The New Book Review

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Showing posts with label Random House Publishing Group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random House Publishing Group. Show all posts

Monday, June 23, 2008

Rebecca Jones Lauds Doreen Orion's Travel Tale

Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus With a Will of Its Own
By Doreen Orion
Humorous Travel Memoir
ISBN 0767928539.
Broadway Books, $13.95

Reviewed by Rebecca Jones for the Rocky Mountain News "Grade A."
Published June 5, 2008.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/05/queen-of-the-road-the-true-tale-of-47-states-200/

Book in a nutshell: When Boulder psychiatrist Orion's husband, Tim, proposes they take a year off to travel around the country in a converted bus, Orion - a "princess from the island of Long" with a deep-seated aversion to anything strenuous and a profound appreciation for shoes and exotic drinks - is appalled. Reluctantly, she agrees.

Their year on the road proves a wonder, taking them from fall in New England to Christmas in Key West to Mardi Gras in New Orleans to summer in the wilds of Alaska. Orion never quite conquers her fear of bus crashes - or bus fires or various other bus misadventures - but along the way she learns that living with only what you can cram into 345 square feet of living space has its advantages.

Best tidbit: "We went to Memphis specifically to see Graceland, something we'd both always wanted to do. We're not the only ones; it's the second most visited residence in the U.S. (The White House is Number One.) The fourteen-acre, 17,000-square-foot estate turned out to be a colossal disappointment. I thought it would be far more grand. Maybe it's just that, as a museum left exactly as it had been when the King died, it can't help being a fashion victim of the '70s. But really. One of the richest men in the country, a cultural icon no less, and he had Formica countertops?"

Pros: Orion has every good travel writer's ability to make readers feel they are there, to capture the telling details of places, and to present the account in a witty, accessible way. Reading the book makes you want to hit the road and have some of your own grand adventures.

Cons: Alas, for most readers, taking a year off to travel - let alone a year well before they're of retirement age - simply isn't feasible. But we can dream . . .

Final word: This is a fun read that will make just about anyone start itching for a road trip.

Doreen Orion
We didn't just dream of the road...
www.QueenOfTheRoadTheBook.com
www.QueenOfTheRoadTheBook.com/blog

QUEEN OF THE ROAD: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus With a Will of Its Own is available now from Broadway Books, an imprint of Random House.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Zogby Poll on Why Readers Read, Book Buyers Buy

This is really a media release rather than a review but it seemed pertinent to a review site -- important information for both authors and readers alike -- so I thought I would include it.



COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF BOOK BUYERS AND READERS TO BE RELEASED BY RENOWNED POLLSTER

JOHN ZOGBY ON FRIDAY, MAY 30 AT

BOOK EXPO AMERICA IN LOS ANGELES



May 19, 2008 New York, NY: John Zogby, one of the leading voices in the public opinion research industry, and his firm Zogby International have partnered with The Random House Publishing Group to design and conduct an extensive nationwide interactive poll of book buyers to determine how, why and where they purchase and read books. The just-completed survey, which drew 8200 responses, provides an in-depth picture of Americans’ reading and book-buying habits—from the influence of book reviews and recommendations, to details on how they browse for books, both in store and online.

In his presentation at BEA (details below), Zogby will put the findings of his survey into context and provide marketing information that booksellers and publishers can use to connect with the changing American consumer.

“This survey provides an unprecedented look at where people purchase books and how they make their decisions about what books to buy”, comments Zogby. “The findings also highlight the similarities – and differences – between men and women, young and old, and across the income spectrum to capture the latest opinions of today’s consumers on an extensive range of book-related topics. It will no doubt prove an invaluable tool for anyone looking to get a good read on the American book-buying public.”

Zogby is the author of a new book, The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream, which Random House will publish on August 12. In it he identifies a new American consensus arising from the collapse of trust in our leaders and leading institutions. Basing his analysis on thousands of polls conducted by his organization, he sees four main trends that affect how Americans buy and vote: learning to live with limits, embracing diversity, rejecting materialism, and demanding authenticity.

Zogby’s presentation , “The New American Character,” is scheduled from 10-11 a.m. on Friday, May 30 in Room 406A at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Carol Schneider
V.P., Executive Director, Publicity & Public Relations
The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway 17-4
New York, NY 10019
212/572-2245
cschneider@randomhouse.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coaliition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love--and that includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews and reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page.