I recently came across an article online that talked about our social networks and how incredibly influential the people around you are, even if you don’t realise it. Here at Infloox, this is exactly what we focus on,  bringing these connections to light. More so, we dissect the influence of books (and even music!) on people, since these works stay around long after the creator has passed on.

Since Christmas is right around the corner, let’s take a look at Charles Dickens and his beloved classic, A Christmas Carol. Originally published quickly in 1843 to cover the expenses of his wife’s fifth pregnancy, the book went on to become one of Dickens’ most well-known tales. So much so, that it is this work that made the common phrase “Merry Christmas” popular in modern culture, as well as the term “Scrooge” to mean a miser and the catchphrase, “Bah Humbug!”. One historian even claimed that, “the current state of the observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by A Christmas Carol.”

But where did Dickens himself derive the inspiration and influences to come up with such a unique story? As with many authors, a large part of it can be attributed to the books and stories Dickens read as a child. Even something as far removed as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Robinson Crusoe made its way in, as he brought in that influence in the beginning of his story. We learn that in Victorian times, pantomimes were extremely popular, and Dickens refers directly to this in his Christmas story.

For aspiring writers, take a good look at the books on your bookshelf, because chances are those very ones will somehow work their way into your own writing. Perhaps it might be subconscious, or other times deliberate, but as we can see, it isn’t only our social networks that guide and shape the way we develop, but also works of literature, no matter how old or new.

Random House announced today that it will be releasing free iPhone apps that will connect best selling authors with their fans. Based on a similar platform to the existing Mobile Roadie apps (whom they are partnering with to create this new application), the apps will let fans preview books, access bonus content, interact with other fans, check upcoming author appearances, listen to audiobook clips, and watch author videos and book trailers.

The platform launched today with apps (click the links) available for authors Steve Berry, Sophie Kinsella, and Karen Marie Moning.

via Publisher’s Weekly

Last week’s #1 seller was (once again) the Splendid Active Always French Terry Sweat Pant!  A perfect gift for a girl of any age, it’s no wonder this cozy sweat pant is a top holiday seller.

Splendid French Terry Sweat Pant in Mud and Spruce.  Availble in an array of colors.

See all Top Sellers of the week on shopLAstyle.com!

The London Telegraph recently reported that Stephenie Meyer is Amazon UK’s bestselling American author, ranked #2 in the list of total bestsellers, just behind J.K. Rowling (with Dan Brown the only other American in the top ten, ranked at #6).

I loved seeing Shakespeare on that list, which reminded me how Shakespeare’s works were trashed on by clergy and literary snobs, the way Meyer’s books have also been disregarded by so many uppity readers.

But like Shakespeare, Meyer will be a well-known author hundreds of years from now because *her* novels were more widely read in her day, which results in a higher number of surviving copies and documented memories/reviews for literary historians to analyze.

Just as I imagine Shakespeare’s harshest critics are rolling in the grave to see him on this top ten list almost 500 years later, so I imagine Meyer’s critics are all whining about the Shakespearean literary longevity that she will enjoy as a result of her popular appeal! (tee hee)

This time of year, one of our games is to try to guess which books we’ve sold the most of. It’s more of a challenge than you might think, because none of us are at the register for every sale, and sometimes sales numbers creep up a little at a time without you realizing that–hey, we’ve already sold 15 copies of Nontoxic Housecleaning! It’s fun to see what people are getting excited about–sometimes it’s about a book they’ve read and want to pass on, and sometimes it’s a book that just got a great review on NPR.

So, here’s a sneak peek at the books that are being tucked under Christmas trees all over the greater Hardwick area (and beyond). Maybe you’ll find a few under your tree this year!

1. The Pleasures of Cooking for One – It’s  a gorgeous, unique, and inspiring cookbook; sales were certainly helped by our event with Judith Jones, but I’m pretty sure this would have been a bestseller no matter what. A wonderful gift for singles, but also good for couples and anyone who might want to cook small meals from time to time.

2. Bananagrams — The totally addictive word game is being purchased by the bunch by many of our customers! (Haha – “bunch” – get it??)

3. Not Too Awful Bad — Another book that got a boost from a visit by the author. Leon Thompson has written a fine addition to the genre of Vermont humor.

4. Nontoxic Housecleaning — I was not kidding, we’ve sold a lot of this little book. It’s a great gift for anyone who has to clean…which is almost everyone over the age of 20. This little collection of simple and inexpensive recipes for nontoxic cleaning products is perfect for slipping into a stocking, or perhaps a basket along with some baking soda and vinegar!

5. Stones Into Schools – It’s no surprise that Greg Mortenson’s follow up to Three Cups of Tea is a success. The man’s story is inspirational, fascinating, and also timely.

