Author Does Good

So I'm reading through my daily email from Publisher's Weekly this morning and I come across this article, talking about an author coming to Book Soup on August 13 and how her book is being shopped around for a movie. I must say, I've read it and I can't wait. Laurie Sandell, in this graphic memoir titled, The Impostor's Daughter, writes of her Argentinian father and the elaborate stories he used to tell about his thrilling life, stories that maybe seemed slightly out of sync with the paranoid sheltered life her father tended to lead in their family house.

I can't say too much without giving away all the satisfying shock and awe of the story, but I let out the appropriate gasps and tsks as I rode around reading it on the New York City Subway not too long ago. Sandell's book is great as a graphic novel, and I encourage all of you to come out here on the 13th and check it out, but I'm crossing my fingers that it gets the big screen treatment it deserves. This one definitely goes on the 'stuff we want to be movies' list.

Happy Reading,
Julia

Post-Game Wrap-Up

So Comic-Con was a success once again, and once again I trudged into work on Monday completely and utterly exhausted, but still invigorated, ready to tackle our comics/graphic novel section. Of course, seeing as it's not my full time job to actually arrange the graphic novel section, simply a passion of mine, I have not been able to lay a hand on it. But I will say this, our favorite comics publishers, namely DC Comics (and their imprints Vertigo and Vertigo Crime), Top Shelf, First Second, Del Rey, Oni Press, Image Comics, Fantagraphics, and Dark Horse (to name a few) are coming out with some pretty amazing stuff this season, and we can't wait to bring it to you guys.

I discovered a little book called Fables this year and I absolutely cannot put it down. If you don't know it, basically it's about all the fairy tales (Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, Beauty and the Beast, etc.) and they have been kicked out of their old lands and are forced to live among the common people in New York City. Snow White curses like a sailor and has divorced the smarmie, philandering Prince Charming, Beauty and the Beast are having marital issues so the Beasts beastliness is flaring up again, all this in the background of some of the most vivid storytelling and artistry I've ever seen. And, we found out at Comic-Con, the Fables creator is releasing a full length novel in the Fables universe titled, Peter and Max.

Of course, no modern Comic-Con would be complete with out some movie/t.v. updates. Our favorite shows based on books Dexter and True Blood are coming back with a vengeance. I managed to attend the Dexter panel and I'll tell you, it looked amazing. John Lithgow coming in to play the Trinity Killer (can't wait to find out all the gory details on that). The one question that kept coming up was why they were deviating from the books. I didn't really know they were, but I guess if you want the details on that you'll have to read the Jeff Lindsay novels.

Then there were the movies. And this year there are a ton of great movies coming out that are based on books that we love (there might be one or two that aren't as well). Of course Iron Man 2 is hitting theaters next May. The footage on this makes it look like it will be as good, if not better, than the first. And Sherlock Holmes, also starring Robert Downey, Jr., looks like it's going to be totally amazing. But I think what we book nerds are really all looking forward to is the triple header of kids book adaptations coming to theaters soon.

First off, and one that is near and dear to my heart is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. One of my favorite books as a kid, Cloudy became more and more poignant as I grew up, going from the fantastical excitement of raining food from the heavans to the realistic notion that the weather could actually become a threatening and dangerous thing. I just hope that the animated version of this movie doesn't wear away at some of the edge of the book.

And then there are the two kids books that almost look like they are going to be not for kids movies. Alice in Wonderland, of course looks pretty amazing. Vivid colors, dark themes, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. This one looks like it might be pretty awesome. Of course, we'll wait till the movie comes out to make our final decision.

Finally, there is Where the Wild Thing Are, Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers, a trailer that almost makes you want to cry because that book has everything in it. Loss of innocence, adventure, imagination, and a kind of melancholy that tends to permeate any situation in which an adult looks back at childhood. A piece of the set was on display, which I tried valiantly to get a picture of, but alas, the Warner Brothers booth closed every time there was a signing, and there was always a signing.

By Sunday, I was ready to be done with Comic-Con, the Twilight girls (who I happen to feel a warmth toward...come on, they're reading), the fan boys, the costumed superheroes and the never ending crowds of too-excitable people. Still, the end of Comic-Con, complete with it's Rocky Horror rip off of the Buffy Musical, is a sad time. Swarms of people leaving the convention center for the last time, many of them seeing the sun for the last time, before next year.

