Genre Fiction

I spent my entire day today at the American Vegan Society’s Garden Party. There was veg food, live music, new friends - and a few old ones too, speakers, coupons, and the part that took up the most of my time: a book room.

The Vegan Society’s book room is just a rinky dink, narrow building with two rooms lined with tall metal shelves, each filled with vegan health, nutrition, animal rights, poem, and recipe books, and much more too. But it was heaven to me! With a copy of the New York Times’ best-selling book When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson already on route to me from Paperback Swap I passed that one by. But I still had another three dozen books that I wanted to buy! Making a decision was hard, but I narrowed it down to three (plus a dozen old Vegetarian Times and Natural Health magazines and a few other free pamphlets):

* Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet, a beginner raw foods prep book that gives a lot of very basic ideas and concepts as well as some more creative creations using the basics.

* The Tofu Cookbook by Leah Leneman, a collection of over 150 meals, desserts, drinks, and more that you can make using the soy veg staple.

* Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness by Kathy Freston, the highly talked and raved about health guide that was featured on both Oprah Winfrey’s and Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show.

This is the week of bookish good luck for me! First, I got bargains on two books that have been on my wish list for a while now. Today, I found out that two of my favorite authors are going on book tour and will be stopping by a library near me.

Jennifer Weiner, a Philadelphian like me, has a new book, Best Friends Forever, coming out in July. The details of the book tour - aside from the fact that she will be visiting her hometown - for this new release are still coming together, according to Jennifer via her blog. Follow her on the social networking media of your choice to find out if and when she’ll be in your area: Find Jennifer Weiner on Facebook, Twitter, her blog, or MySpace.

Lisa See will be kicking off her tour to promote her newest Chinese historical fiction book, Shanghai Girls, which releases on May 26, in Philadelphia. Check out all the dates across the country on See’s Web site.

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything from the Sookie Stackhouse True Blood novel and television empire. So lest we forget about the popular books by Charlaine Harris turned HBO series starring Anna Paquin, Borders is hyping up the May 5 release of the newest book in the series, Dead and Gone, and the May 19 release of True Blood on DVD and Blu-ray.

Starting today, May 4, exclusively at Borders True Blood site, in collaboration with Penguin Publishing, Sookie’s fans - both readers and viewers - can get their fix online by enjoying video and author content including:

* Behind-the-scenes footage: A sneak peek at the making of the TV series, including interviews with the director and actors.

* Character pieces: Video vignettes on characters including Sookie, Bill, Sam, Tara, Jason, and Lafayette.

* Series trailer: Exciting highlights of scenes from the first season.

* Chapter excerpt: An excerpt of Harris’ highly anticipated new release, chosen by the author.

* Q&A with Harris

* Author essay: “Sookie and Me and HBO,” an essay exploring Harris’ thoughts on HBO’s adaptation of her books.

* Not-yet-published book covers: An advance look at yet-to-be released book covers for Harris’ other Sookie Stackhouse novels: Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, and All Together Dead.

Chicago fans will get an extra special True Blood fix when Harris stops by the Chicagoland market at Borders in Oak Brook, Illinois, on July 13 to greet her fans and sign copies of Dead and Gone.

Season two of True Blood premieres on HBO on June 14.

Kate Jacobs, author of the growing Friday Night Knitting Club series, has been a very busy writer lately. Aside from keeping up with social networking opportunities by joining Twitter (follow her @KateJacobsBooks) and writing her own detailed, enjoyable e-mail newsletter, she’s right back to the novel-writing grindstone.

Her non-Knitting Club book, Comfort Food, has been released in paperback and is holding steady as a bestseller. But while she’s touring around promoting this book, she’s also taking time to call book clubs and record a welcome message for the nationwide Borders book clubs on April 23. Plus, she’s got a new book on the way!

“I’m working on another adventure in the FNKC series,” Jacobs wrote in her e-news about Knit the Season, her current project. “It takes place a little over a year after the end of Knit Two … [and] focuses on college-age Dakota and a holiday trip to see Gran in Scotland.”

