Amazon Daily

Fly Girl: Amelia Earhart Inspires Aviatrix Chic

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:47:07 -0800

Earhart-inspired looks on the DSQUARED2 fall runway.

A brown leather bomber jacket—masculine-tough yet buttery soft. A billowing silk scarf. Sunrays dancing off the gold wire frame of a pair of aviators. There’s always been something thrilling and romantic about a pilot’s style, an image filched from the boys and ushered into the armoires of intrepid females thanks to the queen of the air herself, Amelia Earhart.

Hillary Swank’s portrayal of the flying ace has the blogosphere buzzing about feminism (in addition to groundbreaking flights, Earhart famously penned a missive to her husband-to-be eschewing any “medieval code of faithfulness”) and aviatrix fashion. Earhart popularized the women’s bomber (a jacket she sometimes slept in to emulate the broken-in, experienced look of her male counterparts), tweed menswear trousers, shag haircuts, and an anything-he-can-do-I can-do-better mentality—all ideas that were both ahead of their time and timeless.

Seventy years later, her look has caused a sensation on another kind of runway, as designers style traditional aviation gear with more provocative pieces: a fitted leather jacket over a mini dress or floor-grazing silk gown, earflap caps with sweatshirt dresses and sky-high booties, and dramatic faux fur vests that propel updated aviator shades to another level.

--Suzanne

When You Wish Upon a List: Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Sweepstakes

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:51:31 -0800

The celebration of the 10th anniversary of Amazon Wish Lists marches on with another sweepstakes prize package that's focused this week on photography. The big catch of the week 6 sweepstakes is a photo expedition through Yellowstone--complete with roundtrip airfare and two nights at the Old Faithful Lodge. The photo expedition will be led by Adam Jones (author of The Step-By-Step Photography Workshop), who will help you sharpen your skills with your brand new Canon EOS 7D digital SLR camera. You'll also get a number lenses to experiment with--a wide-angle zoom to capture the amazing vistas, two telephoto zooms to help you get close to the fauna, and a macro lens to zero in on the flora.

To be entered into the drawing for the Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon sweepstakes, you need to do your Wish Listing by 11:59:59 pm Pacific Time on November 15 (you can read up on all the rules here).

Entering the sweepstakes is easy peasy: just create a new Wish List or add something to an existing Wish List. After adding an item, be sure to click the Enter Sweepstakes button that appears, looking a bit like this:

If you miss out on this week's sweepstakes, there are still four more weeks of prizes coming up, including a heavenly high-def package that includes a 55-inch LG HDTV and a surprise during the final week.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Omni Daily Crush: The City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:15:17 -0800

In his new book, The City Out My Window, architect and illustrator Matteo Pericoli zooms in from the city-wide scope of his monumental Manhattan Unfurled to offer the private windowscapes of an eclectic lineup of notable New Yorkers. Award-winning architect Paul Goldberger introduces this austere and entrancing collection: "What is less in our control than a city view? We can choose not to live somewhere, but that is about as far as most of us can go in determining what we look at from our windows. ... But once you accept it, it becomes a part of you, and what you see in it tells everything." And as you flip through the pages you'll get a voyeur's view of the at-home (or often, at work-) persepective of Roger Angell, Ed Koch, Graydon Carter, Tom Wolfe, David Byrne, E.L. Doctorow, Junot Diaz, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Oliver Sacks, Tony Kushner, and many more.

Adam Yauch on his Hudson River view: "I don't know how much longer we'll have this view. In New York City it's only a matter of time before someone builds in front of you..."

Mario Batali on gazing upon historical Washington Square Park: "[it] is the entire history of mid-twentith-century pop culture... the world as we know it is born here, lives here, will evolve here. It is beauty, it is paradise, it is frenetic and calm."

Gay Talese's on his blurry perch: "While glancing through the fourth-floor studio window of my brownstone in mid-Manhattan I have at best a murky view of my neighborhood due to my longtime avoidance of window washers."

And Stephen Colbert on his office view: "Because my studio is directly across from a windowless telecommunications skyscraper whose peak bristles with microwave transmitters, when I think of my view mostly I think about cancer, so I try not to think about it at all."

