Watch Dr. Irene S. Levine, author BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, on The Today Show!

Dr. Irene S. Levine stopped by The Today Show this morning to discuss her new book Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend with Kathie Lee and Hoda.

What happens to our friendships? Why do some grow richer with time, others disappear, and others come to a crashing, often unanticipated, end? How do you tell the difference between the ones that are keepers that are definitely worth saving and the ones that should be discarded? Best Friends Forever explores these vital questions for today's women. To find out more about the book, visit Irene's Friendship Blog!

Spymaster Charles McCarry Profiled in The Weekly Standard

David Skinner reflects on the career of Charles McCarry in the new issue of The Weekly Standard. Here's a brief excerpt: "Charles McCarry, the spy novelist, has a number of bestsellers to brag about, if not the numbers or recognition of John le Carré. Still, many discriminating readers think he is better than le Carré. He is also the author of three grisly though impressive political novels, all of which trade liberally in satire and suspense. Praised for their prescience (two of them seem almost prophetic of shocking real-world events) they, too, can seem to be second-place finishers, with little of the cachet reserved for a Christopher Buckley or the audience enjoyed by, say, David Baldacci. McCarry seems to have what's required for literary stardom: winning characters, beguiling plots, fine prose, illuminating research. And the problem cannot be a matter of credentials. A former CIA operative who has worked in many locales, McCarry also has experience in Washington, where he's circulated in high-level politics and the upper reaches of magazine journalism. Sony pictures has an option on Shelley's Heart, and a forgotten Sean Connery movie was made of Better Angels, but Hollywood hasn't made enough of his work. Old Boys, a 2004 novel which revived McCarry's career, seems like an obvious candidate for a Clint Eastwood or Jack Nicholson production. In it, a likable bunch of old men, all retired CIA, take off for one last border-crossing, gun-toting, law-breaking adventure to find their missing friend, Paul Christopher, the sad-hearted hero of McCarry's spy thrillers. It is McCarry's most fun book, and its commercial and critical success led to a frantic market for copies of his other novels, all of which had been out of print. But Overlook Press began reissuing them, and the Washington-set Shelley's Heart was re-released this year.

After buying a copy of Old Boys off the remainder table at Book Revue, a nice store in Huntington, Long Island, I started reading my way through McCarry's novels. Not regularly a reader of thrillers or spy novels, I was surprised at how they lit a fire in me. Sensing an essay in my future, I arranged to interview the author. "The Harbor," the McCarry home in the Berkshires, is like the Berlin apartment of his characters Lori and Hubbard Christopher: "They lived ashore as they lived on their boat, everything ship-shape, with nothing more than they needed." And his cooking was reminiscent of food preparation in his books: simple, light, Mediterranean. For our lunch he made the best crab cakes I've had outside of Oceanaire. McCarry is tall and bald, with a hairless face and owl-like eyes that betray little but a constant flicker of mental processing.

For those who crave vérité, McCarry's years in government, on the campaign trail, and his share of face-time with impressive politicos should lend his Washington fiction every bit as much authenticity as his CIA days lend his Paul Christopher novels. The Washington novels have also delivered important news. Better Angels introduced, long before 9/11, the suicide bomber who uses his own body as a delivery device and boards commercial planes, seeking to blow them up mid-air. Shelley's Heart, published three years before the impeachment of Bill Clinton, showed America's two major parties dueling in Congress for control of the White House, as a recently appointed Supreme Court justice (who bears a strong resemblance to Ralph Nader) looks to manipulate the chaotic hearings to effect a transition from the traditional separation of powers to a rule of one--himself.

At their best, McCarry's Washington novels are about as entertaining as any by Christopher Buckley, though more intellectual. He is superb at showing how social and institutional life in Washington work, and the account is not flattering. His touch for comedy, though at times excellent, is not light. The ideas that distinguish McCarry--some of which are truly probing, a few of which are crankish--also keep him from being to everyone's taste. He tells the story of a liberal reader who complained to him that when his books describe liberals, "they actually describe our enemies." In response, McCarry said, "Precisely." Readers who take to McCarry do so with a vengeance. Christopher Buckley himself and P. J. O'Rourke both insist this fellow scholar of Washington absurdity is more than a good scribbler, in fact an important one. And connoisseurs like Otto Penzler and fellow spy novelists like Richard Condon have called McCarry's spy novels the best by an American writer.

In the late 1970s McCarry heard about another great fan. While writing a travelogue on the southwestern United States for National Geographic Books, he paid a visit to Lady Bird Johnson in Texas who, as she showed off the wildflowers on the grounds of the LBJ Ranch, turned and asked, "Are you the Mr. McCarry who wrote Tears of Autumn?" McCarry allowed that he was.
The former first lady smiled and said, "Lyndon loved that book."

Rachel DeWoskin, Author of REPEAT AFTER ME, at The Center for Fiction in NYC on September 30

Meet Rachel DeWoskin, author of Repeat After Me, a novel about a young American ESL teacher, a troubled Chinese radical, and their unexpected New York romance, at the Center for Fiction, Mercantile Library of New York on Wednesday, September 30th at 7pm. Rachel will appear on a program with fellow writers Katie Kitamura and Nancy Mauro.

Rachel DeWoskin was educated at Columbia and Boston University. In 1994, she moved to Beijing, where she worked in public relations before taking a starring role in a hugely successful Chinese soap opera. Her acclaimed first book, Foreign Babes in Beijing, has been published in five languages and is currently being developed as a feature film by Paramount Pictures. In addition to her two books, Rachel's essays and poems have appeared in Ploughshares, Seneca Review, Nerve Magazine, Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and Teachers & Writers Magazine. The recipient of an American Academy of Poets Award in 2000 and a Grolier Poetry Prize in 2002.

