Here are some of the authors we’ve lost:

William Tuohy, 83
He was a former Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent who covered the Vietnam War and who wrote three well-known books: DANGEROUS COMPANY (1987), detailing his time as a war correspondent; THE BRAVEST MAN: The Story of Richard O’Kane and U.S. Submariners in the Pacific War (2001); and “AMERICA’S FIGHTING ADMIRALS: Winning the War at Sea in World War II” (2007). Tuohy died Dec. 31 after open-heart surgery at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif.

Dick Zunt, 78
Cleveland’s Plain Dealer sports writer who covered the city’s high school teams for more than 50 years, died on Jan 2nd.

Margery Beddow, 72
Broadway dancer, choreographer, director and author of BOB FOSSE’S BROADWAY, also passed away Jan 2nd.

Stephen Huneck, 60
A Vermont man whose love of dogs inspired his art and books (SALLY GOES TO THE BEACH, MY DOG”S BRAIN) and the building of a unique dog chapel,  died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Jan 7th. He had been suffering from depression for quite some time before taking his own life.

William J. Lederer, 97
Co-author of THE UGLY AMERICAN, the fiction book that brought to light some of the US foreign service’s unsavory practices and associations in Southeast Asia and which was to serve as a warning about the coming loss of US influence in the area, passed away on Dec 5th, but it wasn’t made public until a month later while funeral arrangements were being made.  A former Naval line officer in World War II, he’s to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Feb 16th.

George B. Leonard, 86
An editor and writer for Look magazine and an advocate for counterculture and the “human potential movement”, over the years he wrote a dozen books, including “The Transformation: A Guide to the Inevitable Changes in Humankind” (1972), “The Silent Pulse: A Search for the Perfect Rhythm That Exists in Each of Us” (1978), “The End of Sex: Erotic Love After the Sexual Revolution” (1983), “Walking on the Edge of the World” (1988) and “The Ultimate Athlete” (2001).  He passed away on Jan 6th.

Georges Anglade, 65
Canadian geographer and author, he and his wife Mireille, also 65, were killed in the Port-Au-Prince earthquake on Jan. 12.  Born in Haiti, Anglade had moved to France during the reign of dictator “Papa Doc” Duvalier, getting a degree in geography.  He then moved to Canada in the late ’60s, teaching geography at l’Université du Québec à Montréal, a school he helped found. During the 1990s, he turned to writing French-language books:  ”Les Blancs de Mémoire” (Memory Blanks), “Leurs jupons dépassent” (Their Slips are Showing), “Ce pays qui m’habite” (This Country that Lives Inside Me) and “Et si Haïti déclarait la guerre aux USA?” (And What if Haiti Declared War on the USA)

Erich Segal, 72
Best known for the tearjerker LOVE STORY, Segal died of a heart attack on Jan 17th.  He had suffered with Parkinson’s disease for more than 2 decades.  Unlike most bestselling books, LOVE STORY was actually a novelization of an uproduced screenplay by Segal rather than starting life as an original manuscript. The book was critically panned when it came out, and even the National Book Award jury threatened to walk out if the book wasn’t taken out of contention for that year’s award. (It was removed to their delight, but the publisher had the last laugh as the book spent a year on the hardcover bestseller lists…)  The screenplay was finally produced about then, and the movie became a blockbuster.

Robert B. Parker, 77
A writer who “died in the saddle” (he had a heart attack at his writing desk on Jan. 18), Parker was the profilic author of the Spenser murder mystery series, writing 37 books in that set alone. Spenser (no first name), a wise-cracking, street-smart and surprisingly literate Boston P.I. became extremely popular, propelling Parker onto the bestselling lists over and over, and spawning a TV series based on him. Another of his series characters, Jesse Stone, also became the basis for another TV series.

Paul Quarrington, 56
Award-winning author of WHALE MUSIC, a book loosely based on Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson’s life which was made into a movie, Quarrington passed away from lung cancer on Jan 21.  His memoir, Cigar Box Banjo, is due out in May.  He was also a screenwriter, helping to pen the TV series DUE SOUTH.

Dave Berry, 66
He wrote the reference work WALES AND CINEMA – The First Hundred Years and was a former critic and correspondent with the South Wales Echo. Mr. Berry had been ill for some time before he passed away on Jan 23rd.

Howard Zinn, 87
Author of the book “A People’s History of the United States”, which started out with a small printing (5000)  back in 1980 and almost no interest and then grew into a million-copy selling monster, died from a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, on Jan 27th. His book took a very “left-wing” approach to history, taking “established” views of the past and turning them on their heads.  (Rather than treat historical figures such as Columbus and others as heroic explorers, he instead charged them with genocide.)  While many complained his books weren’t accurate or very thorough, he himself said his book wasn’t intended as the be-all and end-all of history books, but rather a starting place to discuss what really happened, a book to get people talking and creating change.

