LOST IN TRANSLATION inspires book lovers' sharing of #stacksofbooks

Last month, we decided to celebrate reading and JVNLA books with inspiration taken from Ella Frances Sanders's New York Times Travel section bestseller Lost in Translation (Ten Speed Press, September 2014).

The book is a compilation of breathtaking illustrations of words that can't be translated into English. One of our--and other book lovers'--favorite words is tsundoku,the Japanese word for “leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.”

So, we put out a call to our authors to post their pictures of stacks of books they wanted to read in the new year that they had piled up in their homes or offices, on their ereaders and phones, etc, and to share them via social media using the #stacksofbooks hashtag. We asked other book lovers to respond with their own pictures, too!

The response was fantastic and full of fun insight into what people have on their to-read lists! Here's a sampling:

C.W. Gortner, author of Mademoiselle Chanel (William Morrow, March 2015) @CWGortner

M.D. Waters, author of Archetype (Dutton, 2014) @_MDWaters - M.D. Waters tweeted stacks of physical books, ebooks, and audio books!

JVNLA founder Jean Naggar, author of Sipping from the Nile (Lake Union, 2012) @twjnaggar - You can see some of our own books snuck in!: The Bridal Chair by Gloria Goldreich, Our Picnics in the Sun by Morag Joss, and The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Sandra Worth, author of Pale Rose of England (Berkley, 2011) @SandraWorth

JVNLA President Jennifer Weltz @JVNLA - You can see our own Lost in Translation nearby!

Nancy Springer, author of Drawn into Darkness (NAL, 2013) @NancySpringer

Bonnie MacDougal, author of Out of Order (Ballantine, 1999) @PovBonnie

JVNLA Literary Agent Elizabeth Evans @EMEvans11 - You can see Dirty Chick by Antonia Murphy peeking out!

Torre DeRoche, author of Love with a Chance of Drowning (Hachette, 2013) @FearfulGirl

Iza Trapani, author of Little Miss Muffet (Sky Pony Press, 2013) @IzaTrapani Iza on Facebook

JVNLA Literary Agent Laura Biagi @LauraJBiagi - You can see Archetype by M.D. Waters snuck in!

Candace Robb, author of A Triple Knot (pen name Emma Campion) (Broadway, 2014) @CandaceMRobb

JVNLA Contracts Manager Tara Hart @Tara_Hart28 - You can spot some JVNLA books, including Gilded Cages by Ellen Jones, Dark Lie by Nancy Springer, and Wait...What?!: Life Advice from a Ghetto Genius by J-Wunder

Doug Mack, author of Europe on Five Wrong Turns a Day (Perigee, 2012) @douglasmack

Brenda Marshall, author of Dakota, Or What's a Heaven For (Untreed Reads, 2010) Brenda on Facebook

JVNLA Assistant Ariana Philips @ArianaPhilips - You can see our client Sarai Walker's Dietland snuck in, and The Paying Guests!

And here's a selection of photos from other book lovers who shared their #stacksofbooks!

From @charissaweaks:

From @JamesCharlesC:

From @cgroga:

From @JL_Henry:

From @natalkaburian:

From @SimonReadBooks:

From @Kateywrites:

From @AngryHistory:

From @DonWinstonLA:

From @Jamie_Adams22:

From @colin_falconer:

JVNLA rides the subway 2013!

Last year for the holidays, JVNLA took to the subway to express our love for our books published in 2012.  We snapped candid shots (and some not so candid shots) of ourselves reading as subway passengers looked on with puzzled expressions. For 2013, we simply had to do it again!

We began by posting pictures of us "reading in the wild" on Twitter--including pictures of us reading on subway platforms, at our desks, in bed, etc.--with the hashtag #readersinthewild. Then we followed it up with our adventure reading in the wilds of the subway!

Below, we present this year's candid and not-so-candid shots for your viewing pleasure.

We started at Times Square.  Here, Tara, Jennifer, and Laura read Love with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche (Hyperion, May 2013). This and all other photos were taken by our excellent behind-the-scenes photographer, Ariana.

Below is a sampling of the 2013 books we brought along.  When we began piling more books onto the subway seats, a mini-avalanche started!

Alice joined Laura and Jennifer to read The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon (Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2013).

The day we chose for subway riding was particularly snowy, and so Jean decided to stay home and read in the warm rather than in the wild!  Here she is reading Our Picnics in the Sun by Morag Joss (Delacorte Press, November 2013).

Certain books inspire certain poses, and so Laura, Tara, and Jennifer couldn't help themselves from looking particularly nefarious while reading the noir mystery Sugar Pop Moon by John Florio (Seventh Street Books, July 2013).

We also couldn't help but crack ourselves up while reading the very funny The Heartbreak Messenger by Alexander Vance (Feiwel and Friends, July 2013).

When the below subway rider saw Royal Mistress by Anne Easter Smith (Touchstone, May 2013), she got so excited she had to read it herself! 

