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Five Trends To Watch in Publishing

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Five Trends To Watch in Publishing:
An Industry in Flux
by Paula Schuck

Anyone following trends in print media and book publishing will know that this is nothing if not an industry in flux. I am fortunate enough to have front row seats to the evolution of books and media and it is at once a challenging and exciting time. The publishing world was quick to recognize the threat, but they were also, in print media incredibly slow to act upon it and challenge their traditional genre. But over the past few months I have noticed a number of increasingly savvy and interesting approaches to forcing interactivity upon readers. So if ebooks are the new norm and social media is the fastest growing media ever, how then are books, three dimensional handheld books, making themselves relevant or reasserting themselves in an industry in flux?
In the past few months I have seen a number of really creative ideas.
1. The new standard for book tours – is the book blog tour. I have run several here at thriftymommasbrainfood. The virtual book tour makes a lot of sense. Authors don’t need to knock themselves out quite as much criss-crossing Canada to flog their newest release. Instead they do so by pitching bloggers, simply sending books out to a select group with on line influence. There are often accompanying contests, giveaways and reviews.
2. CDs/trailers other media. Sing You Home by blockbuster best-selling author Jodi Picoult has a CD tucked inside the front of the her latest novel, you are to play the CD as a supplement to the chapters. The songs by Ellen Wilber are essentially a soundtrack to the book. This book was published by Simon and Schuster Canada.
3. Complementary use of social media. I just finished a book being promoted by Graf-Martin Media called The Heart Revolution. The author is Sergio De La Mora. The book itself is an empowering faith-based book teaching people to reconnect with their heart and trust the power of that to drive your actions throughout life. Punctuating the book, published by Baker Group, are several links to web sites. The links take you to sermons on line. Creative.
4. Kids books are employing on line games and tricks that kick it up a notch. Best example I have seen of this lately is The Search For Wondla, by Tony Diterlizzi, also published by Simon and Schuster. Main character Eva Nine’s life comes to a computer near you if you hold parts of the book upto a camera on your computer. Bizarre and yet how very logical for sci fi children’s fiction, especially for this generation of children.
5. But truly the smartest thing I have seen so far is The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani. A book about marketing with this fast-growing media form, the savvy author takes her material to an entirely different dimension. She clearly indicates at the start of the book, that buying it also gives you access to to the continuously updated digital version. Access the site for http://www.zenofsocialmedia.com/ and put the password in provided in her book and receive her latest data and expert opinion. 

Jodi Picoult Sings You Home and a Surprise #giveaway

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Anyone who knows anything about me at all is fully aware of how much I love Jodi Picoult’s novels. She is one of my favourite authors and the launch of a new book is always an occasion to celebrate. When twitter pal and fellow book lover Wanda over at @YMCBookalicious asked if I’d like to participate in a Simon and Schuster twitter book club party I was wholeheartedly enthusiastic. Thanks Wanda! Anyways on to the review. Sing You Home is ultimately a book about love and family and the many different forms that takes. It has all the traditional Jodi Picoult elements: strong characters, ripped from the headlines type of plots, a court case, some grand philosphical battles, this time between church and state, gay rights, procreation as biology versus choice, as well as a small rumination on when life actually begins and a whole mashup of themes that drive you headlong towards the end of the book. Sing You Home also has a couple of surprises which I will not give away so I save the good stuff for you. The main character is Zoe Baxter, a music therapist, married with a family on the way. But issues of infertility, told with heartwrenching and great dramatic detail, drive larger rifts between husband and wife until they are no longer even wanting the same life goals. Picoult handles the infertility theme here with amazing grace and such emotion that let’s just say a couple of us in the recent on line book club revealed that we probably shouldn’t have been reading this book on the treadmill at the gym. I was not actually expecting a court case in this one and my chief complaint here is that the court battles in her books – although always well told – are predictable. I would love to see the next book happen entirely without relying on that as a plot. Zoe and Max inevitably end up living apart. Max, a slightly two-dimensional character and a recovering alcoholic, revisits his old wounds until he moves in with his zealous and wealthy older brother, also oddly struggling with infertility issues. Sing You Home comes with an interesting and creative supplement to the book, a CD of songs that act like a soundtrack to the book. The CD is folksy and peformed by Ellen Wilber. It is appropriate and clever given that the main character makes her living out of music. In the scenes where Zoe is using music as a breakthrough bridge between people who are grieving, or struggling in some way, and herself the therapist it is intriguing and educational to see how music can be used to reach remote corners of people’s hearts. There might have been a bit more detail or explanation woven in here because it is a unique and compelling vocation for a main character. Picoult is the author of 18 books. Many, like House Rules, Nineteen Minutes and My Sister’s Keeper, have been runaway best-sellers.