Recommended for fans of New York: Line by Line and Manhattan Unfurled.

--BTP

Comic Strip Superstar--We Have a Winner!

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:15:17 -0800

Amazon customers have spoken, and yesterday we announced the grand-prize winner of our Comic Strip Superstar contest.

Back in August, Andrews McMeel Publishing declared their search for the next big thing in comic strips, and we opened the floodgates to all hopeful artists looking for a break into the industry. We were thrilled at the response, and a panel of comic strip celebrities and industry experts had the tough task of narrowing the entries down to 10 finalists. Then on October 29th, Amazon customers had a chance to choose a winner.

Congratulations to Girl by Dana Thompson! Dana's prizes include a publishing contract with Andrews McMeel Publishing, a development contract with Universal Uclick and syndication on Gocomics.com.

As its title suggests, Girl is understated and centers around a young girl "who's awkward at school, awkward at home, and comfortable in the forest, where her friends all live. She has a name, but her forest-dwelling friends all just call her 'Girl.'" Dana Thompson has previously been involved in several independent comics ventures, but this marks the first time her name has been featured on a marquee of this magnitude. Below are a few samples that helped her win:

Dana hails from Kent, Washington, and plans to celebrate with "with her fiancee, her cat, and the cartoon beings who inhabit her fever dreams." Looking forward to what those fever dreams produce next!

Thanks to all who submitted entries, our esteemed panel of judges, Andrews McMeel, and, of course, all the Amazon customers who voted.

--Alex

Sesame Street Celebrates 40 Years

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:14:20 -0800

In case you have missed the headlines and Google's homepage for the past week, today marks the 40th anniversary of the iconic children's television show, Sesame Street. Originally intended as an educational tool for inner-city children, Sesame Street first aired on November 10, 1969. Through song and dance the show has taught kids not only about the alphabet and math; but about morals, manners, and life lessons.

While somewhat revolutionary at the time, today's Sesame Street does look a bit different than back then- 122 Emmys and countless celebrity guest appearances later, the brownstone at 123 Sesame has gone green; Cookie Monster's diet is a little more balanced; new characters have been introduced (most notably Elmo and Abby); and children now wear helmets while riding their bikes.

Now available in more than 140 countries and made into T-shirts, toys, costumes, books, and more; Sesame Street is arguably one of television's most successful and beloved programs, constantly evolving to remain a favorite among school aged children. The show's ability to stay relevant especially during 4 very different decades in our history is why we will most likely see another 40 years of sunny days...

The original theme song:

Sesame Street then:

Sesame Street today:

Below is a clip from the 40th Anniversary episode featuring special guest, Michelle Obama, who teaches the kids and Elmo about growing your own food:

10 Things You Might Not Know About Sesame Street:

Big Bird is 8'2" tall.
Some old Bert and Ernie skits showed Ernie having his own bedroom instead of sharing a bedroom with Bert.
The Count was born on 9 October 1,830,653 B.C.
Oscar the Grouch's fur was orange in the first season. In the second season, it was changed to green.
Linda (Linda Bove) was the first deaf regular character on American television.
"Sing a Song" (later released as a single by The Carpenters) was originally to be the show's opening theme song.
In 2004, Cookie Monster revealed that, before trying cookies for the first time, his name was Sid.
Possibly the only topic that has never been dealt with on the show is divorce. The producers have tried several times, but couldn't come up with a story that didn't lead children in test audiences to fear their own parents were planning to divorce.
The highest number of the day as of 2009 has been 21, the lowest number of the day has been 0.
To answer the immortal question, here is how to get to Sesame Street: Take the "R" or "V" train to Steinway Street. Stay on back of train. Walk west on 34th Avenue, three blocks to 36th Street. Turn left on 36th Street. The entrance to Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens is mid-block (between 34th & 35th Avenues).

Want to remember 40 Years of Sunny Days? The Collector's Edition is now available on DVD and for a limited time, you can get select Sesame Street DVDs for as low as $6.99.

