of the beautiful Sylvie, each of the damaged three chart their own odysseys through pain, hope, love, despair, and ultimately surrender. Lee’s poignant and beautiful language masterfully transforms the complex and disturbing world of war into a powerful reflection on the human ability to survive.

Vicki, bookseller: Reminiscent of The Secret Life of Bees, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman is a modern day fairy tale. Cecelia Rose Honeycutt finds herself in a world unlike any she's ever experienced when she goes to live with her Great Aunt Tootie. This book's a perfect read when you want a lift in spirit.

Rob, bookseller/Office Supplies: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart is a tragically hilarious look into the near future. I laughed out loud. A lot!!

Kim, Office Supplies/Gifts: One of the most meaningful books I read this year was Between Me and the River by Carrie Host. Her memoir about her tremendous four-year struggle up the raging river of cancer was brutally honest and surprisingly uplifting and inspiring. Host's great sense of humor makes her unfair daily struggles more than engaging.

Emily, bookseller: The Heights by Peter Hedges. The one book of the year that I am consistently overjoyed to share with others. The Heights is a lovable, funny, and suspenseful story of one couple's lives turned upside down when outside temptation proves just a little too enticing.

Julie, bookseller: The Bells by Richard Harvell is a truly magnificent debut novel. Set in the 18th-century Swiss Alps, this hauntingly beautiful story of a young boy, brutally separated from his mother, raised and betrayed by the monks who swore to protect him, and his ultimate rise as a musico. As compelling as the story is, Harnell's descriptions have you feeling every sound. If you loved Suskind's Perfume, you won't want to miss this - in fact, The Bells is like Perfume for your ears. A story that will stay with you long after the last note is sung.

James, bookseller: At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson - As a fan of asking "why", I rely on Bryson to tell me the story behind the story. At Home makes me take a closer look at the space where I spend over half my life.

Adriana, bookseller: The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard - Family secrets, babies switched at birth, incest, Woodstock, love, agriculture - what more could you get in one book? Also, it's beautifully written and unforgettable.

Heather, bookseller: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly I had three favorite books for 2010, but Revolution was the only book that once finished, I was loathe to read anything else. It's the type of book that you can't put down and can't keep out of your head.

Margie, Office Supplies: Fiction - The Ark by Boyd Morrison was absolutely one of the most interesting novels I've read recently. His style is something like a Michael Crichton/Dan Brown combination that really keeps you guessing throughout. I couldn't put it down! Nonfiction - Susan Casey's The Wave. Wow! Susan takes you on an amazing adventure through nature involving waves of tremendous power. This was a true learning experience that helped me better appreciate the power of Mother Nature.

Jim, bookseller: New York by Edward Rutherfurd is a tale of historical fiction, but the most engaging I have read this year. Intertwined with the major events of New York history, from the founding of Manhattan by the Dutch to the early 21st century, several families are featured. A truly enjoyable book.

Adrian, Book Buyer: My favorite book of the year is It’s a Book by Lane Smith! Why, you might ask, would I pick a children’s book above all the other deserving, finely written books of the past year?! Here’s why - he succinctly captures, with few words and charming illustrations, the current struggle between technology and the printed word. This is a book every book lover should read and share with others.

Rhonda, bookseller/office supplies/gifts: After the Falls: Coming of Age in the Sixties by Catherine Gildiner. This memoir by clinical psychologist and Chatelaine Magazine popular columnist Catherine Gildiner is a fascinating peek into the social turmoil of 1960’s America as experienced by Gildiner and her eccentric parents. Gildiner’s unorthodox childhood and family tragedy made her into an independent and fearless young woman, so she had many adventures both sad and humorous. I enjoyed every chapter (never a dull moment), and I am sure that other readers will also.

