Time for a new book - any suggestions?

[Gripen]

can anyone recommend a good history of judaism, or pirates?

Gift of the Jews by Thomas Cahill. His other books such as Sailing the Wine Dark Seas, and How the Irish Saved Civilization are amazing as well.

[Gordyman]

This is a local dude I have met and think he's cool. Reminds me of Wallace Stegner. I doubt he's stoked at the price Amazon's got on his book, but all the more reason for you to buy it.

http://www.amazon.com/Then-Came-Even.../dp/1608190145

[dookeyXXX]

I doubt he's stoked at the price Amazon's got on his book, but all the more reason for you to buy it.

http://www.amazon.com/Then-Came-Even.../dp/1608190145

To the best of my knowledge, most novelists get paid upfront for their work, usually a certain percentage of the number of books they print up (a buddy of mine is an author and he gets between $2 and $3 a book based on how many they printed--i.e. if they run a print of 30,000 he can make $60,000 or so). No doubt Mr. Hart was paid upfront for his novel. It's the publisher that's taking a loss on the book at this point:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remaindered_book

So the only thing that Hart would not be happy about is the loss of royalties on the remainders (I think; but it would depend on the contract he negotiated).

More discussion on the topic: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=155970

[Gordyman]

Thanks for the info. I guess more important for Hart is that he write another good one.

[Spats]

To the best of my knowledge, most novelists get paid upfront for their work, usually a certain percentage of the number of books they print up (a buddy of mine is an author and he gets between $2 and $3 a book based on how many they printed--i.e. if they run a print of 30,000 he can make $60,000 or so). No doubt Mr. Hart was paid upfront for his novel.

That's a good thread form TSD you linked, with good information...but it doesn't talk about contracts and royalties.

The typical deal is:

-Authors get advances against royalties up front...same as the music industry.
-Usual royalty is 10% of the cover price...more if you're already bestselling/famous. Your agent will take 10-15% of that. You don't get any per-book royalties until the advance is paid back.
-You don't get royalties on unsold books or remainders. Remaindering usually happens at the end of the fiscal year because publishers must pay tax on unsold inventory (as it's an "asset").

So an author might net $2-3/book off the hardcover edition, but less off the trade PB or pulp.

Obviously the publisher is going to offer an advance roughly proportional to expected sales, so initial printings will roughly track advances...but that's not a guarantee.

Other fun facts:
-Less than 2% of books sell 5000 copies or more.
-OVer 30% of books are pulped unread...which includes the millions of copies of Harry Potter and Dan Brown. So the average book has more than half its printed copies pulped unread.

[richardp]

Just finished Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, sex race, religion and politics all combined

[Crock]

Just finished reading Bryson's "At Home" and "Assholes Finish First" by Tucker Max. Kind of an odd pair of books I had going at the same time, but both very enjoyable reads. I wish more teachers/professors were like Bryson- He manages to make learning extremely enjoyable/entertaining.

Just picked up "The Nature of things: The Secret Life of Inanimate Objects" from a buddy of mine that is very into new-age energy stuff. Only a few pages into it, and whether or not you buy into the concept completely, it's an interesting read, if for no other reason than providing a different way of looking at the world.

[The AD]

I really enjoyed Bryson's "At Home." He has a real knack for making the seemingly mundane interesting.

[richardp]

Just finished reading Bryson's "At Home" and "Assholes Finish First" by Tucker Max. Kind of an odd pair of books I had going at the same time, but both very enjoyable reads. I wish more teachers/professors were like Bryson- He manages to make learning extremely enjoyable/entertaining.

Just picked up "The Nature of things: The Secret Life of Inanimate Objects" from a buddy of mine that is very into new-age energy stuff. Only a few pages into it, and whether or not you buy into the concept completely, it's an interesting read, if for no other reason than providing a different way of looking at the world.

Assholes Finish First seems like a good read. You got me at the title What is it about?

[Hayduke]

This was pretty rad...

http://enterthepassage.com/

Not "vampire" as in twilight or any of the "blood" series types. Think more like dark-seekers from I Am Legend. Could not put it down. Gonna be a trilogy too.

Just finished this. Well worth reading.

[coach]

Hi folks - don't mean to spam but I figure a few of you on here might enjoy this book:

http://www.abdou.ca/canterburytrail.html

It was penned by my wife as her PHd dissertation. It's a modern day take on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - set in a small BC mountain town that many of you may recognize. It even contains accurate usage of the word jong. I shit you not.

Maybe give it a pass if you have an aversion to skiing, course language, pot, alcohol or sex.

And if you do enjoy it please spread the word.

Cheers,

Coach

[fool]

Hi folks - don't mean to spam but I figure a few of you on here might enjoy this book:

http://www.abdou.ca/canterburytrail.html

It was penned by my wife as her PHd dissertation. It's a modern day take on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - set in a small BC mountain town that many of you may recognize. It even contains accurate usage of the word jong. I shit you not.

Maybe give it a pass if you have an aversion to skiing, course language, pot, alcohol or sex.

And if you do enjoy it please spread the word.

Cheers,

Coach

Quite interesting. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it and would consider buying it if I didn't have all these other books to read.

[coach]

My (modest and biased) recommendation: It's ski season - no better time to read a ski book. Bump it to the top of your list - it's an engaging, hard to put down, fucking hilarious read with a climax that will leave you thinking about it for days. And it's fucking hilarious. And there's a recipe for pot cookies ... amongst other things. But I've said too much...

Anyhow, hope you get around to reading it - I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Let us know what you think.

<end SPAM>

OK I'm done plugging my wife's book. Don't mean to be spammy here - I just know a good audience when I see one - you'll appreciate it.

Now I'm gonna go rip the shit out of something!

Cheers,

Coach

[Steven S. Dallas]

I am currently reading, and enjoying, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.

[carvedog]

So I know it's kind of rare but I did a complete search and read this entire thread and glanced through a couple of others.

I too am looking for a new book (s). Heading out on the river in a couple of weeks. With high water ( short float times) almost solstice ( lonngggg days) and a hip that needs replacement (no hiking) I will be spending some time at rivers edge with a good strong gin and tonic and I love to read with the white noise background of a river.

I have also resolved my "I don't need glasses my eyes are perfect syndrome" by purchasing and keeping track of some reading glasses for the last six months. It sure is easier to read when it doesn't give you a headache.

Some great ideas in here that I will pursue. Coach your wife's book sounds awesome.

While I am primarily looking for fiction right now, I read and liked Lost City of Z and 1776 recently and enjoyed both.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver was great for me. Maybe because my dad traveled extensively into the Congo at around that time and I suspected for a while that he worked for the CIA.

I have read almost all of John Irving - hows his newest - Last Night in Twisted River? if anyone has an opinion.

I really like Jim Harrison, Thomas McGuane, Tom Robbins and of course Hunter S.

Cormac McCarthy - I feel like I should like him more, but I don't think I will read another. While I kind of liked All the Pretty Horses, The Road was too much for me. Looking for something lighter I guess.

Most books that I try to read start way too slow. After ten pages of 'scene' setting I feel like someone slipped me a qualude as I start to nod off. I haven't found much to interest me. Maybe I suffer from emailitis or some other attention span disorder.

So if anyone has anything to add post it up. Thx.

[dookeyXXX]

Two books I recently ripped through in a couple of days because they were just so damn enjoyable were:

Fool - Christopher Moore
this is a retelling of King Lear from the point of his court jester. i've never read/seen Lear, but his was a hoot. dirty, ribald, and funny.
Moore's other books are great as well: Coyote Blue (a reworking of the Native American Coyote mythos); Practical Demonkeeping; The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cover; Bloodsucking Fiends...
http://www.chrismoore.com/books.html

Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman
this is a superhero novel told from a super villain's perspective. at times it had hints of Megamind/The Invincibles/Despicable Me, in terms of how the villain talks/acts, but it was funny and creative

Another author you might check out is Joe R. Lansdale. He writes everything from westerns to gritty mysteries to horror, often combining all three into what he dubs "Mojo Storytelling". You can check out some of his short stories for free on his site: http://www.joerlansdale.com/todaysfeature.html


I've mentioned it before, but try and track down some of the short story collections by Ron Carlson. that dude can write!