--Amanda

Omni Daily News

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:51:34 -0800

The "Oink" Heard 'Round the World: food52's Tournament of Cookbooks came to a close last night as Francis Mallmann and Peter Kaminksy's Seven Fires toppled Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton's bracket buster, Canal House Cooking, to take home the coveted Piglet trophy.

No Kindle Required: Now you can read Kindle books on your computer with Kindle for PC.

Food List Fever: Publishers Weekly reveals their list of the Best Food Books of 2009.

Show Biz Dish: The LA Times' Jacket Copy has some video of Paul Shaffer holding court at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons talking about his memoir, We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives.

Moving and Shaking: A recent Today Show appearance keeps Food Network's Ellie Krieger's So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week in our Movers & Shakers.

--BTP

Old Media Monday: Reviewing the Reviewers

Amazon Daily — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:40:39 -0800

New York Times:

Sunday Book Review cover: James Parker on Under the Dome by Stephen King: "King has always produced at pulp speed. 'Nov. 22, 2007 - March 14, 2009' proclaims the final page of “Under the Dome”: that’s 1,100 pages in 480 days. We shouldn’t be too squeamish about the odd half-baked simile or lapse into B-movie dialogue, is my point. Writing flat-out keeps him close to his story, close to his source. It seems to magnetize his imagination: by the final third of this novel King is effortlessly drawing in T.S. Eliot and the Book of Revelation, the patient etherized upon a table and the Star Wormwood."
Kakutani jumps the gun on The Original of Laura by Vladimir Nabokov: "In many respects, the release of a rudimentary version of his last novel does a disservice to a writer who deeply cherished precision and was practiced in the art of revision. Just as 'The Enchanter,' a precursor to 'Lolita' that was written in 1939 and published after his death, reads like a crude, often flat-footed version of its famous descendant, so these fragments of 'Laura' — so cryptic and sketchy — represent an incomplete, fetal rendering of whatever it was that Nabokov held within his imagination. Yet, at the same time, these bits and pieces of 'Laura' will beckon and beguile Nabokov fans, who will find many of the author’s perennial themes and obsessions percolating through the story of Philip, an 'enormously fat creature' with 'ridiculously small feet,' and his wildly promiscuous wife, Flora."
Maslin on Open by Andre Agassi: "Given the anticlimactic nature of these revelations, what exactly keeps 'Open' going? Somebody on the memoir team has great gifts for heart-tugging drama.... Mr. Agassi does not easily forgive, and his book is larded with extremely backhanded compliments for those who have crossed him.... 'Open' devotes a lot of space to thumbnail descriptions of matches and opponents, a litany that would drone on without dynamic, writerly flourishes."
Liesl Schillinger on The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver: "'The Lacuna' can be enjoyed sheerly for the music of its passages on nature, archaeology, food and friendship; or for its portraits of real and invented people; or for its harmonious choir of voices. But the fuller value of Kingsolver’s novel lies in its call to conscience and connection. She has mined Shepherd’s richly imagined history to create a tableau vivant of epochs and people that time has transformed almost past recognition. Yet it’s a tableau vivant whose story line resonates in the present day, albeit with different players."
Garner on The Last Empress by Hannah Pakula: "Mme. Chiang led a long, vastly complicated life, one that is richly detailed in 'The Last Empress,' Hannah Pakula’s long, vastly complicated new biography. Ms. Pakula’s book is a yeoman work of historical research, with fact grinding against fact. It is also a monotonous piece of storytelling, one that has little pliancy or narrative push. Its 681 pages of text are at times as grueling as a forced march across the Mongolian steppe."
Kate Christensen on Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen: "Readers may suspect that an academic poet’s memoir about failed marriage, debilitating pain and a strict religious upbringing would be dry, self-pitying and overly earnest. But 'Mennonite in a Little Black Dress' is snort-up-your-coffee funny, breezy yet profound, and poetic without trying. In fact, the whole book reads as if Janzen had dictated it to her best non-Menno friend, in her bathrobe, over cups of tea."

