Shteyngart Wins UK Comic Lit Prize

Gary Shteyngart has just been announced as the winner of this year's Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, the first time an American author has won the prize. Shteyngart, who was born in Leningrad and emigrated with his family to the US in 1979, won the prize for his novel Super Sad True Love Story, published last year in hardcover and just recently out in paperback.

The satiric novel is set in a post-literate, consumption-obsessed, hypersexualized America. The main character, Lenny Abramov, is a 39-year-old Jewish New Yorker who works as a Life Lovers Outreach Coordinator for a multinational corporation that sells immortality to High Net Worth Individuals.

Shteyngart is the author of two previous novels, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, which won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction, and Absurdistan. He has been named one of Granta's Best Young Novelists and the New Yorker's Best Writers Under 40. He received his degree in politics from Oberlin College in Ohio and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College of the City University of New York. He currently teaches writing at Columbia University.

The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, the UK's only literary award for comic writing, was established in 2000 and named in honor of the great writer PG Wodehouse. The prize is sponsored by Champagne Bollinger, established in 1829 and still independently owned and run. (We love independent almost as much as we love champagne!).

Shteyngart will be presented with the award, as well as  a jeroboam [FYI: a jeroboam is a very big bottle, which holds the equivalent of four bottles of champagne -- very tasty, but challenging to pour] of Bollinger Special Cuvée, a case of Bollinger La Grande Année and a set of the Everyman Wodehouse collection, plus a locally bred Gloucestershire Old Spot pig, at Hay Festival on 4th June. (Although it seems to be up for debate whether he actually receives the pig or that a pig is just named in his honor. Either way, it's clearly a big deal.)

The other finalists for this year's prize were Manu Joseph for Serious Man, India Knight for Comfort and Joy, Sam Leith for The Coincidence Engine, and Catherine O'Flynn for The News Where You Are. Last year's winner was Ian McEwan for his novel Solar. Previous winners are Will Self, Marina Lewycka, Jasper Fforde, DBC Pierre, Michael Frayn, Jonathan Coe, and Howard Jacobson.

Here is an interview of Shteyngart by Jon Meacham on the PBS show Need to Know:

Day 21: D'oh! What a Great Gift!

It's Day 21 in our 24 Days of Books, and we'd just like to say "D'oh"! This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons, the landmark TV show invented by Portland native Matt Groening. (He attended Ainsworth Elementary School, Lincoln High School, and The Evergreen State College.)  We've got -- dare I say -- the perfect gift for the Simpsons fan in your life: Simpson's World: The Ultimate Episode Guide to Seasons 1-20.

This 1200-page compendium opens with an introduction to each of the main characters, followed by a two-page (at least) spread for every single episode since the series began, including screen shots and favorite quotes and quips. The book concludes with an Episode Index and eleven separate indices covering such topics as "Celebrity Guest Stars."

The critically praised series has won 24 Emmy Awards, having been nominated 63 times. It is watched in more than 60 countries, in 20 different languages, averaging more than 60 million viewers per week worldwide. Originally brought to life in 1987 for The Tracey Ullman Show, "The Simpsons" was Groening's introduction into the animation world. Previously, he was best known for his "Life in Hell" cartoon strip, an irreverent portrayal of broken life that debuted in 1977. He drew the characters' names for "The Simpsons" from his own family members (with the exception of Bart which was chosen -- at least this is what I've heard -- because it is an anagram of the word brat).


The book is a full-color cloth book enclosed in a slipcase box. For a mere $150, you can lock up the ideal gift for the Simpsons fan in your life, and you will be forever adored.

Day 13: Amy Sedaris Gets Crafty

It's Day 13 in our 24 Days of Books, and we're in the mood to laugh. Three years ago, comedienne and humorist Amy Sedaris thrilled, amused and horrified millions of people with her guidebook to entertaining called I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. One of those books you really had to see to believe, it struck just the right in-your-face note on every page, giving hundreds of I-can’t-believe-she-said-that tips about food preparation, alcoholic beverages, party favors and other do-it-yourself projects. What she does with pantyhose you don’t want to know.

Ms. Sedaris’ new book is similar in format and laugh-out-loud funniness. In Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, our resourceful author discusses the new crafting movement and what you can do about it in your very own craft room – you do have a craft room, don’t you? Doesn’t everybody?

Here is just a taste of what’s in this book: Doll wigs as doorknobs. Hair lamps. Donut squirrel feeders. Worm bins. Painted rocks. Crab Claw roach clips. Clothespin crucifixes. Sandwich bag condoms. Tinfoil bracelets. Hotdogs on a rake. Photographs of everything. What this woman does with coffee filters and a yard of gingham, you don’t want to know.

So what we’re saying here is that if you are as strange as we are, we think Simple Times will appeal to you. And also to your strangest friends.

By the way, what did Mr. and Mrs. Sedaris feed those children? Amy’s brother David Sedaris, a world-class humorist in his own right, has another new book this year. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk is a collection of essays about modern life, but using animals as subjects. What if rodents dated? What if dogs had marital problems? What if cats went to AA? In jail?

We have both of these books just waiting to be laughed at. Treat yourself (or someone you strangely like) to a good time.

Day 9: Ping Pong Rules the World

Remember when I said at the beginning of the 24 Days of Books that sometimes we'd talk about under-the-radar books? Well, Day 9 is definitely an under-the-radar book: Everything You Know is Pong: How Mighty Table Tennis Shapes Our World, by Roger Bennet and Eli Horowitz.  This illustrated unabashed love letter to all things ping pong includes essays from Nick Hornby, Jonathan Safran Foer, Will Shorts, and Davy Rothbart. As the authors describe the book "We are two passionate collectors of ping pong ephemera who have quietly scoured eBay, flea markets, and yard sales to amass a museum-sized collection of ping pong artifacts. This book uses them to tell the important stories only ping pong can tell: tales of geopolitics, demographic shifts, and velour headbands."

From the introduction: "Ping pong's unvanquished strength lies, paradoxically, in its shabby exterior....Neglected by the corporate hunger for the New New New Thing, ping pong has been allowed to flourish in dark corners and distant alleys around the world, nurturing a wealth of lore, legends, and die-hard fans. It is the magma lurking beneath the Earth's crust, piping hot and eternally bubbling."

The book is chock-a-block full of wonderful old ads, book covers, and fabulous photographs (some a bit on the racy side), including one of performers in Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling show playing ping pong some time around 1890, and a shot of Bill and Hillary playing a game on the 1992 presidential campaign trail.

Recently a group of New York literati types gathered to play ping pong, promote the new book, and raise funds for 826NYC, a nonprofit literary organization, as reported in the New York Times.

This book is loads of fun and is THE perfect gift for the ping pong fanatic in your life (because you know they already have their own paddles).

New Sedaris Book -- with Ian Falconer!

Hip hip hooray, it's a beautiful day -- even if the sun hasn't yet made an appearance. It's a beautiful day because the new book by David Sedaris goes on sale today!!! Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary offers sixteen animal tales, with illustrations by the wonderful Ian Falconer, author and illustrator of the Olivia children's books. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk features baboons and bears, toads and turtles, storks and snakes, rabbits and rats, and, of course, squirrels and chipmunks, all behaving surprisingly human-like -- humans not at their best.

We've got lots of copies in the store, but I'm guessing they'll go fast -- I mean, come on, it's David Sedaris AND Ian Falconer; what's not to love? Here's a little video clip in which David Sedaris introduces his new book:

2010 Thurber Prize for American Humor

The three finalists for the 2010 Thurber Prize for American Humor were recently announced. The winner will be announced on Monday, October 4th, at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, where James Thurber once lived. The Thurber Award was started in 1997 -- Ian Frazier won the first award for his book Coyote v. Acme. It is the only recognition of the art of humor writing in the United States. Previous winners include David Sedaris, Christopher Buckley, and the editorial staff of The Onion. Here are this year's finalists:

Why is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? In her early forties, Jancee Dunn began to wonder why she still felt like a thirteen-year-old around her family. Talking to her friends, she found the same was true for themdespite successful jobs, marriages, and families of their own. Do we ever really grow up, she wonders? Why is the slow, sticky process of prying ourselves free from our parents and childhoods so difficult?