6. Thirty Below Zero: In Praise of Native Vermonters — We may not have had books for Ethan Hubbard’s visit, but they were finally released by Customs, and we’ve got ‘em. It’s  a small book, but packed full of wonderful photographs. It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll recognize some of the faces here.

7. Favor Johnson — Another unsurprising bestseller. Willem Lange’s Christmas story has been beloved by radio listeners for years, and the picture book version is something the whole family will treasure. Unfortunately, the book is now hard to come by because the publisher did not anticipate quite such a huge response. Huh.

8. Reading Lights — What could be better for a book lover’s stocking than a book light?

9. Head Massagers — I have to say, I can’t quite get the appeal of these whisk-shaped gadgets featured on our Planet Shari table (to my scalp, it just tickles) but a lot of people find the Head Massagers very enjoyable. At $4, you can’t go wrong. We’re out of these at the moment, but expect another shipment in any day.

10. Taking the Leap — Pema Chodron’s latest book was helped along by a discussion group in Greensboro. A slim volume, full of Chodron’s simple and profound wisdom.

11. Lamoille Stories — Bill Schubart’s collection of stories about growing up in Morrisville continues to be a hit.

12. The Tenth Muse — Again, Judith Jones’ visit helped out with these sales, but it’s also been on our Staff Favorites table since it was first published in 2007.

13. Someone Knows My Name — Another Staff Favorite, this novel is just an incredible story about one woman’s struggles against the bonds of slavery.

14. Mudbound — Yet another Staff Favorite! Hillary Jordan’s debut novel won the Bellwether Prize with good reason. Her book is an utterly riveting story of families and friendships twisted by racism and betrayals.

15. The Hidden Life of Deer — Haven’t read it, but it sounds fascinating, and I’ve heard rave reviews. A gem of a book for animal lovers and outdoorsmen and women.

16. The Catch — Archer Mayor’s books are popular throughout the year, but this new paperback will make a great stocking stuffer for anyone looking for a  good Vermont mystery to enjoy on these cold nights.

17. The Mysterious Benedict Society — A favorite of ours, and of many other readers of all ages. This series is great for voracious young readers, and also a lot of fun as a family read-aloud.

18. Mastering the Art of French Cooking — The movie Julie & Julia has inspired a whole new set of cooks to tackle Julia Child’s classic cookbook.

19. The Big Burn — National Book Award Winner Timothy Egan brings another fascinating moment in history to life with his book about the largest forest fire in American history.

20. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days — Nearly every kid in middle school wants to have the whole colorful collection of Jeff Kinney’s bestselling series about underdog Greg. Dog Days is the fourth–the one with the yellow cover.

21. The Prairie Home Companion Pretty Good Joke Book — Here’s a good one:

An Irishman walks into a bar in Cork City and asks the barman, “What’s the quickest way to get to Dublin?”

“Are you walking or driving?” asks the barman.

“Driving,” says the man.

“That’s the quickest way,” says the barman.

How can you pass up a book full of jokes like that? You can’t! I dare you to pick it up and not spend a few minutes flipping through and chuckling over the Prairie Home Companion’s 5th edition of some of the funniest–and most groan-inducing–jokes ever told.

How can we explain the extraordinary success of some individuals in our world?  Is it our DNA, wealth, parental influence, or IQ?  Is there a formula?  Is there something we can do to give more people that opportunity to be intellectual, athletic or entertaining heros?

Malcolm Gladwell in his book, The Outliers, looks at a number of factors that contributed to the extreme success of people in a variety of areas.  Is there something that Bill Gates had that we didn’t?  Why does the birthdate of hockey players a factor in success?  We test IQ so are our intellectuals gifted with high IQ’s?

I felt like he was just scratching on a topic that may have much greater research in the future.   He made me think about how something like success is due to some common threads and factors.  But, it is not that easy to spot a definite contributing factor in success.. there is still some mystery or luck of the draw involved.

I found it interesting the impact on our world that people born in the same decade have had.  So, I was gifted with parents that gave me opportunity and education.  Why am I not like some of my peers with wild success?

Malcolm Gladwell also wrote the books Tipping Point and Blink.  This joins them on my bookshelf as books that make me stop and think about the way people, products, marketing, and media influence our lives and decisions.

The Spanish-language edition of Paul Auster’s Invisible is No. 1 in Spain!

According to La Vanguardia, a Barcelona-based newspaper, Invisible beat out Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol and Stephenie Meyer’s Eclipse for the top spot of the paper’s bestseller list. Click here to read the rankings in English.

