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Eight Penguin Young Readers Titles on New York Times Columnist’s “Favorites” List

In an editorial published on July 4th, New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof listed what he believed were the “Best Kids’ Books Ever.” Intent on encouraging kids to read over the summer and keep their minds in good shape, the two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize named 13 titles, 8 of which are published by Penguin Group (USA):

• The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon
• Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
• Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
• Lad, A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune; Sam Savitt (illustr.)

Kristof invited readers to comment and discuss his list, which became extremely popular. He noted, “I’d never had a column achieve 1,000 comments, and that one has topped 2,350.” To read his piece, click here.
 

Kathryn Stockett’s The Help Reaches New Milestones

The continuing success of The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons) keeps reaching new milestones. The book just crossed the 200,000 copies-shipped mark and is now #9, its highest slot to date, on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list, where it has resided for 14 weeks. The Help is also #1 on three regional indie bestseller lists: the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA), Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA). The week of July 5th is the first time the book has topped lists other than the SIBA. In addition, the book’s international success continues to grow, with Subrights reporting that foreign rights have now been sold in 23 countries, a tremendous achievement for a debut novel. And Kathryn has already been scheduled to speak with 40 book clubs, with more requests coming in from book clubs every day – an astonishing feat for a hardcover book!

Read an excerpt from The Help, listen to a podcast with Kathryn Stockett, and explore the book's reading group guide to find discussion questions and a Q&A with the author.
 

Dutton/ Riverhead Author John Hodgman “Roasts” President Obama at the 2009 Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner 

You may have seen him on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” as the “PC” in the Mac commercials, or, most recently, at the 2009 Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner: Dutton author John Hodgman. In late June, Hodgman roasted President Barack Obama at the RTC’s annual dinner in Washington D.C., receiving a standing ovation for an uproarious speech. Citing the commander-in-chief’s credentials as a young comic book reader and a “Star Trek” fan, Hodgman made the hysterical case to an enthralled audience that Obama was the first nerd president of the modern era. You can watch the full video here.

Read an excerpt from John Hodgman’s most recent book More Information Than You Require.
 

#1 New York Times Bestselling Along for the Ride featured on Hampton Luxury Liner

This summer, the Hampton Luxury Liner will be taking New Yorkers out to the Hamptons in Sarah Dessen style. The popular bus will be wrapped in Sarah Dessen art featuring her new #1 New York Times bestselling novel, Along for the Ride, as well as other popular Dessen books. Every rider will receive a complimentary copy of Along for the Ride for the month of July. Along for the Ride is one of this summer’s most popular reads. It was featured in summer reading segments on both "Good Morning America" and the "Today Show" and is on this week’s Entertainment Weekly “Must List”. Recent and upcoming media coverage includes features and reviews in Family Circle, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Seventeen, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Newsday, Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee, Girls Life Magazine, Bookpage, Seventeen.com and much more. For the week of July 19th, Sarah Dessen makes a splash on The New York Times bestseller list, with three of her titles occupying slots: Along for the Ride is #2 in its third week on the children’s chapter books list; while on the children’s paperback list, Lock and Key is #2 in its second week and Just Listen is #9 in its 28th week.
 

The Soloist Selected as California State University at Chico’s FYE Pick

Steve Lopez's New York Times bestseller, The Soloist (Putnam/Berkley), has been selected as the Freshman Year Experience pick for California State University at Chico. The Book in Common is not only a common read for incoming freshman—it is also a community-wide read. This means that the university will encourage local booksellers, the public library, community colleges, K-12 schools, and local media to encourage reading of The Soloist.

Based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a world-class musician who becomes schizophrenic and homeless, the book is likely to be widely adopted in both freshman-level classes as well as courses on Social Work, Psychology, and Music. Residence hall advisors will also organize reading groups and other programming around The Soloist.

Author Steve Lopez is scheduled to speak at Chico in March of 2010, while the DVD release of the film adaptation of The Soloist (which stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx) is scheduled for August 4th.

Explore The Soloist reading group guide.
 

