All right, I’ll admit, a simple Google search revealed that I am not as clever in this choice of topic as I thought I was. Links to other (undoubtedly more clever) stories on the subject are listed at the end of this post.

I noticed the other day as I was looking over new releases for the year that a good number of new horror books feature zombies. Of course, in terms of sheer output, vampire books are still walloping all competition.*

But what do you think about it? Are you getting readers as rabid about zombie books as they are/were about vampire books? (And was the trend, if it is one, started by the popular spoof Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?) Do vampire books, in all their genre-blending splendor, seem to be slowing down in popularity at all, or are they still flying off your shelves? As evidenced by the list of articles below, lots of critic and journalist types have an opinion on this phenomenon. But we’d like to know what the librarians actually working the public service desks could tell us about it!

*I still laugh when I think of a bookseller friend of mine saying, shaking his head, “We just keep waiting for the Twilight thing to pass, and it just won’t go away…”

August 2010:
Fiction-L discussion about books for a fan of zombie novels
From way back in April 2009: Time magazine, Zombies are the New Vampires
Murderati, April 2009: When There Is No More Room In Hell
Starpulse magazine, Oct. 2009: Are Zombies the New Vampires? (More of a take on movies than lit, but still.)
Sassy Librarian blog, Dec. 2009: Are Zombies the New Vampires?
Euclic Public Library Book Banter Blog, Jan. 2010: Zombies: The New Vampires
Just Press Play blog, June 2010: Lit of the Living Dead
The Guardian, Aug. 2010: The Walking Dead (a television perspective)
And, last but not least, a big thank you to the Lincoln (Nebraska) City Libraries post of a reader-submitted list of zombie books:
Zombies…the New Vampires.

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By Cindy Orr

This Week In Books

New Titles on the Week’s Most Wanted Mashup of Bestsellers:

Fiction

Nonfiction

Also, keep your eye on:

To see the entire Most Wanted Mashup of this week’s bestselling titles, look to the righthand column.
_______________________________________________________
The New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer entries for the upcoming week include:

And many more. Scroll down to the next entry to see the whole list of noteworthy titles to be published in the next seven days, or click here.
_______________________________________________________
Our Under the Radar list this week in honor of National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month is Addiction Memoirs. Look in the righthand column just under the Most Wanted Mashup for this list.
_______________________________________________________
And now on to the news of the week:

_______________________________________________________
Books on Screen

_______________________________________________________
Awards

_______________________________________________________
Authors

_______________________________________________________
Lists

_______________________________________________________
Lighthearted Link of the Week

Bookmark to:

• Sandra Brown – Tough Customer
• Frederick Forsyth – The Cobra
• Philippa Gregory – The Red Queen
• Carl Hiaasen – Star Island
• Linda Howard – Veil of Night
• Stieg Larsson – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
• James Patterson and Liza Marklund – The Postcard Killers
• Martin Cruz Smith – Three Stations
• Kathryn Stockett – The Help
• Lauren Weisberger – Last Night At Chateau Marmont

• Rhonda Byrne – The Power
• Michael Capuzzo – The Murder Room
• S. C. Gwynne – Empire of the Summer Moon
• Justin Halpern – Sh*t My Dad Says
• Chelsea Handler – Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
• Laura Ingraham – The Obama Diaries
• Michael Lewis – The Big Short
• Andrew Morton – Angelina
• Mary Roach – Packing for Mars
• Geneen Roth – Women Food and God

• Beverly Barton – Don’t Cry
• Christine Feehan – Water Bound
• Lisa Jackson – Running Scared
• Debbie Macomber – Orchard Valley Brides
• Ben Sherwood – Charlie St. Cloud

Bookmark to:

TUESDAY FICTION

TUESDAY NONFICTION

WEDNESDAY FICTION

WEDNESDAY NONFICTION

THURSDAY FICTION

THURSDAY NONFICTION

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Get yourself ready for the week by using the RAO blog. It will save you tons of time and you’ll feel a lot more in control…promise!

So what do you need to be ready for the week?

1) Check the updated bestseller lists.
That’s easy enough to do, and you probably print them out and post them for your patrons every Monday already. But what you really need is just a quick look at what’s changed since last week.

Instead of doing that grunt work yourself title by title, check the very first section of our RA Run Down published every Sunday evening in preparation for your Monday morning. The first thing we do is tell you what has changed since this week’s bestseller lists were published over the weekend. There it is all set out for you in a few words.

Then of course, we highlight the top bestsellers from various lists on our Most Wanted Mashup. The various bestseller lists track things differently, and we mash up several to give you the most in-demand books, including paperback originals which are tough to separate from reprints.

2) Figure out what new books are coming out this week.
You selected and ordered them months ago, but your patrons may just be hearing about them now due to the laydown publicity, and your mind is on the reviews you’re reading this week. Take a look at our New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer list for not only the popular no-brainer stuff you’ll need to have, but also the noteworthy titles that reviewers and bloggers are buzzing about.

We give you a little preview in the RA Run Down, but the complete list is published as a separate entry…again, brand new on Sunday night so it’s ready for your Monday morning. Here you’ll find a list of the most buzzed about new books to be published in the upcoming seven days. And, just to make it easier in case you missed ordering one, we include the ISBN.

3) Catch up on the news of the book world.
You need to know what your patrons are hearing about, but how do you have the time to keep up on all the newspaper columns, blogs, newsletters, and magazines out there? Not to worry…we’ve done it for you. We scan, scan, scan, over a hundred blogs, magazines, journals, newsletters and other sources every week. In the Monday morning RA Run Down you’ll find handy headlines with links to the news and important RA items from the past week.