Knit the Season is expected to release November 3, and Jacobs will be sharing more details on her web site.

April is National Poetry Month, as declared by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. Literaries around the country spend this month celebrating the impact that poems have had on our culture. To kick it off, I am throwing on my party hat and celebrating by sharing with you some of my favorite poets, in no particular order.

* Saul Williams lyrics grabbed me, but I was really hooked because the first time that I heard him perform was the first time that I heard of spoken word poetry.

* Jewel captured my interest with her music, but the poetry that she writes about being a teenage girl and living in Alaska blew me away.

* I am a fan of a lot of the classic poets - Whitman, Dickinson, Blake, Yeats, Eliot - but my favorite is easily Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

It’s time for your young ones to party it up and have a Spring Fling - Borders and Waldenbooks style.

The two book store chains, both of which are owned by Borders Group, will host “Spring Fling” parties for kids and their families April 11 at 2 p.m. in stores nationwide. Kids of all ages are invited to come decked out in their Easter finest to enjoy arts and crafts, storytime, singing and dancing, and a parade. During the events, Seattle’s Best Coffee cafes - located in most Borders superstores - will be offering free samples of beverages and baked goods including handmade soda, hot chocolate, and blackberry creme latte.

After the event, parents are encourage to upload any photos taken during the “Spring Fling” to Borders’ Facebook page.

Click on the invite image to find a store party near you.

Harlequin, the romance novel company, is honoring six women by turning their inspirational true stories into heart-warming short stories collected in More Than Words, Volume 5. Each honoree started a not-for-profit organization that has been impacting her community. Harlequin presented each with a $10,000 prize, donated to her respective organization.

Best-selling authors Heather Graham, Candace Camp, Stephanie Bond, Brenda Jackson, and Tara Taylor Quinn contributed to writing the stories. The women being honored are:

* Joan Clayton and Ina Andre, founders of Windfall, a charity that collects and redistributes donated clothing. The two women are both now in their 70s and have also started Second Harvest, which does the same for food.
* Johanna Kandel started The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness.
* Erin Puck founded Toys.Calm to provide toys to long-term patients at children’s hospitals.
* Sandra Ramos founded the North America’s first battered women’s shelter, Strengthen Our Sistersin 1970 and has kept it running strong ever since.
* Nancy Sander founded the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics to create a community for parents and kids battling severe asthma and allergies.

“Harlequin is a longtime supporter of women’s causes and we are proud to continue this tradition through the Harlequin More Than Words program,” says Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin. “Established in 2004 as our main philanthropic initiative, the More Than Words program remains dedicated to celebrating and rewarding women who make extraordinary contributions to their community.”

Proceeds from the book will be reinvested in the Harlequin More Than Words program.

Whether your kids are toddlers or teens they have a reading-related reason to celebrate next Friday, March 20.

For the older kids, Borders nationwide are hosting Twilight movie release parties, starting at 10 p.m. The night will include trivia, the Twilight movie awards (e.g. Best Bella-Edward Moment), a vampire-themed scavenger hunt around the store, and raffle prizes. Fans can get more info about the parties, as well as a voting ballot for the awards, online at Borders’ Twilight page.

If your kids - or your inner child - is too young for vampiric love stories, party in honor of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar instead. This classic, award-winning, international best-selling children’s picture book celebrates its 40th anniversary on March 20. Since its publication in 1969, 29 million copies of the book have sold worldwide and it has been published in over 45 languages.

Whether you and your young readers prefer characters that drink blood or ones that eat fresh produce, there’s a reason to celebrate reading next weekend.

Harper Collins Publishers hosts the all-books, all-the-time, online radio station Authors on Air, “where readers and writers listen and connect.”

The five regular shows - Top Shelf, Book Club Girl, The Beyond, Romance Radio, and Library Love Fest - feature new interviews and discussions with authors, editors, readers, writers, librarians, and more daily. Listeners can tune in live, or go back and listen to recorded past shows.