FREDDY THE PIG Featured in The Globe and Mail

Sherie Posesorski of The Globe and Mail in Toronto pays tribute to Freddy the Pig: "When New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof listed "the best kids' books ever," I was thrilled to see that my very, very favourite book series as a child - the 26 Freddy the Pig books, written by Walter R. Brooks from 1927 to 1958 - were Kristofs "very favourites" too, "funny, beautifully written gems." The series centred on the comic adventures of a talking pig and his equally chatty animal friends, living on a farm in upstate New York, owned by the only miser with words in the series, Mr. Bean, who was proud yet slightly embarrassed that his animals could talk. And could they talk! Their acerbic, witty, shrewd conversation is as fast-mouthed and sharply funny as the Marx Brothers', as aphoristic and gimlet-eyed astute as Noel Coward's, and yet always affectionate and forgiving. Unlike many series which, over time, become forced and formulaic, the Freddy books got better book by book; the characterization of Freddy and his farm-animal friends richer - a persuasive blend of animal and human nature; the writing and adventurous storylines ever more amusing, clever and keenly satirical.

Freddy's fans over the decades include literary heavyweight Lionel Trilling, who described the series as "delightful," Lionel Gelber prizewinning journalist Adam Hochschild (King Leopold's Ghost) who has called Freddy, "that paragon of porkers ... a Renaissance pig" and Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, who acquired the movie rights. All the accolades, devoted fans and steady sales did not prevent the series from going out of print. It took the efforts of Toronto playwright Dave Carley, who founded the Friends of Freddy in 1984, to give the series the attention and profile that would bring it back into print. As fortunate Freddy readers would have it, the series turned out to be the favourite as well of former Penguin Books CEO Peter Mayer. Calling Freddy "one of the great figures in American children's literature," as publisher of Overlook Press, he bought the rights and the books are now available in facsimile hardcover reprints and trade paperbacks - which reproduce the mischievous, delectably unforgettable black and white illustrations of Kurt Wiese. The best introduction to the series is Freddy the Detective. And where to go from there? Every Freddy fan has favourites. . . I grew up on the Freddy books, and I wanted to be like Freddy when I grew up, to be up to any challenge despite my many fears and insecurities. I wanted to have a life like his, full of possibility and adventure and surrounded by a circle of encouraging friends who knew me through and through, as I did them, providing an affectionate dose of needed reality - and rescue, too, whenever necessary. Together, we could face anything, even ignormuses and power crazed woodpeckers!"

Meet Dr. Irene S. Levine, author of BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, at Upcoming Events

Dr. Irene Levine, author of Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend and The Huffington Post's "Friendship Doctor," is on the radio and on the road in support of her new book, just released in paperback. Best Friends Forever was launched on September 2o - National Woman's Friendship Day - that was marked by fantastic gathering and celebration in Irene's home town of Chappaqua, NY.

Meet "The Friendship Doctor" at these upcoming events:

09/30/2009 - 7:30pm
Discussion and Book-Signing
Border's White Flint - 11301 Rockville Pike
North Bethesda, MD

10/11/2009 - 2:00pm
Discussion and Book-Signing
Barnes and Noble Palisades Mall - 4416 Palisades Center Drive
West Nyack, NY

10/27/2009 - 7:00pm
Reading, Discussion & Book-Signing
Greenburgh Public Library - 300 E Main Street
Elmsford, NY

Best Friends Forever is a groundbreaking and heroically honest book for abandoned friends seeking solace. Perfect for women of all ages and from all walks of life, Best Friends Forever covers: Why friendships fall apart; Coping with getting dumped; How to end a friendship that can t be fixed; Moving forward after a traumatizing breakup. Dr. Levine draws from years of research and the personal testimonials of thousands of women to provide anecdotes and solutions to these complicated situations. Full of tools for personal assessment, case stories, and actionable advice for saving, ending, or re-evaluating a relationship, Best Friends Forever is an indispensable addition to every woman's library.

Terry Golway's WORDS THAT RING THROUGH TIME Features 50 Great Speeches that Changed History

Carter Jefferson reviews Words That Ring Through Time: The Fifty Most Important Speeches in History and How They Changed Our World By Terry Golway on the Internet Review of Books: "You’ve probably heard of William Jennings Bryan’s "Cross of Gold" oration, but have you ever read the entire speech? Do you know what prompted Bryan to hold forth, and what resulted from his effort? And surely you’ve heard someone speak of the U. S. as a "City Upon a Hill," a model for the rest of the world. But do you know who said that, and why he did? And then there are speeches few of us have ever heard of that may have changed history. On the eve of England’s battle with the Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth I said she had "but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a king . . . ." She did, and the English won that fight. In 1873, Susan B. Anthony set a goal for women for which they still strive, but most people don’t know that women were not the only ones she fought for: "[E]very discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void, precisely as is every one against Negroes." This book includes fifty-one speeches ranging from Moses’ farewell to the Israelites to Obama’s keynote address at the Democratic convention of 2004, and provides a two- or three-page introduction explaining the circumstances in which each was given. A fine reference book, it’s also worth dipping into for just a few minutes now and then to learn a little history most people don’t know about.

The Times (UK) Looks at M.Gigi Durham's THE LOLITA EFFECT

Carol Midgely looks at The Lolita Effect, by M. Gigi Durham, in The Times: "Last Halloween, Gigi Durham opened her front door to find a five-year-old girl standing on the doorstep. The child was wearing a boob tube, gauze miniskirt, platform heels and glitter eye-shadow. “I’m a Bratz!” she declared. Durham was put more in mind of a child prostitute that she had once seen in Cambodia. There wasn’t that much to choose between the two girls’ outfits.