Seth, bookseller/website coordinator: Tough call between Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell... but Mitchell - my favorite author - wins out with his majestic, sprawling historical epic of Japan at the end of the 1700’s. While the Shogun is open to trade with the Dutch East India Co., he fears their influence & keeps the foreigners sequestered on the manmade island of Dejima in the middle of Nagasaki harbor. Jacob De Zoet, low level clerk for the Company, is faced with internal corruption and vicious political maneuvering, the delicate balancing act of the Japanese partnership, a daunting language barrier, the mysterious banishment of the woman he loves, the hushed-up financial collapse of his employer, & an imminent attack by foreign invaders, all of which test the limits of his faith - a faith strictly forbidden in Japan on the cusp of the 19th century. Mitchell’s brilliant prose sweeps you along with the flow, always wondering, as a foreigner like Jacob, how much of the lush, inner world of Japan you will be allowed to glimpse.

Erin, book keeper: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - the best (and so far, the only) after-death mystery novel I've ever read.

Barbara, bookseller: Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese - From the first sentence of this incredible novel, I was engrossed by the characters, the setting, and the storylines. It's narrated from the viewpoint of one of the 2 identical twins from the moment of their birth (!) onward. The complex relationship of the people in their lives intertwine to become the most interesting story I've read all year.

Pam, Office Supplies/Gifts: The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer (April 2011) is a very funny and well-written novel about what happens when a high school teacher in a New Jersey upper-middle class town decides to put on Aristophanes's Lysistrata - an anti-war play about Greek women who refuse to have sex with their partners - and all hell breaks loose.

Cindy, Office Supplies/Gifts: I haven't read too much this year. But in all that I have read the one that stands out is The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. Much better written and more informative than I expected from the Clueless Girl. Learned a lot.

Jolene, Gifts: The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd - I loved the main character (FBI agent Steve Vail) and I can't wait for the second installment. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

---

The Top Ten Books of 2010 as voted on by the booksellers of Warwick's:
Fiction: The Heights by Peter Hedges, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, and It's a Book by Lane Smith.
Nonfiction: The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey, Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter by Antonia Fraser, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant, Why the West Rules - For Now by Ian Morris, and At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson.

Anne Rice Returns

On December 8th, bestselling author & former La Jolla resident, Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire, etc.) returned to Warwick's to sign her latest novel, Of Love and Evil. The La Jolla Village News was there and Claire Harlin conducted this great interview with the author: Author of "Interview With the Vampire" and former La Jollan opens up about success, inspiration, Diet Coke.

From the interview with the (author of many books about) vampires:

...writing for me is a vocation, not just a profession. It's my life. I really do want to create books that people will not only love, but never forget. It's the only thing I have any talent for at all in this world. I can't dance or sing or play the violin. And the meaning of my life depends on my writing and offering books to my readers.

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Christian Lander

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Christian Lander is the creative mind behind the website, stuffwhitepeoplelike.com and the bestselling author of Stuff White People Like and the brand-new, Whiter Shades of Pale: The Stuff White People Like, Coast to Coast, from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews.




Stuff White People Like #842: Christian Lander

 1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• In 1994, I threw a perfect game in video game baseball against my brother.

2. What is your greatest fear?

• My greatest fear are severe tire damage spikes. Not kidding.

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• Are you kidding me? I would fly! Who would take anything else?

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• Mark Twain. I think he would make the greatest NPR host in history.

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• My E.T. doll from when I was a kid.

6. Which living person do you most admire?

• Stephen Colbert.

7. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• Shooting guard for the Lakers or Rock Star. But failing those, I would probably say teaching. I taught throughout my graduate school career and would say that it was by far the most rewarding part of the experience.

8. What are 3 items on The List that you secretly can't live without?

• 1) Expensive Sandwiches
• 2) Modern Furniture (Specifically Mid Century Modern)
• 3) Sweaters

9. What are you most looking forward to seeing on your tour stop in San Diego?

• The Pacific Ocean! I know we have it in LA, but it just seems cleaner here.

10.What is your motto?

• I wish I had one. But I'd say it's "Remember that no matter how good you are at something, there is someone out there better. So don't be such an asshole about it."

Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Milderhurst Again. . .

