Book news: Carlos Fuentes, Gastronomica, L.A. Kings and more

Though the publishing business slows down on Fridays, interesting book news does not.

Guernica has a previously unpublished interview with Carlos Fuentes, who died May 15 at age 83, conducted in 2008. "I am a writer," he says. "I spend all my day sitting before a notebook with a pen in hand, writing and writing and writing and reading and reading and reading. This is my life. From time to time I need a break. Giving lectures, traveling, going to the universities is a way of coming out of the solitude of writing, which I enjoy, I like, but I have to break it from time to time, and it is getting to know new people and young people, without consequences. So, it’s not bad. It’s simply my spring break."

Food and culture journal Gastronomica has relaunched its website. To kick things off with special Web-only content, the magazine asked food writer Ruth Reichl, novelist Francine Prose, writer Elizabeth Graver and poets Ellen Doré Watson and Patty Crane to reflect on a 1936 Walker Evans photograph, "Kitchen Wall, Alabama Farmstead." It's a better-than-average way to connect writing, art and food. Annual subscriptions to the print quarterly are $50.

The Huffington Post is launching a magazine for the tablet called Huffington. "At HuffPost, we now have nearly 500 editors and reporters who produce between 70 and 80 original reported stories each day," Arianna Huffington writes. "Think of Huffington as HuffPost's more stylish offspring. Same DNA, different presentation." The app is free, but individual downloads of the magazine cost 99 cents to $1.99. Huffington notes that the tablet magazine will be "far away from the maddening crowds of banner ads, pop-ups, and drop-downs." What she doesn't say is that's exactly what the Huffington Post website delivers.

Twenty-one books by Patricia Highsmith are available as e-books for the first time, including "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and its sequels. With a catalog that large, publisher W.W. Norton has built the Highsmith recommendation engine, which guides readers to the Highsmith book that's best for them with such questions as, "Would you rather read about a strangulation, a shooting, or would you rather avoid a murder all together?"

Hachette Book Group announced Redhook, a new imprint within its science fiction and fantasy-focused Orbit publishing division. The emphasis will be on "commercial fiction," and the lead title is a historical epic, which is kind of confusing. "I have read the press release about Orbit's new commercial fiction imprint Redhook five times now, and I still have no idea what it's about," tweeted publishing observer Sarah Weinman.

After L.A. Kings' Stanley Cup victory, The Times has published "Crowning Glory: The Los Angeles Kings' Incredible Run" as an 128-page paperback and an e-book.

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Photo: Carlos Fuentes at a 2010 graduation ceremony. Credit: Andres Leighton / Associated Press

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals book cover for 'Total Recall' memoir

Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed the book cover of his upcoming memoir "Total Recall" on Monday morning on Twitter to his 2.4 million followers. His publisher, Simon & Schuster, followed up with an email with details.

The former California governor, movie star and champion bodybuilder is using social media to help complete the book. Last week he asked his followers to suggest stories or anecdotes they would like him to include.

On Monday on Facebook, he asked fans what picture they think should adorn the back cover, eliciting hundreds of responses. I'd have to say the "Terminator" face in the same pose has an appeal.

In addition to Facebook, the former governor has launched a page on Pinterest to gather those photo suggestions. Now that Mr. Universe is on Pinterest, who says it's just for girls? As "Saturday Night Live's" Hans and Franz told us, Schwarzenegger is no girlie man.

Schwarzenegger is working with co-writer Peter Petre, Fortune Magzine's editor and co-author of books by Alan Greenspan and Norman Schwarzkopf. Publisher Simon & Schuster writes:

Chronicling his embodiment of the American Dream, TOTAL RECALL covers Schwarzenegger’s high-stakes journey to the United States, from creating the international bodybuilding industry out of the sands of Venice Beach, to breathing life into cinema’s most iconic characters, and becoming one of the leading political figures of our time. Proud of his accomplishments and honest about his regrets, Schwarzenegger spares nothing in sharing his amazing story.

How much the book might include about his personal life -- in 2011 he was revealed to have fathered a child with a member of his household staff, precipitating a high-profile separation from wife Maria Shriver -- is not clear.

"Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story" will hit shelves worldwide in October 2012.

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Publishers in Boston and N.Y. enter Super Bowl rivalry

To celebrate the Super Bowl face-off between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, two publishers have made a little wager. If the Patriots win, New York-based Other Press will promote two of Boston-based Beacon Press' books for a week, and vice-versa if the Giants take the trophy.

In a press release, Beacon Press wrote, "The classic New York-Boston sports rivalry struck the publishers, both independent presses, as a ripe opportunity to engage in some fun, harmless, book-loving competition." Neither Beacon Press nor Other Press focus on books about sports. Both are independents with scholarly, literary lists. Gender studies, fiction, and the environment? Yes. The gridiron? No.

If there is a history of cross-promotion, this may be the first winner-take-all promotion. "I’m thrilled to be working with our friends at Beacon Press on this promotion," said Terry Aikers, manager of online publicity and social media at Other Press in its competing press release.

The two sides -- I mean publishers -- have adopted the boastful stance of pro sports players. “I think it’s great that Beacon is basically volunteering to do my job for me for a week," Aikers added. "Maybe I’ll take a vacation."

There is also a giveaway connected to the contest. The publisher located in the winning city will give away a selection of books in celebration. Beacon Press writes, "Details of the giveaway will be posted online after the inevitable Pats victory." Confident that that the Giants will win, Other Press is already sending out a link to the publishers' giveaway entry page.

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Photo: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Credit: Elise Amendola / Associated Press

Book news: Phil Jackson, Largehearted Boy, Goodreads ditches Amazon

Former L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson is working on a memoir. Oh, he coached the Chicago Bulls too? Whatever. It's a follow-up to his book "Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior" and will be coauthored by the same writer, Hugh Delehanty. The memoir, about his championship seasons, will be titled "Eleven Rings" and published by Penguin.

Happy 10th birthday to the books and music blog Largehearted Boy, creation of David Gutowski, which celebrated with an event at Brooklyn's Word Bookstore. Electric Literature documented the festivities, and Book Bouroughing, a new New York literary events website cofounded by Gutowski, got backstage photos.

Do not steal these snapshots of beat poet Allen Ginsberg in his New York apartment in a tux, in red suspenders, and, at a pool with William S. Burroughs, in a bathing suit. But do check them out. (via WFMU)

New York Review of Books Classics brings forgotten books back into print. For the last few years, that's meant bringing them alive as e-books, too. Which is one of the publisher's strongest e-book sellers? Editor Edwin Frank says it's "The Long Ships," by Swedish author Frans T. Bengtsson, first published in the U.S. in 1955. It has an introduction by Michael Chabon.

NBC tells Wired why its e-books will be better than other ebooks: video. The company has lots of it,  knows how to shoot and edit it, and has clear ownership. Now all NBC needs to add is the books part. Right? Right?

Goodreads has stopped using Amazon's data. The site that has most effectively combined social networking and books has decided that the world's biggest online seller is not a good partner for its book listings. "Quality book information — such as titles, authors, publication dates, and cover images — is the life blood of a site dedicated to book discovery and literary discussion. Since its inception, Goodreads has relied on Amazon's public API for much of this information," writes founder Otis Chandler, "and while Amazon data was free, it came with many restrictions. For instance, we couldn't use their information for our mobile apps or link to competing bookstores." If I were a betting woman, I'd wager Goodreads will be rolling out some new local features very soon.

From the Atlantic, a listicle: contemporary authors' favorite books, culled from the 2007 book "The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books."

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Photo: Then-Lakers coach Phil Jackson listens to the national anthem before the start of Game 3 of the 2009 NBA finals in Orlando, Fla. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Take Grisham out to the ballgame

Best-selling author John Grisham will be back on shelves this spring just as players are taking their places around baseball diamonds. On April 10, Grisham will publish "Calico Joe," a novel set in major league baseball in 1973.