So begins Durham’s new book, The Lolita Effect, a critique of the modern obsession with prematurely sexualising young girls and a manifesto on how to renounce it. We have all seen this “effect” — the push-up bras for pre-teens, the satin thongs and “Eye Candy” T-shirts, the pink plastic “Peekaboo Pole Dancing” kit that was sold at Tesco, the magazines that tutor girls who have barely started their periods how to pander to an imaginary “he”. Who would disagree that the “baby-faced nymphet” — perhaps embodied most explicitly by a school-uniformed Britney Spears in the Baby One More Time video — is a regular fixture on the media landscape? What we might disagree on though is how to counteract it. Some believe that shielding girls from sex for as long as possible — preaching the abstinence message and the pregnancy/STD/victimhood perils of sex — is the only way.

Durham disagrees. Girls do not need “rescuing” from sex, she says. Merely the media’s one-dimensional, profit-driven version of it, which is based purely on male fantasies without a nod to female needs or desires. Rather, girls should be encouraged that it is their right to enjoy it, thus reclaiming their sexuality from a culture that increasingly positions them as passive, objectified sex kittens who are not encouraged to actually want sex or get any pleasure from it yet are mandated to be desirable to males — to look up for it but not, of course, act on it, for that would be sluttish.

What we should also do, says Durham, is empower them to see how skewed marketing messages manipulate females to reach for impossible standards of beauty — the Barbie body — as the one and only way to be “hot”. The reason this is peddled globally as the ideal female model is because it is profitable. A billion-pound industry of cosmetics, diet aids, fashion and plastic surgery depends upon it. It is this that makes millions of girls develop, very early in their lives, a false “self”.

“The Lolita effect begins with the premise that children are sexual beings,” says Durham. “As they mature they deserve to be furnished with factual, developmentally appropriate and useful information about sex and sexuality.” She describes herself as a “pro-sex feminist”. “I think sex is a normal and healthy part of life, even of children’s lives. I want my two young daughters — indeed all girls — to grow up unafraid of and knowledgeable about their bodies, confident about finding and expressing sexual pleasure.” This is not to encourage under-age sex — though she believes that non-coercive sex between teenagers is not automatically harmful and that we shouldn’t always treat it as though it’s the end of the world — but to encourage more public discourse on it. “I think that a lot of girls under 16 have sexual feelings. My belief is that the longer they wait the better they’ll deal with it because the older you are, the more capable you are of thinking through the consequences, where you stand and what you want. But we shouldn’t though be so terrified of the idea that kids are thinking about it because it really is a very normal part of adolescence.”

We cannot, however, just blame the media for this state of affairs. None of this would happen if people didn’t buy into it. True, says Durham. In fact, studies have shown that parents, teachers and other adults may unconsciously perpetuate the Lolita effect.
Do you? Do you instinctively favour prettier children who meet the Lolita criteria, while reacting negatively to plainer girls with larger bodies? Do you compliment female children on their looks, clothes and hairstyles, sometimes forgetting their achievements in a way you never would to boys?

“I see this a lot . . . when I watch people interacting with children,” Durham says. "People are very quick to praise girls especially for their looks, ‘Oh, how pretty you are/ great dress/ I love your hair today’, those kinds of things. And girls don’t get complimented on their achievements [in the same way that boys do] or at least it’s much more infrequent.” It’s easily done — we all want our daughters to look lovely, not least, if we’re honest, because a compliment to them is a vicarious one for us. Durham says that we can combat such effects by focusing much more on their achievements — on what they do creatively, in sport, for the environment, for charity — rather than how they appear. Magazine covers, she says, hardly ever feature images of young female writers or athletes, but of models and actresses, fortifying the message that looks are everything. We can help to make girls media-literate, teach them the lies of the airbrush, engage little girls in discussion about why it’s awfully dated that Disney princesses always need a man to rescue them, send e-mails and letters to companies that use images that we find unacceptable and tutor girls in how to challenge the mythical male gaze which is so often ill-informed about what boys really “want” anyway.

What Durham advocates in her book, which she describes as a feminist manifesto, is to find a way to think about sex separately from money and with young girls perpetually cast in the man-pleasing role. “Can we move to a place where we can consider sexuality as a human impulse that’s about ethical relationships between people and not just something that generates profit?”
In other words let’s not focus not on the imaginary He but the actual Her."

Another Rave for R. J. Ellory's A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS

More praise for R. J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels: This literary mystery and coming-of-age tale is an absolutely amazing read. Eleven-year-old Joseph Vaughan could have lived out an unassuming life in his small rural Georgia town. But over the years, Joseph faced events that many would never experience; events that shaped his life in unexpected ways. It is 1939 when his father dies. Joseph, a bright student, is encouraged by both his mother and his teacher to develop his promising writing skills. When a girl in his class is kidnapped and murdered, Joseph takes a special interest, collecting facts about the murder and even forming his own band of Guardians to track the killer. As more girls are found, Joseph becomes entangled in the case, eventually discovering one of the bodies himself. For decades, the girls would haunt him, until he is faced once again with the death of someone close to him, someone whose murder resembles those of so long ago. Joseph's pursuit of the truth sends him down a path that will change him forever. As he struggles with growing up, with prison, and even with fame, Joseph never forgets the murders that plagued his hometown or the body that he found. Ellory's American debut is a brilliant read -enthralling and lyrical prose paired with a smart mystery that will literally leave you guessing until the very last page." -Becky Lejune of Bookbitch.com

P.F. Kluge's GONE TOMORROW Wins Ohioana Book Award for Fiction

P.F. Kluge has won the Ohioana Book Award for Fiction for his 2008 novel Gone Tomorrow. He will be honored at the Ohioana Day Awards Ceremony on October 17 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. The novel, now available in paperback, earned praise in reviews around the country and was included on lists of the best books of 2008 by National Public Radio and the Plain Dealer of Cleveland, Ohio. "Kluge has dozens of gorgeous, wrenching passages, details, throw-away observations," said the San Francisco Chronicle. "He can really write, like a man who means it." According to the New York Times, Gone Tomorrow is "a sharply observed yet tender novel of academic life and its many sand traps." Gone Tomorrow was among finalists who "represent the finest in the literature of our time," said Linda R. Hengst, executive director of the Ohioana Library. Finalists in the fiction category included novels by Toni Morrison and Curtis Sittenfeld. Kluge is the author of seven novels, including Eddie and the Cruisers and Biggest Elvis, and is writer-in-residence at Kenyon College.

