Book buying tips from Publishers Lunch

I enjoy Publishers Lunch daily coverage and am sharing the Publishers Lunch compiled list of Top 10 books from 2011.  If you use these sort of lists for buying tips, this compiles from a number great sources.  I know these list work on me (for music too).  I will added comments where I could.

The Best of the Best of 2011, So Far, Updated

With more lists rolling in--the WSJ, People and Entertainment Weekly among them--the consensus best of the best of 2011 list is acquiring real shape and clarity. As always happens, both the fiction and nonfiction lists have neatly produced two clear groups of top 10 picks.

Continuing the pattern from the beginning of this year's voting, the top novels are acquiring far more votes, with fiction claiming 7 of the top 8 slots overall. Tea Obreht's THE TIGER'S WIFE remains the runaway pick for book of the year.

We're still waiting on lists from a few major sources, including USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, so as usual, we won't declare our final list--with a complete list of sources, editors and agents, and other observations of interest--for another week or two. But to help with holiday sales and promotion, here's how the lists stand, based on 35 sources so far:
Top 10 Fiction
1. The Tiger's Wife, Tea Obreht (16)
2. 1Q84, Haruki Murakami (11)
    The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides - Brien McDonald LOVED this book. 
4. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett (10)
    The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach - It was on my previous list of recommended titles.
6. The Sisters Brothers, Patrick DeWitt (8)
    The Tragedy of Arthur, Arthur Phillips
8. The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes (7)
    Open City, Teju Cole
    The Stranger's Child, Alan Hollinghurst

The Next Contenders
    The Cat's Table, Michael Ondaatje
    The Submission, Amy Waldman - this is on my list for 2012
    The Pale King, David Foster Wallace
    The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

Top 10 Nonfiction
1. In The Garden Of Beasts, Erik Larson (9)
2. Blood, Bones & Butter, Gabrielle Hamilton (7)
    Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson - another on my list for 2012, but it is a tome (which slows me down)
4. Blue Nights, Joan Didion (6)
    The Swerve, Stephen Greenblatt
    Bossypants, Tina Fey - my wife loved this book and tore through it pretty quick
7. Townie, Andre Dubus III (5) - I love anything Andre Dubus writes
     Karl Marlantes, What It Is Like to Go to War
     Boomerang, Michael Lewis
     Lost in Shangri-La, Mitchell Zuckoff - this was great, but after Unbroken - seemed light.

The Next Contenders
Destiny of the Republic, Candice Millard
Catherine the Great, Robert K. Massie
The Greater Journey, David McCullough
Moonwalking with Einstein, Joshua Foer
Malcolm X, Manning Marable

Help Wanted on BEA

I was extremely hesitant to blog a job posting here on the BEAN, then I thought about it and said - what the heck, why not - it is probably the best place to find the right person.  BEA is looking for a Community & Conference Coordinator - it is a part time position based in our Norwalk, CT offices - 20 hours/week.  This position will oversee BEA's social media presence and direct the strategy for each platform  BEA has a presence on.  This position will also program the conference sessions for the Book Bloggers Convention.   The expectation for the person coming into this position is you will know more about social media than we currently do on BEA.  We are okay, but I feel we leave a lot of opportunities on the table because we don't have a dedicated focus.  We want this person to develop the strategy for how BEA engages and intergrates all the various platforms we use and identify the ones we should be using.

You can e-mail me a cover letter and a resume which I will forward to my Human Resources dept.  We prefer to have a phone interview first to make sure we are as much a fit for your goals as you are a fit for the position.  It is a test to see if you can find my e-mail on the BEA site, the odds are if that is too much of a challenge - then this might not be the right job for you.

BEA's Miss Julie Book Buying Guide

I have a link below to BEA's Official Librarian Blogger, Miss Julie - she did an awesome job with some book suggestions for the Holiday's.  I thought I would add a few of my own while I am covering the subject:

Unbroken By Laura Hillenbrand - A true and breathtaking story of survival of a WWII Army Lieutenant Louis Zamperini.  The pages will fly as you live through this unimaginable tale of survival.

Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - This told through the eyes of Enzo, a dog who lives and loves the way we all should, this was a wonderful, wonderful book.

The Art of Fielding by, Chad Harbach - If you have anyone that enjoys Franzen (The Corrections or Freedom) - this would be something they will love.  It was just a bit long, but had such a great finish that I didn't mind as much as when I was slogging through some of the middle part of the book.  

I know I am not exactly breaking any new literary ground, but I did love all these books and would highly recommend them as wonderful gifts. 

Miss Julie's Holiday Book Gift Buying Guide