On his website, Grisham sets up the premise:

Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen.  The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

One of the most buzzed-about novels of 2011 was another baseball book, Chad Harbach's debut novel "The Art of Fielding." Our reviewer Chris Barton wrote that something about baseball has attracted American authors for decades:

In terms of conjuring a shorthand for a certain American innocence, there are few delivery systems quite so direct as baseball. Touched on by a library's worth of authors including John Updike, Stephen King and Don DeLillo, there's something about the game's deliberate pace, individual focus and enduring simplicity that seems irresistible to novelists.

Grisham's "Calico Joe" will be published by Doubleday. Known for legal thrillers including "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief," he has recently made moves into other territory; in 2009, he published his first short story collection, "Ford County."

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Tim Tebow: Football success equals book sales

Tim Tebow, who led the Denver Broncos to a six-game winning streak that baffled experts, has seen his success on the field migrate to shelves. Tebow, who is 24, published the memoir "Through My Eyes," this spring; like his wins, its late-in-the-game success has come as a surprise.

Fox Sports reports:

His memoir, "Through My Eyes: A Quarterback's Journey," debuted on May 31 and stayed on the best-seller list for 13 weeks. But it returned to the nonfiction hardcover best-seller list three weeks ago and recently snapped to No. 8.

The book had its highest sales last week.

"We have to go back to reprint practically every day," HarperCollins Senior Vice President Lisa Sharkey said. "We didn't anticipate this kind of a season."

That season took a turn Sunday when the Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos, 41-23, ending Tebow's winning streak. But will that take the wind out of his book sales?

If the book itself is any indication, maybe not. It begins with the inspirational dedication "To all those who have been told that they couldn't achieve their dreams" and soon turns to matters of achievement, striving and faith. After opening with a scene where the much-heralded college player Tebow fails to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, it harks back to his beginnings.

"My dad was preaching in a remote village in the Philippines in 1986," Tebow writes. "As 'The Jesus Film' played on a large, homemade screen hanging between two coconut trees, he became heavily burdened by the millions of babies being aborted in America. While weeping over the gigantic loss of human life, my dad began to pray, 'Father, if you want another preacher in this world, you give him to me. You give me Timmy, and I will raise him to be a preacher.'"

And in 1987, Timmy Tebow, future football star, was born. Nathan Whitaker, who co-wrote the book with Tebow, describes the Denver Broncos quarterback as "just one of the guys."

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The (softball) battle of the L.A. indie publishers

Following in the sweaty, possibly uncoordinated footsteps of New York literary journals and booksellers, four independent publishers in Los Angeles will be battling it out on the softball field this Saturday. Fans, readers and people who know something more than they do about sports are invited to attend.

Slake Magazine seems to be the primary organizers of what they're calling the Battle of the Indie Publishers. Also participating will be teams from Red Hen Press, the Los Angeles Review of Books and the literary magazine Black Clock.

I'll be the entirely unqualified umpire.

The three-game tournament is set to begin Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Elysian Valley Recreation Center, 1811 Ripple Street, at noon. Or noon-ish: "The first two teams that have the most players there by noon will play first," Slake explains. Here's some more from Craig Gaines, who is helping to organize the event.

Baseball has long been considered the most literary of sports, and while no one in this contest claims to be the most athletic of literaries, a tournament of this sort is long overdue. Consider this tournament of independent Los Angeles publishers our tribute to writers such as George Plimpton and Jon Krakauer, men of both letters and action. ... Or, seeing as how most of us have spent much more time at keyboards rather than batting cages lately, maybe tribute is too strong a term. But compete we shall.

Writers who promise to play include Seth Greenland, Mark Haskell Smith, Tod Goldberg, Victoria Patterson, Matthew Specktor, and John Albert, who actually knows how to play softball. The event will be over by 4 p.m. -- the games will be cut off after a little more than an hour, if necessary, so the tournament can conclude in a single day. After 4 p.m., expect at least a few of the hardy softball souls to adjourn to the clubhouse. That's what they call the place with the beer, right?

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Photo: A softball player. Credit: Rhys Asplundh via Flickr.