M. Gigi Durham's THE LOLITA EFFECT Excerpted in The Guardian

An excerpt from M.Gigi Durham's The Lolita Effect ran today in The Guardian (UK): "Lost Youth: Turning Young Girls in to Sex Symbols."

New in paperback, The Lolita Effect is a groundbreaking account of how the media sexualizes young girls. University of Iowa professor and journalist M. Gigi Durham presents new insight into media myths and spectacles of sexuality. Using examples from popular TV shows, fashion and beauty magazines, movies, and Web sites, Durham shows for the first time all the ways in which sexuality is rigidly and restrictively defined in media often in ways detrimental to girls healthy development. The Lolita Effect offers parents, teachers, counselors, and other concerned adults effective and progressive strategies for resisting the violations and repressions that render girls sexually subordinate. Durham provides us with the tools to navigate this media world effectively without censorship or moralizing, and then to help our girls to do so in strong and empowering ways.

Celebrate National Women's Friendship Day on September 20 with Dr. Irene Levine's BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

This Sunday is National Women's Friendship Day, an annual celebration sponsored by Kappa Delta Sorority that offers all women the opportunity to remember their special friends.

Dr. Irene Levine, author of Best Friends Forever, a must-read book about female friendships, offers a few tips and a few free books on her Friendship Blog:

1) Call, email, or get together with one or more of your best friends. Show and tell your friend how much you care. Don't wait until Sunday because by then, you may forget. Last night I attended a memorial service for a very dear friend (once my elementary school teacher!) whom I had known for most of my lifetime and I only wished that we had had one more hour to chat.

2) If you are a blogger, write a post about Friendship Day. (I'll be happy to help with a quote.) On this special day write your own or repost one of my posts from http://www.thefriendshipblog.com/ (with attribution, of course). Email me (Irene@IreneLevine.com) the URL of your post by Sunday midnight and my three favorites will receive 2 free copies of Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend (one for you and one for a best friend).

3) If you aren't a blogger but have a Facebook or LinkedIn page, please use your status box to remind your friends about Women's Friendship Day.

4) If you Twitter, cut and paste this tweet: 9/20 is Women's Friendship Day.

5) Please email AT LEAST 5 of your best friends about Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend. All of us have suffered the pain, at least once, of losing a best friendship that we thought would be forever. After spending two years thinking about female friendships and surveying more than 1500 women from all walks of life, I've learned that falling in and out love with best friends is universal.

Suzanne Brøgger’s THE JADE CAT On Sale Today

Today we celebrate the publication of Suzanne Brogger's acclaimed novel The Jade Cat, translated from the Danish by Anne Born, and now available for the first time in U.S. bookstores. First published in 1997 in Denmark, and translated into English for the U.K. market in 2004, The Jade Cat is a gripping saga of Danish highlife and lowlife through three generations of a tormented family is as diverse and uncompromising as William Styron's Sophie's Choice and Isabel Allende's House of Spirits.

Here's a sampling of early praise for The Jade Cat:

"A brilliant novel about a brilliant family. It brings a lost world to life. A must read." - Erica Jong

"Suzanne Brogger is one of Scandinavia's greatest living writers and an iconic figure, a modern-day George Sand, who has always defied taboos, pieties, and cliches -who has written and lived fearlessly. She is a poet, an essayist, a dramatist, a memoirist, and a distinguished jazz singer and composer in addition to being one of her country's most admired and read novelists. The Jade Cat is a great family epic of love and war and a fitting introduction of Brogger to the audience her peerless gifts deserve." - Judith Thurman

"A further index of this novelist's originality and power." - The Independent

"Brøgger's lively and insightful novel chronicles the fates of the Jewish Løvin family as they endure the tragicomic events of the 20th century. . . Brøgger offers readers a powerful, personal account of rapidly changing times through the lens of a family whose comedies, tragedies and absurdities are magnified by historical context and whose contemporary descendants provide a glimpse of a more hopeful future." -Publishers Weekly

Dr. Irene Levine's BEST FRIENDS FOREVER On the Radio

Tune in tomorrow to radio stations all across the country - Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Chicago, Cleveland, Austin, Washington DC - to hear Dr. Irene Levine discuss her new book Best Friends Forever: Surviving the Breakup with Your Best Friend. Widely known to readers of The Huffington Post as "The Friendship Doctor," Dr. Levine will appear on many top rated programs to talk about the book.

Best Friends Forever is a groundbreaking and heroically honest book for abandoned friends seeking solace in the aftermath of a breakup of a best friend. Drawing on years of research and personal testimonials from thousands of women, Dr. Levine offers the first self-help guide for saving, ending, or re-evaluating a relationship. On sale now, Best Friends Forever is an indispensable addition to every woman's library.

