Hi Everyone-

Well, BookExpo America wrapped up on Sunday, and it was quite a show. I had some lovely dinners and met some terrific authors, including Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, which I mentioned in this space last week, Neil Gabler, author of the forthcoming biography of Walt Disney (more on him in a moment), and even John Updike. My staff and I also attended a ton of fun parties, welcomed publishers and other booksellers to our stores, and of course, hiked the floor of the convention center in search of treasure. A few things I'm excited about for fall: extensive biographies of Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, from Penguin Press and Random House, respectively, a hilarious-looking book from Amy Sedaris from Little Brown/Hachette, a terrific novel called The Meaning of Night by first time author Michael Cox (I've already read it and loved it), a collection of the beloved New Yorker artist Sempe from Phaidon, and perhaps the biggest item for our customers for the upcoming holiday season: a new translation of The Aeneid by none other than Robert Fagles, whose translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey took the bookselling world by storm when they were published in the nineties. It's already looking like a bounteous fall!

The author with whom I got to have the most extensive interaction was Neal Gabler, author of a forthcoming biography from Knopf of Walt Disney. Disney is not a subject to whom I'm naturally drawn, but Gabler convinced me, after talking to him, that his subject is utterly fascinating, and I'm waiting with great anticipation to dig into this new biography. I also would like to mention Gabler's previous biography, which I loved, of Walter Winchell. Winchell is a brilliant documentation of the nature of celebrity in America, as well as a very gripping narrative of one of the twentieth century's predominant brokers of fame. I had no idea the level of fame and power Winchell possessed in his time, and the biography traces his rise from vaudeville, his rivalry with Ed Sullivan, his tremendously popular column and radio show, his spectacular feuds with such notables as Lucille Ball, his political switch from Roosevelt supporter to stooge for Joseph McCarthy, and the ultimate destruction of what mattered the most to him - his fame and influence (only his daughter attended his funeral). It's a highly readable yet very important twentieth-century American life. While we wait on his no-doubt equally compelling Disney book, stop by the stores and pick up Winchell.

Talk to you again soon,

Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer

Hi Everyone-

This is a huge week for Washington booksellers: BookExpo America, the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association, is in DC for the first time since 1989! It's an incredibly huge event for the book world - the convention center will be filled with authors and publishers promoting their fall books, and (I'm pleased to say) the buyers and I will be able to go to some lovely parties and dinners with our favorite authors and publishers. You won't be able to miss the event: media coverage will, no doubt, be plentiful, and the city will be filled with publishers and booksellers playing tourist (be nice to them!). I'll tell you all about how the convention weekend went soon.

And because I can't get away without mentioning a good book: I adored Lisa Gruen's new novel Water for Elephants. It's a very unique, involvingly dramatic story: the narrator, once an itinerant would-be veterinarian, recalls his days with a travelling circus during the Depression and his tempestuous relationships with a beautiful performer, her charming but cruel husband, and a lovable elephant with a taste for alcohol. The result is a suprisingly gritty look at the Depression era, a well researched and highly anecdotal look at travelling circuses, and a portrait of a romantic triangle reminiscent of Sophie's Choice. It's a perfect summer read - we're almost there after all - and we're featuring it as a Buyer's Choice, at 20% off.

I'm off to the convention (it starts Today!) Talk to you again soon!

Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer

Hi Everyone-

A quick word about our Penguin "buy-two-get-one free" promotion, which ends tonight: thanks so much for supporting it! We were delighted by the response to the sale, and we're planning something similar with another major publisher for this summer. Stay tuned, and thanks again for your response to the April of the Penguins.

Looking for a fascinating, utterly unique read (and who isn't)? One of my favorite books of last year is now out in paperback, and I'd like to recommend it: Tom Reiss' The Orientalist studies the life and career of Kurban Said, the author of the beloved classic Ali and Nino, set in his ostensible homeland of Azerbaijan. Said, who presented himself as an exotic Muslim prince, was in fact Lev Nussimbaum, a Jewish refugee of the Russian Revolution. Ironically, Nussimbaum's life turned out to be every bit as adventurous and intriguing as the character he created for himself: his life in Azerbaijan and escape from the Revolution were breathtaking, even if he was never a prince; he became an international celebrity in his assumed persona; and, unfortunately, he had his Jewish identity revealed at an unfortunate time, while he was trying to find a place of safety in fascist Europe. Reiss has done an amazing job of unravelling the many mysterious strands of Nussimbaum's life. Give this amazing narrative a try.

And also have a look at the classic love story Nussimbaum wrote under his assumed identity: Ali and Nino, set at the beginning of World War I in his beloved Azerbaijan, is sweeping, exciting, and incredibly dramatic. It's a lovely, intense read, and the perfect companion to Tom Reiss' The Orientalist.

See you in the stores!

Joe Murphy

Hi Everyone-

Spring is going well here at Olsson's - we're very excited about the response to the "April of the Penguins," so we've decided to extend it a bit into May. So the sale now runs through next Thursday, May 11th. And in case for some tragic reason you're not already familiar with the details: if you buy any two paperbacks from Penguin, Penguin Classics, Riverhead, or Plume, you get a third (of equal or lesser value) free. So take advantage of this last week to check out this amazing catalogue of books and get yourself a great deal.

And if I might suggest one in particular: Sean Wilsey's wonderful memoir Oh the Glory of It All is now finally available in paperback... from Penguin, so it's part of the deal. I know it's been a rough year for memoirs, but this one is really worth a look. Wilsey's hilarious and touching narrative of his life as a troubled child/rebellious teenager details his experience of two spectacularly dysfunctional parents, three aggressively lousy private schools, and perhaps the greatest wicked stepmother in literary history. It's wildly entertaining, written with amazing energy and tremendous insight. Don't miss a chance to pick it up.

I'd also like to mention one other great memoir of the season: Roger Angell's Let Me Finish is a work of incredible beauty, polish, and true maturity. Angell, the great "New Yorker" writer, recounts his childhood in thirties Manhattan; the relationship of his mother, a longtime "New Yorker" editor, and his stepfather, the great E. B. White; his stateside service during World War II; and his many enthusiasms, including a childhood infatuation with reptiles(!), movies, and of course his great love, baseball. It's currently a Buyer's Choice, at 20% off.

These two memoirs (along with Francine du Plessix Gray's "Them" which is due out in paperback in a few short weeks and about which I will rave then) have done much to restore my faith in the genre. I can recommend them without hesitation. Stop by and look them over!

See you in the stores,

Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer