Swamp Journal

• You probably already have heard something about The Secret. The author appeared on Oprah -- twice -- which translated into the publisher having to do a second printing. One weekend we received 120 copies on Saturday and sold out by Monday.
• The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeanette Walls, a regular contributor to MSNBC. The book describes her years growing up in a family that might be described as eccentric, wandering through the Southwest until poverty forced a return to a West Virginia mining town. This is another one title we've had to reorder from the warehouse several times.
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die is being made into a television series on one of the cable channels. I'm temporarily without cable, so I can't offer more information on that, but quite a few people have requested the book. The author also has a follow-up coming in June, 1000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before You Die.
• Sidney Poitier's second autobiography, Measure of a Man, is another Oprah's Book Club pick. It is available in both hardcover and paperback.
• One Thousand White Women is a book I hadn't heard of until people started coming and asking for it -- enough that I asked if it was being read by a local book club. It wasn't -- people just wanted to read it. It is based on the true story of a woman who travels west to marry the chief of the Cheyenne nation in 1875.
• The Four Agreements, like The Secret, gives New Age-type advice -- in this case based on Toltec tradition -- on how to make life more fulfilling. I would like to hear from someone who has read both books and can compare them.
• In Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen tells the tale of a 90-year-old looking back at his experiences working at a third-rate circus during the Depression. Gruen donates a portion of her book royalties to animal charities.

Labels: Books-A-Million books reading work

# posted by MarkSouthFL @ 3:50 AM