Louis Auchincloss, 92
A Manhattan lawyer, novelist, essayist, biographer and editor who wrote about the decline of the old WASP world of power and privilege (a world he was intimately familiar with), died Jan. 26 at Lenox Hill Hospital from complications from a stroke.  He was best known for books like THE RECTOR OF JUSTIN and THE EMBEZZLER, both written in the 1960s.  He also wrote POWER OF ATTORNEYS, a collection of short stories, all of which take place in a Manhattan law firm.

J. D. Salinger, 91
If you aren’t familiar with CATCHER IN THE RYE, you may be one of the only people in the world who’s never heard of it. Salinger’s book to date has sold over 60 million copies, and even though it was written in the early ’50s, it still resonates with readers today.  A reclusive writer, Salinger originally started out writing short fiction for magazines, especially the New Yorker.  However, after CATCHER became a mega-hit, Salinger developed an intense dislike for the publishing industry and stopped giving interviews or promoting his books.  That didn’t stop his later works from becoming bestsellers in their own rights, including FRANNY AND ZOOEY.  However, none ever reached the level of popularity of CATCHER. (And now that Salinger has passed away and can no longer object/sue as he was wont to due, word has it that it may finally be made into a movie.)

Ralph McInerny, 80
A professor at the University of Notre Dame, McInerny wrote more than 80 books, the most well-known and popular being his Father Dowling books about a priest who solved murder mysteries. They also became the basis for a well-liked TV series that aired from 1989-1991. He died Jan. 29 of esophageal cancer.

Tomas Eloy Martinez, 75
Martinez’s SANTA EVITA, THE FLIGHT OF THE QUEEN and THE PERON NOVEL mixed fiction and reality about Argentina during and after the rule of Juan and Eva Peron, the fascinating and fearsome couple who dominated the nation’s politics in the 1950s. His books struck such a nerve with the public that Isabel Peron, 2nd wife and widow of Juan, had Martinez exiled from Argentina during the ’70s. He later returned to Argentina and was living in Buenos Aires when he passed away from cancer on Jan 31.

(R.I.P. to them all and any I missed mentioning…)

According to reports in Variety, Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) has been chosen to pen the 3rd movie.  Also, so far, Ron Howard, director of the first two, is currently only attached as a producer, and Tom Hanks hasn’t signed up to repeat his role as Langdon, but it’s hoped that the duo will continue the successful relationship that helped turn the 1st two movies into box office magic.   Hanks himself has said about doing a third movie, “I’d love to if they’re going to do it. I’m not going to walk away from that. If they make it again, I hope they ask me.”

ANGELS & DEMONS did not due as well as THE DA VINCI CODE at the box office.  However, THE LOST SYMBOL was the fastest selling adult fiction book in history (selling 1 million copies on its first day of release back in Sept 2009) so it’s no doubt hoped by Columbia that the new movie will kick the franchise’s revenue back up a notch or two. The new book (and film) take Langdon this time to Washington DC and up against Freemason mythos.  The movie has an anticipated release date of 2012.

The paintings being sold by his estate include Femme et Fillettes by Pablo Picasso, Studio Painting (Combine) by Robert Rauschenberg, and Girl in Water by Roy Lichtenstein. Also being displayed for the first time in public in about 2 decades will be a Flag painting created in encaustic by Jasper Johns sometime in the early ’60s, a work that was originally critically panned, including by critic Robert Rosenblum, who wondered if it was ”disrepectful” and “simple-minded” among other things, but which became a pop-art icon, paving the way for such artists as Warhol and Lichtenstein.  The poor reviews didn’t stop  Crichton from falling in love with it, though, and he bought directly from the artist.

Crichton had said at one time  ”the act of painting a flag at this time  seemed to many observers an absurdity: an American flag might be many things, but it was certainly not art. Yet Johns presented a carefully worked, elegantly executed painting.”   He enjoyed Johns’ work so much, he wrote the catalog for Johns’ 1977 exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York – it gave him the opportunity to pick the reclusive Johns’ brain regarding art and his contributions to it. (Crichton wasn’t the only one who loves Johns’ work:  to date, the record for a privately bought Johns painting is approx $80 million for False Start while a Johns painting  was auctioned off for a record $17.4 million.)

The Crichton paintings will be on display in the UK through February 12th and then will be auctioned off by Christie’s New York May 11th with proceeds benefiting his estate.

In 2006, Crichton became a member of the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In November 2008, he passed away from cancer suddenly at the age of 66.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now. • Turn to page 56. • Find the fifth sentence. • Post that sentence AS YOUR STATUS. AND POST these instructions in a comment to this status. • Don’t dig for your favourite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST book!

My quote turned out to be:

“To reach a desired goal, a person must implement planning along with a sincere desire to work hard.”

(The book closest to me at that moment just happened to be Delmar’s Comprehensive Medical Assisting Administrative and Clinical Comptencies 2nd Edition – say THAT fast 3 times in a row! LOL)

Nothing I like better than combining 2 things I love: books and games. Try it yourself. It’s fun and sometimes amazing, sometimes pretty darn funny and on occasion, pretty dang weird!