So there you have it…a one stop Monday morning update to make you ready for the week before you even finish your first cup of coffee.

Oh, and when you move on to the next thing:

4) Refresh your displays.
You just might find some new ideas in our Under the Radar lists. We have a new one of those every Monday morning too, not to mention our monthly display brainstorming feature that might help you with display ideas since we’ve identified events and ideas related to the upcoming month.

Check back during the week for other helpful posts including reviews of literary blogs, RA tips, reports from conferences, and much more.

But be sure to remember to always take a look each Monday…and maybe you’ll even have time for another cup of coffee.

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September is:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Month
Classical Music Month
Deaf Awareness Week: Sep. 19-25
International Self-Awareness Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month
National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
National Chicken Month
National Coupon Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month: Sep. 15-Oct. 15
National Honey Month
National Keep Kids Creative Week: Sep. 26-Oct. 2
National Lazy Moms Day: Sep. 3
National Preparedness Month
National Singles Week: Sep. 19-25
Tolkien Week: Sep. 19-25
Update Your Resume Month
Women’s Friendship Month
World Alzheimer’s Day: Sep. 21
And don’t forget: many students head back to school this month!

Holidays in September Include:
Sep. 6: Labor Day
Sep. 9: Rosh Hashanah
Sep. 10: Eid-al-Fitr
Sep. 11: Patriot Day
Sep. 12: National Grandparents’ Day
Sep. 16: Independence Day (Mexico–200th anniversary of Sep. 15, 1810)
Sep. 17: Citizenship Day (also Constitution Day)
Sep. 18: Yom Kippur
Sep. 22: Autumn begins
Sep. 24: National Punctuation Day
Sep. 24: Native American Day
Sep. 25: National Hunting and Fishing Day

September Famous Birthdays
Edgar Rice Burroughs: Sep. 1, 1875
Kiran Desai: Sep. 3, 1971
Jesse James: Sep. 5, 1847
Jane Addams: Sep. 6, 1860
Elizabeth I: Sep. 7, 1533
Jesse Owens: Sep. 12, 1913
Roald Dahl: Sep. 13, 1916
Agatha Christie: Sep. 15, 1890
Fannie Flagg: Sep. 21, 1944
Ray Charles: Sep. 23, 1930
F. Scott Fitzgerald: Sep. 24, 1896
T.S. Eliot: Sep. 26, 1888
Samuel Adams: Sep. 27, 1722
Elie Wiesel: Sep. 30, 1928

September Historical Events:
Sep. 1, 1939: World War II begins
Sep. 2-5, 1666: Great Fire of London
Sep. 4-25, 1957: Little Rock Nine/Central High School integration
Sep. 11, 2001: World Trade Center terrorist attack, New York City
Sep. 14, 1901: President William McKinley assassinated
Sep. 22, 1862: Emancipation Proclamation issued

Sources include: Chase’s 2010 Calendar of Events; Holiday Smart September 2010 calendar; Holiday Insights.

Bookmark to:

By Cindy Orr

This Week In Books:

New Titles on This Week’s Most Wanted Mashup

Fiction

Nonfiction

Mass Market Originals

To see the entire Most Wanted Mashup of this week’s bestselling titles, look to the righthand column.
_______________________________________________________
The New, Noteworthy, and No-Brainer entries for the upcoming week include:

And many more. Scroll down to the next entry to see the whole list of noteworthy titles to be published in the next seven days, or click here.
_______________________________________________________
Our Under the Radar list this week is New History Titles You May Have Missed. Look in the righthand column just under the Most Wanted Mashup for this list.

_______________________________________________________
And now on to the news of the week:

_______________________________________________________
Books on Screen

_______________________________________________________
Awards

_______________________________________________________
Authors

_______________________________________________________
Lists

_______________________________________________________
Lighthearted Link of the Week

Bookmark to:

• Sandra Brown – Tough Customer
• Philippa Gregory – The Red Queen
• W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV – The Vigilantes
• Carl Hiaasen – Star Island
• Linda Howard – Veil of Night
• Stieg Larsson – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
• James Patterson and Maxine Paetro – Private
• Daniel Silva – The Rembrandt Affair
• Kathryn Stockett – The Help
• Jennifer Weiner – Fly Away Home

• Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker – The Mentor Leader
• S. C. Gwynne – Empire of the Summer Moon
• Justin Halpern – Sh*t My Dad Says
• Chelsea Handler – Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
• Laura Ingraham – The Obama Diaries
• Michael Lewis – The Big Short
• Andrew Morton – Angelina
• Mary Roach – Packing for Mars
• Geneen Roth – Women Food and God
• Kendra Wilkinson – Sliding Into Home

• Lorna Barrett – Chapter & Hearse (A Booktown Mystery)
• Suzanne Brockmann – Infamous
• Christine Feehan – Water Bound
• Jeaniene Frost – Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress)
• Ben Sherwood – Charlie St. Cloud

Bookmark to:

• Alice Sparberg Alexiou–The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City that Rose With It
• Nick Bunker–Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World, a New History
• Molly Caldwell Crosby–Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine’s Greatest Mysteries
• Bruce Cumings–The Korean War
• Eric Jay Dolin–Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America
• Peter Marshal–Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism
• Danielle McGuire–At the Dark End of the Street
• G. J. Meyer–The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty
• Juliet Nicolson–The Great Silence: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age
• Graham Robb–Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris
• Judith Stein–Pivotal Decade
• Brian Thornton–Book of Bastards: 101 Worst Scoundrels and Scandals from the World of Politics and Power
• Bruce Watson–Freedom Summer: The Savage Season that Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy

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