Then, she instructed Laura, Tara, and Jennifer how to properly pose for a scandalous historical novel like this one.

Noticing that some of our books had a certain theme to them, we decided to create our own story: First, there's Love with a Chance of Drowning.  Next comes The Heartbreak Messenger.  Which leads to This Is How You Say Goodbye.

While those of us in New York were in the midst of our subway adventures, Elizabeth was in Wisconsin having her own reading in the wild/transportation adventures! Here she is on bike with Sugar Pop Moon, 101 Quizzes for Couples by Natasha Burton (Adams Media, November 2013), Dead Run by Dan Schultz (St. Martin's Press, March 2013), Beyond the Bear by Dan Bigley and Debra McKinney (Lyons Press, March 2013), and more!

Laura, Jennifer, and Alice displayed their favorite parts of Otis Dooda: Strange but True, written by Ellen Potter and illustrated by David Heatley (Feiwel and Friends, June 2013).

Two businessman on their way to lunch were super excited about Otis Dooda too!

As you can see below, Laura, Tara, and Jennifer were each intrigued by Women, Sex, Power, and Pleasure by Evelyn Resh (Hay House, March 2013).

The delicious pie recipes in Sweetie-Licious Pies by Linda Hundt (Skirt! Books, October 2013) got Laura's and Tara's attention.

When the train emptied out, Jennifer had fun reading The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb (Hyperion, February 2013).

When it was time for our subway adventure to end, Laura, Tara, and Jennifer got a little choked up reading the last book, This Is How You Say Goodbye from Victoria Loustalot (St. Martin's Press, September 2013).

Thanks for joining us on our subway adventure!

For more about our recent books, take a look through the Recent and Upcoming Titles section of our website--all of the books make for great holiday gifts!

Love with a chance of publishing: A fearful adventurer's journey to publication

What happens when a woman who's afraid of the ocean falls in love with a man who plans to sail around the world in a rather rickety boat? Enter Torre DeRoche's memoir, LOVE WITH A CHANCE OF DROWNING, which tells this tale, one of love, adventure, and fear.

Hyperion released LOVE WITH A CHANCE OF DROWNING last month in the US, just after Penguin Australia's release in February. Summersdale in the UK will follow in July, with more international publishers to come!

The history of the book's publication is a bit of a real-life fairytale. It was originally self-published by DeRoche in 2011 under the title SWEPT: Love with a Chance of Drowning. Here's the old cover of that version:

As DeRoche promoted her book on her website and across the social media sphere, people fell in love with it, and soon separate film and UK offers came in. Shortly thereafter, DeRoche got agency representation and more offers followed! Read about DeRoche's exciting publishing adventure in her own words here.

Be sure to peruse through the rest of her website and blog, too. The experiences DeRoche recounts in her memoir began at the same time she began blogging. Now, she has nine years of blogging savvy under her belt, which means that www.fearfuladventurer.com is simply not to be missed!

While DeRoche's incredible story and compelling writing have taken the world by storm (the book has been called“thrilling” by Courier Mail, “irresistibly offbeat” by Kirkus, and “hilarious” by Vogue Australia), so too has the trailer. Complete with a catchy whistling tune and fortune cookies symbolic of fate, the trailer perfectly captures the book's tone. Take a look:



For a glimpse into what went wrong on the trip, the best parts of the trip, and why DeRoche decided to recount her story in memoir form, check out the interview below:


An Interview With Torre DeRoche from Torre DeRoche on Vimeo.

Given that multiple countries are publishing LOVE WITH A CHANCE OF DROWNING, the book has two different covers—one for the US and one for Australia and the UK. The US cover is bold and speaks to the danger of DeRoche's voyage....

...while the Australian and UK cover captures the whimsy of the adventure. Below, you can see it featured on a giant billboard at the Sydney airport!

Image courtesy of @yTravelBlog

Take a look at a sampling of the reviews from those who have already fallen in love with the book--and then be sure to pick up a copy yourself so you too can fall in love with it!

“A charming memoir...A funny, irresistibly offbeat tale about the risks and rewards of living, and loving, with an open heart.” --Kirkus

“Hilarious...recounts the adventure of a lifetime.” --Vogue Australia

“Wow, what a book. Exciting. Dramatic. Honest. Torre DeRoche is an author to follow...Such a beautiful, thrilling story you'll have to remind yourself it's not fiction.” --Australian Associated Press

“The story of how DeRoche overcame her fears, her self-deprecating humour and her way with words would have been enough to make this a great story. The fact her Argentinian boyfriend combines the passion of a Latin lover with the grit and spirit of a Scandinavian seafarer makes this book a Hollywood dream come true.”--The Sydney Morning Herald, Great Holiday Read

"In her debut, DeRoche has penned such a beautiful, thrilling story you'll have to remind yourself it's not fiction. Her language is effortless." --Courier Mail

“The book is by turns gripping, laugh-out-loud funny, moving and uplifting...any reader with a sense of adventure or a desire to confront their fears should love it.” --Bookseller+Publishing Magazine