That's my Mini Cooper over there, getting ready to zip off to my next adventure. Mr. Bethanne gave me the "BK MAVEN" license plates for my birthday a couple of years ago, so the Mini Mavens ride in a...Maven's Mini. (Groan. I couldn't resist...)

After 18 months as a blogger for Publishers Weekly, I am taking on a new and different challenge. I'll be moderating Barnes & Noble.com's wonderful Center Stage Book Club, starting next week with author Gregory Maguire. Since intervie...Read More

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I've been making regular appearances on NY1 on behalf of Publishers Weekly to talk about books (and I'll continue to do that; you'll hear more about my new endeavors in another post today), and I thought I'd share my latest clip with you. In it, I'm discussing some choices for the under-12 set; this weekend, you'll be able to watch my second segment about books for teens. 

I hope you'll watch, but here are the five books I featured:

...Read More

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Thanks to all who sent in their favorite fictional literary works. S. Krishna, Terri, writeloudly, Meg Waite Clayton (of course your own book counts!), and Christine -- please send me your snailmail addies and I'll send you your grab-bags! Here's my email addy: thebookmaven at gmail dot com.

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I am about to buy my Stalwart Speller ticket for the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses annual Spelling Bee on November 3rd (yes, THAT Nov. 3rd -- the night before the election. I've already voted by absentee ballot in Virginia, so I can leave my state knowing I've fulfilled my civic duty). More deets in the link, and below -- but now, let me tell you why I'm going to kick some serious keister in this contest. Watch out, Meg Wolitzer, Heidi Julavits, and yes, you, my beloved editor in chief Sara Nelson: I am not to be messed with when it comes to...Read More

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Just when I think there's nothing to blog about, I find something new that leads me down a delightful rabbit hole. Via ArtsJournal I came upon this Guardian Books Blog post about the best books that never existed. As is usual when I read The Guardian's Books Blog, I find the comments to be more interesting than the actual posts -- and one commenter contributed a link to The Invisible Library, a blog that collects fictional works of fiction.

Would...Read More

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When I was down in Charlottesville a few weeks back, I spent a happy evening at Vinegar Hill Theatre with my friend B. watching "Tell No One/Ne Le Dis a Personne," the French adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel. Director Guillaume Canet has taken a taut thriller and not only made it well, but made it European. It was such a pleasure to see women who looked beautiful and glamorous who were also aging naturally.

But I digress. My question for today, considering how much everyone ou...Read More

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It's been over a month since I last asked, and I'm even more eager to know what you're reading than usual, since I'm up to my eyeballs in medieval history for my latest book project. (I plan to take a break sometime soon for the new Sharon Kay Penman, Devil's Brood, the conclusion of her trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.)

So please share! I need to live -- and read -- vicariously.

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Tina Brown is back with The Daily Beast, a website that she says is "a speedy, smart edit of the web from the merciless point of view of what interests the editors." 

Essentially, it's what my younger Mini Maven has been learning in fifth-grade language arts as "idea mapping" combined with hotlinks and images. I took a look because this week's "Big Fat Story" is about the Nobel Prize laureate for Literature, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio (forgive the lack of accent aigue; this blogging tool isn't the nimblest). 

What I found was a sort of AOL Welcome Screen for the media set: links out to stories around the web that might interest a specific demographic -- even complete with links to ads and commerce opportunities, whic...Read More

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Like many avid readers, I sometimes daydream about what my perfect home library would look like: Here, the inscribed first editions; here, my cherished childhood books. But yesterday via Gawker I saw photos of a home library so awesome that it actually gave me nightdreams about putting together my perfect library. Instead of Manderley, last night I dreamt I was walking through a house in which bookshelves were the main feature of every room, and each shelf or case was filled with my favo...Read More

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I'm in the middle of a project that requires a lot of reading. I love the subject, but it's getting in the way of all of my other reading. Grrrr. When will I get to the new Haneif Kureishi? The Dennis Lehane? What about the Twelve galley I just received that looks really good? 

It's making me downright cranky. 

My recourse will be to carve out some reading time this weekend so that I can pick up the Lehane. That should at least return my temper to its sweet, even self (I can hear Mr. Bethanne laughing already). 

What about you? Do you get cranky when your reading time is limited? What do you do to get back to good?

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Yes, folks, it's time again for that seat-of-your-pants contest, Page-Burner! Regular contestants know that I can be a bit (OK, a lot) slow sending out the prizes, but I do send them out...so let the guesses begin! The first correct guess wins a grab-bag of five new and unread hardcovers; I'll post later today to let the winner know that he or she needs to send me an email with his or her snailmail addy.

Which book is currently keeping me up too late? Is it:

-- Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello, an incredibly readable history ? 

OR

-- Allison Winn Scotch's Time of My Life, released today and already...Read More

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You can be forgiven if you didn't notice the following news from Little, Brown:

...Read More

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