Washington Post:

Charles on Kingsolver's The Lacuna: "Barbara Kingsolver's new novel, 'The Lacuna,' is the most mature and ambitious one she's written during her celebrated 20-year career, but it's also her most demanding.... The sweetness that leavened 'The Bean Trees' and 'Animal Dreams' has been burned away, and the lurid melodrama that enlivened 'The Poisonwood Bible' has been replaced by the cool realism of a narrator who feels permanently alienated from the world."
Michael Mewshaw on Agassi's Open: "Presented to the public as clean family fun, an upscale entertainment for the country-club set, top-level tennis is actually played by the physical and emotional mutants of a misery machine that leaves them too ill-educated or psychically damaged to understand what has happened to their lives. Like most victims of abuse, they'd rather not talk about it. So it's both astonishing and a pleasure to report that Andre Agassi, who was castigated for an ad campaign saying 'Image is everything,' has produced an honest, substantive, insightful autobiography."

Los Angeles Times:

Jedediah Berry on King's Under the Dome: "Born-again Big Jim never utters a curse word ... but he has the darkest of secrets to protect, as well as an insatiable hunger for power and control that needs only a nudge -- or in this case, the isolation afforded by an inexplicable force field -- to be kicked into high gear. When that happens, and when a resistance rises up in opposition to his power grab, the result is a vivid and harrowing tale, expertly constructed, intensely moral and often thrilling, related with the masterful ease we have come to expect from its author."
Samantha Dunn on Lit by Mary Karr: "Karr could tell you what's on her grocery list, and its humor would make you bust a gut, its unexpected insights would make you think and her pitch-perfect command of our American vernacular might even take your breath away. The closest relative to the memoir form is poetry, because the subject of the story doesn't matter as much as the self-awareness and craft of the writer telling it. In this, the Guggenheim Fellow in poetry holds the position of grande dame memoirista."

The Globe and Mail:

J.C. Sutcliffe on The Ice Lovers by Jean McNeil: "Like the ice of its subject, the writing in the novel hides great complexities with surface simplicity and clarity. McNeil has a sure hand and a deft touch with prose, and an ability to blend, for each character, profound inner experience with the awkwardnesses of social interactions. A disconcerting mix of hysteria and calm adaptation is another of McNeil's great achievements, bringing to life a near future devastated by disease and natural disaster, yet despite the fear and the panic, the characters – whether in London, the Falklands or the Antarctic – just keep on going about their daily business, since it turns out that there is no other option."
Keith Garebian on All of Me by Anne Murray: "It is warm, straightforward and candid, and Posner has wisely dimmed his own stylistic light in order to let her voice come through. And it does, sometimes with low-key, self-deprecating humour and surprising honesty, and always with a lack of pretentiousness. Rather like her singing, which communicates both lyric and melody effortlessly, and with an alto range that spans two and a half octaves."

The Guardian:

Geoff Dyer on Agassi's Open: "The problem with JR, Andre's book coach, is that he makes Writing Easy. His hand is too obviously dab. It's not that Open reads as if it's been written with a view to a lucrative serial deal (normal enough); it reads as if it's already a serialisation of itself with potential headlines (Agassi took crystal meth!) and pull quotes ("I always hated tennis") thrown in. Perhaps this is why, strangely, it rings least true at moments of maximum declared honesty.... Here is the not entirely unexpected irony of Open. For all the lurid revelations, despite the overarching story of personal growth and the struggle for self-awareness, the most enthralling parts of the book are all about… tennis."
Christopher Tayler on Blood's a Rover by James Ellroy: "In its serious aspects, then, Blood's a Rover can be mildly silly in comparison with the tightly controlled American Tabloid. But the serious aspects are only intermittently what's serious about Ellroy's achievement in these books. Slyly knowing about the fantasies he trades in, funny when you least expect it, and a master of private languages, he isn't in any way a conventional historical novelist. At his best – when the strong internal logic of his books takes over the history he's exploiting – he gives you the sense of being plugged directly into an entire culture's unsavoury dream life, its boasts and self-reproaches and arguments with itself."

The New Yorker:

Elizabeth Kolbert on SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner: "But what’s most troubling about 'SuperFreakonomics' isn’t the authors’ many blunders; it’s the whole spirit of the enterprise. Though climate change is a grave problem, Levitt and Dubner treat it mainly as an opportunity to show how clever they are. Leaving aside the question of whether geoengineering, as it is known in scientific circles, is even possible—have you ever tried sending an eighteen-mile-long hose into the stratosphere?—their analysis is terrifyingly cavalier."

