HIGHLIGHTS FROM ALA ANNUAL

Librarians, publishers, and vendors from across North America gathered from July 9-15 in Chicago for the 2009 American Library Association Annual Conference. The official attendance numbers have not yet been released, but by all accounts it was a successful show. Library Journal reports that as of Saturday, attendance was up over the 2007 show in Washington, DC, which saw the highest attendance ever.

ForeWord exhibited and is pleased to report on some highlights from the show floor. Whether you attended the exhibits or not, check out these vendors for yourself and your patrons.

Better World Books provides solutions for green weeding and disposing of discards and donations. The organization covers the costs of shipping discards to its facilities and sells books at its own Web site and with twenty-one other online retailers. It returns a percent of the profits to the library, and gives a percentage to a nonprofit organization selected by the library. Click here to find out more about its library program.

FamilySearch is a free genealogy research site sponsored by the Church of Latter Day Saints. With the help of thousands of volunteers, FamilySearch is adding about 1,000,000 genealogy records per day. Visit pilot.familysearch.org to help your patrons locate census, birth, marriage, and death records from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Many of the records include images of the original documents.

Upstart Books, an imprint of Highsmith, is a publisher of library-oriented picture books and lessons. Upstart Books' titles include Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians (978-1-932146-98-1), The Library Ghost (978-1-60213-017-3), and I Hate Reading (978-1-60213-025-8) which uses reverse psychology to help reluctant readers.

Upstart, another division of Highsmith, is a supplier of reading incentives and library promotional materials, including scratch-and-sniff bookmarks, pirate treasures, and "I'm With the Banned" products.

Carolyn Forsman has brought her handmade jewelry to ALA Annual for twenty-seven years. She is famous for her Banned Books bracelet, which features the covers of several famously banned books. She recently turned it into a necklace as well. Forsman was a librarian for fifteen years before she turned to jewelry design. Sixty percent of the money generated from sales at ALA is donated to the Freedom to Read Foundation. She has raised more than $100,000 for the organization over the years.

Forsman's jewelry is also sold in bookstores including Politics and Prose in Washington, DC. In addition to the Banned Books bracelet, she makes glowing LED necklaces with a battery clasp, flip-flop charms, eyeglass brooches, and spring bead bracelets.

Caitlin Phillips, the proprietor of Rebound Designs, creates purses out of book covers. By removing the pages and replacing them with fabric, clasps, and handles, she creates one-of-a-kind objects out of damaged or out-of-date books. The bags available at her booth included those made from Nancy Drew books and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. The purses start at $100.

by Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor

BOOK REVIEW

The Practical Cyclist: Bicycling for Real People
by Chip Haynes
(New Society Publishers, 978-0-86571-633-9)

Dust off the bike, put some air in the tires, and discover a new world that has been waiting for you. Thats an easy-to-accept invitation from the author, who is a bicycle enthusiast, commuter, and self-described all-around "neighborhood bike guy" from Clearwater, Florida. The text addresses the transition into a two-wheeler mindset in an easy-to-follow format. His writing style is light enough to convince a reluctant reader to take that first spin around the block and do so eagerly and confidently.

"So it comes to this: If you want to feel good, and feel good about yourself, go ride a bike," Haynes writes. "You dont have to go fast or go far, but you do have to go."

Is that inviting or what?

This book arrives at a good time. As gasoline prices fluctuate and global warming becomes an issue, consumers are looking more to bicycles for commuting to work and running errands, burning calories, and trimming their weight as they go. The "green" movement, which encourages people to give Mother Nature a rest, is one more reason to find a clean-air alternative to our gas guzzlers. In fact, Mother Earth News magazine includes this book on its "Books for Wiser Living" list.

The author is upfront with the reader on what the book is not. It isnt a bike-repair manual, nor is it a fitness text for next-generation professional road racers or a guide for choosing the most fashionable cycle brands. As the title suggests, the book is a roadmap for people who want to ease back into the saddle to fetch a quart of milk, explore the neighborhood, or eliminate bumper-to-bumper lines while getting to that day job.