[up an down]

2 very good nonfiction books.
The Tell Tale Brain by V.S.Ramachandran... for anyone interested in neurology/science..
Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz ...less science and more sociology

[crackboy]

Christopher Moore's best book is Lamb though. (he is one of my favorite authors)

i really like soon i will be invncible.

I used to always bring Douglas Adam's Last Chance to see when i went on overnights.
its a small book but it may be hard to find

[dookeyXXX]

Totally funny...the one Christopher Moore book I haven't been able to get into is Lamb...started it a few years ago and after a couple of chapters I wasn't sold, which was funny since all of his other books I've read (Practical Demonkeeping; Coyote Blue; Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove; Bloodsucking Fiends; Fool) l loved to death and read in a matter of days, mesmerized by the prose and humor. But Lamb just didn't grab me...I plan to re-start it at some point, but sill, it is the only book of his that I've started and pushed aside.

[zion zig zag]

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It's 2 stories in one. The story of the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair and a serial killer in the same period. Non-fiction, amazing amount of research went into it, if you have any interest in architecture, history, things that eventually became pop culture, etc. than this is a good read.

[Crampedon]

++ for Devil in the white city, takes you back in time.

I just read "the Tiger" about Tigers in Russia gone bad, very cool true story.

[dipstik]

I really enjoyed Bryson's "At Home." He has a real knack for making the seemingly mundane interesting.

Agreed. I felt the same way about "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and his less popular "Shakespeare: The World as Stage." I have zero interest in Shakespeare, but in typical Bryson fashion he hooked me in and completely astounded me with Shakespearean trivia and conspiracy. Worth checking out if you like Bryson's style, it's a quick 200 page read.

If you're ever in for a long drive, pick up a Bryson written and narrated audiobook. He is as good a narrator as he is a writer.

[nateski]

life of pi was a fast enjoyable read
obrian's biography of picasso was badass
now working on 7 years in tibet and fagles translation of the oddysey
both enjoyable so far but not particuarly engrossing

[crackboy]

Totally funny...the one Christopher Moore book I haven't been able to get into is Lamb...started it a few years ago and after a couple of chapters I wasn't sold, which was funny since all of his other books I've read (Practical Demonkeeping; Coyote Blue; Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove; Bloodsucking Fiends; Fool) l loved to death and read in a matter of days, mesmerized by the prose and humor. But Lamb just didn't grab me...I plan to re-start it at some point, but sill, it is the only book of his that I've started and pushed aside.

Have you read Dirty Jobs? that is my other favorite i think. shares a lot of characters with Blood sucking fiends/bite me, and some other of his books

[dookeyXXX]

Own Dirty Job, but haven't read it yet (I have all of CM's books). I just started Island of the Sequined Love Nun, though.

I've been on a tear this weekend. Started and finished the following:

Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman (striking similarities to Megamind, but maybe that's just coincidence). Great, snarky, quick read.

Blood Dance - Joe R. Lansdale
a "lost" novel from the mojo storyteller. This one's a western and it's very much in the vein of classic "dimes store" Louis L'Amour.

The Thief of Always - Clive Barker
I believe this is Barker's first foray into "young adult" literature. It's basically a "fable" about an evil house that preys on the dreams of kids. It was okay, but totally aimed at the teen crowd from back in the day and nowhere near as seminal as his Books of Blood short story collections (still his best work IMHO).

As stated, currently reading Island of the Sequined Love Nun and next on the platter are: Glamorama by Brett Easton Ellis and American Gods by Neil Gaimen (at least that's what I pulled from my storage boxes of books, so who knows?).