the latest corporate picks

Starbucks announced that “The Traveler” is its December pick and Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco’s book buyer, picked Wally Lamb’s “The Hour I First Believed,” trumping Oprah, mind you.  watch the holds queue build.

posting by marin

Overdrive downloads now work with Mac

Whoohoo!

First OverDrive made iPod & iPhone compatible audio books available just after Labor Day and now they are compatible with the Mac.

Here’s what OverDrive has to say:

Announcing the launch of OverDrive Media Console^™ for Mac^® v1.0!

We are thrilled to announce the November 18, 2008 release of OverDrive Media Console for Mac v1.0! With OMC for Mac, library patrons can enjoy OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks on Mac computers and, for Mac users who prefer to take MP3 Audiobooks to go, OMC for Mac v1.0 supports transfer to Apple^® devices and burn to CD.

What are the features of OverDrive Media Console for Mac?
The OverDrive Media Console for Mac is modeled after the well-received OverDrive Media Console for Windows^®. It includes many of the most popular features, such as…

• The ability to download one or multiple Parts of an MP3 Audiobook.
• A variety of playback and title navigation options, including multiple playspeeds, bookmarking, a ‘resume from furthest point played’ button, and MediaMarkers^™ for point-and-click navigation.
• An integrated Transfer Wizard, so users can transfer OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks to most Apple devices in just a few clicks.
• A built-in Burn Wizard that supports burn to CD from the OverDrive Media Console software.

Additionally, we are delighted to announce a new feature being debuted with OMC v1.0 for Mac. OMC for Mac supports automatic ‘updates’ and ‘messages’. When new versions of the software are released, or announcements are made that are of interest to avid OMC users, these users can now be notified automatically upon opening OMC for Mac. If users prefer, they can disable these automatic alerts and check for news manually via the OMC for Mac menu.

Technical notes and considerations…

• OverDrive Media Console for Mac v1.0 only supports OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks.
• OverDrive Media Console for Mac v1.0 Transfer Wizard only supports transfer to Apple devices.
• As with OMC for Windows, audiobooks cannot be transferred directly to an iPod^® Shuffle^™ using the OverDrive Media Console Transfer Wizard. However, users should be able to transfer OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks to the iPod Shuffle using iTunes^®.
• System requirements for OMC for Mac are Mac OS v10.4.9 (or newer), iTunes v7.6.2.9 (or newer), and QuickTime^® v7.4.5 (or newer).

posting by jim

pimp it brier style

A couple days ago we mentioned that the Unshelved guys Bill and Gene had announced their winners in their “Pimp my Booktruck” contest.  Shannon from Brier sent us their entry to share with all of you.

posting by jim

Arrrr, she be a sweet craft for sure.

New Adult Nonfiction – 500-699

Annotations from Baker & Taylor

 

 

Beautiful Sheep: Portraits of Champion Breeds

Dun, Kathryn / Farnham, Paul (PHT)

Showcases the world’s most visually aesthetic sheep breeds, from heavy-fleeced wool producers to varieties that were bred for their meat and tolerance for harsh climates, in a photographic tribute that shares accompanying historical and geographical information.

 

The Complete Robuchon

Robuchon, Joel / Bellinger, Robin H. R. (TRN)

A comprehensive overview of modern French cookery from the head of an international restaurant empire features more than eight hundred easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes that include updated versions of classic French dishes, a variety of regional specialties, and family favorites, all adapted for the home cook and contemporary palate.

 

Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Food Plants

National Geographic Society (U. S.)

A lavishly illustrated, anecdotal companion to National Geographic Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine profiles some 250 food plants from around the world, examining the origins, history, and modern-day cultural and culinary uses of vegetables, nuts, fruits, grains, beverage plants, herbs, and spices.

 

On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition

Darwin, Charles / Quammen, David (EDT)

The classic book that changed the course of scientific inquiry, introduced the theory of evolution, and exploded some of humankind’s most enduring myths comes to life in a new, handsomely illustrated edition that features more than 350 illustrations and photographs, many in color, accompanied by excerpts from the author’s diaries, letters, and other writings.