The advice is sound, too. The author encourages first-time bike commuters to resist the temptation of taking the same route they take with an automobile. "There are many roads that all, eventually, lead to the same place if youre willing to work at it," he writes. "You want, poetically speaking, to take the road less traveled. It will make all the difference." And this book will make all the difference for a bicyclist with an open, resourceful mind and a willingness to step outside the box for an adventure on two wheels. (April)

Reviewed by Karl Kunkel

Read more reviews at www.forewordmagazine.com.

AUTHOR PAGES: ANN PELO

The Author Pages feature nearly 100 interviews with authors whose work has been reviewed in ForeWord magazine. Ann Pelo, author of Rethinking Early Childhood Education (Rethinking Schools, 978-0-942961-41-6) writes:

"I grew up in a home full of books--books stacked in piles on the hearth, books spilling out of bookcases, books balanced on end tables and night stands. When my family took a trip, the top priority was packing books: swimsuits, snacks, toothbrushes all took second priority to books. And during school breaks, our family would read a book aloud together: I remember us reading Dickens, and some William Steig--a fabulous book, The Mouse and His Child--and Hemingway. Eclectic, for sure..

During my childhood and early adulthood, it didn't occur to me that I could be "a writer." That was a sacred role, from my perspective, growing up in that home full of books; I revered writers and imagined them to be set apart from regular people like me."

Visit ForeWord’s Author Pages to read more about the authors reviewed in the pages of ForeWord.

This week at Publishing Insider, Sara Dobie offers part two of her series on the basics of blogging for authors.

At Publishing Matters, Eugene Schwartz wonders if the current downturn in the publishing industry is the beginning of a long goodbye or a new beginning.

At Editor’s Notes, Editor-in-Chief Heather Shaw presents the speech given at BookExpo America, announcing the ForeWord's Independent Publisher of the Year.

At Shelf Space, Carlie Webber pens a column titled "They're evil! They're brilliant! They're reviewers!"

Visit www.forewordmagazine.com for publishing news, book reviews, and the ForeWord Book Club.

BOOK CLUB: THE FIFTH WEEK by JIM MATHEWS

Jim Mathews writes: From the day I graduated basic military training some 22 years ago, I struggled to write about the experience in a way that satisfied my literary standards. Needless to say, there were lots of starts and stops and banishments to the "bottom drawer." More recently, I encountered the same problem in writing about my combat service in Iraq. In essence, such experiences can't easily be described in the conventional sense and often require use of that old standby, "You just had to be there."

Read Mathews' hilarious, awful, and technically brilliant short story about basic training, "The Fifth Week," available for this week only at the ForeWord Book Club.

FOREWORD FOOTNOTES

Art. PETER BLAKE: ONE MAN SHOW by Marco Livingstone (Lund Humphries / Ashgate Publishing, 8 x 11, color illustrations, 240 pages, hardcover, $70.00, 978-0-85331-980-1): art historian, independent curator, and author of David Hockney: Portraits and People presents the noted Pop artist's diversity with collage, sculpture, graphics, and printmaking; art pieces include The Venuses' Outing to Weymouth (1994-2004) which represents famous Venuses by such artists as Giorgione, Botticelli, and Titian, An Arab Women (1981) representing exoticism, and the artist's cover for The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album (1967).

Biography & Autobiography. GETTING IT THROUGH MY THICK SKULL: WHY I STAYED, WHAT I LEARNED, AND WHAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH SOCIOPATHS NEED TO LEARN by Mary Jo Buttafuoco (Health Communications, 240 pages, hardcover, $24.95, 978-0-7573-1372-1): former guest on Oprah and Entertainment Tonight discusses her bizarre life; references include the "Long Island Lolita" (Amy Fisher), the firing of a .25 caliber bullet into the head of the author in 1992, and the "emotional traps" sociopaths "spring" on their partners such as the mischievous "I'm sorry. I love you. I need you. Whatever you want. You're right."