The Atlantic:

Sandra Tsing Loh on Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman: "I am bad not in that fluttery, anxious, 21st-century way educated middle-class mothers consider themselves 'failures' because they snap when they are tired, because they occasionally feed their kids McNuggets, because as they journal they soulfully question whether they’re mindfully attaining a proper daily work/life balance. No, I am bad because after a domestic partnership of 20 years, when my kids were still elementary-school-age, I fell in love, had an affair, admitted it, and quite deservedly got tossed out of the house on my ass. Currently between homes (my earthly belongings reside in a 10-by-10-foot windowless U-Haul storage unit whilst I alternately house-sit, pool-sit, and cat-sit), I furtively park at the curb of my former home for an extra few minutes after dropping my kids off and, with my laptop, I steal wireless. Approaching 50, I am living a life that is less sunlit Waldman/Chabon than tattered Charles Bukowski."
Hitch on Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic by Michael Scammell: "I cannot recall a book title that was less well-shaped to its subject. Far from being a 'skeptic,' Arthur Koestler was a man not merely convinced but actively enthused by practically any intellectual or political or mental scheme that came his way. When he was in the throes of an allegiance, he positively abhorred doubt, which he sometimes called 'bellyaching.' If he was ever dubious about anything, one could say in his defense, it was at least about himself."

--Tom

Sick in Bed: Best Meals for Sharing

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:21:31 -0800

My daughter told me this afternoon that there were seven kids home sick from her class today. Mild flu-like symptoms are taking Seattle schools by storm, and like so many kids, our neighbors were hit with low-grade fevers, sore throats, earaches and the like.

In addition to supplying sick friends with a big box of tissues, assorted throat lozenges and a stack of magazines, I can't think of a better cure for the aches and pains of a cold or flu than a good meal.

So when I heard about our neighbors, I decided to fix a hearty meal we could both enjoy, though not at a communal table. My friend Clark's pot roast came to mind--meat and vegetables braised in a tantalizing liquid and cooked in a single pot. Clark's recipe is not traditional. His mother got it from a Chinese-American friend she met while living in Malaysia, and the unusual mix of ingredients, when cooked for hours, becomes a magical elixir. It is an antidote for what ails you.

Clark's Pot Roast

Ingredients:
3-5 pound brisket of beef
5 cups hot water
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon dark Chinese soy sauce
A few peppercorns
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Cooking oil
Baby carrots
2 tablespoons potato starch

Directions:
1. Allow meat to warm to room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Mix flavoring ingredients in hot water.

3. Salt and pepper the roast and brown it on all sides in some oil. Add garlic at end and brown briefly. Don't let it burn. Add water mixture. Bring to simmer. Cover tightly with foil and and lid. Place in oven. Cook for 4 hours.

3. Remove meat, cover and keep warm. Cook carrots in liquid; keep covered on low heat.

4. Mix 2 tablespoons potato starch in 2 tablespoons cooled liquid; whisk into stock to thicken. Adjust season. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Serves 6-8

--Tracy Schneider

Omni Daily Crush: "Reading by Lightning," and a Q&A with Author and Amazon.ca First Novel Award Winner Joan Thomas

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:40:21 -0800

In late September, the Canadian contingent of the Amazon Books team traveled (or travelled, as they say north of the border) to Toronto to help celebrate the five fantastic finalists of the 33rd Annual Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and to honor(/honour) the winner.

Let me pause here to acknowledge that you may be wondering how it could have been the 33rd Annual Amazon.ca First Novel Award. There isn't room in this post to explain (gotta keep it tight), so I'll just say it's an award with an illustrious history and impressive previous winners (like Michael Ondaatje, Rohinton Mistry, and--most recently--the amazing Gil Adamson), and we feel very honoured to have been involved since we first opened our virtual Canadian bookstore. You can find out more here--and keep an eye out for the 34th Annual FNA winner, who will be announced in April of 2010.