Another Rave for Amy S. Foster's WHEN AUTUMN LEAVES

From reviewer Linda White in the current issue of BookPage: "Autumn has been the resident sage of the town of Avening for longer than anyone can remember (some may call her a witch or a shaman, but really she is more of an old-fashioned wise women). When Autumn is called to find a replacement, she decides to hold an essay contest for would-be candidates. While the entries themselves prove to be both surprising and illuminating, this is not merely the story of Autumn finding her replacement—it is also a multifaceted tale of the women (and in some cases, girls) vying to take over for their beloved Autumn. Each candidate’s specific experiences unveil—or in some cases, release—the power that is deep within each of them. Above all, this magical book is a testament to the power of women. There is a great preponderance of beautiful people in the book— almost all of the women are striking, and you start to wonder if there must be something in the Avening water. But beyond that, Foster’s overall message is clear: each of us has a gift. Whether we choose to exercise it or how we choose to do so is ultimately up to us. Foster has a facility for the poetic, and her characters feel comfortable and real from the beginning. When Autumn Leaves is a fantastical coming-of-age story, but mostly, it reminds us of the importance of faith—both in ourselves and in that which we cannot see.

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol and THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD

The release of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol will once again raise interest in secret societies, and in particular the Freemasons. Mark Booth, in his provocative bestseller The Secret History of the World, offers an entire chapter on "The Age of Freemasonry." Booth's alternative take on history is relentless, charging through time and space and thought in interdisciplinary fashion; embracing cognitive science, religion, psychology, historiography, and philosophy, a new timeline is drawn, and a huge swath of our cultural heritage that has for long been hidden is restored. From Greek and Egyptian mythology to Freemasons, from Charlemagne to Don Quixote, from George Washington to Hitler-The Secret History of the World shows without a doubt that history as we know it needs a revolutionary rethink, and he has 3,000 years of hidden wisdom to back it up.

Amy Foster, author of WHEN AUTUMN LEAVES, at PNBA in Portland

Amy S. Foster, author of the new novel When Autumn Leaves, was in Portland, Oregon this weekend at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association annual get-together. Check out Amy's dazzling new website to learn more!

Overlookin' at the Brooklyn Book Festival

Many thanks to all who attended the Brooklyn Book Festival yesterday - we had a FANTASTIC time meeting and talking books with everyone who came by the Overlook booth. We're always grateful to hear what you have to say about the books we publish. Our bestsellers for the day were: New York in the 70s, anything and everything by the great Walter Moers, Today I Wrote Nothing, Church Signs Across America, and Milton Glaser's Drawing is Thinking.

The Mad Genius of Walter Moers, author of THE ALCHEMASTER'S APPRENTICE, in Omnivoracious

Omnivoracious book blogger Jeff VanderMeer pays tribute to the "Mad Genius of Walter Moers:"

"The Overlook Press should get some kind of special dispensation from Heaven for bringing readers so many great books, and especially the work of German genius Walter Moers. For pure reading pleasure, nothing really beats his The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, and The City of Dreaming Books. It's not just the incredible level of imagination on display in the text--it's also the stunning artwork that not only complements the writing but helps, in its own way, to tell the story. And what stories! Twisted, wild, brutally humorous and at times more serious than you might think, Moers as storyteller is a true original, a one-off whose sensibility and talent cannot be duplicated.

Now he's back with The Alchemaster's Apprentice. In this new crackpot adventure, set in Malaisea, a backward town of Zamonia, Echo the Crat is forced into a contract with Ghoolion the Alchemaster that calls for him to be rendered for his fat in a month's time. Yes, you read that correctly. Fat-rendering will occur, unless Echo can find some way out of the contract--which he attempts by consulting with creatures far and wide. Echo, you see, can speak in the language of every species. What species? Well, this is Moers, so they include Leathermice, Cogitating Eggs, the Cooked Ghost, and more!"

R.J. Ellory's A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS: "A Rare Novel Both Meditative and Suspenseful"

Robert J. Hughes of Smart Money considers A Quiet Belief in Angels by R.J. Ellory in the September issue:

"This marvelous, evocative thriller, which is also an elegy to fractured youth and to the perils of literary fixation, marks the American debut of R.J. Ellory and was his breakout novel in Britain.

The arc of the story concerns Joseph Vaughn, whom we meet when he is a sensitive and observant boy in Augusta Falls, Ga., in the 1930s. He lives with his mother and discovers a gift for writing. Life is bucolic (up to a point) but quickly becomes fraught with evil when one of Joseph's classmates is raped and murdered. This horrific act is the start of a series of similar crimes in the area that will haunt, even implicate, Joseph through the years. Joseph is one of those people whom trouble follows. Readers will follow as well as they see Joseph's life and career unfold in rich detail over the decades. The mystery of who's been killing these young girls propels the thriller, but it's not at the heart of the novel. What is, though, is the character of Joseph and his indomitable spirit as he searches for truth, love and self-realization in the face of overwhelming odds. Ellory's language is precise and lyrical ‹ "the sound of cupped laughter, like the ghosts of trick-or-treat children" ‹ and he captures the petty grievances and the tatterdemalion charm of small towns as well as the onrush of sensations of big-city life.

A Quiet Belief in Angels is a rare novel that is both meditative and suspenseful; it's a study of character, obsession, memory and of the converging paths of compassion, regret and revenge."

Suzanne Brøgger’s THE JADE CAT in Booklist

Coming next week is Suzanne Brogger's The Jade Cat, a remarkable new novel recently reviewed in Booklist: "Spanning continents and two world wars, this sprawling family saga follows one family and their relentless ambition. Starting on New Year’s Eve, 1940, the wealthy Lovin family is rife with drama and heartbreak. Almost oblivious to the collapsing world around them, the family continues their infighting and struggling. . . Brogger’s Tolstoy-like observations about family (“The same phenomenon that makes the family so intolerable when you are young is precisely what makes it so fascinating when you are old”) make readers want to follow the difficult, and not entirely sympathetic, characters."