Written by Heather

Kate Morton never ceases to amaze me. Her skill as a storyteller seems to not only grow with each successive novel, but to flourish. In 2009 I wrote a brief review of Morton’s second novel, The Forgotten Garden stating:

“Why is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton one of the best books of 2009? Well, perhaps it’s because every member of the staff who has read it loves and raves about it to anyone who asks. Or, perhaps it’s because Kate Morton is an author who capably weaves a spellbinding tale, one that moves smoothly between time periods exploring the lives of three women and their mysteriously interlocking life stories. With alternating narratives that are gripping and brilliantly told, The Forgotten Garden holds the reader’s attention in a way few novels can. Simply put, it is mesmerizing and thus my favorite novel from 2009.”

I was clearly captivated then, and now, after reading Morton’s latest novel The Distant Hours (released today, 11/9/10) I have to say, that this novel is tied with Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and Revolution as one of my favorite novels of 2010.

One of my co-workers, when writing about The Distant Hours, quoted the famous opening line from Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay again”, but changed the memorable gothic home’s name to Milderhurst, the castle which plays such a pivotal role within this new novel. In doing so she beautifully evokes images of a large gothic home, alive and haunted by memories of the past. For Milderhurst, the castle upon which the story revolves, is a living entity, one that holds dark secrets, misplaced dreams, blazing brilliance, and lost innocence. It is the focal point as Morton weaves seamlessly between World War II and 1992 England, beautifully intertwining the different narratives so that they become one, heart-wrenching, achingly romantic story.

The Distant Hours is a novel of lost love, familial obligations and secrets, history and it’s unyielding grip on the present, mothers and daughters, and the relationships between sisters. It is wonderful and captivating, a book to be savored for it’s mastery of gothic suspense and its ability to engross the reader. Kate Morton has, with this new novel, firmly earned a place as one of the top fiction writers around.

Art + Culture | La Jolla

Art + Culture | La Jolla, a community website sponsored by Warwick's that is dedicated to promoting awareness, pride, and involvement in La Jolla's vibrant & diverse arts scene, is celebrating its one-year anniversary!  Check out the La Jolla Village News' recent piece on Art + Culture, featuring an interview with Nancy Warwick!
You can also follow Art + Culture | La Jolla on Twitter and Facebook.

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Steven Kotler

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Steven Kotler is the author of Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life and the founder of Rancho de Chihuahua dog sanctuary.  He lives in New Mexico with his wife and "too many dogs." (He visited Warwick's on October 11, 2010.)

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• Honestly, I have no idea.

2. What is your greatest fear?

• I tend not to think in those terms. I look at fear as a directional sign. I have found that the things that I love most in life are on the other side of fear. So I try to go right at what scares me. Sort of ruins the question...

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• Teleportation.

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• Hemingway. Wow, would I love to look over his shoulder while he was editing.

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• I still have the first stuffed animal (a seal) I ever had. From when I was a little kid. In a weird way it was the first animal I ever loved.

6. Which living person do you most admire?

• My wife.

7. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• I don't know if you'd call it an occupation, but I would definitely spend way more time surfing, skiing, mountain biking etc.

8. How many dogs is "too many" dogs?

• It varies. And it's hard to count. But around 30.

9. What are you most looking forward to seeing on your tour stop in San Diego?

• The ocean.

10.What is your motto?

• I don't know if I have a motto, but I once got a chance to ski with Johnny Deslaurie - one of the first "extreme skiers." I asked him what the secret to getting better was and he told me: "you go as fast as you f-ing can until you crash - that's how you get better." I find these words often apply to my life.

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Eric Puchner

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Eric Puchner is the author of the acclaimed short story collection, Music Through the Floor and is currently an assistant professor of literature at Clairemont McKenna College.  He visited Warwick's in September (complete event video at the bottom of the post), for the paperback release of his debut novel, Model Home. 

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

Seth, Joe, Eric Puchner, & Scott.



• I pogosticked for two consecutive hours once as a child, in an effort to set a world record.

2. What is your greatest fear?

• Death

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• To be able to return shopping carts to their rightful place in the parking lot, with my mind.