Sarah Palin takes on William Shatner by reading excerpts from his autobiography – quite the booktalk, i am tempted to read it now

(via Talking Points Memo)

posting by marin

in a move to take back the power from Amazon and Walmart and juvenile pricing wars (it does feel a bit schoolyard), publishers are joining together and delaying the release of ebooks.  this delay will supposedly preserve the sale of hardbacks* in the event that retailers (read Amazon) will continue to sell ebooks for $9.99, giving consumers no choice but to purchase the ebook rather than the hardback (presuming that said consumer owns a proprietary Kindle and would’ve bought the hardback in the first place).

Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins, and now Macmillan are all on board with delaying ebooks, mostly where bestsellers and leading titles are concerned.  says S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy,

The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback. We believe some people will be disappointed. But with new [electronic] readers coming and sales booming, we need to do this now, before the installed base of e-book reading devices gets to a size where doing it would be impossible.

in an equally nonsensical statement, HarperCollins CEO John Sargent said of the delay (anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months) in publishing,

We’re going to experiment with this.  Each new e-book represents a potential new marketing opportunity at a time when we need every possible hook to get consumer attention.

is there some divine timetable that indicates the “right” time for releasing an ebook is between the hardcover and the paperback?!  and is that the kind of attention you want from consumers?!  ridiculous.  please, humor us and call it like it is:  you’re trying to maximize your profit.

beginning next year, Macmillan will offer simultaneous “enhanced” ebook releases with author interviews and reading group guides (as if those aren’t already available online…) for a higher price as a hardcover.

to top it all off, the cherry on this idiot sundae, Amazon announced that it is pricing a couple of prepub ebooks at $7.99 including “Going Rogue” and “Under the Dome,” as well as pricing some bestsellers at $7.99 like “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Help.”

sorry readers (ebook and print alike), we’re going to have to sit this one out and wait till the dust settles.

* for a thorough take on ebook sales vs. hardcovers and more (with interesting comments), check out Dear Author’s “Why Ebook Delays Won’t Save Trade Publishing.”

posting by marin who will now try to reign in the sarcasm

Rhoda Janzen’s memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, has become an unlikely bestseller. However, is it really so surprising when the book got good reviews from both the New York Times and the Mennonite Weekly Review.

 Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is Janzen’s story of her return to her family and Mennonite roots in middle age. It’s a fragile and pivotal time in Janzen’s life as she not only discovers that her husband has not only been unfaithful but unfaithful with a gay lover and she is also in a nasty car crash.

 She moves back with her Mennonite parents and begins to see her parent’s religion through new eyes. She uses humor, often directed at herself, as she explores her childhood religion and her recovery from her emotional traumas.

 The book has surprised a lot of readers who expected something dryer to more-closely reflect the somber appearance of the Mennonites. Janzen not only delivers a humorous story but a heart-felt one as well.

 Given the strong reviews for the book, Henry Holt now has 40,000 copies of the book in print. The success has also led Janzen to sign a deal for a second book called Backslider.

 Backslider is a continuation of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. It is Janzen’s journey back to the Pentecostal Church, a new marriage, become a stepmother and surviving cancer. It is expected out in March 2012.

but Natalie Portman is expected to star and produce a movie adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”  says Annette Savitch who is co-producing

“Natalie and I are longtime passionate fans of Jane Austen’s books and this a fresh, fun and thought-provoking way to approach her work,” Savitch said. “The idea of zombies running rampant in 19th Century England may sound odd, but it lends a modern sense of urgency to a well known love story.”

dubious, very dubious, especially when the mash-up of Austen and zombies is described as “thought-proving.”  uh huh.

(via bookshelves of doom)

posting by marin

Self simply in no mood to go anywhere. Oh, she did venture to Woodside Plaza and stocked up on some of son’s favorite food (Self expects him this weekend), but after that she went straight home.

Now, she is multi-tasking:

• watching The Food Network (Yesterday she was on The Animal Planet and watched a very interesting program on ancient Egyptians and their worship of the cat. There were some pretty fascinating but also gross details, such as the fact that the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats, but also strangled them, apparently by the hundreds. Can anyone say:  neurosis ?!!)

• browsing io9 (lots of back and forth over another post by Charlie Jane Anders: “Top 20 Sci Fi Films of the Past Decade,” among which were Pitch Black, Star Trek, Slither, The Incredibles, Spidey 2 … Don’t hate self if she left out your favorite sci-fi movie! Just mosey on over to i09 and leave a comment! Though self has to warn dear blog readers that the comments are already approaching the hundreds)

• reading The Economist of 21 November 2009.