The Girls from Ames Author Jeffrey Zaslow Picked as the Grand Marshal of Ames’ July 4th Parade 

Gotham author and Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow returned to Ames on the Fourth of July weekend, kicking off the town’s wildly popular parade as the Grand Marshal. Despite the pouring rain, several thousand people still lined the main parade route with their umbrellas. According to Zaslow, some even yelled, “Nice book!” as he passed by. After the parade, Zaslow signed copies of his bestselling hit The Girls from Ames; in an email he noted with amusement that some dedicated fans were determined to keep their books dry: “It was as if a memo went out to the entire population telling them to carry their Girls from Ames in large Ziplock bags.”

By focusing on the remarkable story of eleven girls and their forty-year friendship, Zaslow’s The Girls from Ames has brought much national attention to this small Midwestern town. Parade magazine has selected the book as one of its “Summer Reading Picks,” which is also mentioned on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America. On July 1st, The Associated Press ran a feature on Zaslow, discussing how the book almost did not make it past the rough draft due to some of the girls’ initial reservations. Today, the girls from Ames have been Zaslow’s biggest promoters, attending numerous local media events in places such as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. In addition to topping several regional bestseller lists, The Girls from Ames has been on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction list for ten weeks, reaching a high of #3; this week it rises to #7.

Read our interview with Jeffrey Zaslow and explore The Girls from Ames reading group guide to view the book’s video trailer.
 

Maile Meloy’s Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It Featured on Cover of New York Times Book Review 

Be sure not to miss the rave review for Maile Meloy's collection of short stories, Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It (Riverhead), on the cover of The New York Times Book Review this Sunday. The reviewer concludes her review by saying that Meloy is "such a talented and unpredictable writer that I'm officially joining her fan club; whatever she writes next, I'll gladly read."

The collection is also slated for review in next week's issue of Time magazine. The book is an Amazon "Editor's Picks" for July. Fantastic reviews have also appeared in the current issues of The Atlantic, LA magazine, Vogue.com, Bust, GQ.com and Elle. In the Elle review, the reviewer writes that Meloy "cracks at our nagging desire to have it all (the answers, the romance, the payout, and, in one case, the late grandmother come back to life) in 11 tightly written, remarkably fluid narratives." You can hear Meloy soon in an interview on NPR's “Weekend Edition Sunday." More reviews are forthcoming, including Slate.com, the Portland Oregonian, Dallas Morning News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and others.
 

Eye Contact featured in “Homeless Book Club” Video on The Boston Globe Website 

A video by Joanne Rathe on The Boston Globe website tells the story of Rob, a homeless man, and Peter Resnik, an attorney, and their book club. They crossed paths daily on the Boston Commons, and eventually struck up a friendship. When Peter lent Rob a novel, Rob finished it and lent it to other homeless people—and the pair got the idea to start a book club for local homeless people.

One member, Ned, remarked, “Now that I was in a jam, good literature became attractive to me.… Nobody’s trying to show how smart he is (with the possible exception of myself) in this group. We just react.”

In the video, the Tuesday morning book club is seen sharing donuts and discussing Cammie McGovern’s Eye Contact (Viking/Penguin), which was originally published in the summer of 2006.

Explore the Eye Contact reading group guide to find a Q&A with Cammie McGovern and read her posts on the Penguin Blog.
 

Penguin Group (USA) Featured on the Big Screen in The Proposal

There’s a great plug for Penguin Group (USA) in the hit movie, The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock. Alongside Ryan Reynolds, who plays her assistant, the Golden Globe-winning actress plays the executive editor-in-chief of a fictional book publishing company, Colden Books. As she attempts to keep author Don DeLillo from jumping ship to another publishing house, the film mentions Viking and Penguin Classics.

At one point, Bullock’s Margaret makes fun of Reynolds’ Andrew by saying he probably lives in a tiny apartment with stacks of yellowed Penguin Classics. To us that seems more like a compliment than anything!

Anne Fletcher directs, and Betty White from “The Golden Girls” is hilarious as Gammy.

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