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• Myself (see number 2)

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• My five year old daughter's daily drawings for me. Also my ear plugs.

6. Which living person do you most admire?

• Alice Munro

7. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• Rock star or zoologist

8. In ten words or less, please explain the significance of the peacock in Model Home. (This was a topic of debate when Eric was at Warwick's.  An unresolved debate.)

• The peacock is only a peacock.

9. What (were) you most looking forward to seeing on your tour stop in San Diego?

• My friends at Warwick's.

10. What is you motto?

• My senior page in my high school yearbook featured this quote by Vonnegut: "So it goes."

Model Home is set “amid the affluent splendor of the 1980s” in Southern California. It is the story of Warren Ziller and his family at the moment their American dream disintegrates. At turns comic and bleak, Puchner’s novel chronicles bad real estate deals, bad sex ed. films and bad punk bands as a middle class family splinters and is literally banished to the wilderness of the California desert. Oh, and there is a young boy who only wears orange. McSweeney’s wrote of the novel: "The only conclusion to come to after reading this novel is that Eric Puchner is a massive talent."  The Boston Globe has called Puchner "...an extraordinarily talented writer… a master of mood and tone."

So Many Dog Books, So Little Time

Before anyone jumps all over me (no pun intended) I just want to say that I love dogs.  Most dogs, anyway.  Although not currently a dog owner, I have been in the past - a dirty, white mutt named Margo when I was growing up and a short, overweight doberman pinscher (Jade) when I was in my 20's - and I loved them dearly as faithful friends.  Well, if I'm being honest, they were more "faithful animal companions" rather than "friends."  Actually, I think that distinction may be at the heart of my ensuing rant: I think we have a serious problem of overpopulation in this country...of dog books. 

I don't know if this problem is simply indicative of current trends in the book industry or reflective of our society as a whole, but the over-abundance of dog-related nonfiction titles clogging up the stacks of the nation's bookstores has reached a level of insanity that I am, frankly, uncomfortable with.

This is in no way a criticism of the buying habits of the book buyers in our nation's bookstores, of course, since I am to be counted among their number.  Who's fault could it be if half of every publisher's catalogue is dog books?  Nor can I really blame those readers who genuinely want to read tales of inspiring canines. Who am I to judge, right?  Currently, the following titles are available as new hardcover books & are all displayed on just one of the non-fiction tables at Warwick's.  None of these are available in the actual Dog section at the store, mind you - all are mixed into General Nonfiction.  You tell me if this is too many dog books:


Out of control.

• The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving: How Dogs Have Captured Our Hearts for Thousands of Years by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
• Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
• Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors Into a Family by Glenn Plaskin
• Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family - and a Whole Town - About Hope and Happy Endings by Janet Elder
• Last Dog on the Hill: The Extraordinary Life of Lou by Steve Duno
• One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan by Pen Farthing
• A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler
• Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog by Susannah Charleson
• The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorant
• Life with Maxie by Diane Rehm
• Fixing Freddie: A True Story About a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle by Paula Munier
• Cesar's Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog by Cesar Millan (Cesar is a renowned dog trainer, but since it's new, I had to put it on the list.)
• Through a Dog's Eyes: Understanding Our Dogs By Understanding How They See the World by Jennifer Arnold
• The Divine Life of Animals: One Man's Quest to Discover Whether the Souls of Animals Live On by Ptolemy Tompkins
• Rose in a Storm (A Novel) by Jon Katz

(I'd like to apologize to Steven Kotler and Steve Duno, who either have appeared at the store in the recent past or will someday soon - I have to include everyone if this rant is going to have any weight.)

Almost all of these books seem to be attempts at tugging at our heartstrings: Don't you want to see how dogs see the world?  Don't you want to know if your dog's going to heaven with you?  See how this dog changed the lives of __ number of people/families/towns/cities/libraries?  Look at this dog who loves this family even though he used to fight in dog fights!  Save the dogs of Iraq/Afghanistan/New Jersey!

