Unique Voice of Frank Bill Here Saturday

Once you’ve read his words you will never, ever forget them. Here’s your chance to meet with and talk to Frank Bill, whose debut novel from Farrar, Strauss & Giroux marks the launch of a literary star. He’ll be here at Destinations Booksellers on Saturday, March 16, starting at 2 p.m. We’ve also arranged for a musical concert kicking off at 1:30 and continuing throughout the afternoon.

I’ve been loath to write a review on Donnybrook, simply because the reviews from others have been so compelling and true.

We are extremely proud to be hosting Frank during his national rollout for Donnybrook. If you miss it, you’ll be missing a great opportunity to be there as his literary career heads for the stratosphere.

His is a most unique voice. His use of the language is daring. And his subject is people you meet and see every day right here in Southern Indiana.

Allow me to share the words of others who’ve read Donnybrook.

• Frank Bill’s first novel, Donnybrook, is vivid in its violence, grim in its grimness. It reams the English language with a broken beer bottle and lets the blood drops tell the story. – DANIEL WOODRELL, author of Winter’s Bone.
• With action like a belt across the face and vivid prose like a stroke up the neck, Frank Bill’s astonishing novel Donnybrook renders you punch-drunk. Here’s the writer to watch: mad, bad, and dangerous to know. – MEGAN ABBOTT, author of Dare Me.
• There are these guys, like Daniel Woodrell, Chuck Pahlaniuk, and Donald Ray Pollock, incredible writers who stand out in the silk-scarf literary world like a bulging bicep with a cell-block tattoo. Frank Bill is one of those guys. – CRAIG JOHNSON, author of the Walt Longmire mysteries.
• Bill portrays depravity and violence as few others can – or perhaps as few others dare to do … the plot builds relentlessly to the final round of the Donnybrook and gives the reader unexpected jolts all the way through … Bill is one hell of a storyteller. – KIRKUS REVIEWS
• Don’t poke this book with a stick or you’ll make it angry. – BONNIE JO CAMPBELL, author of Once Upon a River.
• Frank Bill’s Donnybrook is Poe shooting heroin, Steinbeck freebasing cocaine, and Hemingway really drunk. It’s so great I felt I had been throat-punched, kicked in the cojones and was going to spit blood. – RAY WYLIE HUBBARD

Do not miss this event, folks. We have a flute concert scheduled simultaneously and we’ll have modest refreshments available. Frank Bill’s book is only $15. And if it matters to you, Frank is from Corydon, Ind. and is a frequent correspondent for The New York Times.

 

Logging 2013

The practice of keeping a (public or private) log on the Web gave us the term “blog” and “blogging.” Once considered a pretentious and indulgent luxury, most people on the Web either have an active blog or 1 or more blogs they’ve started and abandoned.

January is always a heavy month for new blog posts, but most bloggers, like me, lose steam quickly. At the very least, I will be blogging, at a minimum, the title of every book I read in 2013, and when time permits, I’ll give a review. I’ll also rate these books, using the following criteria:

10 – Any book that suggests itself for likely inclusion in my year-end best books posting. I’ll make 2 lists: One that only includes books I’ve completed or read significant parts of. Frankly, if I like a book, though, I’ll finish it; and a second list that includes books I’ve not read but that have gleaned substantial praise from respected critics or readers, including you, and that I can endorse from that second-hand perspective.

9 – A well done book that was fun for me to read and that I will recommend to select customers, but that I couldn’t honestly elevate to the status of a great book. For example, Tim Dorsey’s best work will usually garner a 9 from me. If you see me give a genre thriller a 9, you probably will want to read it, provided that genre is one you enjoy. And even the least of John Grisham’s legal thrillers will earn an …

8 – A fine book worth spending your money on, especially if the topic or genre is one you have an interest in.

7 – There won’t be many books I’ll read that won’t earn at least a 7 from me. I have access to a lot of advance material and can choose wisely. My time, especially when it is time spent on your behalf evaluating books, is too limited to read something I don’t think will at least be a 7 on this scale.

4 through 6 – A mistake has been made on my part if I read and rate these books. I’m just not going to read Alexander McCall Smith and I probably won’t be reading Jodi Picoult. So I won’t rate and review them. I will, however share with you what others are saying about them simply because it is news that is useful to you. And I know that many of you would naturally have either of those authors rated more highly. I invite you to submit your reviews, even in the form of a brief paragraph. We’ll attribute it to you by name or by your alias, if you choose.