Happy Reading,
Julia

40 Years

It's hard to believe that it's comic-con time again, yet here I sit in sunny San Diego at a bar not far from the madness. Already it's apparent that this year is bound to be crazier than the last. Hordes of people pored into San Diego last night and this morning and will continue to pour in throughout the next few days, scrambling to see the TV, movie and comics panels, eager to make sure their finger is firmly on the pulse of pop culture.

And that's my job here, to make sure that my Book Soup finger stays directly on the pulse of what new things are going to be huge, which aren't worth getting involved with and which small little gems there are to me found in the melee of the display floor. There are a few certainties this year, Twilight is a big fucking deal, shockingly. Iron Man 2 is being buzzed about. Dexter and True Blood are big hits. But what I look forward to every year is the new discoveries. Last year that discovery was Twilight and the madness that seemed to come out of nowhere surrounding that franchise (hang on kids because it's not going anywhere; the 6500 capacity room was full hours before the panel even started). This year is still to be seen. Though as one walks around comic-con and it's virtual orgy of geek currency certain excitements and bastions of pop culture start to make themselves known. Through the millions of potential phenomena comes one or two that, by the end of the weekend are practically legendary. I guess we'll find out what they are soon enough.

Happy Reading,
Julia

Please Stay

Airplane reading usually consists of a mind-numbing, simply for escape book; the kind that I can't stand. My idea of airplane reading is something that I can start and finish in the course of the flight, that keeps me wholly engrossed for however long I will be in transit.

As I flew back from New York last night, I sifted through the pile of books in by bag (as I am not able to travel without approximately 8 books) and grabbed the one that everyone has been telling me to read. I've read reviews in Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly and Booklist, I've been told by our book buyer and our Penguin Rep that this is a book not to be missed, and finally, finally I figured out what all the fuss is about.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman is intensely moving and well-written. It may not have been the best choice for an airplane seeing as I kept having to turn away from the person next to me so she couldn't see that I kept tearing up, but as far as living up to my airplane needs it was an overachiever. Not only could I not put it down, I started it and finished on the plane, but I seemed to delve into this world and only look up right before we touched back down in L.A.

The story is one of severe and tragic loss as a start, but through an artful deconstruction of what exactly makes up a life, it is about how we choose to overcome, to move on when we've lost everything, when there is little left to live for. What better time to explore these themes than the present, when loss abounds?

Happy Reading,
Julia

No Really, Thank YOU!

So here I sit in a hotel room in Brooklyn.  I've been here since Tuesday at the annual Book Expo America where we booksellers and publishers get together and figure out how best so serve you.  The consensus this year seems to be that the upcoming fall season is mighty strong.  But the question is also how do we get books to you, our beloved customers.  Are eBooks all the rage, do you read what we write on twitter or facebook or this blog, or do you just want to come in to the store and talk to someone who knows about books?

In any case, these are some of the issues discussed, and I have to say, we're especially proud to talk up our customers.  It seems we might have the best ones around.  You guys are enthusiastic and knowledgeable, you come to events, you love books as much as we do, simply put, you're the best.  

Sure, this year in all industries has been worse than before, but thanks to you Book Soup continues to do well.  So seriously, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

Happy Reading,

Julia

Sitting Shiva

So I'm going to dangle a little bait because this book doesn't come out until August 6th.  I want everyone to take note of it though because I can't get it out of my head.  

Jonathan Tropper's new book, This Is Where I Leave You, is an absolutely stunning achievement.  The premise is simple; a father dies and the family, who is only vaguely Jewish is made to sit shiva as per the father's dying request.  The hitch of course, is that, like most families, this family cannot stand each other for more than a few hours.  

Of course hilarity ensues.  But Tropper brings a tenderness to the Foxman family that permeates even the most humorous scenes.  The Foxman's have a past, they harbor grudges and hurts, they are petty and deep and beautiful.  Each character finds a way, even when they are at their most self-righteous, their most shallow, and their most spiteful there is an inherent lovability in each character.  The people that you should hate the most, rip at heartstrings in the end.

This Is Where I Leave You is an absolutely engrossing read.  Study that picture in the corner and remember it for August...I guess this is where I leave you.

Happy Reading,

Julia