I also can't help but get exasperated at the lengthy subtitles, all of which bear a similar message: "This particular dog - our dog - is the most incredible, life-changing dog, EVER!!"  C'mon, if I lacked any soul, I could write an inspiring story focused on one of my dogs too - but it doesn't mean that I should.



Jade, in her Mardi Gras attire.

Even worse, these are just the current stock of books with dog-themes.  We've had several best-selling novels with dog protagonists & plenty of memoirs concerning rescued dogs from war-torn countries, yet I blame the current overload almost solely on John Grogan and Marley.  C'mon, you know who I'm talkin' about.  Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog was the publishing phenomenon of 2005 (and beyond - we've sold over 400 copies of the hardcover edition) and is currently still available as an illustrated edition, a mass market paperback, a regular trade paperback, a movie tie-in edition trade paperback (from the 2008 film with Owen Wilson & Jennifer Aniston), two kids' spin-off easy-reader editions, large print, and in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese translations.  None of these are to be confused with Don Taylor's 1995 memoir, Marley and Me: The Real Bob Marley Story, by the way.

The counter-argument is bound to be that publishers only print what there is a demand for, so if you see a preponderance of dog-related titles, it's really because "they" are giving "you" what "you" want.  I realize that there is a certain demand for titles like these, but I think that there are far, far too many being produced - if I can count over a dozen in a 5-foot radius on a single table, then there are far too many out there.  It is sort of a "chicken or the egg" argument - would we want so many dog books if there weren't so many being produced?  Or are the publishers actually reacting to our national dog-love?  Is it all just manufactured demand?  Personally, although I love dogs, I don't necessarily want to read 10 inspiring non-fiction books about them.

If James Patterson writes a dog book, I will be forced to quit the book industry forever.

I guess what bugs me the most is that all of these books are getting published and thousands of other, worthy titles are rejected by publishers and end up never seeing the light of day.  Considering that somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 titles get published in the States annually (according to UNESCO) it seems proportionally out of whack that I can count so many new, inspiring dog titles for a single season.

But hey, this is just the opinion of one, single dog-loving bookseller who just can't take it anymore.  Feel free to sic the dogs on me - I can take it.

Celebrate Banned Books!

Happy Banned Books Week!  The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution guarantees us freedom of speech, yet every year a large number of books are challenged in court and removed from libraries and schools, limiting the access that readers - especially young readers - have to them, restricting our basic rights of freedom. Removing books from public access is essentially a direct assault on a person's ability to choose what they read. This is where Banned Books Week comes in - BBW is an annual celebration of the freedom to read. In a salute to BBW, we will have a sharp-looking display of banned books at the store and, right here, a few of the Warwick’s staff have selected some of our favorite challenged books from the last decade or so, telling you why we love them and why they not only should never be banned, but should be READ!

John
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
"Would any serious reader question the place of To Kill a Mockingbird among the great works of American literature? A compelling story with deeply affecting characters, the novel draws you fully into a world charged with issues central to the American experience: the interplay of race and class, the death of innocence, law and order, gender and family. This amazing novel has been challenged repeatedly, in schools and libraries, for its use of racial epithets, for its use at times of vulgar language, and its frank portrayal of rape. I would argue that these challenges point exactly to why this novel is so important  - it is honest, true-to-life and our history, and still able to arouse powerful, indeed, visceral responses."

James
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
"Twain captures the humor and contradictory morals of the pre-Civil War Antebellum South. Banning this book for racism misses the whole point he was trying to make with his satire. Every time I read it, I find something new to consider."

Janet
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
"The banning of books in itself makes me sick at heart. When I scanned the lists of challenged books I was amazed to find In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. That book is a modern classic, a beautifully written true story of random violence in America, timely and important."

Julie

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
"From the master of characters, John Irving is at his best. Owen Meany will stay with you for the rest of your life! Anyone over the age of 15 should be able to handle this book. Banned? Really?"

Rob
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
"Jeannette Walls proves that success and normalcy can come of and despite family dysfunction, an invaluable lesson in the current social climate. Not only should this book NOT be banned, it SHOULD be read by all."