Meet The Overlook Press at the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 13

Hope to see all our New York area friends and fans at the Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday, September 13. This is a fantastic, free public even presenting an array of literary stars and emerging authors. One of America’s premier literary and literacy events, this hip, smart, diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages - and The Overlook Press (booth #37) is proud to be part of it. The festival is held at Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza, 10am-6pm.

More Praise for Justin Allen's THE YEAR OF THE HORSE

Kirkus Reviews takes a look at the splendid new novel by Justin Allen, The Year of the Horse: "When Yen Tzu-lu (nicknamed Lu) hears his grandfather speaking in Chinese with a mysterious white man named Jack Straw about some kind of mission, he never dreams that he will be plucked from his Mississippi River hometown to join it. Jack, a legendary gunslinger, is leading a group of roughnecks that includes a former slave who fought in the Union army, a Mexican outlaw and ex-Confederate John MacLemore and his daughter. They're out to reclaim a gold mine that MacLemore says belongs to him, and Lu has been hired as an explosives expert. (He's not, but only Jack knows that.) En route, the group encounters Native American tribesmen, bullying Union soldiers, supernatural ghost-riders and a dark figure who may just be the devil himself. The harsh realities of frontier travel are slightly mitigated for Lu by the pleasures of learning to ride horses and hunt. The author clearly has a great love for old-style boy's-adventure tales, but he doesn't allow the genre's tropes to keep him from trying new things. In particular, the multicultural cast of characters, while perhaps historically improbable, is refreshing, and Allen doesn't gloss over the widespread racial prejudices of the time. Best of all, however, he knows how to tell a cracking good story. Exciting, original update of the ripping-yarns formula."

SMOGTOWN Authors Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly Win "Green Prize" from Santa Monica Public Library

The Santa Monica Public Library has selected Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles, to receive the 2009 Adult Local Impact Award. For three consecutive years the Library has awarded a Green Prize for Sustainable Literature. I'm pleased to inform you that the Green Prize committee has selected your book, . This year, according to librarian Nancy Bender, "the decision to award Smogtown the Green Prize was unanimous; the Committee found it a fascinating take on Los Angeles history."

All of the Santa Monica Public Library award winners will be announced publicly at the Green Prize Awards Presentation on Saturday, October 3 at 1:00 p.m. The presentation will take place in the Main Library's MLK Jr. Auditorium at 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Smogtown, check out http://www.lasmogtown.com/

A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS On Sale Today!

At long last, R.J. Ellory makes his American debut TODAY with the acclaimed thriller A Quiet Belief in Angels!

“There aren’t nearly enough beautifully written novels, that are also great mysteries. Like The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo and Smilla's Sense of Snow, A Quiet Belief in Angels is one of them.” –James Patterson

“A Quiet Belief in Angels is a beautiful and haunting book. This is a tour de force from R. J. Ellory.” –Michael Connelly

"R. J. Ellory is a uniquely gifted, passionate, and powerful writer, and the quality of his prose –every word, every sentence– lifts A Quiet Belief in Angels far above genre." –Alan Furst

“A mesmerizing tale whose intrigue will pull you from one page to the next without pause, casting you into the gloom of dread and the shadow of grief until you reach the climatic end. R.J. Ellory's remarkable talent for probing the unknown establishes him as the master of the genre. The perfect author to read late into the night.” –Clive Cussler

“What a discovery! Superb... one of my favorite books of the past year.” –Otto Penzler

"Roger Ellory is a class act. If you like James Lee Burke or James Sallis, he's a writer who speaks your language." -Val McDermid

“A Quiet Belief In Angels is a riveting mystery, as compelling as it is moving. Joseph is destined to become one of those seminal characters of literature. Here is a book that restores not only a quiet belief in the redemptive power of literature, but is a novel that you will read over and over again.” –Ken Bruen

"R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels starts out like a moody Chopin piano etude and quickly takes on the size and force of a symphony by Grieg - at times poignant and somber, at others plunging recklessly into the deep to consider many of the darkest and most dangerous caverns of the human heart, only to break through to the surface again and surge toward a shattering –and perfectly realized– crescendo. Ellory's style is original and complex, the story quite harrowing, and the book will stay with you long after you've quietly closed the end-pages and stared for a while into the complicated darkness beyond your own bedroom window." -David Stone

"A Quiet Belief in Angels is a rich, powerful, evocative novel of great psychological depth." -Jonathan Kellerman

“Roger Jon Ellory has a way of concealing the shocks in his text so that you stumble upon them, as if by accident, with some of the horror that you might feel if you too discovered the dismembered body of an eight-year-old girl. Each jolt strikes painfully, and the reader will seek, utterly riveted, this masochistic beating right to the end of the book. … This is compelling, unputdownable thriller writing of the very highest order” –The Guardian

“Ellory is a powerful talent, (A Quiet Belief in Angels) seems set to launch him into the stratosphere of crime writers” –Independent on Sunday

“This isn't your standard shock and bore serial killer novel. It's an impassioned story of a man's life told in Ellory's distinctive voice, and it confirms his place in the top flight of crime writing.” –Sunday Telegraph

Please visit http://www.quietbeliefinangels.com/ for all the news that's fit to post, including reviews, tweets, blogs, and a complete schedule of R.J. Ellory's October U.S. events!

R.J. Ellory's A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS: "A Haunting Book Expertly Written"

Book critic Chere Coen reviews R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels in the Louisiana Book News: "Englishman R.J. Ellory was orphaned at 7 and wound up in prison for poaching at 17. While in jail, he immersed himself with reading and began to write 22 novels in longhand.
He submitted his novels to publishers on both sides of the pond but American publishers were leery of an Englishman writing about America, and English publishers were leery of American stories penned by an Englishman. He sold his first book in the U.K., however, and Candlemoth was instantly shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award. Five other novels followed.

