How to use this Page

As you may know, I spent a brief but producctive stint working for BookStream, an independent book wholesaler for the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions. It's a company staffed by smart, passionate, book-savvy folks, and dedicated to raising the level of discourse and profitability across the book industry.

To that end, BookStream geniuses Carolyn and Ken have once again cooked up a fabulous TitleWave event: author readings, staff picks, lunch, and free galleys! They've got some fabulous authors lined up for the August 4 event in Princeton, NJ. It's almost a mini-trade show or Winter Institute, and a chance for booksellers to get a look at the books coming out in the next season and learn how to sell them better. I've included Carolyn's press release below with all the details. I'm encouraging all of my colleagues to go, to support BookStream's efforts, and to take advantage of this chance for professional development. And there's no arguing with a free lunch!

BookStream's second TitleWave Event to be held on August 4

Following on the heels of the success of its first TitleWave on February 27, 2008, BookStream has announced a second TitleWave to be held on August 4, 2008, from 10:00am – 4:00pm at the Nassau Inn, in Princeton, NJ.

The purpose of the event is to familiarize booksellers with up-and-coming authors and titles using both author appearances and a presentation of picks-of-the-lists selected and presented by BookStream staff. The event is free and open to all employees of independent bookstores so that they may be part of an information exchange that will lead to more successful hand selling and knowledge of new titles.

Featured authors will be David Ebershoff (The 19th Wife, Random House), Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz (The Miracles of Prato, William Morrow) and Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (Baked, Stewart, Tabori & Chang). After each author’s appearance, booksellers will have a chance to meet them and receive signed copies of their books (and in the case of the Baked authors, samples of their delicious deserts!).

The rest of the day will include lunch, presentations, and a forum for booksellers to have peer-to-peer interaction, including a discussion of favorite titles and ideas that have succeeded in their stores. With this in mind, BookStream asks that booksellers arrive prepared to share at least one title that they’ve enjoyed reading recently.

The Nassau Inn, centrally located in Princeton, NJ, can be accessed easily by train or car. For directions, information on carpooling, and to RSVP for this free event, please contact Carolyn Bennett at [email protected] or (866) 416-1112 x209.



* * *

And for your Monday afternoon cute/weird/clever dosage, check out the new blog Corpus Libris. That's my fellow Emerging Leaders Council member Emily Pullen with the fist in the inaugural post, demonstrating once again that Skylight Books is one of the coolest places in L.A. I may have to bust out the digital camera at work and send some photos to them myself. Have fun!

Well, our first TitleWave event at BookStream was a smashing success. I'm working on writing up the press release now, but I can tell you informally here that the whole thing was awesome. Around 30 booksellers, plus sales reps and other folks, were in attendance. Our three authors -- Richard Price, Steve Toltz, and Hillary Jordan -- were each completely compelling in different ways. And Ken Abramson did a bang-up job of presenting his "pick of the lists" for great literary fiction and nonfiction from all publishers for the spring and summer seasons. You'll be hearing more about it from me and Carolyn Bennett in the days to come. If you're a bookseller who was there, I'd particularly love to hear from you! Thanks to everyone who made this possible, and who attended and enjoyed. On to the next event!

This morning I'm scrambling, along with my BookStream colleagues, to pull together the final details for our fabulous TitleWave event this Wednesday, February 27, in Hartford, CT. If somehow you've failed to hear all about it, here's what several dozen lucky booksellers have to look forward to:

10:00-10:15 arrive at the Sheraton East Hartford (free parking! TitleWave is in the Junior Ballroom)

10:15-10:30 introduction by BookStream CEO Jack Herr

10:30-11:00 Pick of the spring lists by sales rep extraordinaire Ken Abramson

11:00-11:30 Picks from the rest of the BookStream staff, presented by Carolyn Bennett and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo

11:30-12:00 Pick of the summer lists by Ken Abramson

12:00-12:30 Presentation by Richard Price, author of Lush Life (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

12:30-12:45 short break for book signing & galley pickup

12:45-1:30 Lunch

1:30-2:00 Presentation by Steve Toltz, author of A Fraction of the Whole (Spiegel & Grau)

2:00-2:30 Presentation by Hillary Jordan, author of Mudbound (Algonquin)

2:30-2:45 short break for book signing and galley pickup

2:45-3:45 Bookseller picks of the list: the best of what YOU’VE been reading!

3:45-4:00 Closing remarks & evaluations

The momentum is building for TitleWave, the awesome (free!) event for booksellers I've been helping to put together at BookStream!

Bookselling This Week has a nice writeup of the event...

Today's Shelf Awareness mentions TitleWave (though I can't seem to link to today's issue in the archive yet)...

And Megan at Bookdwarf gives it a mention as well...

For myself, I spent the last week missing subway stops reading Mudbound by Hillary Jordan, one of the authors who will be speaking at TitleWave. I was trying to explain to myself its addictive appeal -- it's not unusual structurally or formally, and the setup is almost Greek or Shakespearean in its simplicity: struggling farm, stoic husband, unhappy wife, charming brother, plus nasty racist father, plus bright black WWII vet, plus resourceful midwife and preacher husband, and a big storm on the way. But I couldn't put it down, nor predict just what would happen. Jordan writes effectively in every voice (except the father's, thankfully) and builds her story so carefully but so inevitably that you're panting for more.

I know Carolyn at BookStream is a huge fan too (see today's BookStream Current), and Jordan was buzzed about at Winter Institute. Don't miss your chance to hear her speak and share lunch with her.

And if that's not enough, you'll also have the chance to meet Steve Toltz, the Australian author of Fraction of the Whole (an early offering for brilliant upstart Random House imprint Spiegel & Grau), and the inimitable Richard Price (Clockers, anyone?), whose new novel Lush Life brings him back to a gentrifying New York City (the ALP gives that one his stamp of approval).

And if that's not enough, you also get to hear the one and only Ken Abramson, sales rep extraordinaire, talk up the very best titles coming out this February to June. And Carolyn Bennett and yours truly talking about the pop culture side of the things. AND more galleys than you can shake a stick at, plus bags to carry them home. AND free lunch. AND free parking. Honestly, what more could you ask?

It's all happening February 27 in Hartford, Connecticut -- it's free to any bookseller, but you do have to RSVP (and space is limited!). Click the links to email me or email Carolyn or email Ken for more info or to sign up. Hope to see you there!

A student on the forum was searching for ideas for a surrealist painting including the following elements an object, animal, person/portrait in an unusual setting. A book I am reading called “Wild at heart” by John Elderedge prompted my suggestion. This book talks about why “boys need to be boys”. It insists that men need a level of wild excitement in their life, as it is natural to them. In the