Heather
Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
"I’m always appalled when I see that a book has been banned. I mean the Bible, Diary of Anne Frank, even Mein Kampf, these are all part of history! So why did I pick the Twilight books? Well, they too are now a part of history or pop-culture at least, and whether or not you love or hate them, they are a strong part of our current culture. Besides how offensive can you get when the hero and heroine remain virgins until marriage and place such an importance on family? This series was actually banned because it was too racy and too sexual. Go figure."

Jim
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
"I can see why a book about steamy pedophilia would be banned. However, the writing is intoxicating, characters engaging, and the tale beautifully told. Humbert Humbert’s obsession for the young Delores is told by him, and the description of the madness that ensues is part of Nabokov’s greatness."

Seth
"I've given this a lot of thought - Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter, The Chocolate War - those are easy, smart-looking picks for favorite banned books.  In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak has always been one of my favorite books that always surfaces on the list of those banned every year. Why all the hubbub?  (This is a Caldecott Honor book, after all.)  So the kid flashes the reader a little bit in the kitchen - no big deal.  I'm always flabbergasted by schools and parents who challenge books like this - it's the adults, of course, who are uncomfortable with a little naked boy in a book, rather than the kids reading them.  I know I didn't care when I was a kid reading this - I was too busy reading the awesome story.  After all, isn't that what reading is all about? When I was looking over the handy list of the American Library Association's Most Frequently Challenged Books I also discovered that the most challenged book from 1990-1999 was Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz.  Say what?!  Banned for being too...scary?  C'mon, people.  Go out and read a banned book."

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Nicholas Sparks

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Nicholas Sparks is the massively popular, bestselling author of sixteen novels (six of which have been made into blockbuster films), including the brand-new Safe Haven.  He came by Warwick's on September 22nd to sign books for 300 of his biggest fans and he still found the time to answer our silly Questionnaire.

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• Helping my second son, Ryan learn to speak.

2. What is your greatest fear?

• Disappointing those I love.

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• Incredible luck.

4. If you could bring one writer back from the dead, who would it be?

• Michael Crichton

5. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

• Stephen King.

6. What is your most treasured possession?

• My photo albums.

7. Which living person do you most admire?

• Stephen Hawking - for his mind.

8. If you were not able to be in the writing profession, what would your preferred occupation be?

• I'd manage a global-macro hedge fund.

9. What are you most looking forward to seeing on your tour stop in San Diego?

• My relatives.

10. What is your motto?

• Live well, but buy a lot of insurance.

Coffee For the People!

Just in case you needed more reasons to get down to Warwick's on the second Tuesday morning of every month for Coffee with a Bookseller, our program got some great coverage this week in the widely-read book industry rags Bookselling This Week and Shelfawareness.  Don't be the last one on your block!  Get on down here next month!  (October 12)  The article:

Coffee With a Bookseller at Warwick’s
By Karen Schechner, for Bookselling This Week, on Wednesday, Sep 15, 2010

Seth's actual coffee in Hvar, Croatia

On the second Tuesday morning of every month, Warwick’s, in La Jolla, California, hosts “Coffee With a Bookseller.” The store serves free coffee and scones, and staff member Seth Marko leads customers on a “casual, informal journey” through new releases and Warwick’s staff picks.

“It can be a great way to connect with your reading community,” said Marko. “People love that it's informal, and I usually field a barrage of questions on how the book industry works, which is always fun to talk about. I love to point out to people that you don't get ‘Coffee With a Bookseller’ from Amazon or Barnes & Noble! It gets people thinking and keeps them shopping local.”

The 10:00 a.m. event has grown from a couple of attendees, when it first started in January, to about a dozen, “which is pretty much perfect,” said Marko. “It gets more and more popular every month as word gets around. People really enjoy the ‘insiders’ look at what's new, so when they come to one Coffee, they almost always come back the next month.”

Attendees receive 20 percent off any of the six to 12 titles typically discussed. Books mentioned at August's edition included: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart, I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson, Star Island by Carl Hiaasen, and The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant.

Warwick’s is considering expanding the series. Marko said, “We've discussed a nonfiction branch with John Hughes, another of our booksellers.” For the holidays, the store is considering hosting a gift book/cookbook version.

Customers have a good time, and they buy books. “People love a discount, so when you couple that with a passionate bookseller in your ear, it usually translates to decent sales figures,” said Marko. “Last month I mentioned the paperback release of Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. and told everybody that it was my favorite book from 2009. We did quite well with that one that day.”

For the bookseller, it’s an ideal sales scenario – the customer is seated (Note: No seats! We stand!) and caffeinated. “Anytime I get to just talk about books I've read and enjoyed with a relatively captive audience is a lot of fun,” said Marko. “The best part of being a bookseller is getting the chance to tell someone about the books you love, right? What better way to do that than over a cuppa joe and a scone?”

The Warwick's Questionnaire: Christopher McDougall

The so-called Proust Questionnaire was originally a 19th-century parlor game designed to reveal bits of the soul, personality, & deep secrets of the participants through a series of pointed questions.  Versions of the quiz were re-popularized in the 20th-century by Vanity Fair and Inside the Actors Studio.  Our version - The Warwick's Questionnaire - is a series of ten questions designed to plumb the depths of the souls of visiting authors.

Christopher McDougall is a journalist and the author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen about the barefoot-running, super-healthy Tarahumara Indians in Mexico.  In between working on his next book, he runs "in bare feet among the Amish farms in rural Pennsylvania," where he lives with his family.

1. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

You can't run from the Warwick's Questionnaire.

• Luck isn't really an achievement, but I'll claim it on a technicality. I have a knee-jerk instinct to say "Sure!" any time I'm offered work, only realizing later that maybe there are smarter ways to earn a buck than mucking blindly about in canyons or the Congo.

2. What is your greatest fear?

• That I could be wrong about Answer #3.

3. If you were a superhero, what would your power be?

• "If"?

4. If you could bring one writer (or runner? Your choice!) back from the dead, who would it be?

• Give me just enough of Nelson Algren to splice with Emil Zatopek to create the coolest, toughest, cleverest bad-ass to ever walk the planet. Unless Johnny Cash makes it back first.

5. What is your most treasured possession?

• I've got to steal this one from Geronimo: "I only trust my legs. They're my only friends." Everything good that has happened in my life has come from strolling, skulking or flat-out running into places I had no right being.

6. What living person do you most admire?

• C'mon, what answer is there besides the Prez?

7. If you were not able to be a journalist, what would your preferred occupation be?

• Have you ever heard of Statement Analysis? I came across a blog recently of a guy whose job is to analyze transcripts of criminal suspects. Super fascinating. Kept me up till 4am reading about odd little tells in the Amanda Knox and Madeleine McCann cases. "Guilty people have a difficult time saying four words," was one of the insights." And here they are: 'I didn't do it.' They'll embellish it, avoid it, try to persuade you that they're 'not the kind of person who could ever do something like that.' But 75% percent or more of guilty people will never say those simple words in their testimony." So yeah, sign me up for Statement Analysis 101 if this gig bottoms out.

8. How far can you run without shoes on?

• TBD. Ever since I got rid of those Burmese Tiger Traps known as cushioned running shoes, I've stopped getting injured. I'm running farther, better and more consistently than I ever dreamed possible, so really, the only limits on distance are time and desire.

9. What are you most looking forward to seeing on your tour stop in San Diego?

• An old friend from Philly, Jennifer Silverman.

10. What is your motto?

• Once you BS your way into the job, you'll figure out how to do it.

Chris McDougall will be at Warwick's on Monday, September 13th at 7:30pm to discuss and sign his book, Born to Run.

A Book Lover's Manifesto

by Adrian Newell, Warwick's Book Buyer

Recently, a local school district announced a major change in their school curriculum - the removal of classic literature as required reading because "classics," according to this district, have been deemed to be irrelevant. School curriculum will instead focus on math and sciences. Such a change in emphasis will most likely result in a negative effect rather than a positive one as reading comprehension has been proven to improve test scores as well as lay a good foundation for academic achievement in college.