How I Became a Famous Novelist, by Steve Hely, is the only novel in the finals. Narrated by an unlikely literary legend, this work moves from the post-college slums of Boston to the fear-drenched halls of Manhattan's publishing houses and tells the horrifying, hilarious tale of how one man's self-described pile of garbage novel becomes the most talked about book in America.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home. Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Needing a place to rest and pick up the pieces of her life, Rhoda packed her bags, crossed the country, and returned to her quirky Mennonite family's home, where she was welcomed back with open arms and offbeat advice.

Winner of Oddest Book Title Prize

The Bookseller Magazine recently announced the winner of the 2009 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, by Dr. Daina Taimina, who is a mathematician at Cornell University. This year's runners-up were What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua, by Tara Jansen-Meyer, and Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich, by James A. Yannes.

The UK-based magazine has been awarding the Diagram Prize since 1978 -- the first winning title was Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice. Anyone can nominate a title (except publishers cannot nominate their own books), and the public is invited to vote at the magazine's website. There is no prize involved with winning this honor, other than the "inevitable sales boost," resulting from the publicity. The prize's administrators try to not read the nominated books because doing so "might cloud our judgment."

Previous winners include If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs; The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frai; Weeds in a Changing World; Reusing Old Graves; and People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It. No fooling. Have you read any of these?

Christopher Moore is No Fool!

One of my favorite books from last year has just appeared in paperback: Fool, by Christopher Moore. The book is a Christopher-Mooreian take on Shakespeare's King Lear, with all that you might imagine that entails. I wrote about it briefly before it came out last year. Moore is the author of eleven other novels, including Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, The Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Bite Me: A Love Story (which will be published in hardcover next month).

If you're looking for something to take the edge off of winter, something that will make you laugh until tears are streaming down your face, Fool is the book for you! "Grand wit and belly-busting mirth." "A wickedly good time." "Exuberantly, tirelessly, brazenly profane." "A cheeky and ribald romp." How can you resist? I couldn't. And I'm glad I didn't!

Day Twelve: Front Page Compilations

It's Day Twelve in The 24 Days of Books, and we've decided to cheat, but only just a wee bit. Today we're going to talk about two fabulous books, instead of one, because they share a theme of sorts. The New York Times Complete Front Pages, 1851-2009 is an oversize volume that includes more than 300 facsimile front pages, plus three DVDs with all 54,693 (!) front pages and links to full articles. Also included are essays by twenty writers, including William Safire, Frank Rich, and Gail Collins. This terrific gift will provide hours upon hours of intellectual entertainment for someone with a fondness for history.

As Monty Python would say, “Now for something completely different.” The irrepressible Onion newspaper has just published their version of front pages: The Onion Presents Our Front Pages: 21 Years of Greatness, Virtue, and Moral Rectitude from America’s Finest News Source, 1988-2008. From their “Super Special Gum Disease Issue” to “Staten Island Historians Piece Together Geneaology of Wu-Tang Clan”, we love ‘em all. This wonderful gift will provide hours upon hours of entertainment of an entirely different ilk.

From the serious to the somewhat-less-than-serious, we've got front page compilations for all! For many more gift-giving ideas, check out our gargantuan December newsletter, which you can read by clicking here.

Oregon Author a Finalist for Thurber Prize

Three essay collections and a novel have been selected as finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, named for author-humorist James Thurber. The finalists are

• Don Lee, for his novel Wrack and Ruin
• Ian Frazier, for his book Lamentations of the Father
• Sloan Crosley, for her book I Was Told There Would Be Cake (the opening riff on her collection of plastic horses is a hoot)
• Laurie Notaro, for her book The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death.

