Roker Gets ‘Clues’

Thursday morning on The Today Show, Al Roker announced that 39 Clues #5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (Scholastic) is the latest pick in his Al’s Book Club. The Black Circle pubbed on August 11. The 39 Clues series, which will consist of 10 books in total, has more than four million copies in English in print. And the 39 Clues online game has drawn more than 580,000 registered users since it launched last September, when the series started.

One ‘Fantaskey’ Wedding

This week, author Beth Fantaskey sent out wedding invitations. Surprising, since she is, in fact, already married. However, the invitations aren’t for her—they are for the two main characters in her debut novel, Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, published by Harcourt this past February. The invitations are just the first step in a new promotion featured on Fantaskey’s Web site.

Ted Kennedy Books on the Rise

With new just out about the death of Edward Kennedy, a number of books about the longtime Massachusetts senator are already starting to climb the charts on Amazon and publishers are gauging consumer interest. Hachette said it still plans on releasing the senator's memoir on September 14.

‘The Pekar Project’ Webcomic Debuts on ‘SMITH’

After moving from the comics page to the big screen, acclaimed autobiographical comics creator Harvey Pekar has now made his way to the Internet with a new webcomic series called, The Pekar Project, to be published on SMITH, an online magazine featuring personal storytelling.

New Book Deals For Yang, Roman, Kibuishi, Knisley

First Second will publish new graphic works by Gene Yang, author of American Born Chinese, Teen Boat creator Dave Roman and a new work by Lucy Knisley, author of the French Milk. And Villard and Scholastic Books have signed on to publish additional volumes of Kazu Kibuishi’s Flight anthology and Amulet series respectively.

Digital Comics Get a New Platform with Sony PSP Deal

Last week, Sony announced they will be offering comic book content as digital downloads for the PSP portable gaming device, via the Playstation store. This confirms rumors of Sony seeking significant comics content for the device dating back to March 2009.

Confessions of an Immature Pervert: Erika Moen Overcomes Puritanism

Those who still think young women's diaries are full of blushing and crushes will be shocked by Erika Moen's online journal. DAR! A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary (found at www.darcomic.com) is a webcomic that can be raw, ribald, and revelatory.

RELIGION IN REVIEW
You Saw It Here First: Original Religion BookLine Reviews and a Sneak Peek at Religion Book Reviews c

Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith: A True Story; Jean-Yves Leloup’s Compassion and Meditation: The Spiritual Dynamic Between Buddhism and Christianity; Edgar Andrews’s Who Made God? Searching for a Theory of Everything; Bruce Wilkinson’s You Were Born for This: Seven Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles; and a sneak peek at starred reviews in Sept. 14 issue: Edward E. Curtis’s Muslims in America: A Short History; and

Last Call

New and Noteworthy August Books; Addendum to Fall Religion Announcements

Saturday in the Park with Cassie

Last Saturday afternoon’s gray skies deterred no one: 300 eager fans flocked to New York City’s Bryant Park to hear Cassandra Clare discuss her Mortal Instruments series. And Clare gave news of several forthcoming projects, including a new book in the Mortal Instruments series, the creation of a prequel series and a movie adaptation of her books.

Last Gasp Finds Beauty in The Strange Tale of Panorama Island

The literary manga market is expanding further with the announcement that San Francisco art book and manga publisher Last Gasp has licensed Suehiro Maruo’saward-winningThe Strange Tale of Panorama Island.

Comics Briefly

Fiction Book Reviews: 8/24/2009

Reviewed this week, new novels from John Irving, Sherman Alexie, Jonathan Kellerman, Nevada Barr and Nora Roberts. Plus, Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew revisits Dracula, Reyna Grande finds salvation in folk dancing, Julian Stockwin's got another Kydd sea adventure and Rachel Sherman's first novel is star-worthy.

Words of War: Military History and Memoirs

Despite the current challenges facing the publishing industry, war and military history titles continue to sell—the recession, a plethora of free online information and the declining number of living WWII veterans evidently have not affected books. Publishers offer many explanations for their success, but the most obvious reason the category continues to thrive might simply be the sheer n...

Children's Book Reviews: 8/24/2009

This week's reviews include a new picture books from Tomie dePaola, Nonny Hogrogian, Toni and Slade Morrison, and Danielle Steel; fiction from John Feinstein, Scott Westerfeld, Patricia McCormick and Justine Larbalestier; and a round-up of concept books.

Galley Talk: ‘Once Was Lost’ by Sara Zarr

Jennifer Laughran of Books Inc. in San Francisco talks about a favorite fall galley.

With a Mom in rehab, and a pastor Dad who knows a lot more about shepherding his congregation than taking care of his own family, Samara feels like her whole world is falling apart. When a girl in her town is kidnapped, Sam latches on to the case as a way to feel useful and a part of something bigger than herself, but nobody in town is beyond suspicion, even the people that Sam trusts most.

Sullenberger Memoir Has Story to Tell, 'PW' Review Says

William Morrow reportedly paid over $3 million for a memoir by Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. The house, which brought the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 to BEA, announced a 350,000 copy first-printing and is pushing the title as one of its big fall books. So how does it actually read? In the first review of the book, PW gives Highest Duty a star.

Taking Millar’s ‘Kick Ass’ from Page to Screen

Originally released as a periodical comics series in 2008 under Marvel’s ICON imprint, Mark Millar’s Kick Ass been already adapted into a feature film directed by Matthew Vaughn, director of such films as Layer Cake and Stardust. Lionsgate has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights and the film will be released in 2010. But with its hard R-rated world of pop culture references, extreme violence, language and tween serial killers, Kick-Ass has never had a simple route to the public.

Fletcher Hanks Rides Again

Get ready, fans, the second volume of odd-ball 1930s comics creator Fletcher Hanks has hit the shelves. You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation! completes the collection of Hanks’ work begun with the 2007 volume, I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!, edited by Paul Karasik, published by Fantagraphics Books and winner of the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project.

In Marvel’s ‘Strange Tales,’ Indie Artists Take on Superhero Icons

This September, Marvel Comics unveils their long-awaited Strange Tales MAX anthology series. Culling creators from all over the world of alternative comics and literary graphic novels—from Paul Pope and Matt Kindt to Molly Crabapple and Peter Bagge—the stories in the three-issue Strange Tales comic recast such Marvel super heroes as Spider-Man and the Black Widow as quirky and complicated indie comics icons.