Tag: Books

Book Fairs, Books, Bookstores, Guadalajara International Book Fair, Uncategorized

Guadalajara International Book Fair 2016, a Mini-Report

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The 30th Guadalajara International Book Fair, also known as FIL (Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara) took place November 26 to December 4, 2016 at the Guadalajara Convention Center in Mexico.

Approximately 650 writers from around the world registered to attend, sign books, or speak. Forty-four countries were represented.

The fair was dedicated to Latin America as opposed to one specific city or country. In 2017, FIL has announced that Madrid (as in Spain) will be the honored guest. No other details offered.

Bookstores and book publisher/distributors filled two huge pavillions, one domestic and one international at FIL, the largest Spanish language book fair in the world.

Norman Manea, born in 1936, won the $150,000 (USD) FIL Literary Award. Manea, who was born in Romania and is considered that country’s premiere writer, was a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. He has been nominated more than once for a Nobel prize. His themes are the Wandering Jew, identity, and isolation. He lives in New York City and you can read more about him at http://www.NormanManea.com.

I especially liked visiting Nirvana Books (Mexico City), which as you may guess from its name focuses on Body, Mind, Spirit books. The main publishers represented were Editorial Kairos, Ediciones Obelisco,  and Editorial Sirio from Spain. A good number of the titles were Spanish translations of books by American authors.

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Wendy Jane Carrel at Nirvana Libros booth Guadalajara Book Fair 2016

Other Body/Mind/Spirit books were found at Ediciones Urano, Grupo Planeta (Paidos), Lectorum (Prana), and Oceano.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross books at Grupo Planeta booth
American end-of-life author Elisabeth Kubler-Ross is still front and center, after many years, at the Grupo Planeta stand

I like the enticing slogan for Grupo Planeta , Creemos en Los Libros, We Believe in Books.

Arte de Mexico always displays fabulous folkloric works from around the country as well as gorgeous coffee table books.

Artes de Mexico stand
Arte de Mexico stand at Guadalajara Book Fair 2016

Gandhi Books is a popular book chain in Mexico. They attend each year and have stores in Guadalajara.

Gandhi Bookstores at GDL Book Fair 2016
Gandhi Bookstore booth at Guadalajara Book Fair 2016

 

In December 2016, the senate of Mexico approved the used of medical marijuana, a controversial subject in the nation for years. Legalization awaits other approvals.

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One of several books at the fair on the possible use and outcomes of marijuana for pain management and improved health
Antiquarian book store at GDL Book Fair 2016
An “antiquarian” book stand at GDL Book Fair 2016
minature books
Miniature book stand at GDL Book Fair 2016
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Daniel Stevens Leon, Head of Acquisitions and Editorial Innovation for Buena Prensa, a Catholic publisher
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Daily crowds at entrance to Guadalajara International Book Fair 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Books, Healing Gardens, Uncategorized

New Book Gardenista!! Gardens for Healing, Gardens with Style

bigpondlittlegirl

For all you garden lovers… a new book, released in October, with a charming title… Gardenista.

In my work with health and wellness authors I have come to find gardens more healing than ever before – other than being in a beautiful place to walk and sit, one can meditate, restore oneself, feel oneself, and remember those who are alive and who have passed. Sacred gardens, and every other day gardens are especially important at hospitals, palliative care centers, and around hospice buildings, yoga shalas, and our homes.  See the revolving photos of client Carol Cumes’ Chakra Gardens at https://www.willkatika.com/7-chakra-gardens .

See review of Gardenista from Alan of Diesel Bookstores, California, below…

 Product Details

Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces

by Brian Evenson
From the team who gave us the bestselling book of carefully considered interiors, Remodelista, comes its logical extension to the home’s exterior Gardenista. “Carefully considered” does not mean formal or stuffy, think more of classically-casual instead. Think of it as both inspiration and expert advice in a book which can serve both as a starting point, and later on a reference manual. – Alan

The book can be purchased at Amazon.com, $25 hardcover, $12 e-edition. There is also a web site for the book, http://www.gardenista.com .

 

Books, Uncategorized, Writers

How Much Do Successful Authors Earn?

