Jan Gardner writes the "Shelf Life" column for the Globe's Books section.
Ask the Globe's book writers a question about local authors, the latest books, or anything else.
|
« May 13, 2007 - May 19, 2007 |
Main
| May 27, 2007 - June 02, 2007 »
May 25, 2007
The Authors Guild is going another round with Simon & Schuster over new language in the publisher's standard contract, which seems to grant the publisher permanent rights to a book, even if it goes out of print. The writer's organization last week raised the alarm on this, and Simon responded with indignation, insisting its language is no threat to authors. The guild sent out a new release yesterday, not backing down an inch, and accusing the publisher of "playing hardball" with agents who have raised questions about the language. The guild's releases are here, along with responses from Simon & Schuster.
Under long-standard book contracts, if a publisher lets a book go out of print -- that is, stops printing copies and having them on hand for order -- eventually the rights to the work revert to the author, who can then shop the book elsewhere in hopes of republishing it. Under the Simon language, the publisher would retain the rights, even if there are no copies available. Part of this is a reflection of new technology. With "print-on-demand," a publisher can have a single book printed in response to a single order, and therefore theoretically has no need for warehousing of books. And then there are "e-books," which need never have a physical existence.
The guild's position is that Simon wants to hold on to the rights to a book forever, even if it has no copies and no plans to print any, which the guild says would take away an author's traditional rights. Now Simon says it will negotiate with authors individually on this matter, and the guild is warning its members to read proposed contracts carefully.
Posted by David Mehegan at 10:19 AM
May 24, 2007
Artistic drawing by Friesen Tokar Architects
Lovers of Carol Shields's writing have found a uniquely appropriate way to honor her life. Up in Winnipeg, plans are underway to build a labyrinth. Shields, who died four years ago, made such a creation the centerpiece of her novel, "Larry's Party.''
Posted by Jan Gardner at 10:57 AM
May 23, 2007
It sounds like something from News of the Weird... but a comic-book store owner in Georgia is scheduled to go on trial next month for letting a comic book with nude figures (Picasso among them) fall into in the hands of a child.
Who knows how the court will rule but I hope Nick Bertozzi, creator of "The Salon,'' an inventive graphic novel that chronicles the birth of Cubism against the backdrop of a murder mystery, is selling more copies due to the publicity.
And I hope the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund can rescue the store owner from the uptight parents who could have simply asked him to apologize for letting "The Salon'' slip into a bin of books he was giving away. (For more on the case, see the NY Times story.)
Posted by Jan Gardner at 10:23 AM
May 23, 2007
The New York Sun reports that shareholders of CBS are riled up at former president Jimmy Carter, and publisher Simon & Schuster, over controversial statements in Carter's book about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." There are expected to be complaints at today's shareholder's meeting. Simon is a subsidiary of CBS.
The shareholders are angry at some of the statements in the book -- Harvard Law professor led the charge against the book when it was published last fall -- and want the publisher to take steps to prevent errors in future Simon & Schuster books.
This idea has come up before -- why can't book publishers have fact-checking staff, as some magazines have? Newspapers don't usually have such staff, but their editors and reporters are charged with certifying the accuracy of stories. The problem is that authors are not employees of book publishers, but independent parties who sign contracts for particular books. Simon & Schuster doesn't own Jimmy Carter's book; its contract is a license to publish it. Carter is the rightsholder.
Standard publishing contracts contain language in which the author certifies that nothing in the manuscript is libelous or in any other way injurious to anyone's legal rights. If a book is found to be libelous or plagiarized, the publisher can and usually will pull the book. But not because some people don't like it.
Large publishers publish vast numbers of books, with thousands of facts. The Simon & Schuster fall list has more than 40 new books, and there are usually four seasonal lists per year. No big house is going to try to insure ahead of time that every book is inoffensive and error-free.
Posted by David Mehegan at 10:00 AM
May 22, 2007
MONDAY: Tana French reads from ‘‘In the Woods,’’ at 7 p.m., at Borders Back Bay, 511 Boylston St.
TUESDAY: Khaled Hosseini discusses ‘‘A Thousand Splendid Suns,’’ at 6 p.m., a the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. ... Ralph Savarese discusses ‘‘Reasonable People,’’ at 7 p.m., at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Cambridge. ... Nicholas Fox Weber discusses ‘‘The Clarks of Cooperstown,’’ at 7 p.m., at Borders Back Bay.