Walter Payton bio riles old friends: Mike Ditka's spitting mad

Mike Ditka is the latest to speak out against "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton." The controversial biography of the Chicago Bears running back, which was previewed this week in Sports Illustrated, will be published Oct. 4. It has come under fire for what its author, Jeff Pearlman says about the football star: He had affairs, abused painkillers, threatened suicide and fathered a child out of wedlock. 

"I'd spit on him. I have no respect for him," Mike Ditka said of author Pearlman. Former Chicago Bears coach Ditka thinks the book, which comes more than a decade after Payton died of cancer at age 45, is ill-timed at best. "If you're going to wait 12 years after somebody's passed, come on," Ditka said. "This is the sign of a gutless individual who would do this. Totally gutless who would hide behind that, and that's what he's done."

Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who was a teammate of Payton's, agrees. "It's unfortunate somebody wrote a book and throws that kind of light on somebody who's not here to defend himself," he said. "I think it's a shame."

Payton's family has responded more moderately. "Walter, like all of us, wasn't perfect," they wrote in a statement signed by his widow, Connie, and family. "The challenges he faced were well known to those of us who loved and lived with him. He was a great father to Jarrett and Brittney and held a special place in the football world and the Chicago community. Recent disclosures -- some true, some untrue -- do not change this. I'm saddened that anyone would attempt to profit from these stories, many told by people with little credibility."

Those people were the sources Pearlman tapped for his book -- he says he conducted 678 interviews during the decade he spent working on the book. "[T]he goal was never to demonize an icon (whose poster once hung on my bedroom wall, and who I still greatly admire), but to understand him," Pearlman wrote in the Chicago Tribune. Pearlman continued, "I discovered a human being whose ultimate uniqueness was not in his transcendent moves on the football field, but in trying to balance -- and, often, cope with -- the multiple personalities that develop via celebrity."

How well Pearlman understands Payton can be previewed in the excerpt of "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton," online now at Sports Illustrated.

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Famous authors on ziplines [video]

Leave it to Conan O'Brien to make famous authors relevant to today's high-octane wild sports-loving kids! The authors in question are indeed famous; they are also all over 70.

Tom Wolfe is known for both his nonfiction -- "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," "The Right Stuff" -- and his fiction, which includes "The Bonfire of the Vanities." He is also known for wearing a white suit. Joyce Carol Oates also writes both fiction and nonfiction; her memoir, "A Widow's Story," came out earlier this year, and an advance copy of her November collection of short stories, "The Corn Maiden" just arrived in the mail today. Maya Angelou is the well-known poet and writer who caused a stir recently when she took the creators of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial to task for abridging a quote that made King, in her words, "look like an arrogant twit."

Tom Wolfe, Joyce Carol Oates and Maya Angelou ziplining -- or not. You decide.

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David Foster Wallace, via the Decemberists [video]

 

David Foster Wallace's 1,104-page novel "Infinite Jest" may not yet be ready for translation to the big screen, but a portion of it inspired the new video for "Calamity Song" by the Decemberists from "The King is Dead."

Lead singer Colin Meloy had just finished reading "Infinite Jest" when he wrote the song, he tells NPR.

The book didn't so much inspire the song itself, but Wallace's irreverent and brilliant humor definitely wound its way into the thing. And I had this funny idea that a good video for the song would be a re-creation of the Enfield Tennis Academy's round of Eschaton — basically, a global thermonuclear crisis re-created on a tennis court — that's played about a third of the way into the book. Thankfully, after having a good many people balk at the idea, I found a kindred spirit in Michael Schur, a man with an even greater enthusiasm for Wallace's work than my own. With much adoration and respect to this seminal, genius book, this is what we've come up with. I can only hope DFW would be proud.

Wallace, as far as I know, never recorded an indie rock album, but Meloy has ventured into the publishing world. He's the author of the 33 1/3 book "Let it Be," a memoir about listening to the Replacements, and is the author of the upcoming middle-grade book "Wildwood," illustrated by his wife, said to be the first in a trilogy.

Maybe the next Decemberists video will include something else inspired by David Foster Wallace's writing: processing tax forms ("The Pale King") or taking a cruise ("A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again").

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