This particular issue has a very interesting article called

“Sarah Palin Reloads”

Here’s how it begins:

One day in January last year, Sarah Palin was watching her son graduate from boot camp. As she gazed at the ranks of “tall and strong and serious” young men marching in perfect unison, all of them “ready to sacrifice all in a fight for freedom”, she recalled something Senator John Kerry once told students in California. If you study hard, he said, “you can do well. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” “What a loon,” thought Governor Palin. “What an elitist loon.”

This vignette captures rather well the secret of Mrs. Palin’s appeal. John Kerry, of course, was a war hero, but these days he is the kind of senator who really annoys Mrs. Palin’s fans. She, like most military mothers, thinks her son went to Iraq because he is brave and honourable. Mr. Kerry implies that he went because he was too lazy or stupid to do anything else. Many Americans find this attitude condescending. These coastal liberals, some heartlanders, think we all are brainless hicks — even the soldiers who defend them.

The article goes on to describe Mrs. Palin’s new book as “packed with anecdotes”, one of which is that “she loves eating meat, preferably after shooting it. ‘There’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals,’ she says: ‘right next to the mashed potatoes.’ “

!!@@##!!!

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

I’m a little late in getting the reviews added here, but stick with me. I’m getting them up now this week. That said, here’s the second official review for my November Eternal Press release: That Taste of Orange.

Night Owl Reviews‘ Silvermage made That Taste of Orange a Reviewer Top Pick! It scored 4.5 stars out of 5! The review appeared on November 23, 2009.

The review:

Sabrina and Chas Montgomery are pastry chefs and have been married for four years. A while back they opened up Sabrina’s Sweet Sensations, a specialty dessert shop. They both enjoy chocolate and orange together and even have a chocolate orange cake. But not everything is sweet at the shop. They have lately been fighting. Christmastime is not turning out to be as inspiring as it should be.

They are working on their marriage, but are just so tired from all the long hours. After a good family get together and being passionate again will these two turn things around? Will Chas’s angel be the perfect gift?

I enjoyed That Taste of Orange and the characters. The relationship between Chas and Sabrina was touching and their romantic gestures inspiring. It was an enjoyable, feel good story. The family and Christmas aspects were just the icing on the cake. And the food references had me salivating and craving desert.

This week’s #1 seller was the Juicy Couture Velour Snap Pocket Pant!  Everyone wants to be cozy for the holidays and this is a great gift to give.  Available in classic neutrals and pop colors.  See all coordinating Juicy Couture Velour items.

See all Top Sellers of the week on ShopLAStyle.com!

Number one!

Our Top 10 bestsellers in bookshops for November 2009 were:

1. The Red Piano
2. Grow Up! How to raise an adult by being one yourself
3. Santa’s Suit
4. The Goose Bath: poems
5. Kampung Boy
6. Why?
7. In Just One Second
8. I Love Kissing You
9. Piano Piano
10. Waiting for Mummy

Thanks, booksellers!

Yeah, it’s been a while since I was last here with anything personal.  Thanksgiving and Christmas have kept me fairly busy, but mostly I was away on family emergencies.

My older sister, Shelley, nearly died from the H1N1.  She spent some time in ICU on a ventilator struggling for her life.  That was 2 weeks ago.  She’s home, but still dealing with health issues, which I pray end very soon so that she is well for Christmas.  She’s got a new grandson, and I want her to be healthy so she can experience this first Christmas with him.

Having her survive is a miracle, and I am eternally thankful for answered prayers and a healing touch from God.

Yesterday, my younger sister and her girls–and their friends–came for a visit.  We spent the day doing the Christmas baking.  Several hundred cookies later, we collapsed exhausted all around the living room to watch a holiday movie.  I love having family at my home.  It’s just such a blessing to be surrounded by people you love, knowing they love you back!

I’ve been scouring the ‘net for items I’ve missed regarding my work…reviews and such…which I’ll be posting throughout the week.

Another year has come and practically gone.  2010 will be here before we know it.  I’m hopeful for fresh beginnings on some works I have in progress.  I’m trying to get book one in a new series revised and completed and submitted to a publisher.  I have a couple short fiction pieces I want to submit to Eternal Press, too.  I keep saying I’m waiting for things to slow down, but I can’t wait on that…need to embrace the new year with gusto!

Happy Sunday!

Khloe Kardashian was spotted at a Beverly Hills nail salon in the 7 For All Mankind Roxanne in Super Vintage Nakita.  This jean has been seen on so many celebrities this year, including Cameron Diaz, Teri Hatcher, and Jessica Alba. 

Shop all 7 For All Mankind at ShopLAStyle.com!

Last week’s #1 seller was the Addison West Cashmere Button Cardigan!  This basic cardi is an easy holiday gift, available in several colors.

See all Top Sellers of the week on shopLAstyle.com!