Sing You Home, by Jodi Picoult, Simon and Schuster Canada, 2011, 466 pages, $28 US and $32 Canadian.

I give this one a $$$$ out of $$$$$.

I received this book for free from Simon and Schuster Canada. This in no way impact my opinion.

I also have a giveaway for you. One lucky reader will receive a copy of House Rules.
To enter: Mandatory You must do the first two steps. Twitter is optional.
Open to US and Canada. I will draw for the winner on April 14th with random.org.
1. Leave me a comment with your name and email so I can contact you.
2. Follow my blog with GFC (see side bar) or tell me that you already do so.
3. Extra entries if you follow @inkscrblr on twitter. (Two extras)

My Top Five Reads This Year at Brainfood

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Well, as it is the time of year when everyone waxes nostalgic on the year that has passed, I felt a list was in order. So without further ado, here is my lift of top five books that I read and reviewed here this year. (Not all are brand new books, but a few are still hot off the press.)

1. Secret Daughter, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.
Absolutely exquisite story of a young woman adopted from India by an American-Indian mixed race couple who are both doctors. Also a best-seller that had me spell-bound from start to finish. Accurate rendering of all adoption details and a really gripping read.

2. The Forty Rules of Love, Elif Shafak.
A Love story that begins with a book reviewer and disenchanted housewife who is asked to review a book by a poet. This is a contemporary story written by one of Turkey’s most well known authors. An equally interesting parallel plot runs in the 13th century, the timeframe during which the author’s story takes place.

3. My Name is Memory, Ann Brashares
I truly thought this one would be an even bigger seller than it was. I learned something from it as the plot, centring on a time traveller of sorts jumped from era to era, each time period recreated with great detail and authenticity. The love story of Daniel and Sophia transcends time, but doesn’t involve vampires. Look for the movie version soon.

4. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
Melinda Sordino, the narrator and main character has been selectively mute ever since she called the cops regarding a summer party. Why is she mute and why don’t her parents pay attention to what is going on with her? Why is she being bullied? Why does everyone hate her and what happened at that party? Brave story for dealing with anxiety, rape and depression amongst the teenage audience.

5. House Rules, Jodi Picoult
Picoult tackles Asperger’s disorder, a type of high functioning autism, this time around and she gets it so right you wonder how she can keep on delivering this way. Jacob has Asperger’s and he likes to recreate crime scenes. But when a real life murder happens and the police suspect Jacob, will the truth come out? Is it a mistake? Is he credible to stand trial? I loved the gorgeous exploration of life inside a family where one child has special needs. Emma is a great character, a martyr and the mother of Jacob. Autism and sensory issues are really well done and described here, as is the inner workings of a child on the autism spectrum.

Picture Perfect: A Giveaway

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Hey all, this one is a giveaway too, so don’t forget to read to the end to enter. Picture Perfect is one of my fave author, Jodi Picoult’s, earlier books. As I am steadily working my way through every novel she has ever written I felt the need to read and review this one recently. It isn’t the grabbiest or most topical of all Picoult’s books, but the slight parallels to a certain A-List Hollywood celebrity couple made it relevant and interesting to me.
At the start of this novel is a mystery. A half-dead woman is found in a cemetery. Her head is wounded. She is discovered by a grave and has no inkling how she got there or why she is there, nor does she know her name. A conflicted native American police officer takes her in and tried to help her find the truth. He calls her Jane and along the way, as he helps her to find out about her history, he naturally falls for her romantically. Cassie Barrett is a world-renowned anthropologist when she meets the legendary Alex Rivers. (Think Brad Pitt with a mean-spirited side.) She has been hired by the movie he is working on to give technical advice. He sweeps her off her feet and she is easily charmed, but it is not long before his temper flares and she tries to make excuses. Soon a pattern of abuse is evident to have followed Rivers from his past and extended well into his future. It is a pattern Cassie believes she can cure. As in many Picoult novels a subtheme echoes and crosses through the main plot of the novel. The native American police officer Will pops in and out of the book weaving strong themes of nature and healing and aboriginal folklore. He is, in many ways Cassie’s saviour and a very strong character. Picture Perfect is the story of a couple who to the world and the media appear to be golden and yet, in reality, they are deeply flawed personalities that feed each other’s weaknesses. They are simply combustible together. This is a compelling story and it is, as usual really well written. Picoult is the author of many other novels, including The Tenth Circle, House Rules, Faith, Mercy and My Sister’s Keeper.