1 through 3 – Warning you away from these books. Examples? I could probably give you Fifty Shades of examples.

A word to the wise: Because of my job, I have access to many books well before they are available to you.
Why? First because the publisher or author is eager to have me buy and promote that book.
Second, because they hope that I will review/blog about it and develop a loyal and viral following.
So, enjoy these blog posts while planning your future reading. I'll always give you the expected release date.

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Book #1 of 2013

Title: Lexicon: A Novel

Author: Max Barry Publisher: Penguin Press Release date: June 18, 2013

Barry’s editors are with the flagship imprint of Penguin Group USA, which has been in the news regarding a proposed merger with Random House. I’m not convinced that’s a good thing, but I do know that Penguin Press only releases a few titles each season and Max Barry’s book is one of them.

My history with Barry extends only back to 2010’s Machine Man, but that was such a wild ride that I quickly snatched this new one out of the advance reader box. I’m glad I did.

Lexicon plays to all my pleasure points. Through the ages, some individuals have held sway over the opinions and actions of thousands and even millions. How do they do it? What natural advantages do they have that others do not? How do they develop those skills.

At school, of course. The tony school just outside Washington, D.C. called “The Academy” winnows the best candidates in order to train them to be “Poets.” Poets have, to put it mildly, a way with words. Graduates assume the names of dead poets, but their society is far less transparent than you would think. Tom (T.S.) Eliot is a “top gun,” especially when it comes to recruiting new adherents. Charlotte Brontè manages the Academy. But Emily Ruff is like no other student before her. Rebellious, inquisitive, and romantic, Emily doesn’t quite fit into the plans the Poets have for her.

When she is kicked out of school for her part in one of the more shocking literary tragedies you’ll ever read, she is exiled to the remotest part of the continent of Australia in hopes that she can develop the discipline to return and graduate. But Emily has other plans. Until she runs into a man immune to persuasion.

The plot is not linear. Emily’s story is told in flashback, while the main narrative races from deadly conflict to apocalyptic climax.

The book is both literate and fast-paced, but it is the humaneness of its characters that will cause it to lodge in your cranium for a long, long time.

Rating: 9, with a chance of a year-end upgrade

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UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENT: We’re just thrilled to be hosting author Frank Bill on the occasion of his first novel for Farrar, Strauss & Giroux. It’s Donnybrook, and it takes place just a few miles from here. I’ve nominated it for the Indie Next List, though I’ll bet I’m not the only independent bookseller who was rocked by this book. I’ll share more on this book later, and although I read it last year, it comes out in March. Frank Bill will be doing a reading, book talk, and signing here at the store on Saturday, April 16, at 2 p.m. Put this on your calendar now. Bill is a major new talent and he’s from this area. I’m betting we’ll all be talking proudly about how we’ve met him and he’s one of ours. If interest builds like I think it will, we may have to make this a ticketed event. Frank previously authored Crimes in Southern Indiana for FSG, and we’ll have that book here, too, or you can read it now. We always have it in stock.

2011 Books They’re Making Movies Of

You seemed to enjoy our pre-awards season list of books that were made into movies. NPR has compiled a decent list of books that you’ll be seeing soon on the silver screen. You can read their coverage here.

And don’t forget the literary event of the year in New Albany – Wednesday’s visit to Destinations Booksellers by Tim Dorsey. Details in my previous posting. Tim has made it possible for you to also acquire his companion travelogue of Florida. It’s a perfect complement to Electric Barracuda, which features Serge Storms’ Fugitive Tour.

Tim Dorsey “Serges” Into Town Next Wednesday

In what is sure to be a repeat of our greatest author event ever, the hilarious Tim Dorsey brings his Serge Storms fugitive tour once again to New Albany on Wednesday, March 2, at 5:30 p.m.

If you know Dorsey, you love him – both as an author and as a man. His visit with us in 2008 was without doubt the most successful and appreciated literary event we’ve ever held. Now, with his 13th book out, Tim chose to come back and present to us Electric Barracuda.

I won’t offer up a review today – I’ll wait until next week for that. Andy has written an outstanding review but I’ll just tell you that this one has more than a few surprises and, as always, I am bereft that I again have to wait a year for another adventure with Serge, Coleman, and the rockin’ cast of characters that weird Florida provides just when you need them.