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Today’s Publisher’s Lunch made mention of the Forbes study on the amount successful authors earn yearly. The listed authors write fiction and are primarily from the U.S. or the U.K.

The highest earner is thriller and young adult author James Patterson, $95 million last year. He has important promotional backing from the Hachette Group (worldwide publishing). You can read his bio and learn more about his prolific writing life at http://www.JamesPatterson.com .

  James Patterson, author. Photo from his web site.

Non-fiction authors earn considerably less. There is a consensus among my colleagues that you need about three books in your non-fiction genre to start generating income. You’ll probably earn more if you self-publish. If it’s a topic in the minds of many, you might earn up to $10,000/year, if you are fortunate. If you are writing non-fiction you’ll likely need back-up work to support your passions and your life.

The PL blurb below outlines how well popular fiction authors earn a living. Big difference!

“Forbes has their annual guesses on the earnings of the some of the most successful authors, estimating that 14 authors together earned $269 million. (Though they don’t underscore it, that’s their lowest total for top authors in the past 5 years: $399 million in 2012; $476 million in 2013; $325 million in 2014; and $355 million in 2015.)”

James Patterson $95 million
Jeff Kinney $19.5 million
JK Rowling $19 million
John Grisham $18 million
Stephen King $15 million
Danielle Steel $15 million
Nora Roberts $15 million
EL James $14 million
Veronica Roth $10 million
John Green $10 million
Paula Hawkins $10 million
George RR Martin $9.5 million
Rick Riordan $9.5 million
Dan Brown $9.5 million

Books, Bookstores, Indie Bookstores, Los Angeles, Uncategorized

Favorite Indie Bookstores in Los Angeles

bigpondlittlegirl

I have been based in West Hollywood, CA and Palm Springs, CA, including forays to other continents, since graduate school. Like most of you, I am a book reader, collector, and appreciator.

LAist magazine recently created a list of favorite bookstores in the City of the Angels. See http://laist.com/2016/07/20/best_indie_bookstores_in_la.php   Photos are included.

Even though I am a faithful visitor to some of the wonderful retailers on the list, I’d like to add my own favorites which went missing on LAist:

  1. The Bodhi Tree where one can find innumerable healing, self-growth, and philosophical works. The store, established in 1970, closed for a short while. It has re-opened on-line and is looking for a new retail space at present. See https://visit.bodhitree.com/about-bodhi-tree/
  2. Hennessey and Ingalls for outstanding art, architecture, and coffee table books.  Two locations.  See http://www.HennesseyIngalls.com    Photo below from LA Weekly
  3. The Travelers Bookstore at 8375 W.3rd Street near the Beverly Center. tel. (323)655-0575. See http://www.travelbooks.com.  There are 11 other travel bookstores in the southland. Another notable bookstore is Distant Lands in Pasadena.

 

Books, Bookstores, Libraries, Publishers, Uncategorized, Writers

Head Librarian, Library of Congress – First Woman, First Black Nominated

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Here’s some positive news for books, book lovers, libraries, and the Library of Congress… an innovative librarian, hip to the digital age, has been nominated by President Obama to be the new leader at the Library of Congress. Carla Hayden would be the first woman, and the first black in this life time appointment.  Note: the 160 million-item collection at the Library of Congress has yet to be digitalized. Good luck Carla!! (photo and bio below from Wikipedia).

Carla Diane Hayden is an American librarian. She is the current CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, and was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004.Wikipedia
Born: August 10, 1952 (age 63), Tallahassee, FL
Education: Roosevelt University, University of Chicago

 

See New York Times story at link below…

 

 

 

Books, Uncategorized, Writers

Iconic Rockstar David Bowie Was an Avid Reader; Loved Books, Words, Poetry

bigpondlittlegirl

Iconic rock star David Bowie, writer-poet, avid reader, original thinker, and all around performer and musical talent, passed away bravely this week. No one other than his family, trusted associates, and palliative care team knew that he had been terminally ill with cancer for 18 months.  He went out a hero on his own terms at the age of 69, two days after his birthday and two days after the release of his latest album and a new rock video alluding to his imminent demise.

Photo below snapped this week, was found at http://www.boingboing.net.