Picture Perfect is worth $$$$ out of $$$$$. It is published by Berkely, Penguin Group USA, 1995. $15 US and $18 Canadian.

I am giving away one copy of this novel. I will draw for the winner June 24th with random.org. Open to all US and Canada.
To enter:
1. Leave a comment here indicating that you want to enter the giveaway. Tell me if you have read any other Jodi Picoult books and, if so, which was your favourite.
2. Follow me on twitter @inkscrblr.
3. Visit http://www.thriftymommastips.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment.
4. For an extra chance at winning follow me on GoogleFriendConnect.

House Rules

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It’s no big secret really that I want to be Jodi Picoult when I grow up. This journalist turned author is one of my all time favourite contemporary authors. House Rules is yet another topical, well researched, beautifully written story that makes me yearn for more as soon as I have turned the last page. While the plot of House Rules centres around the CSI obsessed Jacob, a teenager with Asperger’s, a high functioning form of autism, it is equally the story of the mother and his sibling Theo. This is the story of a family dealing with a child who has special needs and perhaps that’s why I so eagerly nabbed this one when I discovered it at the London Public Library. My own daughter has sensory processing disorder amongst other diagnoses, so Jacob gave me some excellent insights into what makes her tick and also explode into meltdown. The mother Emma is such a vivid character that she could be any one of the mothers I know dealing with the challenges of parenting children who have special needs. Jacob’s social skills tutor Jess is found dead and suspicion quickly falls on Jacob, whose disability makes him appear a perfect suspect. Asperger’s is categorized by social skills deficits, high intelligence, flat tone and affect, lack of empathy for others. To outsiders – lawyers, jurors and police officers – Jacob appears calculating and cold. The trial that ensues here is a huge portion of the plot and that can be tedious in some novels. However, Picoult is quite able to balance multiple competing viewpoints by allowing the trial to take centre stage in the last half of the book. It is an effective plot device. It is a remarkably realistic insight she gives us into the minds of lawmakers, some too slow to change or comprehend grey areas of law and life. Picoult is excellent at illuminating the very nature of invisible disabilities. Some of the characters are able to see Jacob’s strengths and differences and others believe him to be a liar. This novel does not contain Picoult’s best writing, but it does contain some of her most memorable characters. Jacob is incredibly compelling and through this character Picoult brings unique and perceptive insights into autism and sensory processing dysfunctions. “These are some things I can’t really stand,” he lists. ” 1. The sound of paper being crumpled. I can’t tell you why, but it makes me feel like someone’s doing that to all my internal organs.” House Rules casts light on how we as a society are still lacking compassion and ability to embrace differences. Emma’s job as a columnist is revoked during the trial for instance by the very people who believe they are supportive of families with special needs. She is a single mother existing on fumes and cannot get a bank loan to pay her lawyer. She has spent a lifetime crafting her son’s environment so that he can function and avoid sensory overload. For instance Tuesdays are red food only days. When Oliver the lawyer enters their world he gives us fresh eyes through which the reader can see, at once how essential it is to have red Tuesdays for Emma and her family, and yet how absurd at the same time that a life must be lived within such parameters. My only criticism of this novel is that I saw the ending coming and usually Picoult is able to deal a surprising twist at the end of her books – as in My Sister’s Keeper, which had such a tour de force ending I felt gobsmacked for days after I finished the book.

House Rules, $32.00 Canadian $28. U.S.
SimonandSchuster publishing, Atria Books, 2010

thriftymommastips rating $$$$$ out of $$$$$