WEDNESDAY: Cammie McGovern discusses ‘‘Eye Contact,’’ at 7 p.m., at the Toad Hall Bookstore, 47 Main St., Rockport. ... Frank Deford reads from ‘‘The Entitled,’’ at 1 p.m., at Borders Downtown Crossing, 10-24 School St.
THURSDAY: William Martin discusses ‘‘The Lost Constitution,’’ at 7 p.m., at Book Ends, 559 Main St., Winchester. ... Nathaniel Bellows (‘‘Why Speak?’’) and Cathy Park Hong (‘‘Dance Dance Revolution’’) read at 7:30 p.m., at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St., Newton. ... Amy Fusselman reads from ‘‘Eight,’’ at 7 p.m., at Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., Brookline.
FRIDAY: Agni fiction editor William Giraldi, Luke Salisbury (‘‘Hollywood and Sunset’’), and poet Eileen D’Angelo read at 8 p.m., at Out of the Blue Gallery, 106 Prospect St., Cambridge. ... Joseph Hurka reads from ‘‘Before,’’ at 7 p.m., at Jabberwocky Bookshop, 50 Water St., Newburyport.
SATURDAY: Stephen Puleo discusses ‘‘The Boston Italians,’’ at noon, at Borders, 151 Andover St., Peabody.
Events are subject to change.
-- Judith Maas
Posted by Jim Concannon at 05:26 PM
May 22, 2007
Patricia Cornwell
Boston-based crime writer Patricia Cornwell appeared in a Richmond, Va., federal court this morning in support of her libel suit against a man she says has been "cyberstalking" her for years. Cornwell, creator of numerous bestselling crime novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, alleges that Leslie R. Sachs has falsely accused her of being a "Jew-hater," a "neo-Nazi," and of writing falsely on websites that she is under investigation by U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Cornwell is asking U.S. district judge Norman K. Moon to permanently enjoin Sachs -- who did not appear and was not represented by counsel -- from posting defamatory material about her on-line.
In 2000, a judged enjoined Sachs from claiming that Cornwell's 2000 novel, "The Last Precinct," had ripped off plot elements of his 1998 novel, "The Virginia Ghost Murders." Since then, Cornwell alleges, Sachs has been making false statements about her online. Cornwell told the judge that she has had to hire bodyguards and has been unable to make appearances to promote her recent books.
Posted by David Mehegan at 03:39 PM
May 21, 2007
As gaga over Harry Potter as Americans, the British have reached a new high: an official postage stamp series by the Royal Mail. The stamp will be issued July 17, timed just to precede the July 21 release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the last of the Harry Potter series. See the announcement here.
Posted by David Mehegan at 05:04 PM
May 21, 2007
1 THANKS TO YOU, by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton. (HarperCollins, $14.99.)
2 SOMEDAY, by Alison McGhee. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. (Atheneum, $14.99.)
3 BAD DOG, MARLEY!, by John Grogan. Illustrated by Richard Cowdrey. (HarperCollins, $16.99.)
4 MARS NEEDS MOMS!, written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed. (Philomel, $16.99.)
5 ON THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN, written and illustrated by Nancy Tillman. (Feiwel & Friends, $16.95.)
Source: N.Y. Times
Posted by Jim Concannon at 02:11 PM
May 21, 2007
1. Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin.
2. Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay.
3. Mayflower
By Nathaniel Philbrick. Penguin.
4. A Death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. Harper.
5. The Year of Magical Thinking
By Joan Didion. Vintage.
6. 2006/07 Boston Restaurants
Edited by Ruth Tobias. Zagat Survey.
7. The Big Bam
By Leigh Montville. Broadway.
8. Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin.
9. Dreams From My Father
By Barack Obama. Three Rivers.
10. Is It Hot in Here? Or Is It Me?
By Pat Kelly and Barbara Kantrowitz. Workman.
Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.
Posted by Jim Concannon at 02:06 PM
May 21, 2007
1. Suite Française
By Irène Némirovsky. Vintage.
2. The Road
By Cormac McCarthy. Vintage.
3. Water for Elephants
By Sara Gruen. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
4. The Inheritance of Loss
By Kiran Desai. Grove.
5. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
By Kim Edwards. Penguin.
6. Absurdistan
By Gary Shteyngart. Random House.
7. Love Walked In
By Marisa de los Santos. Plume.
8. The Kite Runner
By Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead.
9. Special Topics in Calamity Physics
By Marisha Pessl. Penguin.
10. Case Histories
By Kate Atkinson. Back Bay.
Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.
Posted by Jim Concannon at 02:04 PM
May 21, 2007
1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Barbara Kingsolver.HarperCollins.