Notaro, who was born in New York and spent most of her life in Arizona, moved to Eugene a few years ago, so I'm thrilled to report that an Oregonian has made the list! After majoring in journalism at ASU, Notaro and three friends started an alternative magazine, Planet Magazine. When the magazine folded, she became a columnist for a daily Phoenix newspaper. Meanwhile she was working on her own book. After about seventy rejections from publishers, she self-published her book. Shortly thereafter she was contacted by an agent who sold that book and a second one to a major publisher, and she's been writing ever since.

Notaro has written one novel (There's a Slight Chance I Might be Going to Hell) and six nonfiction humor collections: The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies), We Thought You Would Be Prettier, An Idiot Girl's Christmas: True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List, and her most recent, the nominated title. Currently she's at work on a second novel, Spooky Little Girl. My sister turned me on to this writer several years ago, while Notaro was still living in Arizona, and she is a hoot (both Notaro AND my sister, actually).

The winner of the Thurber Prize, who will collect $5000 in prize money, will be announced in October. The first Thurber Prize was awarded in 1997, to Ian Frazier for Coyote vs. Acme. Other winners have included David Sedaris, Jon Stewart, and the staff of The Onion. Congratulations to all of the nominees, but especially to Oregon's own nominee, Laurie Notaro.

Booksapalooza!

One of the best parts of my job -- besides talking to all of the interesting customers who frequent Broadway Books -- is opening up boxes of new books from publishers! It's always so exciting -- I want to buy them all! It might be the first day of June, but it feels like Christmas to me!!! Here's a taste of what I opened tonight -- and that will be ready for you to buy tomorrow:

The paperback versions of When I Was Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris ("Solutions to Saturday's Puzzle" left me in tears -- the good kind -- but all of the essays are typical-David-hysterical. If you want to know about the cover, click here.), David Guterson's novel The Other (he of Snow Falling on Cedars fame), Me of Little Faith, by the irascible Lewis Black, and The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins, the award-winning account of America's conflict with Islamic fundamentalism, described as an instant classic of war reporting; the latest from local mystery writer Phillip Margolin, The Fugitive, and from Alain de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work; and the fourth installment of The 39 Clues series for kids, Beyond the Grave, by Jude Watson.

I also unwrapped a little treasure from Chronicle Books called A Bloom A Day: A Fortune-Telling Birthday Book, which tells me that my flower is the "Flame" tulip, which is at once flamboyant and delicate. Hmmm. I'm betting most who know me would say I favor one over the other; I'll let you guess. Also a person of "ambiguous and paradoxical behavior" who has a "tendency towards luxury" but seldom spoils myself. Perhaps true now; not so much in the past. My partner is a Colmanara wildcat "Golden Red Star" orchid (wow!), who might find it "hard to resist outbursts of emotion" that usually result in "extravagant displays of love rather than anger." (Whew! And so true.) Also aspires to "luxury and may have difficulty in practicing self-control." Hmm. We might be in trouble. (just kidding, honey....)

I can't wait to see what tomorrow's deliveries bring! Come on down and see for yourself....

Waterproofing Your Child

This year's winner of the The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year, sponsored by The Bookseller magazine, has just been announced. And the winner is....(requisite drum roll)...The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais. Other finalists for this year's award were Curbside Consultation of the Colon, The Large Sieve and Its Applications, Strip and Knit with Style, Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring, and Baboon Metaphysics.

Not happy about this year's outcome? Be sure to go on line next spring (The Bookseller) and vote! Anyone can nominate a title (except publishers are not allowed to nominate their own books to prevent them from giving books willfully odd names -- I guess The Diagram Prize is a big deal if they have a rule to prevent people from playing the system!), and the public is invited to vote.

Past winners include The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Reusing Old Graves, How to Avoid Huge Ships, People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About it, and The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories. Titles shortlisted in the past but not winning the Big Prize include Waterproofing Your Child, How to Write a How to Write Book, and I was Tortured by the Pygmy Love Queen.

The Diagram Prize began in 1978. The Diagram Group is an information and graphics company. The Bookseller magazine has been UK's leading business magazine for the book industry since 1858. Judges are discouraged from actually reading any of the nominated titles, because doing so might cloud their judgment.

Can You Say it in Exactly Six Words?