DETAIL: The book talk and signing begin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. At 7, we’re having a post-event reception for Tim at La Rosita Mexican Grill just a few blocks down the street. That will be a ticketed event. Those who pay for and reserve for that event in advance will move to the head of the autographing line in the store and then spend some more quality time with the author afterward. Single tickets include a copy of the book and a voucher for the reception and cost $37.50, taxes included. Couples tickets include a copy of the book and 2 vouchers and cost $47.50, taxes included.

The main event is free and open to the public. We have an ample supply of all of Tim’s books and you are welcome to bring your collection for autographing after the first line of purchasers have had their time with Tim. Call the store to reserve for the after-party or for more details (812) 944-5116 or e-mail newalbanybooks@gmail.com.

Going Through the Change

There has been a debate in the store (and in my house) about whether a book can change your life.

TONIGHT: ATTORNEY JON FLEISCHAKER, presented by the Media Law Resources Center Institute, the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and Destinations Booksellers. TOPIC: Censorship and the First Amendment. 7 p.m. at Destinations Booksellers, 604 E. Spring St., New Albany, Ind.

Do You Have One?

Some of you will know that I had been scheduled to be an in-studio guest of WFPL’s State of Affairs this past Monday. That show has been rescheduled … and I will not be on that future show.

However, I did prepare for the show and rather than “waste” that preparation, I’ll be giving you an extended, multi-day presentation of my thoughts on the show’s announced theme, “Books That Changed Our Lives.”

Though I will be hiding an Easter Egg in each of the next few posts, if you have no interest in the topic, skip these … unless you want to discover our special offer nestled comfortably somewhere within. Don’t worry. They’ve always been pretty easy to find.

To kill some of the suspense, here are the 3.5 books I had chosen to discuss on the show.

1. Andersonville,by MacKinlay Kantor

2. All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren and

2B. Facing the Lions, by Tom Wicker

3. Atlas Shrugged,by Ayn Rand

I’ll discuss these over the coming days. But today, I’d like to first talk about the whole idea of whether a book can change a life.

I do know that “books” changed my life, and they continue to do so. Nothing I know of keeps a decaying brain supple like the exposure to new ideas, places, and people that books can give you. At least once a year I have to reshuffle my “list” of favorites and bests when I come across a new one. That list has grown considerably since I opened Destinations Booksellers. You can put your hands on many of them because if I love a book, I keep it on my shelves – whether its sales numbers justify it or not.

Were an intelligent alien to descend on New Albany tomorrow seeking to understand humanity, I could, from stock, provide her with a reading list to occupy her time for months and months and months.

I do come down on the side that asserts that a book can change a life. Sometimes explaining it is so simple as to be unnecessary, but most of the time it requires a story.

For those of you who visit the store with some regularity, you know I love to tell a story. Perhaps I’m mistaken that my stories are, in fact, interesting or thought-provoking, but tell them I do. I have a floor littered with ears that have been talked off to prove it.

I submit the idea, though, that the life-altering nature of books is unique to each individual. Could it be that our friends who don’t read books don’t because no book ever changed their lives? And if none did change their lives, do they see no compelling reason to read?

I’ll bet that none of those people are reading this right now, so we’ll just stick to the “remnant” who do read books … perhaps in the hope of that next life-changing one.

Interestingly, a few years ago Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen edited a collection of essays called The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them.

I present to you a list from that book:

• DOROTHY ALLISON on Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
• KATE ATKINSON on Robert Coover’s Pricksongs & Descants
• JAMES ATLAS on Gwendolyn Brooks’s Selected Poems
• ROBERT BALLARD on Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth
• GINA BARRECA on Jean Kerr’s The Snake Has All the Lines
• NICHOLAS A. BASBANES on the Works of Shakespeare
• GRAEME BASE on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
• JEFF BENEDICT on The Little Engine That Could
• ELIZABETH BERG on J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye

Come by the store to see what Patricia Cornwell, Sebastian Junger, and Jacqueline Winspear or dozens of other top contemporary writers chose as the book that changed their lives.

Don’t worry. I don’t recognize all of those writers, much less read them. But please … use the comments section to tell me and my readers about the book(s) that changed your life.