 

Planetology: How Earth Is Unlocking the Secrets of the Solar System

Jones, Tom / Stofan, Ellen

Dramatic full-color photographs and illustrations, including those taken by NASA’s distant robotic probes, explore the contrasts and similarities between Earth and its planetary neighbors, tracing the history of the solar system and the natural forces and processes that have shaped nearby planets and moons.

 

Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives They Transform

Winegar, Karin / Olausen, Judy (PHT) / Goodall, Jane

People who have rescued animals in need discuss the personal benefits they have received as a result of doing so, in a moving collection of heartfelt stories about love, friendship and kindness.

 

The Secret of Play

Murphy, Ann Pleshette

Drawing on the latest research into brain development, social and emotional growth, and learning, a parenting expert and author of The 7 Stages of Motherhood explores the role and value of play at each stage of a child’s development and offers suggestions on the best ideas, toys, and games for each age.

 

Becky Buckingham

cover your eyes

under the category of a book award one doesn’t want to win, the Guardian rolls out the shortlist for its yearly Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction award.  the impetus behind the award:  “…gently dissuading authors and publishers from including unconvincing, perfunctory, embarrassing or redundant passages of a sexual nature in otherwise sound literary novels.”  drumroll please…

• James Buchan for “The Gate of Air”
• Simon Montefiore for “Sashenka”
• John Updike for “The Widows of Eastwick”
• Kathy Lette for “To Love, Honour and Betray”
• Alastair Campbell for “All in the Mind”
• Rachel Johnson for “Shire Hell”
• Isabel Fonseca for “Attachment”
• Ann Allestree for “Triptych of a Young Wolf”
• Russell Banks for “The Reserve”
• Paulo Coelho for “Brida”

some of the examples given are seriously cringe-worthy.

posting by marin

update: Rachel Johnson wins and is proud of it; John Updike earns a lifetime achievement award for 4 nominations in a row, now that’s talent.

now that’s a bad sign

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has placed a moratorium on acquiring new titles.  of course, the v.p. of communications has a positive spin, claiming that it’s only a temporary measure and that if the “right project” came through, it could go forward.  grim times.

posting by marin

it’s all relative

reading great literature can be exhausting which is why sometimes it’s nice to take a brain break and tackle something a little less taxing.  a posting on the Guardian’s Books Blog explores the usefulness of reading a book that is truly hideous, one in which the author attempted to write the next great novel, but the result is an overwritten mess.  a bad book is a tool for appreciating good literature.  that said, i never finish a book that i don’t like even if it’s good for me or serves a purpose – do you?

(via Smart Bitches)

posting by marin

10 best for foodies

10 best cook books for 2008 from NPR books

Got a foodie on your list this year and don’t feel like heading into Williams and Sonoma to drop a quick hundred on some wooden spoons then this NPR list of great cook books might be just what you’re looking for.  Here are four of the ten get the rest here.

posting by jim

Two Dudes, One Pan: Maximum Flavor from a Minimalist Kitchen, by Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo, paperback, 240 pages

Ten: All the Foods We Love and 10 Perfect Recipes for Each, by Sheila Lukins, paperback, 416 pages

The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show, by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift, hardcover, 352pages

Recipes for Great Food (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition), Mark Bittman, hardcover, 1,056 pages

big pimpin’

Bill and Gene of Unshelved have chosen: behold the winners of this year’s Pimp My Bookcart.

Twilight movie opens

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books are indeed a phenomenon.  The first book, Twilight, has 928 holds in our system at this time.  The movie opens today and it seems self-evident that film makers would have jumped to make this popular vampire love story into a movie.  In yesterday’s New York Times, For Studio, Vampire Movie is a Cinderella Story, it came out that small studio Summit Entertainment bought the movie rights for all four books when Paramount Pictures let it go because someone at the studio decided in 2006 that the series was a dud.  Little did they know, and finger pointing is going on at Paramount over who deserves the blame.

The Los Angeles Times discussed this in more depth in How the big studios missed the boat on ‘Twilight’ and Variety looks at how fans have turned the movie into an event in Teens twitter for ‘Twilight”

(via EarlyWord and Children’s Bookshelf from Publishers Weekly) post by Lorraine