So, in keeping with the theme of the previous post, here's another book on love -- and heartbreak -- that would make a great Valentine's gift: Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak by Writers Famous & Obscure, edited by SMITH Magazine, is a collection of pithy, sweet, clever, simple six-word sagas exploring the complexities of the human heart. Some samples: "I trusted her forever. Good choice." "Married by Elvis, divorced by Friday." "My mother warned me about you." "Never again. Maybe once. Yes, ok." "Somehow I even love his snoring." "It's worth it, despite your mother." "Lost a lover; gained a lawyer." "Will always follow you. On Twitter." This haiku for the new age is sure to entertain. Great for reading aloud at parties. Can you come up with your own? These are the same people who brought us Not Quite What I was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake!

Sloane Crosley, twenty-something author (I wonder if she'll always be described as a twenty-something author, even when she's, say, my age??) of the collection of humorous essays I Was Told There'd Be Cake and NYC-based book publicist, has been signed to write a new book, Show Me On the Doll. Not sure when the book is due -- probably 2010 -- but in the meantime, you can pick up her current collection, in affordable paperback, and read about her obsession with plastic ponies, among other quirkinesses.

Bye, Sweetheart!

I was quite bummed to read in Sunday's Oregonian that Chelsea Cain will no longer be writing her weekly column in the newspaper. I always looked forward to her column to provide me with at least a chuckle, if not a full-on guffaw. In fact, it's been part of my health-maintenance routine -- you know what they say about laughter, medicine, etc. (Maybe I should start sending Chelsea my medical bills!) Most recently Chelsea has been writing a Portland-based mystery series about a serial killer. The first book, Heartsick, is out in paperback, and the second book in the series, Sweetheart, is available in hardcover. Chelsea has been a good friend to independent bookstores, and we appreciate that. But I'm sure going to miss that weekly column! Thanks for the laughs, Chelsea. Best wishes for your next project.

Something to Look Forward To

Calling all fans of Christopher Moore! His newest book, Fool, takes on Shakespeare's King Lear. It is a bawdy tale with "gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank." Fans of Moore's previous work - including Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal; The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove; The Stupidest Angel; Bloodsucking Fiends; and You Suck - have a real treat in store: it is wipe-tears-from-your-eyes funny. Best of all, it will be published in February, a particularly bleak and dreary month all the way around, so Fool will be the perfect tonic!

It's Convenient...

...when your local independent bookstore has just the book you're looking for. Lately everyone's been looking for An Inconvenient Trout, by Jack Ohman, and Broadway Books has it! This long-awaited sequel to Fear of Fly Fishing delves into such weighty matters as fishing partners, Eastern versus Western anglers, and fly fishing versus golf (that ought to ruffle some feathers!). Whether you're a veteran of fly fishing, are new to the sport, or are merely looking for a good laugh, this book ought to do the trick! Jack Ohman is one of the most widely syndicated political cartoonists in the United States, with his work appearing in 300 newspapers. Since 1983 he has been the editorial cartoonist for The Oregonian. Best of all -- for us -- he lives right here in Portland. Come get your copy today before they run out!

Road Trip, Part II

Another great way to pass the time on road trips -- or sitting in front of the fire (gas or wood) on cold wintry evenings -- is listening to audiobooks. The nominees for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards for Spoken Word, which will be presented Sunday, February 8th, in Los Angeles, were just announced. And the nominees are....

• An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore, read by Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood
  
• Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
• I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert (and Various Artists)
• Life Beyond Measure by Sidney Poitier
• When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

So I doubt that the Grammy folks will be calling and asking me to cast a vote, but if they did mine would probably have to go to Engulfed, although they are all very deserving in my opinion. But there is nothing like listening to David Sedaris reading his own material for good old wet-your-pants laughter. And since it's the holidays, might I also recommend the audiobook Holidays on Ice, by Sedaris, which includes the original classics (don't you just love the "Santaland Diaries"?) with six new essays. By the way, did you know that the cover art for Engulfed is by Van Gogh? And if you'd rather read the books yourself, we have signed copies of both Sedaris books!