Upcoming and recent airing for the five themed shows include:

Top Shelf
Features: Interviews and discussions with today’s best-selling authors and tomorrow’s promising talent
Upcoming: Lunch with author Janet Evanovich
Recent: Catherine Hanrahan discussing her novel Lost Girls and Love Hotels

Book Club Girl
Features: Interviews with authors and book clubs from around the world
Upcoming: Judith Ryan Hendricks talks about Laws of Harmony
Recent: Isabel Allende on The Sum of Our Days

The Beyond
Features: All aspects of science fiction and fantasy reading and writing in an interactive form
Upcoming: Chat with New York Times bestselling author of fantasy and paranormal romances Kim Harrison
Recent: Writers on writing

Romance Radio
Features: Only the best of the best in the realm of romantic fiction
Upcoming: Novelist, blogger, and beauty journalist Nadine Haobsh
Recent: Best-selling, award-winning suspense writer Jordan Dane

Library Love Fest
Features: Host Virginia Stanley talks with and about anyone and anything related to libraries
Upcoming: Journalist-turned-author Mary Kay Andrews
Recent: Multi-genre author Jeffrey Ford

Visit the Authors on Air Web site to listen to all of these shows, see a complete schedule, or sign up for one of the many Harper newsletters.

eBay Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the popular auction site, and First Book, a nonprofit that gives new books to children in need, are holding reading parties in three cities - Austin, Texas; Veince, California; and Omaha, Nebraska - to celebrate the distribution of more than 300,000 Random House Children’s Books nationwide. eBay Foundation provide a grant of more than $300,000 to make these events possible.

“We salute eBay Foundation for their tremendous support of the fight to end illiteracy,” said Kyle Zimmer, president of First Book. “Thanks to the extraordinary commitment of the eBay Foundation, these children will experience the profound magic of books, and will have the chance to become readers for life.”

Likewise, eBay spoke highly of working with First Book: “We’re proud to partner with First Book to help children discover the joy of reading,” said Bill Barmeier, chairman of eBay Foundation and VP of Global Citizenship at eBay Inc. “This continues eBay Foundation’s long-standing tradition of connecting eBay employees with terrific causes in their local communities.”

Find out more, including the exact times and locations of the parties, from the First Book press release.

In 1996, Vanna Bonta wrote Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel. The book - and author - were well-received with praise and interest from top media outlets including Publishers Weekly who wrote that “whatever ‘quantum fiction’ is, we need more of it.”

“Quantum fiction” has since been defined as when fiction begins to effect reality, as it does in the life of Mendle Orion, Flight’s main character: while writing about his heroine Aira Flight, Mendle meets a mysterious, other-worldly woman with amnesia, who is suspiciously similar to Aira.

But why is this sci-fi read making headlines again, more than ten years after its original publication? Aside from being released as an audiobook this year, the fantasy world of Flight is now effecting our reality.

Author Bonta is a featured guest on the “Sex in Space” episode of the History Channel’s the Universe because, in her spare time, she invented the 2Suit, a “flight suit that stabilizes human proximity for various forms of intimacy in microgravity environments.”

Yes, that’s correct: humans can now procreate in outer space. If, like me, you are wondering why astronauts are allowed to sleep with each other on the job, then let me help alleviate your concerns: Apparently, we are moving toward Average Joe space exploration and, eventually, living. However, humans cannot exist if they are unable to bond and produce spawn. Hence Bonta’s 2Suit … which she has personally tested in zero gravity.

If having sex in space, or just learning more about the possibility, peaks your interest (I won’t tell anyone if it does), check out Universe: Sex in Space on the History Channel, Saturday, December 20, or on DVD soon after, and grab a copy of Vanna Bonta’s Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel.

This weekend, Saturday October 25, Borders and Waldenbooks stores across the U.S. invite families to join them in celebrating Halloween and reading with a Spooktacular event.

Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m., stores nationwide will host guests of all ages for free story time, coloring and activities, games, a treasure hunt for letters throughout the store, treats, and a costume contest.

Borders and Waldenbooks have also highlighted a number of Halloween-themed book suggestions for the whole family, from picture books to thrilling mysteries.

Beginner readers, ages 6-8 might enjoy:
* Magic Tree House: Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve
* Junie B. Jones: Boo and I Mean It
* Babymouse: Monster Mash

Kids ages 9-12 should check out:
* Inkdeath
* The Wandmaker’s Guidebook
* The Graveyard Book

Teens and adults can find:
* The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home by Stephen King
* World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
* Deeper by Jeff Long
* Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton

Many of these book stores sell other formats of fun, too. While you’re there, grab a pumpkin carving kit, a DVD copy of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and more.

It is with infinite excitement that I announce the upcoming release of Wally Lamb’s third novel, The Hour I First Believed. In one month, on November 11, Lamb’s newest work will be available in hardback.

The Hour I First Believed take a new turn for Wally, heading into the realm of historical fiction as he details the life of Maureen, a school nurse at Columbine High, after the infamous incident that occurred there. From there, a story-within-a-story emerges as Maureen and her husband recount five generations of their family history through diaries, letter, and newspaper clippings.

His characters are never happy-go-lucky, and always have plenty of personal demons, but the psychological look into a person’s life that Lamb offers is insurmountable. He is easily one of my favorite writers and historical fiction is easily my favorite genre; I have been long anticipating this book.

Both of Lamb’s first two fiction novels - She’s Come Undone (1992) and I Know This Much is True (1998) - won multiple awards, became bestsellers, were selected for Oprah’s Book Club, and told a complete, thorough story. Oh yea, and they were each 500 pages long, with 900+ in I Know This Much is True!

The length of the stories that Lamb tells should be enough to explain the years-long gaps between publications, but on top of that he spends time teaching writing, too. From 1989 to 1998, he was the director of the Writing Center at the Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut. He continues to teach as an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Connecticut. In 2003 and 2007, he edited collections of short stories by female inmates called Couldn’t Keep It to Myself and I’ll Fly Away.

Once The Hour I First Believed releases, Lamb will set out promoting his new book with a tour throughout the U.S. Read more about author Wally Lamb, his previous publications, the up-coming novel, or book tour stops, head to Harper Collins Publishing’s Wally Lamb page.

YouTube can be a fun way to pass the time (so long as your Internet connection is fast enough to keep up). You might head there to check out music videos, embarrassing moments, cute animals, video blogs, or TV show clips. But have you ever thought about checking for videos related to your favorite author or book?

Science fiction and fantasy publisher Galaxy Press has such a large collection of popular YouTube-posted videos for their authors, that they have created a Galaxy Press Channel where you can peruse author interviews, book-to-movie trailers, and clips from book release parties.

Featured prominently on the channel is author L. Ron Hubbard (shown here) who wrote his first fiction book - Buckskin Brigades - in 1936 at age 26, and his last - the ten-volume Mission Earth collection - in the last three years of his life, 1985-1987.

Author videos also include appearances by Anne McCaffrey, Dragonriders of Pern series; Sean Williams, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed; Orson Scott Card, Enders Game, and Robert J. Sawyer, Rollback.

Next week, September 27 to October 4, publishers, readers, and authors alike will be celebrating Banned Books Week. It’s a time to celebrate our freedom to read whatever we please, regardless of what public libraries and schools tell us.

According to the American Library Association (ALA), more than 400 books were challenged in 2007 for profanity, slang, sexuality, violence, bigotry, and other controversial hot topics.

Here are the ten most challenged books of 2007, both new and old, according to the ALA, and why people want them banned:

1. And Tango Makes Three (2005) by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. The Chocolate War (1974) by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3. Olive’s Ocean (2003) by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language

4. The Golden Compass (1997) by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism

6. The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language

7. TTYL (2005) by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit

9. It’s Perfectly Normal (1996) by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Read more about books being banned or challenged and then find a display or event near you during Banned Books Week. Shop RandomHouse.com now through the end of Banned Book Week and save 15 percent on all banned books by entering code “BANNED” at checkout.