I wasn't a judge for this award, but I was thrilled when I heard their unanimously enthusiastic verdict: Joan Thomas for Reading by Lightning, which has the markings of a real classic (and not just a classic of CanLit). I felt real affection for her vibrant heroine, Lily Piper, born on the dust-covered Prairie in the first quarter of the 20th century to a devout family who thought she might be flirting with the Devil. Her sudden departure/escape for England as a young woman, the onset of World War II, her mad love for her kooky, hot, brilliant adopted (adopted, so it's not weird!) cousin George, her bouts of wild grief, and the strange dynamic with her mom that only gets stranger--it all feels true to the time and Lil's character, but contemporary and totally absorbing. Plus, Thomas's writing is often crystaline.

I notice the novel's official description calls it a bildungsroman, which seems like a pretentious word for such an everygirl story--but come to think of it, Lily isn't really an everygirl. She's imaginative and amazing, and she had a fascinating life. Though I finished this book almost 3 months ago, I can pull myself back to the final scene at will, and though I don't remember the exact line, the memory still does something warm and interesting in my chest. (I'm a very sensory reader--I have to feel a book somewhere in my torso to really like it.)

At this point, you might like to get one for yourself from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com Books, or for your Kindle. Excellent idea. But first, read on--because I have this special bonus Q&A!

Amazon.com/.ca: Lily Piper is one of the most fully alive heroines I've ever encountered. Was she your own invention, or were you inspired by someone?

Joan Thomas: I had the spine of a true story to start with. When my aunt was 16, her father took her out of school and sent her to England to look after his mother. All on her own, she took the train two thousand miles to Montreal and boarded a ship, and went to live with people she had never met. I was amazed when I heard about this.

Yet my aunt never talked about her excellent England adventure. None of my older relatives talk much about the past—they’re actually a little suspicious of people who dramatize their experiences or dwell on their feelings! So I had to make sense of this story with my imagination. I sent Lily to a different part of England than my aunt had visited, and I invented her experiences there. Lily is the result of my desire to create a character I could understand and relate to, one who experienced adolescence with the intensity that I experienced it. I think of her as a contemporary character living in the past. As a first-time novelist, I had no idea whether I could pull this off, but by the end Lily was so real to me that the final chapter pretty much wrote itself.

Amazon.com/.ca: The story of the Isaac Barr's ill-fated Canadian prairie colony is a fascinating historical component of the story. Did your family have a personal connection, or was this just a story that captured your imagination?

Joan Thomas: I never knew my grandfather, but I was told growing up that he had come from England with the Barr Colonists, so I read what I could find about that movement. I went to the archives and poured over the passenger lists, where the names of everyone arriving in Canada by ship in any year are written in ink in someone’s crabbed handwriting. I never found my grandfather’s name. But by then I was hooked by the story of the Barr Colonists, the megalomaniac Isaac Barr and the naïve immigrants who were so sure their English superiority would carry them through.

Amazon.com/.ca: There's irony in how the aspiring paleontologist George "tried, finally, to evolve, to fit into a different world, but couldn't do it fast enough," while Lily, raised in an evangelical Christian community with a mother who's powerfully fearful of change (especially changes in Lily's body), undergoes dramatic personal transformation before she finally feels at home in her world. Your next novel, Curiosity, due out next spring, also has evolution at its center: an intact skeletal fossil of a prehistoric dolphin-like creature, the first discovery of its kind, is unearthed by a 12-year-old cabinet-maker's daughter, who goes on to become a paleontologist well before Darwin publishes The Origin of Species.

What makes the scientific story of evolution such a potent metaphor for exploring the lives of your characters, as well as the evolving relationship between science and our concept of ourselves?

Joan Thomas: I never studied science but I’m intrigued by fossils, those millions-year-old bits of the past. My decision to send George to Dorset for field school turned out to be a fateful one (for me—if not for George!). It was while I was researching the Dorset coast for Reading by Lightning that I discovered Mary Anning, the amazing young woman you mention, who found huge fossil remains at Lyme Regis back when no one had any sense of what these creatures were. I've since made three research trips to Lyme Regis, and have had a fantastic time walking that coast and writing a novel about Mary Anning and her sidekick, the geologist Henry de la Beche.

