Is James Patterson worth $150 million?

From Forbes Magazine:

When Hachette Book Group announced a landmark deal with author James Patterson on Tuesday, the numbers were stunning. It calls for him to churn out 17 books through 2012, 11 for adult readers and six for young adult readers. A source familiar with the terms estimates it to be worth at least $150 million to Patterson.

Patterson's not a writer. He's a fiction (and non-fiction) factory. In 2008 he authored or co-authored seven books and in his 33-year career as a published author he's written 57. He sells an average of 20 million books per year. An estimated 170 million copies of his novels are in print worldwide. Most important: During the last two years he's earned Hachette an estimated $500 million. According to Forbes estimates, Patterson took home $60 in the last year million for the effort.
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Shoeless Joe not guilty? Two Chi-town lawyers dissect "Eight Men Out"

Two Chicago attorneys have joined the ranks of those trying to clear "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's name.

Paul Duffy, who represents the fledgling Chicago Baseball Museum organization, and Daniel Voelker, who has sat on the group's board of directors, take exception with assertions made about Jackson in the 1963 book by the late Eliot Asinof, "Eight Men Out." The book, later made into a popular film of the same name, is about the eight White Sox players suspected of fixing the 1919 World Series.

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Philadelphia to close all Free Public Library branches

In a dramatic move, the Philadelphia Free Library System announced today that it will close all branch, regional and central libraries as of Oct. 2. There will be no book loans, no classes, no programs for seniors or children, no outreach to the community, no more community meetings at library locations. Starting today, the library began truncating its loan period.

The library system of one the nation's oldest cities -- which authors Ben Franklin, R. Crumb, Edgar Allen Poe, Louisa May Alcott and Ezra Pound all called home -- stands on the brink of complete closure.
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Edgar Award Winners 2009

The Mystery Writers of America give these awards to honor the best in mystery fiction and nonfiction produced the previous year. The awards began in 1954 and are named in honor of Edgar Allan Poe.







2009 Winners
Best Novel:
· Missing by Karin Alvtegen
· Blue Heaven by C.J. Box -- Winner!
· Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno
· The Price of Blood by Declan Hughes
· The Night Following by Morag Joss
· Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Best First Novel by an American Author:
· The Kind One by Tom Epperson
· Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
· The Foreigner by Francie Lin -- Winner!
· Calumet City by Charlie Newton
· A Cure for Night by Justin Peacock

Best Paperback Original:
· The Prince of Bagram Prison by Alex Carr
· Money Shot by Christa Faust
· Enemy Combatant by Ed Gaffney
· China Lake by Meg Gardiner -- Winner!
· The Cold Spot by Tom Piccirilli

For complete list>>>

British Library in London delights

On a recent visit to London I stopped by the venerable British Library. Here you see a photo I snapped of the "King's Library", a tall glass tower - the King's Library Tower - which houses books collected by King George III (reigned 1760-1820). It is considered one of the most significant collections of the Enlightenment, containing books printed mainly in Britain, Europe and North America from the mid 15th to the early 19th centuries. Consists of 65,000 volumes of printed books, with 19,000 pamphlets. Before this time there were no collections of books outside wealthy persons personal libraries. The great thing about this collection is that you, yes you, or anyone with a library card (and you can get one by simply registering) can examine these books, as well as thousands of others in the Library collections.
For more about the British Library King George collection

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - a book lover's gem

Tops the "Favorites" list of almost everyone who has ever plunged into the depths of this intriguing, mysterious, lyrical tome set in 1945's Barcelona. Here's how the Reading Group Guides describes it:

The Shadow of the Wind is a coming-of-age tale of a young boy who, through the magic of a single book, finds a purpose greater than himself and a hero in a man he's never met. With the passion of García Márquez, the irony of Dickens, and the necromancy of Poe, Carlos Ruiz Zafón spins a web of intrigue so thick that it ensnares the reader from the very first line. The Shadow of the Wind is an ode to the art of reading, but it is also the perfect example of the all-encompassing power of a well-told story.

Highly recommend!
The new bestseller by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Angel's Game, offers up some of the same themes and locations albeit in a different era, still the love and power of books prevails on every page.

Quotes: The Importance of Literacy

Fall Books: Brown, Albom, Crichton big names to watch

Three authors who've become publishing franchises —Dan Brown, Mitch Albom and the late Michael Crichton— top this fall's lineup of books that promise to be commercial juggernauts:
•Brown's The Lost Symbol (Sept. 15), his first book since 2003's The Da Vinci Code, is likely to be 2009's best-selling hardcover.

•Albom's Have a Little Faith (Sept. 29) is his first non-fiction since 1997's Tuesdays with Morrie.

•Crichton's adventure Pirate Latitudes (Nov. 24) was found in his computer after he died at 64 in November. (Steven Spielberg is developing the movie.)

They're just the biggest of big names: Nicholas Sparks (The Last Song, Tuesday), the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (True Compass, Sept. 14), David Baldacci (True Blue, Oct. 27) John Grisham (Ford County, Nov. 3), Stephen King (Under the Dome, Nov. 10), James Patterson (I, Alex Cross, Nov. 16) and Sue Grafton (U is for Undertow, Dec. 1).

Sad to see another great bookstore close...

The Librairie de France, the bookstore and New York institution that has operated for 74 years from a storefront in Rockefeller Center, will close at the end of the month, its owner, Emanuel Molho, said Wednesday. Mr. Molho, 73, whose father, Isaac, founded the store in 1928 and moved it to its current location in 1935, said that his lease is set to expire on Sept. 30, and that his rent on the space had become too expensive.
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Libraries provide more in tough economic times

click on the arrow to view this video about libraries that provide more than just books in these hard times...