2. At the Center of the Storm
By George Tenet. HarperCollins.
3. The Secret
By Rhonda Byrne. Beyond Words.
4. Einstein
By Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster.
5. I Feel Bad About My Neck
By Nora Ephron. Knopf.
6. The Women Who Raised Me
By Victoria Rowell. Morrow.
7. Everyday Pasta
By Giada De Laurentiis. Clarkson Potter.
8. How Doctors Think
By Jerome Groopman. Houghton Mifflin.
9. The Boston Italians
By Stephen Puleo. Beacon.
10. Not on Our Watch
By Don Cheadle and John Prendergast. Hyperion.
Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.
Posted by Jim Concannon at 02:01 PM
May 21, 2007
1. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
By Michael Chabon. HarperCollins.
2. Rant
By Chuck Palahniuk. Doubleday.
3. The Woods
By Harlan Coben. Dutton.
4. Simple Genius
By David Baldacci. Warner.
5. The Children of Húrin
By J.R.R. Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin.
6. The Sixth Target
By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Little, Brown.
7. Nineteen Minutes
By Jodi Picoult. Atria.
8. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
By Alexander McCall Smith. Pantheon.
9. Body Surfing
By Anita Shreve. Little, Brown.
10. For One More Day
By Mitch Albom. Hyperion.
Compiled by Borders Books & Music, Brookline Booksmith, Concord Bookshop, Harvard Book Store, New England Mobile Book Fair, Newtonville Books, and Porter Square Books.
Posted by Jim Concannon at 01:47 PM
May 21, 2007
Cullen Murphy (Globe photo by Mark Wilson)
My Saturday story about editor and author Cullen Murphy was more about him than about his new book, "Are We Rome?", since I was not writing a review. However, the subject of comparisons between the United States and the Roman Empire is such an interesting one that it took up much of the interview, most of which didn't make it into the story. Here is part of Murphy's answer to my question of why we are more likely to compare the United States to the Roman Empire than to the British Empire, which would seem to be a more apt comparison -- both English-speaking peoples, both in modern times:
"There are probably good reasons. Nowadays, you do see comparison of ourselves with the British, for example, people like [Harvard historian Niall Ferguson, author of "Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire."]. As a young nation, we were emerging from a situation where we were contrasting ourselves with the British. We did not want to be like them. And we were explicitly adopting a republican model that the British didn't have, so there are many reasons we why wouldn't be comparing ourselves to the British and why we would be comparing ourselves to the early part of Rome. The Roman example was a cautionary one. Everybody knew that Rome had been, for a period of centuries, a republic -- it had cast off a monarchy. It deliberately created itself as a republic and then something happened and it took a bad turn, from the republican point of view. So [the Founding Fathers] were very conscious of what do you do to keep yourself a republic? In the back of Franklin's mind, that is what he was saying with his famous remark when coming out of Independence Hall [at the end of the 1787 Constitutional Convention]. He was asked, 'What kind of a government have you given us?' and he said, 'A republic, if you can keep it.' He was thinking of Roman history."
Posted by David Mehegan at 11:38 AM
May 21, 2007
Nancy Pearl, the retired librarian who has been immortalized in an action figure doll and has been credited with the spread of programs in which residents of a city are encouraged to read -- and discuss -- the same book, is about as close as one gets to a professional reader. She has made a cottage industry out of books suggesting books ("Book Lust," "More Book Lust,'' and, now for children and young adults, "Book Crush'').
So when she suggests good reads, I listen. Earlier this month she was on NPR with her latest list.
Posted by Jan Gardner at 09:26 AM
May 21, 2007
"The wardrobe mistress of baseball history," author and former Globe sports columnist Leigh Montville writes, "seems to have assigned the white hat to Babe Ruth and the black hat to Ty Cobb for all time."
Readers of Tom Stanton's new book, however, are more likely to envision both baseball legends wearing gray flannel. In "Ty and The Babe," the Casey Award winning baseball writer tells the story of the unlikely friendship that developed between the two men after their playing days were over.
In a recent appearance at Newtonville Books, Stanton read from his new book and talked about the relationship between the two men, which began when the Detroit Tigers' Cobb was the biggest star in baseball and Ruth was a raw but promising Red Sox rookie. Cobb, always looking to grab a psychological edge over an opponent, would taunt Ruth for his personal-grooming habits, asking loudly: "Does anyone smell a polecat?"
An edited version of Stanton's appearance is now live as this week's episode of the Globe's Great Writers Podcast. Check it out.
Posted by Ralph Ranalli at 06:33 AM
|
