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« November 2006 | Main | January 2007 »

December 22, 2006

happy holidays from your burger-flippers

Cm078 Hey all...it's been an absolutely awesome 06 for us...and now we're getting ready to shut the ol' laptop, kick-back burgerstyle, and enjoy the holidays. A couple of newsy notes:

1.Congratulations to all the winners of our "New Books for the New Year" giveaway--Megan, Kathleen, Coree, Tiffany, Bethany and Meredith. These lucky members of the burger b-list have scored free books just by emailing us. Sorry if you didn't win this round, but we'll be doing another one of these super-easy, super-fast giveaways just after New Year's, so come on back, babes!

2. We've got cool burger pop quizzes on tap from Cecil Castellucci, Liane Bonin, and more fab authors, both well-known names and insider's faves....plus more 10-sec lit crits, more Covergirl visits, and oh tons of other great stuff.

3. We love you all! Thanks for all your kind words and support this year. Happy hols and we'll see you on the flip side...

December 21, 2006

no more Pants!


Booknewsforeverinblue150 The fourth and final book in the Traveling Pants series is coming on January 9th...and man, those pants have been around--6 million copies of the first three books have been sold around the world. Publisher's Weekly reveals how author Ann Brashares got her inspiration for the novels:

The idea for the series sprung out of a conversation Brashares, then working at 17th Street Productions (the Manhattan book packager behind such hit series as Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley books), had with a colleague. "She mentioned that she once shared a pair of jeans with friends," recalls the author, "and that really struck me as a wonderful launching point for a story.

Wow! We hope she bought that colleague a really nice lunch! So anyhow, you Brashares fans can start your year off with some brand new Pants.

December 19, 2006

alyson noel...between the buns

Fly_me_to_the_moon_1 "Sex and the City at 37,000 feet" is what Publisher's Weekly calls Alyson Noel's Fly Me to the Moon. Sure, it's ultra-light reading--but, if you ask us (and we think Beatrice's Ron Hogan would agree) this world can never have enough stories of flight attendants in love.  Alyson, who also penned this year's YA novel Laguna Cove, and last year's Art Geeks and Prom Queens, hopes to reach an older audience with this latest, due out on the day after Christmas. She's a busy jetsetter, and we're thrilled she touched down at Bookburger to take our little pop quiz...

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

I LOVED Joseph Weisberg’s 10th Grade- so funny, poignant, and wonderful!   Also, Laura Moriarty’s The Center of Everything, Lori Jakiela’s Miss New York has Everything, Joy Nicholson’s The Tribes of Palos Verdes, Elisabeth Robinson’s The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters. . . I know there’s like a gazillion more, but that’s all I can think of at the moment!

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

Goaskalice Anything by Judy Blume or Norma Klein could keep me tucked away and quiet for hours!  I read Deenie so many times the cover fell off!  But I kept it all these years- taped on cover and all!  Are you there God?  It’s me, Margaret, was passed to so many friends I eventually lost track of it.  Go Ask Alice was the one we hid from our moms (even though I didn’t really have to since my mom never censored!).  And reading Love is One of the Choices, French Postcards, and Forever made me feel so mature and grown up.  And then of course, Catcher in the Rye--one of the few books they made us read in school that I’ve gone back and read many times since.

Describe your ideal place to write.

At home, in my office, with the door closed, the blinds drawn, the ringer silenced, the TV off, and a full pot of coffee by my side.

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be on the "best of" episode, and one that would be on the blooper reel.

Everyday I Write The Book by Elvis Costello is definitely my theme song.

Oprah My “Best Of” episode features the day when Jon Stewart calls to ask me if I’ll be a guest on The Daily Show, Bono adds me to his e-mail forwarding list, Oprah sends me a text msg telling me I’m her next book club pic, commercial and literary authors stop sniping long enough to hug it out, and all across the planet diseases are cured, the hungry are fed, poverty is erased, rainbows appear, birds chirp, animals frolic, and all are at peace.  That day hasn’t actually happened yet, but I’m waiting. . .

My “Blooper Reel” shows the all too real clip of me, sitting at my desk, at 4:30 in the afternoon, in coffee stained pajamas, still not showered.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

Flightattendant Um, does spending over ten years clad in a head to toe, highly flammable, polyester ensemble, with plastic wings, support hose, little fake pearl earrings, and fugly pumps count?  I traveled the world in that get up, working as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines!  And I wrote a book about it called Fly Me to the Moon.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should
it have?

Ah, that’s so sweet!  Okay, let’s start with organic, free range turkey, a generous dollop of guacamole, a couple slices of melted manchego cheese, two stips of crispy, organic, free range, turkey bacon, a thick slice of tomato, and a whole grain bun.  And if you could pile some fat fries on the side, and throw in an icy cold Arnold Palmer, I’ll be eternally grateful!

Thanks Bookburger!!

December 18, 2006

Freebies can be good for a girl...

Burger interview Tanya Lee Stone has a little holiday gift for her readers. The author of A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl is offering free signed bookplates and bookmarks. All you have to do is email Tanya. Get the details on her site.

December 15, 2006

Authors pick their fave books of 2006

Over at Cynsations, the very cool blog by Cynthia Leititch Smith, a bunch of top YA writers have name their favorite books released this year. It's a wide-ranging list, and, while we're proud that we've covered a lot of them, we're also appalled by how many we missed! We'll put 'em on our Christmas break reading list.  Check out Cyn's post here.

It's the first night of Hanukkah...

so put on your yarmulke, play your harmonica, and have a gin-and-tonic-a (if you're over 21). Here's hoping you have a fabulous festival of lights. If you'd like to celebrate, but you just don't know how, here's how to play dreidel.

Images_3

December 13, 2006

New books for the new year

It's the season of giving...and we're giving alright. We're hip high in 2006 releases here at the burger, and it's time to spread the love. Here's what we'll be shipping out to members of our b-list. That's right--this one's FOR MEMBERS ONLY...just like those fugly men's jackets.

How it works:
1. Pick a title from the list below.
2. Email us at  mail at bookburger.com and tell us which book you'd like
3. First come, first served! If you're the first one to claim that book, it's yours!
4. One rule: please live in the U.S. Otherwise we go broke on the postage...

 

WHA??? You're not a member of the Burger B-List yet? Sign up on the right. It's free and completely unspammy--you'll get our fabulous bulletins every other month or so...and perhaps a free book every now and then....

HERE'S WHAT WE'RE GIVING AWAY:


Do-Over
by Niki Burnham--signed by the author!

Confessions of a Teenage Witch
by Gwinevere Rain--a cool memoir

Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies)--the hardcover

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue--signed by the author!

The Beast of Noor by Janet Lee Carey--ooh, spooky!

It's About Your Husband
by Lauren Lipton--a comedy of errors

Happiness Sold Separately
by Lolly Winston--a grown-up novel about family matters

The Haiku Year
--Michael Stipe and other cool guys write little poems!

December 11, 2006

a very special covergirl report: best and worst of 2006

Hello lovely ones...I often like to open my posts with a joke, but right now Covergirl is feeling all solemn and reflective as 2006 draws to a close. Yet another year spent prowling the bookstores, whipsawing between ecstasy and nausea as I check out the latest jackets, making judgments about books based solely on their looks.

Without further ado (though god knows I do adore ado) I give you my picks for the three greatest and the three gnarliest covers of the year.

BEST ADULT FICTION

Diggingtoamerica_2Digging to America by Anne Tyler--sublime use of color--and so vintage!








WORST ADULT FICTION

081257756601_aa180_sclzzzzzzz_v37850268_ Knife of Dreams: The Wheel of Time Book 11--the title is almost as clunky as the junior-high-school-art-class cover illustration. It's selling like hotcakes, though--i only wish they'd cover that cover with some maple syrup.




BEST YA NOVEL

Newmoon_2
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. It's simply elegant. A little black dress with a lush blossom and a single drop of blood as accessories. What could be better?








WORST YA NOVEL

Maximumride James Patterson's Maximum Ride. Minimum style. 







BEST NON-FICTION
Thefemalebrain_2

The Female Brain by Louanne Brizendine MD. My brain looks EXACTLY like this--so naturally, my brain loves it.









WORST NON-FICTION

Culturewarrior_2
yikes! go away!









So there you have it, burgerfolk. Have a swell holiday...I'll be back in 07, bestowing snap judgments like they were sweet kisses and telling it like it is!

skin-deeply yrs,

covergirl

December 09, 2006

free books for free thinkin burgerpeople

Congrats to Mary Ann! She won our November giveaway--a fresh spankin new hardcover of Dear John by Nicholas (The Notebook) Sparks. Wanna be next? Stay tuned for our big "New Books for the New Year" freebie extravaganza...the announcement's coming this week--but you've gotta be signed up for our B-list to win.

December 06, 2006

alert: lisi harrison just lunched with her agent!

Ok, so you adore The Clique books. Or maybe you groove to The Gossip Girls--or Eragon--or Franz Ferdinand--or Viggo Mortensen (you know we do). You want to keep up on these key cultural figures, so you don't miss a thing they do or a move they make. You go to MyHound.com and sign up for email alerts...they'll send you a note everytime Viggo publishes a new poem, or Cecily von Ziegesar gets her nails done! Really!

Check it out here. We signed up, and we're loving it...(and yes, they are a bookburger "sponsor" but we swear, it's a great thing anyhoo..and totally free.)

December 05, 2006

10-second lit crit: Story of a Girl

Storyofagirl Hannah, our fabtastic 15-year-old YA book reviewer, is here to give her very speedy thoughts on Story of a Girl, a debut novel by Sara Zarr, due out in January:

I couldn't wait to read this book. The cover was just so dang appealing, that I had to dive right in. Deanna Lambert is a nice girl who did something she regrets. And as if high school isn't hard enough, she's known to everyone, including her dad, as the school slut. This tear jerker is for anyone who has done something they regret, which boils down to just about everyone.

Hey, thanks Hannah!

December 04, 2006

color us happy!

Did you hear about the launch of MINX, a new line of graphic novels for teen girls that will be served up next May? The first title's by Cecil Castellucci, author of YA novels Boy Proof and The Queen of Cool. We're totally psyched about this...because we really dig graphic novels but often find they're extremely male-o-centric, you know---just obsessed with the issues of maladjusted boys...and it's about time maladjusted girls had their moment in the sun! (and yes, we know there's lots of manga out there...but a good ol' straight-ahead teen girl version of American Splendor would be SO AWESOME). Go Cecil!...(oh and yeah, we like the name "MINX" too...so saucy!)

December 02, 2006

haiku for the holidays

what could be a more perfect stocking stuffer or more handy for Hanukkah than a little book of haiku written by very cool people? Soft Skull Press has a great little number called The Haiku Year that's full of tiny poetic moments. These poems aren't necessarily sticking to the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, which we can't help feeling is just a little bit cheatin', but they are all very spare and haiku-ish in spirit. They are written by people like Grant Lee Philips (of the band Grant Lee Buffalo) and Michael Stipe (of R.E.M.) Here are a few we liked:

A yolk broke
at my leap year diner breakfast
and I smiled.

the littlest ant in
the world
navigates my page

early morning window blossoms
float by
like ticker tape

Nice, right? Some are kinda racy, so don't get it for your little sister, but for just about anyone else, it's a keeper.

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