We’ve collected the books debuting on Indiebound’s Indie Bestseller List for the week ending Nov. 01, 2015–a sneak peek at the books everybody will be talking about next month.
(Debuted at #1 in Paperback Nonfiction) Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford: “Through intricate pen and ink illustrations to complete, color, and embellish, readers will meet shoals of exotic fish, curious octopuses, and delicately penned seahorses. Visit coral reefs and barnacle-studded shipwrecks, discover intricate shells and pirate treasure.” (Oct. 2015)
(Debuted at #3 in Hardcover Nonfiction) The Witches by Stacy Schiff: “It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister’s daughter began to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before 19 men and women had been hanged and an elderly man crushed to death. The panic spread quickly, involving the most educated men and prominent politicians in the colony. Neighbors accused neighbors, parents and children each other. Aside from suffrage, the Salem Witch Trials represent the only moment when women played the central role in American history. In curious ways, the trials would shape the future republic.” (Oct. 2015)
(Debuted at #8 in Hardcover Nonfiction) My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem: “Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. When she was a young girl, her father would pack the family in the car every fall and drive across country searching for adventure and trying to make a living. The seeds were planted: Gloria realized that growing up didn’t have to mean settling down. And so began a lifetime of travel, of activism and leadership, of listening to people whose voices and ideas would inspire change and revolution.” (Oct. 2015)
A group of high-profile celebrities and authors have come together to advocate for the library systems of New York. Each participant has signed their name to a letter calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio and city council members to increase the funding for the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queens Library.
Some of the entertainers who took part include ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, Oscar-nominated actor Ethan Hawke, and Grammy-winning musician John Legend. Some of the writers who took part include Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman, In the Unlikely Event novelist Judy Blume, Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz, Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison, and historian Stacy Schiff.
Here’s an excerpt: “New York City’s libraries offer inspiring programs, welcoming staff, and safe spaces for people of all ages, as well as free access to technology and, of course, millions of books. Libraries are the great equalizers…Now is the time to restore $65 million in operating funding for libraries, and to invest $1.4 billion in capital funding over the next decade to repair and renovate our 217 neighborhood branches. It’s time for New York City to Invest in Libraries.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Life of Pi author Yann Martel gave his stamp of approval for Ang Lee‘s 3D film adaptation. He said that Lee’s film is “incredibly faithful to the book” not only in plot, but also in “the idea, the intent.”
Prior to shooting, Martel met with the director to give feedback on the screenplay. After that, the author took a very hands-off approach with film production.
He explained in the interview: “Early on, I made very clear that I was willing to do whatever they wanted me to do and that I was stepping back because I know my limits. I’m a novelist; it’s my business to write words and construct novels, not to make movies — as much as I love movies. I grew up watching movies.”
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
"A short story is by definition an odder, more eccentric creature than a novel: a trailer, a fling, a warm-up act, a bouillon cube, a championship game in one inning. Irresolution and ambiguity become it; it’s a first date rather than a marriage. When is it mightier than the novel? When its elisions speak as loudly as its lines." — Stacy Schiff in the
New York Times Book Review review of Nathan Englander's story collection,
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.
Thousands of years ago, as an undergraduate of the University of Pennsylvania, I craved and read nothing but nonfiction. My major was the History and Sociology of Science. My passion was the evolution and technology of cities, the genius lives of science-saints, Thomas Kuhn and his paradigms. I read history and biography and could not make time for fiction. I took no writing class and but a single English class (on the Romantic poets) and could not wait to be done with the stuff.
I remained in that zone for many years, until fiction and poetry began to consume more space on my shelves, and until I began reading and (consequently) writing memoir. I don't make nearly enough room for classic nonfiction these days, but when I do, I'm returned to a happy place, and Stacy Schiff's
Cleopatra is, at the moment, making me happy.
I bought this book for myself in December. I've read at least four dozen books in the meantime—many of them prescribed by my teaching. I've been burning through things and
Cleopatra cannot be burned through. I take my time. I turn the (paper) pages.
I'm up to page 68 on this foggy day, and I'm going to stop right here, share a passage. Have you ever wondered what Alexandria was like in young Cleopatra's time—what she and Caesar looked out upon as they contemplated their strange, mysterious union? Let Schiff take you there:
From east to west the city measured nearly four miles, a wonderland of baths, theaters, gymnasiums, courts, temples, shrines, and synagogues. A limestone wall surrounded its perimeter, punctuated by towers, patrolled at both ends of the Canopic Way by prostitutes. During the day Alexandria echoed with the sounds of horses' hooves, the cries of porridge sellers or chickpea vendors, street performers, soothsayers, moneylenders. Its spice stands released exotic aromas, carried through the streets by a thick, salty sea breeze. Long-legged white and black ibises assembled at every intersection, foraging for crumbs.
Oh, how I love this stuff.
I also love my own Penn students, some of whom are taking the graduation march today.
Kim,
Jonathan,
Sara, Trixie, Ben, Lydia—my thoughts are with you on this steamy, atmospheric morning. Be well. Be safe. Travel widely. And write to me, every now and then, of your adventures.
The shimmer of this world awaits you.
Perfect defination - and appropriately short. BTW, I'm in Doylestown, PA, sort of your neighbor.
A bullion cube -- love this!
I'm with Caroline. The bouillon cube gave my heart a little leap. (Must be craving soup.)
I loved the bouillon cube, too! Wonderful and appropriately pithy definition. :)
this collection is on my radar. And Bullion Cube is such a great way to describe the power of a short story...think of all that bottled up flavor.