This announcement triggered a heated discussion in my office regarding the negative side effects/fallout that such a shortsighted approach will produce…this took me down a mental “rabbit hole”, which brings me to the point of this, my first ever blog entry...and, no, the irony is not lost on me!

There has been a lot of chatter these past few years regarding e-books, digital content and platforms, which has led to the inevitable prediction of the demise of the printed book. Despite all this chatter it’s safe to say that no one was truly prepared for the exponential growth in e-book adoption as evidenced in this past year. Everywhere you turn there are articles etc covering this topic and the book industry has not been unaffected by this constant barrage of negative press regarding the future of the physical book. Physical books are already being relegated to the ranks of obsolescence and possible extinction. When self-professed book lovers and supposed supporters of independent bookstores (most notably Sven Birkerts in a recent WSJ article) agree can the end be far off?

It is not - unless book lovers unite to stem the tide of this potentially self-fulfilling prophecy. As long as we stand by, fail to speak out and remind/educate consumers as to what we stand to lose, we may witness a loss that will be devastating to the cultural and intellectual fabric of our society.

I grew up without a TV or phone. My parents were depression era babies and quite frugal in their approach to consumerism but books were always an important constant in our lives. We went to the library every week for a new batch of reading materials. They also took the time to read aloud to us daily. A favorite memory (and only good one!) from school was my 6th grade teacher who read The Hobbit aloud to us every day. The only effective way to get everyone to behave was the threat of not reading if someone misbehaved. This only happened once, after which the severe peer disapproval leveled at the miscreants was enough to keep everyone in line.

I credit my lifelong reading habits and exposure to the ideas discovered on the pages of books as my truest and best education.

At this point I feel the need to declare that I am not a Luddite...well perhaps a wee bit...I love the ease that certain technology has brought to everyday life. However, I view technology as a means to an end, not the end itself. I own an iPod, an iPhone, a computer, but at no point will these devices ever replace the satisfaction and joy of holding and reading a physical book. When I look at the books on my bookshelves I can clearly recall many happy moments spent reading as well as what was going on in my life at the time of reading specific books. They are a visual history of my life and looking at them evokes memories of people, places, and experiences that would be lost if my library consisted of only books downloaded to an e-reader.

Additionally, the literary life has put me in contact with many wonderful people who have enriched my life. Technology can be good, but also serves as a barrier to truly connecting with people. We are losing the art of conversation, letter writing, journal keeping etc...always connected but never truly connecting at more than a superficial level. Texting, tweeting, and emailing cannot adequately replace face-to-face conversation where you can look the person in the eye and watch their facial expressions mirror their thoughts and emotions. Nuance is lost in cyberspace and emoticons are a poor substitute for the real thing.

Recently I gave a shout out to It’s a Book by Lane Smith as my favorite book of the year. Why, you might ask, would I pick a children’s book above all the other deserving, finely written books of the past year?! Here’s why - he succinctly captures, with few words and charming illustrations, the current struggle between technology and the printed word. This is a book every book lover should read and share with others. (Check out his interview with the Wall Street Journal.)

So... my challenge to you is this. Just as we’ve seen a burgeoning “slow food” movement address the encroachment that fast food, processed food etc. has had on the culinary arts, I’d like to propose a “slow books” movement to encourage book lovers to go out and remind those around us of the importance and necessity of physical books. This is my call to arms and revolution, if necessary, to preserve something precious and vital to our culture.

Be retro, take a vacation from technology and unplug for a day...and use that day to reconnect with friends, explore the outdoors, or read a book. Most of all, speak out about this issue. Let’s not stand by doing nothing until it’s too late.

Be vocal, be proactive!

So spread the word, spread the love and give someone you care about a physical book this holiday season. It’s still the best entertainment value out there and time spent reading is never wasted!

Check out the following links to articles of interest on this topic.

http://news.bookweb.org/news/media-shines-spotlight-good-news-indie-bookstores
http://www.ebookskeptic.net/
http://www.regulatorbookshop.blogspot.com/