But it was A Quiet Belief in Angels that won him best-seller status, shortlisted for numerous awards and now published in 21 countries. This week, the Southern-based thriller will be published stateside and Americans will be introduced to a haunting book expertly written. . . Ellory keeps readers guessing until the very end, a kaleidoscope of suspects revolving as new evidence is unearthed. As the narrator, Joseph makes uneasy comments that make us doubt his innocence as well. And throughout the entire story, Ellory's beautifully descriptive writing delivers us to a rural place in America that's chillingly evil as it is pristine and innocent.

A Quiet Belief in Angels is one of those rare books where you grab anyone walking by to read them passages so you can hear his beautiful words out loud, a book where you long to underline well-written sentences to recount later but you can't stop reading long enough to find a pencil.
Introduce yourself to R.J. Ellory. A Quiet Belief in Angels is the first of more to come."

A FEW QUICK ONES by P.G. Wodehouse for the Labor Day Weekend

As the long weekend approaches and summer winds down, perhaps it's time for A Few Quick Ones by the great P.G. Wodehouse, the latest release in Overlook's beloved Collector's Wodehouse series. A Few Quick Ones (1959) is one of Wodehouse’s famous collections of ten stories in which many old friends reappear in deliciously absurd situations. Some of his favorite characters are here for the party—Jeeves and Wooster, Mr. Mulliner, Bingo, the tight-wad Oofy Proessor, Ukridge and, of course, the Drones are in force. The is the final appearance by Ukridge, and Ukridge, last seen, is in the soup.

Another Rave for Walter Moers's THE ALCHEMASTER'S APPRENTICE

The Mad Hatter's Bookshelf, one of our favorite sci-fi and fantasy blogs, pays tribute the new novel by Walter Moers, The Alchemaster's Apprentice: "There are few authors who get me as excited about a new release as Moers since his The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear is probably my favorite comic Fantasy of the last decade. A new Walter Moers book means I put aside whatever I am doing and start reading with a profuse amount of breaks for laughter. I'm always amazed by how good the translations by John Brownjohn are for these books as Moers is known for creating words and tweaking many others to his twisted pen. Accompanied by dozens of illustrations by Moers The Alchemaster's Apprentice is the fourth Zamonia novel after The City of Dreaming Books ,which keeps to the same high quality as previous books. The series to this point has been far sweeping stories that explore the lost continent whether it be across the land or under it, however the latest entrant breaks from that mold as it stays in the just one place, which is the unhealthiest city in Zamonia, Malaisea, where the resident Alchemaster Ghoolian reigns over the sickly populace. The Alchemaster's Apprentice is the most intimate and shortest tale to date, but is no less entertaining for its brevity. . . The Alchemaster's Apprentice is a dark fairy tale for adults that keeps you laughing even through the most gruesome of parts. The ending was a bit expected, but the journey to get there what the fun is all about. I give The Alchemaster's Apprentice 9 out of 10 Hats."

More Bookseller Praise for R. J. Ellory's A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS

More and more booksellers are adding their support to R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels, which goes on sale next Tuesday, September 8:

"I read the prologue. I read the first page. Then I had to close the book and catch my breath. What an extraordinary writer! Vigorous and tender. Beguiling. Allow yourself to open this book. Be amazed." -Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Ohio

"R.J. Ellory is already an international bestselling author, but he has never before been published here in the States. That will change on Sept. 8, with the publication of his U.S. debut, A Quiet Belief in Angels. This is a must-read for mystery fans: a compelling story set in 1940s rural Georgia, with a protagonist you won't soon forget. Joseph Vaughan is a young man when we first meet him. It is the summer of 1939, and death has come to the little Georgia town where he lives. A young girl has been brutally murdered, and the tragedy has shaken the tiny community to its core. The case is never solved, and it soon proves to be just the first in a string of horrific murders that plague the area over the years. Joseph, recovering from the untimely passing of his father, feels that Death has come to stay, and becomes determined to find the killer himself. As years pass, his quest slowly becomes an obsession‹one that will affect his entire life. The young Joseph doesn't know that his decision will bring him into the sights of the killer again and again, and that he will lose many of the things he holds most dear in his search for answers. A story of secrets and lies, revenge and obsession, right and wrong‹this is a moving and haunting tale in the best Southern gothic tradition. A debut not to be missed! - The Crime Scene, Deanna P., Borders Mystery & Thriler buyer

Amy S. Foster's WHEN AUTUMN LEAVES Receives a Starred Review in Library Journal

Library Journal has a rave review for When Autumn Leaves, the debut novel by Amy S. Foster: "In the tiny town of Avening in the Pacific Northwest, life hums with a peculiar sort of energy. Some call the town enchanted; others call it quirky. But all would agree that it is a special sort of hamlet, populated by some rather intriguing people. Perhaps the most intriguing is the town witch and wise woman. An individual of extraordinary, even magical talents, Autumn Avening is ready to retire—and must find a replacement from among the local denizens. With one year to choose, Autumn begins keeping an ever closer watch on her friends and neighbors, looking for just the right candidate. Through her eyes, we get intimate glimpses of the locals of Avening—strong men and women whose stories are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Loose ends in Foster's strong debut indicate sequel potential for those who enjoy following characters from book to book. Fans of Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic) and Joanne Harris (Chocolat) will love getting to know the residents of this cozy, charming little town. Highly recommended."