So evolution (in a literal sense) is more at the centre of Curiosity than it is of Reading by Lightning. When Mary Anning found the first ichthyosaurus in 1811, the townspeople thought she’d dug up a dragon, and the scientists coming down from Oxford thought it was the bones of a creature drowned in Noah’s flood. Mary Anning’s fossil finds were a huge challenge to their beliefs about nature and humanity’s place in it. Ideas of extinction and an old earth, concepts so important to evolution, were in the air.

Evolution is on my mind at the moment because of the crisis we face on the planet. Whether we can transform fast enough to avoid full blown ecological disaster—I see this as the major question of our age. As a novelist you approach such big ideas with caution. You’re writing stories, not political discourse. With Curiosity, I was really happy to have stumbled upon a story that, although it’s set in the early 19th century, raises ideas that are so timely.

As you suggest, I did see evolution as a metaphor for how the characters in both books develop. Fiction loves those moments when a character sees that the way she thought about herself and her world is faulty. As the title of Reading by Lightning implies, this awareness may come the way a lightning bolt illuminates the landscape in a storm, although the process of actually transforming the way you act in the world is often slower and subtler, as it was with Lily. As for George, his changes hurt me as I was writing them, because I really like George. He was so open and in love with the world, and he becomes less optimistic, more cynical. It was an evolution forced by brutal circumstances, and maybe it’s just as well that we don’t see what the war would have made of him in the end.

Singing the Praises of Heavenly Deviled Eggs

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:11:15 -0800

It was only after I moved to the South that I became a deviled egg convert. Now, I worship those stuffed orbs of yolky goodness.

As much as I admire this retro-cool finger food, I'm still a neophyte when it comes to making them. Why, for instance, is it so tough to peel a hard-boiled egg? And, no, I have not tried that method where you tap both ends and blow it out. I think that's a big yolk. I mean joke.

Once I get those shells off, it's a lot of fun to play around with different fillings. I've been inspired by Debbie Moose's book. She stuffs them with beef, chicken, hot peppers, lox and tuna. She's even got a section on dessert eggs. Deviled Food Eggs is a darned clever name, don't you think?

Of all my deviled egg experiments, my proudest moment came after I reorganized my fridge and found a tiny jar of kimchi butter, which I bought the last time I was in New York City at Momofuku Milk Bar.

I pressed the yolks through a fine mesh strainer and mixed in a bit of the spicy butter. Then, I added just a bit of mayo and a healthy squirt of Sriracha hot chili sauce. After I filled the whites, I topped the deviled eggs off with a little bit more.

The result was like a velvet fire, the creaminess of the yolks balancing out the heat. One got my tongue tingling. Two had me reaching for a beer. I'm sure I would have broken a sweat after three, but they disappeared thanks to my friendly tasting team. Maybe next time, I'll back off on the chili sauce. Or, maybe not.

-- Leslie Kelly

Top 20 Green Holiday Toys

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:35:30 -0800

Green toys are some of my favorite toys to talk about. I love the innovation by many of the toy manufacturers out there, and I love that we are trying hard to do something as an industry to create fun products that are a little better for kids, the environment, and even parents. In putting together my green toy list this year, I have included some Amazon.com Frustration Free Packaging toys. Not only are the toys great, the packing is a breakthrough for any parent who has ever cut a hand, tossed a package, or said some words not meant for children's ears- while opening a toy package. (You can see all our Frustration Free Packaged items here).

And now onto the list, I hope it makes your holidays a little greener this year!

1. Sprig Toys Eco-Recycling Truck in Amazon.com Frustration Free Packaging. - I wrote about this little wonder before, but I just adore this truck. It is sturdy, it has a little recycling container that dumps into the back of the truck, there are no batteries to mess with because it is totally kid-powered, and the smell of Sprig Wood is just fantastic (because it is made out of recycled wood, combined with recycled plastic- it feels like plastic but smells like a forest!). Also, because it is in AFFP, there are no ties, no extra cardboard, or wrap. You simply open the box, pull out the truck, and play!