Flowers and lit candles are pictured next to a portrait of David Bowie outside the apartment house where he was living in 1976-78 in Berlin's Schoeneberg district

Here below, from the http://www.davidbowie.com web site, is the complete list of his 100 favorite books demonstrating his open mind, eclectic taste, and fascination with the dark side:

Interviews With Francis Bacon by David Sylvester

Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse

Room At The Top by John Braine

On Having No Head by Douglass Harding

Kafka Was The Rage by Anatole Broyard

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

City Of Night by John Rechy

The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Iliad by Homer

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Tadanori Yokoo by Tadanori Yokoo

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin

Inside The Whale And Other Essays by George Orwell

Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood

Halls Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art by James A. Hall

David Bomberg by Richard Cork

Blast by Wyndham Lewis

Passing by Nella Larson

Beyond The Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto

The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes

In Bluebeard’s Castle by George Steiner

Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd

The Divided Self by R. D. Laing

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Infants Of The Spring by Wallace Thurman

The Quest For Christa T by Christa Wolf

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter

The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodieby Muriel Spark

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Herzog by Saul Bellow

Puckoon by Spike Milligan

Black Boy by Richard Wright

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima

Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler

The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot

McTeague by Frank Norris

Money by Martin Amis

The Outsider by Colin Wilson

Strange People by Frank Edwards

English Journey by J.B. Priestley

A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

The Day Of The Locust by Nathanael West

1984 by George Orwell

The Life And Times Of Little Richard by Charles White

Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock by Nik Cohn

Mystery Train by Greil Marcus

Beano (comic, ’50s)

Raw (comic, ’80s)

White Noise by Don DeLillo

Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom by Peter Guralnick

Silence: Lectures And Writing by John Cage

Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews edited by Malcolm Cowley

The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll by Charlie Gillete

Octobriana And The Russian Underground by Peter Sadecky

The Street by Ann Petry

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Last Exit To Brooklyn By Hubert Selby, Jr.

A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn

The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby

Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz

The Coast Of Utopia by Tom Stoppard

The Bridge by Hart Crane

All The Emperor’s Horses by David Kidd

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess

The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos

Tales Of Beatnik Glory by Ed Saunders

The Bird Artist by Howard Norman

Nowhere To Run The Story Of Soul Music by Gerri Hirshey

Before The Deluge by Otto Friedrich

Sexual Personae: Art And Decadence From Nefertiti To Emily Dickinson by Camille Paglia

The American Way Of Death by Jessica Mitford

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Teenage by Jon Savage

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Viz (comic, early ’80s)

Private Eye (satirical magazine, ’60s – ’80s)

Selected Poems by Frank O’Hara

The Trial Of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens

Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes

Maldodor by Comte de Lautréamont

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonders by Lawrence Weschler

Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Transcendental Magic, Its Doctine and Ritual by Eliphas Lévi

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

The Leopard by Giusseppe Di Lampedusa

Inferno by Dante Alighieri

A Grave For A Dolphin by Alberto Denti di Pirajno

The Insult by Rupert Thomson

In Between The Sheets by Ian McEwan

A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes

Journey Into The Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg

 

Books, Uncategorized, Writers

Poet Robert Frost’s Granddaughter w/New Book

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The following is a re-print of the bio-section of http://www.Shelf-Awareness.com’s interview with Robert Frost’s distinguished granddaughter Dr. Lesley Francis. Even though my area is wellness books, I am including this mention because poetry can be healing for many people, and reading about the life of Robert Frost might be healing as well.

Book Brahmin: Lesley Lee Francis

photo: Paul Fetters

Lesley Lee Francis is the granddaughter of Robert Frost. She received her A.B. degree from Radcliffe College and her Ph.D. in Romance Languages from Duke University. She became a professor of Spanish language, literature and history, and ran a summer program in Spain. Retired from the professional staff of the American Association of University Professors in Washington, D.C., she continues teaching and writing and helps organize the annual Frost Symposium. Dr. Francis has lectured and published extensively on her grandfather, including her biographical study, Robert Frost: An Adventure in Poetry, 1900-1918 (Transaction Publishers). She lives in Arlington, Va.; her three daughters and six grandchildren live nearby. Her new book, You Come Too: My Journey with Robert Frost, is available from the University of Virginia Press (December 3, 2015).