Richard Reeves to Lecture on JOHN STUART MILL: VICTORIAN FIREBRAND in Richmond, VA on September 16

Richard Reeves, author the acclaimed biography John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand, will lecture at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Va. on Wednesday, September 16, 7pm. Now available in paperback, Reeves's beautifully written book is the definitive life of one of the heroic giants of Victorian England. A young activist and highly-educated Cambridge Union debater, Mill would become in time the highest-ranked English thinker of the nineteenth century, the author of the landmark essay "On Liberty" and one of the most passionate reformers and advocates of his revolutionary, opinionated age. As a journalist he fired off a weekly article on Irish land reform as the people of that nation starved, as an MP he introduced the first vote on women's suffrage, fought to preserve free-speech and opposed slavery, and, in his private life, pursued for two decades a love affair with another man's wife. Exploring Mill's life and work in tandem, Reeves's book is a riveting and authoritative biography of a man raised to promote happiness, whose life was spent in the pursuit of truth and liberty for all.

Early Praise for R.J. Ellory's A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS

We're now only one week away from the long-awaited American debut of R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels. Here's a quick look at some of the early notices:

“Ellory's writing is passionate, elegant. His descriptions of people are haunting. Reilly Hawkins, a neighboring farmer, has eyes "going this way and that as if forever searching out something that held a purpose to evade him . . . eyes washed clear and clean by tears for fallen friends." Elena Kruger, a schoolmate, "was like bitter-tasting medicine for an illness long gone." He is a master of tension and dread. The mystery is compelling; just as insistent is the pull of Ellory's prose, with a deceptively leisurely pace that heightens the suspense. R. J. Ellory has crafted a dazzling journey.” – Shelf Awareness

“This book has already garnered high praise and accolades in the UK. Expect similar success in the States. This novel has it all. – The Mystery Bookshelf

“Already a best-seller in England with editions in many foreign languages, this is an unlikely and, in many ways, admirable book. Author Ellory is English, but his evocation of life in the deep South is richly drawn and deeply detailed. His characters are well developed, and portions of the book ably mimic great southern writers, allowing readers to savor both the words and the images they offer. The novel presents an appealing mix of murder, madness, conscience, lost love, and redemption.” – Booklist

“Given the basic premise of the novel, it’s not hard to see why A Quiet Belief in Angels is billed as a literary thriller. Growing up in small-town Georgia, Joseph Vaughan knows only a hard life that is mired in tragedy and horror. The days of his youth are forever tainted by a series of brutal murders targeting young girls, shaking the bedrock of his sleepy town and forcing Joseph to grow up faster than seems fair. As all that he holds dear is slowly stripped away, Joseph decides to leave his hometown and head north to pursue his dream of becoming an author—only to find that the atrocities from his past will not be so easily left behind. While the mystery behind the mounting body count might motivate many readers to stick with this novel, the story has a rather leisurely pace, which might make “thriller” seem like a misnomer here. The murders never feel as though they are the central conceit of the novel, with the real focus instead being Joseph’s transition from boy to man; A Quiet Belief in Angels reads more as a dark coming-of-age tale rather than a traditional crime novel. But don’t consider this a weakness—Ellory’s writing is so lyrical, powerful and heartrending that those who normally steer clear of the genre are likely to feel at home. A Quiet Belief in Angels has already gained Ellory international acclaim, and while Americans may be a bit late to the party, another saying once more proves true: better late than never.” - BookPage

“A fabulous character study of a seemingly OCD youth; A Quiet Belief in Angels is a terrific tale of a Georgian fixated for decades with brutal killings especially by serial killers. Fans will appreciate how deep author RJ Ellory takes the reader inside the mind of Joseph without slowing down the narrative. He is the key holding the tale together as the focus of the story line. As a as a senior citizen he connects the deadly dots between New York and Georgia but even then Mr. Ellory continues digging through the layers of the soul of his beleaguered frustrated hero. This is a super look at a caring person struggling with his inability to prevent violence.” -Harriet Klausner

“In his American debut, British author Ellory presents an intriguing saga of a man haunted by a serial killer. In 1939, in rural Augusta Falls, Ga., someone brutally rapes and murders a classmate of 12-year-old Joseph Vaughn, the first in what will become more than 30 similar crimes over decades . . . The quiet power of Ellory’s prose is particularly evident in scenes of Vaughn’s childhood. “– Publishers Weekly

"This noir novel is told from perspective of 12-year-old Joseph Vaughan, after his father’s death in 1939. “Rumor had it that a white feather indicated the visitation of an angel. Death came to take my father.” Joseph has an unhealthy obsession about dead things becoming angels. Fictitious Augusta Falls, Georgia was still in the throes of the Great Depression, an era of one-room schoolhouses and schoolmarms. Written with an interesting twist of brief flash-forwards to when adult Joseph kills a man in New York and calmly tells of looking at life ooze away. More than suspense, “Quiet Belief” is literary fiction. When mining gems, loads of worthless rock are sifted through. With “Quiet Belief,” hold dear the gems and know that solid foundations are built on rock. Ellory provides a rock-solid foundation and many gems. Like Steinbeck’s, readers must locate, polish and appreciate. – BookReporter.com

Foreign Policy Magazine on Dilip Hiro's INSIDE CENTRAL ASIA

Elina Galperin of Foreign Policy offers a critique of Dilip Hiro's Inside Central Asia: "Hiro succeeds in presenting colorful anecdotes along with facts and how historical contingencies have created the present. Central Asia is simply one of the most fascinating places in the world, and even as an academic, I learned many little details that academic historians typically excise in order to appear more serious . . . He is sympathetic towards the region's people, who have lost so much in the 20th century, and yet he paints a fair portrait of the gains as well . . . The chapters devoted to current politics are strong. He is detailed and deftly illustrates his points with his personal experiences.”