Spotlight

Reviews That Should Weigh with Librarians

Members who had books reviewed in recent issues of Library Journal include:

Demos Medical, for its fifth edition of Multiple Sclerosis: The Questions You Have, the Answers You Need, edited by Rosalind C. Kalb, described as “a most worthwhile resource for people with MS, their families and caregivers, and the medical and other support staff who work with them.”

Quayside, for Road Hogs: Detroit’s Big, Beautiful Luxury Performance Cars of the 1960s and 1970s by Eric Peters, described as “a guaranteed conversation starter among baby boomers, especially those who learned how to parallel park in one of these mile-long cruisers.”

Berrett-Koehler, for its “instant book,” This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, edited by Sarah van Gelder (see the February Independent for the backstory). LJ writes, “A fine record of the OWS autumn, especially for those seeking clarity on its aims. As a primary source it will have long-term value in all libraries.”

Getty Publications, for its Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs by Weston Naef and Christine Hult-Lewis, which LJ praised as “a monumental achievement in the pictorial historiography of 19th-century America, loaded with new images and data,” and “an indispensable resource for students of photography and U.S. history.”

This title was also reviewed by The New Republic, which called it an “extraordinary volume” and concluded, “Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs is among the most important books ever devoted to the history of photography.”

In its review, London’s Guardian emphasized the importance of Watkins’s photos in the establishment of Yosemite as a national park.

Applause for L.A. Art

Another title from Getty Publications,Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles Art 1945–1980, has also received significant media attention. Edited by Rebecca Peabody, Andrew Perchuk, Glenn Phillips, Rani Singh, and Lucy Bradnock, it was praised by the Los Angeles Times, which wrote, “Consider it the missing general textbook on the rise, fall and transformation of post–World War II art produced in Los Angeles,” and Library Journal, which commented, “It is, to date, the most comprehensive effort to document L.A.’s emergence as a major locus of important art creation and presents an irresistibly rich panorama.” In the United Kingdom, it is being sold by Tate Publishing, an affiliate of the Tate galleries.

Helping Kids Manage Money Around the World

Fintelligence Publishing, which launched the 20-volume Finance4Kidz series in 2009, has sold foreign rights to several publishers, so that the books are now available in Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish, French, Japanese, Arabic, German, Korean, and Russian.

Written by finance professor Prakash Dheeriya and intended for children in elementary and middle school, the series includes such titles as Wants and Needs, Spending, Saving and Sharing Money, Consumption and Production, and Budgeting.

Awwww!

Gibbs Smith author Bart King was recently on AM Northwest, a Portland, OR, television talk show, to publicize his new book, Cute! A Guide to All Things Adorable. For five minutes he regaled the program hosts and the audience by describing what makes us consider something or someone cute: for example, “young,” “sleeping,” and “cuddly.” (Which is why most of us respond positively to babies, kittens, and puppies, he pointed out.)

Members Partnering on Memoirs

Maggie Mei Lewis, who was 13 when she wrote the children’s book Moonlight Memoirs: Remembering That Family and Friends Are Forever, was recently interviewed on Express Yourself! Teen Radio, a new Internet program developed by IBPA member Cynthia Brian. Maggie Mei’s book was published by her parents, founders of IBPA member Good Times Press.

Branching Out with a Bookstore

Ocean Publishing is making waves—into the bookstore business. This month, Florida publisher Frank Gromling expects to open a specialty retail outlet, with New York Times bestsellers and nature, marine, and environmental books complementing Ocean Publishing’s 25 titles. He’s using the storefront space in his existing offices that had previously been an environmental visitor center. Besides creating a new retail business in Flagler Beach, Gromling continues to work with local business-development groups such as Flagler Beach First, a “shop local” campaign. The Daytona Beach News-Journal recently quoted Joseph Pozzuoli, chairman of the Flagler Beach Chamber of Commerce, describing Gromling as “a go-getter, a proactive businessman” who “doesn’t wait for things to happen.”

Remembering Richard Harris

Services were held in January in Santa Fe, NM, for Richard Harris, 64, a founding member, past president, and longtime board member of the New Mexico Book Association. A colleague of IBPA’s late executive director, Jan Nathan, he had written more than 30 books and was involved in the editing or production of hundreds more. He co-wrote the screenplay for Water Walk, a feature film to be released next month.

Spotlight is compiled by Linda Carlson (lindacarlson.com). She welcomes members’ news of unusual special sales, licensing deals, significant media coups, and other achievements at linda@ibpa-online.org. Remember to submit news items promptly. The focus of this column is as much about how you accomplish something as what you accomplish, so details and specific how-to’s are important. Please submit your information in the text of your email, and remember to include:

• your name and title

• the name of your press as it is listed in the IBPA directory

• your email address

• URLs for the archived edition of any media stories you’re telling us about

To ensure that you receive Linda’s emails, please check that her address has been added to the approved sender list in your email program—and that you have an updated email address on file with the IBPA office, ibpa-online.org. Since information for Spotlight is needed more than six weeks in advance of the Independent’s issue date, news that you submit by March 5 can be considered for the May and later issues. News that is time-sensitive and misses the Spotlight deadline—awards, events, upcoming television and radio appearances, and co-opportunities—should be directed to Lisa Krebs in the IBPA office at lisa@ibpa-online.org for possible inclusion in the IBPA e-newsletter Independent Publishing Now.