This new book includes three stories: THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER, a coming of age tale; BROWN DOG REDUX, a story of the continuing adventures of Brown Dog, a part Native American character from an earlier book; and THE GAMES OF NIGHT, a werewolf tale.

As Harrison’s writing has matured, it has moved more and more towards poetry, his preferred method of storytelling, and away from pure fiction, and this book is no different. In fact, if you’re not used to his style of writing, you may find this book a little hard to read.  It may be better to actually go back and find his earlier works, and read those first,  ”easing” yourself into his current style.

Looking to get a copy of your book signed or want to meet the author of your favorite novel? From celebrities to regular writers, many will be out and about in January.

Here are just a few of the book signings coming up this month in some of the major cities across the U.S.:

Now, in 2010, Google has come out with a phone called the Nexus One based on their Android OS-software / technology.  Philip K. Dick’s family feels that hits a little too close to home, so they’ve filed suit against Google for infringement of intellectual property.

According to a letter Isa Dick-Hackett, Philip K. Dick’s daughter, sent to Google regarding their use of those names for their products, she said, “Google takes first and then deals with the fallout later. In my mind, there is a very obvious connection to my father’s novel. People don’t get it. It’s the principle of it. It would be nice to have a dialogue. We are open to it. That’s a way to start.”

It’s not the first time Dick’s family has sued Google. When Google began scanning books into their online database, many writers and their heirs tried to stop Google or at least negotiate better rights.  Google ended up settling the case by setting up a fund for the copyright holders, and they also agreed to set up a Book Rights Registry to distribute the revenue.

(Of course, it’s kind of ironic when you consider that the name of the movie, BLADE RUNNER, originally belonged to Alan E. Nourse’s book from 1974. Supposedly, writer Hampton Fancher, who was doing the screenplay for the Dick story, had seen a screenplay story treatment for Nourse’s book, and liked the name, so suggested they use that instead of DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP. Ridley Scott ending up paying out extra to be able to get the rights to the new name. Now if Nourse’s heirs ever do manage to sell their screenplay based on THE BLADERUNNER which has been around since the 70s, they’ll have to get a new name for it.  Kind of ironic, indeed…)

For a long time, I’ve been trying to find software that would let me catalog my books AND help me to sell them.  I finally found one that does pretty much everything I need and for under $50:  Book Collector by Collectorz.com.

It allows me to just type in the ISBN of the book (either the 10 digit or 13 digit version), and it checks multiple sources to bring in the information on the book, such as title,  author, number of pages, publisher, year published, plot and much much more. It even brings in a photo of the cover(s) if available.  It also then allows me to override any of the fields, which is a good thing, as publishers have a habit of reusing some ISBNs, causing the information on some older books to come up wrong, including covers/dust jackets which can change frequently. You can also add some of your own custom fields if needed to cover anything they hadn’t already thought of.

The software then allows me to export my “collection” completely or 1 book at a time to HTML, helping me create quick and easy code for a website or my eBay listings.  If you’re handy with XML/HTML, you can even tweak the templates or create ones from scratch to change the output into whatever layout you need. (Check out my eBay store for some examples of listings where I’ve used the software to create the ads: Books-For-All-Reasons)

If you need something to help you catalog your own book collection, whether for your own personal enjoyment or because you also sell your books, I recommend you check out Book Collector.  They offer a free trial version to help you decide: Automatically Catalog Your Book Collection. Free Trial.

And if you’re an avid collector of other things, such as comic books, DVDs, video games and more, why not test drive their other software for free?:

Automatically Catalog Your CD Collection. Free Trial.

Automatic DVD Database Software. Free Trial.

Automatic Comic Database Software. Free Trial.

Automatically Catalog Your Video Game Collection. Free Trial.

Now the movie based on the book hits theaters Jan 15th. It stars Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, Amanda Michalka,   Stanley Tucci,  Michael Imperioli and Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, the narrator of the tale.  (Ronan was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in ATONEMENT.)

The original book, THE LOVELY BONES, draws some of its inspiration from Sebold’s own life: brutally attacked and raped while in college in the 1980s, she was told by police that she had been “lucky” to survive as a previous victim had perished. (“Lucky” became the title of her first book, a memoir of the attack .)  Just a few months after she was attacked, she recognized her attacker still stalking the Syracuse University area and was able to testify against him, putting him in prison.  She managed to complete her degree (after taking a few months off ), then went into graduate work and spent the next 15 years or so waitressing, studying writing and trying to write her story.

Sebold originally tried turning her experiences into poetry, then novels, finally getting published in 1999 with LUCKY. THE LOVELY BONES was published in 2002, winning the Bram Stoker award for best first novel. (LUCKY was non-fiction.)

And now 8 years later, THE LOVELY BONES finally hits the big screen.

Check out the movie trailer: