What do you want us to talk/write about? Showing 151-200 of 1,312

[Shona]

Ann & Michael,
This is just a question and I didn't know where else to post it. I recently moved to Germany and I've been here about three weeks. Before I left the states I picked up The Girl Who Played With Fire. It had just been released. I was so excited to get it before I left. When I got here, I was surprised that it was already out here in paperback! And today I was in the bookstore and I saw Alex Cross's Trial which is due out on the 24th I think in the states in hardcover, but they have the paperback here for sale already. I guess publishers release books on a different schedule for the states and other countries? And is the hardcover and the paperback released simultaneously overseas?

[Ann]

Shona,
Typically, a publisher either buys rights only for their country, or, if they buy world rights, they often sell those rights to publishers in other countries. So in this case, the German publisher can do whatever they like, as can the publishers in all other countries. So the individual publishers can determine when the best time to publish is in each particular country, and which format.

Traditionally, I believe, Europeans were much more accepting of paperbacks, while US review media would only review hardcovers, so often things went right to paperback in Europe. I don't know if that's still the case, but it was something I noticed when I was in the UK several years ago.

Sometimes, with a big book, some or all of the publishers in various countries will work together to have one single on sale day. That's probably specified in the rights negotiations. On Sept. 15, the new Dan Brown book will go on sale in many different countries simultaneously.

Sorry I can't be more clear on this -- rights are a sticky issue that are at the crux of many of the things in publishing that don't seem to make sense!

[Libby]

I like to read hardbacks because the type size is usually larger. Paperbacks are convenient for travelling, though.

[Kirsty]

I prefer to read paperbacks purely for the ease of carrying them around. I do prefer to have autobiographies in hardback (yet I have no idea why!!) and I do think that hardbacks look nicer on my shelves, but I can make better use of my (limited) shelf space if I buy paperback. It's a real pain when a favourite author has a new book out though - I have to force myself to wait for the paperback!

[Linda]

Ann wrote:"Sorry I can't be more clear on this -- rights are a sticky issue that are at the crux of many of the things in publishing that don't seem to make sense! "

Is this the reason, I just bought two Physics books for my college sophomore labeled 'International Edition Not for sale in the United States'?

The rights are getting in the way? They are both paperback and I paid $70 and $75 for them compared to the bookstore's $200 a piece. Will I be in trouble when it comes time to sell them?

[Ann]

Lmj, that's exactly it. Publishers will often do "export editions" for sale in English language bookstores, military bases, etc., in countries where they do not have the publishing rights in the native language. I'm not 100% clear on how it all works, but we will often have an export edition available in paperback when the US edition is in hardcover, and that export edition cannot be sold in the US.

I don't think you will get into any trouble when it comes time to sell them, since they are used books. The only thing would be if your child tried to sell them back to the college bookstore, they might refuse to buy them back.

[Merry]

Ann wrote: "Lmj, that's exactly it. Publishers will often do "export editions" for sale in English language bookstores, military bases, etc., in countries where they do not have the publishing rights in the na..."

Ann I have a fellow GR friends that will soon be stationed in Japan with her family. What is the best way for her to get her hands on American language books while they are there. She will be on a US military base, so I am sure she will find something, but she will probably be limited. I was thinking she could download books from the internet? How do you feed a hungry English speaking book addict who wants to continue to enjoy the American author while living in Japan? Can you share what you know, thanks,

[Ann]

Merry, sadly, I don't know much.
Probably the people on the military base will be of help. If she has an ereader, she can download books here to take over there, but even ebooks have territorial rights (a big mess!), so for instance I cannot (legally) buy/download a book from a Canadian website because I am based in the US, unless the same publisher has rights in both countries. It's confusing and I don't really understand it myself.

Military bases are different animals -- I think that it is still considered a US based address, so she may have some luck but I really don't know. The PX will certainly have English language books, and would not be surprised if there is an English language bookstore in the nearest large city to where she is stationed.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

[Stephanie]

I would love an upcoming podcast on spooky books for fall. I just made a posting for people to give me some ideas, but that could be a fun topic. Books that kept us up late finishing them b/c we were so scared and books that haunted us for years after we read them. :)

[Merry]

Great Idea Stephanie, spooky books for October!

[Linda]

What if you don't like vampires? What is with this "new" genre? Serious question. Not denigrating.

[Kirsty]

Hehe Toni, I have a friend who shares your fear of Zombies... they seriously freak him out!

[Kirsty]

I'm like that with clowns... I have a real issue with them. Stems from watching It when I was 8 years old. I'd gone for a sleepover at my friends house and she sneaked it from her parents shelf... I didn't sleep that night, or for around a week later.

[Vanessa]

Vampires were cool but now they are kind of way overdone (having said that, I still read more than my share of paranormal junk.) I think it's just where the money is now. The NYT was saying the other day that to get your book on the fiction bestseller list, it had better be part of a series.

[Kirsty]

I have to say the Twilight books were my first foray into Vampire-dom and I wasn't massively impressed. They were ok but nothing to shout about. I've since picked up Dead Until Dark, the first of the books in the Charlaine Harris series on which the series True Blood is based and I have to say I'm hooked. Maybe its because its not just about vampires and love - there's the mystery aspect to it too.

Other than that I can't say that I'm pulled to read any of the other vampire books.

[Danelle]

I love vampire books. But after I read twilight, which i liked. I want to read something new about Vampires, that is scary. Where all the vampires are evil.

[Vanessa]

I don't have much interest in Twilight but I do love Charlaine Harris.

If you are looking for a scary vampire book Danelle, the top pick for me would be Salem's Lot by Stephen King.

[[deleted user]]

Vanessa wrote: "I don't have much interest in Twilight but I do love Charlaine Harris.

If you are looking for a scary vampire book Danelle, the top pick for me would be Salem's Lot by Stephen King. "

I really liked the first eponymous title in the Twilight series, the second title less so, and the third was pretty bad. I have such little enthusiasm for the last title that I haven't bothered with it (it's in a stack around here somewhere.)

I just started Dead Before Dark today (for my audiobook mystery group discussion) and so far I'm not terribly impressed. I'm way over the vampire gothic romances but I'll finish DBD. Who knows, maybe it will hook me yet!

[Vanessa]

Tanya wrote: I really liked the first eponymous title in the Twilight series, the second title less so, and the third was pretty bad.

I generally trust your reviews Tanya so now look what you have done. Doomed me to read Twilight : )

(I admit I've been a little curious.)

I really like the Sookie Stackhouse books but they probably aren't for everyone. Maybe I'm partly biased because of how they get the little things about Southern small town life right and the accents are so perfectly rendered. I actually like the books better than the HBO series.

[Kathy]

Danelle wrote: "I love vampire books. But after I read twilight, which i liked. I want to read something new about Vampires, that is scary. Where all the vampires are evil."

They aren't new but the Anne Rice vampires are scary and mostly evil. INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE was the first.

[Eric]

Kathy wrote: "Danelle wrote: "I love vampire books. But after I read twilight, which i liked. I want to read something new about Vampires, that is scary. Where all the vampires are evil."

They aren't new but th..."

[Jon]

Love your show. I would love you guys to take a podcast to discuss criminally underrated and overrated books/writers...

[Danelle]

Thanks. And I love Anne Rice i have all her Vampire books...some of them i have two copies of...>.> but i haven't read the Strain. Dead before Dark.

I have yet to read the Sookie Stackhouse books, maybe it's because i like the show so much and i already know things are different. Hmm I don't know i plan to though in the future.

And if you're going to read the twilight books here are two things you should know. In my opinion, one, it's not a very literary novel. The only reason I think I like it was because it was interesting an creative in many different ways. And Two, in the last two books it runs kind of slow in the middle. But other than that read on.

[Ann]

Thanks, Jon!

Criminally underrated authors -- I love that!

We likely won't cover "overrated" authors, as we try to keep it positive around here -- also, one man's trash and all that. But I do love the "Underrated," thing ...

[Jon]

Yeah, you're right - it's funny b/c what I love about the show is how positive you guys are. Even though ever show brings attention to lesser known authors, I'm really looking forward to who you guys would select for the underrated.

Keep up the wonderful podcast! I listen to it every night when I walk my dog, Otis (I'm catching up...).

Ann wrote: "Thanks, Jon!

Criminally underrated authors -- I love that!

We likely won't cover "overrated" authors, as we try to keep it positive around here -- also, one man's trash and all that. But I do lov..."

[Melissa]

Perhaps that could be a call-in question for the podcast: When do you listen? I listen while I'm running. I'm training for a marathon now, so I save up the podcasts for my long training runs.

[Ann]

Maybe our music between segments should include some motivational talk: "Go, Melissa, you can do it!"

Will it help you if we talk at a faster pace? ;)

[Rita]

For some reason, I can't listen to anything but music when I run.

[Michael]

Thanks for the nice comments Jon, but you'll need to stretch out your podcast listening.... We're NOT going daily for your dog-walking!

As for criminally-underrated, I'd have to say William Boyd. I've talked about him so much already, I'll come up with another one for the episode... thanks for the suggestion!

[Kokeshi]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...
How about women who have written Crime Noir novels? No one seems to know who Dorothy B. Hughes is. Are there any other great female Crime Noir writers that have contributed to the genre? Surely there is more to the genre than Hammett and Chandler?

[[deleted user]]

Kokeshi wrote: "Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...
How about women who have written Crime Noir novels? No one seems to know who Dorothy B. Hughes is. Are there any other great female Crime Noir writers t..."

One that you may be interested in is Ross MacDonald's wife, Margaret Millar. She's better than her husband, but he somehow overshadowed her.

[Melissa]

I'd like to know your opinion on the Booker Prize winner - Wolf Hall. I listened to your podcast reviewing A S Byatt's new book, The Children's Hour, which was short-listed for the prize. Are you more or less likely to pick up a book because it has won a prize? How meaningful are the awards?