Biography & Autobiography. SEARCHING FOR SOUL: A SURVIVOR'S GUIDE by Bobbe Tyler (Ohio University Press, 262 pages, hardcover, $44.95, 978-0-8040-1118-1, softcover, $18.95, 978-0-8040-1119-8): nonfiction writer and retired communications coordinator formerly with the Times Mirror Company reveals her effort to "understand and make peace with her inner self" and to find "her path to spiritual and self-fulfillment"; among the subjects covered are losses, regrets, and relationships such as falling out of "love and into disillusionment" and the start of the blame game.

Body, Mind & Spirit. HAUNTED CEMETERIES OF NEW ENGLAND: STORIES, STONES, AND SUPERSTITIONS by Roxie J. Zwicker (Publishing Works, 24 color photographs, 45 b/w photographs, 208 pages, softcover, $19.95, 978-1-933002-82-8): ghost guide and author of Haunted Pubs of New England conjures tales from six states rich in history; among the burial grounds are Old Poquetanock Cemetery in Preston, Connecticut, Point of Graves in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Old Burial Hill, Marblehead, Massachusetts, where a wizard from the 1770s still walks at night during gale winds wearing an "indigo cloak whirling about the tombstones."

Business & Economics. FRANKLIN'S THRIFT: THE LOST HISTORY OF AN AMERICAN VIRTUE edited by David Blankenhorn, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, and Sorcha Brophy-Warren (Templeton Press, 258 pages, hardcover, $24.95, 978-1-59947-148-8): author of Thrift: A Cyclopedia, director of the John Templeton Center for Thrift and Generosity, and Yale doctoral student in sociology present eight essays about the idea that thrift "has been a robust part of the American vision of economic freedom": among the subjects are savings banks, thrift stores, and Franklin aphorisms such as: "Weigh every small Expence [sic], and nothing waste, Farthings long sav'd, amount to Pounds at last" (1749).

Education. TEACHING WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW by Theresa Huston (Harvard University Press, 330 pages, hardcover, $24.95, 978-0-674-03580-5): director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University offers creative strategies for teaching new courses in new areas and provides tips for introducing "new topics in a lively style": chapters include "Teaching and Surviving," "Why It's Better Than It Seems," and "Thinking in Class," for example, "active learning" techniques by students such as "Comparative Note-Taking," "Sequence Reconstruction," and "Peer Instruction."

Family & Relationships. A TENDER DISTANCE: ADVENTURES RAISING MY SONS IN ALASKA by Kaylene Johnson (Alaska Northwest Books, 204 pages, softcover, $16.95, 978-0-88240-772-2): contributor to Alaska magazine and the Los Angeles Times presents parenting on a "high-voltage tightrope" between adventure and safety in rugged conditions; among the references are a torrent at Devil's Pass, a ghost bear on Kodiak Island, and mom's comment about Mark and Erik who were "nurtured by the mountains and the rivers and the sky," growing strong and healthy in the "cradle of their expansive arms."

Health & Fitness. ASK DR. MARIE: STRAIGHT TALK & REASSURING ANSWERS TO YOUR MOST PRIVATE QUESTIONS by Marie Savard (GGP Life / Globe Pequot Press, b/w illustrations, 352 pages, hardcover, $24.95, 978-0-7627-4944-7): medical contributor to ABC News provides vignettes, such as "Judy, Age 42" who didn't follow up on her pap smear and later discovered cervical cancer, and discusses a variety of topics including sex, fertility, hormones, menopause, reproductive health, emotional response, and waist management such as knowing your waist-hip ratio and taking into consideration one's "pooch."

History. MONUMENT WARS: WASHINGTON, D.C., THE NATIONAL MALL, AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE MEMORIAL LANDSCAPE by Kirk Savage (University of California Press, 7 x 10, 126 b/w photographs, 361 pages, hardcover, $34.95, 978-0-520-25654-5): associate professor and chair of the department of art and architecture at the University of Pittsburgh presents the story of the Mall's historic plan, its structures, "and the sea change it reveals regarding national representation"; among the tributes are the Washington Monument and the Grant Memorial where "Union soldiers are propelled into combat with an unseen enemy" and "viewers see the battle only through the effects it has on the individual soldiers."

History. PENDLETON ROUND-UP AT 100: OREGON'S LEGENDARY RODEO by Michael Bales and Ann Terry Hill (Graphic Arts Books, 8 x 11, 900 color and b/w photographs, 300 pages, hardcover, $50.00, 978-0-88240-773-9, softcover, $29.95, 978-0-88240-774-6): Oregonian journalist and contributor to Cowboys & Indians present the glamour and history of events ranging from "bronco riding and steer wrestling to bareback Indian relay races": among the subjects mention are Buffalo Bill Cody in 1902, Indians in the Westward Ho! Parade in 1911, and "glamorous tough-as-nails cowgirls" in bucking contest.

House & Home. TRADITIONAL AMERICAN ROOMS: CELEBRATING STYLE, CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND HISTORIC WOODWORK by Brent Hull and Christine G. H. Franck (Fox Chapel Publishing, 8 ½ x 11, color photographs, 180 pages, softcover w/ flaps, $35.00, 978-1-56523-322-5): preservation master craftsman and former architecture teacher at the University of Notre Dame present a "guided tour" of twenty "magnificent" period rooms of the Winterfur Museum and Country Estate in Brandywine, Delaware--the former residence of horticulturist Henry Francis du Pont; included are technical drawings, designs aspects of the Georgian and Federal period, and architectural details such as the cornice in the Marlboro Room.

Music. THE SUPREMES: A SAGA OF MOTOWN DREAMS, SUCCESS, AND BETRAYAL by Mark Ribowsky (Da Capo Press, 37 b/w photographs, 440 pages, hardcover, $26.00, 978-0-306-81586-7): author of eight books including He's a Rebel, Phil Spector--Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer presents the lives of the most successful female group of all time; discussions include the creator of Motown Records (Berry Gordy), the demise of Florence Ballard at age thirty-two, the renaming the group in 1967 as the "Diana Ross & The Supremes," and Ross's leaving the group in 1970 for a solo career.

Reference. DARWIN'S UNIVERSE: EVOLUTION FROM A TO Z by Richard Milner (University of California Press, 8 /12 x 11, 378 b/w photographs, 496 pages, hardcover, $39.95, 978-0-520-24376-7): associate in anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History and contributing editor at Natural History Magazine presents a "browser's delight" of an encyclopedia of information about the evolutionary biologist, including more than 100 essays; among the references are Alex the parrot, Kanzi the bonobo, and Digit the gorilla, who "has since become the stuff of pop culture legend."

Social Science. IMAGINARY FRIENDS: REPRESENTING QUAKERS IN AMERICAN CULTURE, 1650-1950 by James Emmett Ryan (University of Wisconsin Press, 360 pages, softcover, $26.95, 978-0-299-23174-3): associate professor of English at Auburn University examines the shifting attitudes toward the members of the Society of Friends in sermons, literature, plays, and films; among the topics are Quakerism in colonial New England, James T. Fields' lyrics that "suggest the possibility of the demure Quakeress as an object for sly romantic fantasy," and Melville's rendition of the Friends engaging in the "bloody hunt" for whales off of Nantucket in Moby-Dick.

Transportation. IOWA'S RAILROADS: AN ALBUM by H. Roger Grant and Don L. Hofsommer (Indiana University Press, 8 x 11, 6 maps, 461 b/w photographs, 320 pages, hardcover $59.95, 978-0-253-31425-3, softcover, $29.95, 978-0-253-22073-8): professors of history at Clemson University and St. Cloud University "explore the pivotal role that railroads played in the urban development" of the Hawkeye State; photographs include icing facilities, which provided refrigeration for meat products, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe's Super Chief with its "Warbonnet" paint scheme, and "Bridge Monkeys," who "erected, replaced, and maintained" bridge structures.

by Alex Moore, Book Review Editor

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