[Linda]

Tapping onto Melissa's question. I have read books just because they've gotten an award and wondered "What was ll the fuss about?" "What am I missing?" Anyone else have similar stories?

[[deleted user]]

Man Booker shortlisted titles and winners always attract my attention; Recent National Book Award winners have started registering on my radar; PEN/FAULKNER titles less so; Nobel and Pulitzers not so much at all.

[Stephanie]

Lmj wrote: "Tapping onto Melissa's question. I have read books just because they've gotten an award and wondered "What was ll the fuss about?" "What am I missing?" Anyone else have similar stories?"

PULITZERS! I have enjoyed very few I have read!

[AM]

I would love to hear a podcast on meta-fiction, if you haven't touched on that already. I am not all the way through you past shows yet. If you've already done it, would you mind telling me which show? Thanks and keep up the great work.

[Ann]

AM, I'm intrigued and challenged. We haven't done a show on that before. I will need to give it quite a bit of thought to come up with some titles. Thanks!

[Ashley]

Have you guys ever discussed Appalachian literature? I'm from Appalachia and there seems to be very few popular Appalachian writers. One hardly finds Appalachian writers in anthologies, and Appalachian writers are rarely taught in schools, even Appalachian schools. Why do you think this is? And, have you discovered any great contemporary mountain writers? Silas House and Charles Frazier are two of my favorites.

By the way, I’m new to your site and podcast. I’m feverishly attempting to listen to all the older podcasts. Keep up the great work!

[Ann]

Ashley, thanks!
Appalachian literature is not a category that I know anything about, though I have read and loved both Silas House and Charles Frazier. However, there is a new novel that I've read recently, which will be published in the spring, which has an Appalachian community at the center. It's called BLOODROOT by Amy Greene, and I am sure that I will talk about it shortly before publication.

One recommendation for you is to talk to a local independent bookstore in the region. They should be the hub of literary activity there, and should be able to point you to some up and coming authors as well as the tried and true.

[Ashley]

Ann and Teresa, thanks for the info!

[Dani]

What about "comfort" books? There are certain books that I turn to when I am feeling emotionally under the weather. I don't know if other people do the same, but I would be interested to find out!

Also, with 2010 approaching in a couple of months, what about a top ten from 2000-2010? I am always interested in books that I may have missed when they first came out.

[Jennifer]

Hi Ann and Michael. I've recently discovered your podcast and i've totally addicted. I've also recently discovered the romance genre, and I'm loving it. You really do have to put away your biases and give it a try. Oh, and totally ignore the covers. To me, they just don't reflect the quality of the writing. So, how about a show about "good" romances. They are definitely out there.

[Ann]

Hi Jennifer,
You are right about romance.
I'm not very well read in the category (and I will go out on a limb and guess that Michael is not either), but we know some people that are. Might be time for a special guest. Thanks for the idea!!

[Laurie]

Ashley wrote: "Have you guys ever discussed Appalachian literature? I'm from Appalachia and there seems to be very few popular Appalachian writers. One hardly finds Appalachian writers in anthologies, and Appal..."

Sharyn McCrumb writes entertaining Appalachian books also.

[[deleted user]]

I've been noticing that after a couple of years, a number of blogs, discussion groups and/or book clubs will fall into indifference and low participation. Since you've been discussing book clubs on your podcast & blog, the topic of how to jump start a flagging book club might be timely. What have other successful groups done to re-energize their memberships?

[[deleted user]]

Tanya wrote: "I've been noticing that after a couple of years, a number of blogs, discussion groups and/or book clubs will fall into indifference and low participation. Since you've been discussing book clubs on..."

and/or maybe how to start a book club?

[Libby]

Laurie wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Have you guys ever discussed Appalachian literature? I'm from Appalachia and there seems to be very few popular Appalachian writers. One hardly finds Appalachian writers in antholo..."

Lee Smith is one of my favorite writers and she's Appalachian. Many of her books are historical -- "Oral History," "On Agate Hill," "Fair and Tender Ladies," "The Devil's Dream," (about several generations of country musicians) and "Saving Grace (about fundamentalist religion)." Other books are contemporary or short stories -- "Family Linen," "Fancy Strut," "Black Mountain Breakdown," "The Last Girls," etc. But if you only read one Lee Smith book, read her first one -- "The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed."

[Libby]

Teresa, thanks for posting this. I have written a novel that takes place in the Blue Ridge mountains so I may submit something if I can pull a short story out of my novel. Other Appalachian writers are James Still, Ron Rash, Sheila Kay Adams, and Bo Ball. I wonder if "Still" is named for James Still.

[Tara]

Hi Ann -

Has anyone thought of doing a show on Steampunk? It's one of those sub genres that seems to be experiencing a little renaissance.

[Ann]

Hi Booksexy,

Thought about it, but I've never ever read a Steampunk book. Great idea there -- we may have to wait for the appropriate guest-host, and I think I know just the one. I will try to pull it together after the New Year.