2. Idbid Waverly Eco-Friendly Starter Kit in Blue in Amazon.com Frustration Free Packing - Idbids are a darly way to teach your child about caring for the environment. Made of organic cotton, these little plush friends come with a storybook, a field guide, and a cinch sack to carry everything in. They also have an online component for more learning. Again, because they are in FFP, they are open-and-go toys!

3. Plan Toys City Series Parking Garage - There is something about a parking garage that kids love. My son still loves his that he has had since he was under a year old. Plan Toys use rubber wood from trees that previously would have been burned after they were no longer producing rubber. Plan takes these trees and makes fantastic toys that are simple and pleasing to even the adult eye.

4. Planet Pixies, Kayla Doll - My daughter is just about as opposite as me as she could be. While I was a tom boy who wanted to play with horses and He-Man figures, she is a princess-loving pink freak (and I mean that in the nicest way possible- she is an amazing kid). I embrace this difference and have learned to love pretty, sparkly things (even Barbie!). Something I know she loves are fairies of all kind so Planet Pixies are right up her alley. These dolls are made out of organic cotton and teach kids about the environment with an earth-friendly message.

5. Eco Snoopers - Create Your Own Secret Diary Set - Need something for an older, maybe tween-age, girl? The Eco Snoopers craft kits are made with recycled paper and are fun kits for some creative fun. They come in a diary set, a scrapbooking set, and card making set.

6. Eitech Deluxe Solar Powered Metal Building Kit - Older kids will love this kit that helps them learn about alternative solar power. This huge kit includes plans to build up to five models. We have tested this kits before and found them to be very sturdy, and chanllenging to kids who love to build.

7. Wonderworld Eco-Friendly Rainbow Sound Blocks - If you have a baby or young child on your list this holiday season, blocks are always a welcome gift. Not only are these blocks eco-friendly and non-toxic, they are also fun for baby to discover the noises that they make. Simple toys are usually the best and most used toys in the toy box.

8.ImagiPLAY Veggie Cutting Set - Kids love to pretend to cook. These veggies are fun, eco-friendly, and also can encourage kids to eat healthy foods. Chopping veggies is fun and safe with this preschool set.

9. ImagiPLAY Christmas Tree - I adore this natural wood puzzle. It would be a great family tradition to bring it out every year and have everyone in the family help put it together.

10. Green Sprouts Organic Cotton Splash Toy Set - Totally safe and non-toxic for baby, these organic bath toys will make quite a splash this holiday season.

11.Under The Nile Jack Doll with Extra Clothes - Kids love to dress and undress dolls. This cute organic cotton doll comes with an extra set of clothes. it is hard to find boy dolls (I know from looking for one for my daughter when we knew she would have a new brother arriving soon) and this one is adorable, green, and soft.

12. Plan Toys Chalet Doll House with Furniture - I want to live in this house. Seriously, I love modern design and this is just about the most perfect looking house out there. Made from recycled rubberwood trees, this fantastic looking house comes with furniture and it ready for a family of dolls to move right in.

13. Classic ABC Blocks with Wagon by Uncle Goose - These blocks come from wood from a sustainable forest in Michigan. They are very high quality and are hand painted with non-toxic paints. They are beautiful, classic toys that will be passed down to many happy children.

14. Silk Dragonfly Wings by Sarah's Silks - Silk is a renewable resource, and makes a beautiful play material for children. Sarah's Silks makes great dress up costumes that are 100% silk and itch-free.

15. Eco Kids Eco-Dough - Made from fruit and vegetable bases, this molding clay has no chemicals or artificial dyes. Perfect for little hands (and curious little mouths!).

16. Wonderworld Eco-Friendly Wonder Work Bench - Your little builder can pretend the day away with the great little workbench just his or her size. Made from rubberwood and painted with non-toxic paints, it is adorable and really works!

17. Plan Toys The Green Dollhouse with Furniture - Remember how I said I loved the Chalet dollhouse? Well it is only surpassed by my love for this green dollhouse that is not only made from green materials but also touts many "green" features. There is a windmill, a solar panel, and a rain barrel. There is also a "bio facade" used to give shade or adjust that amount of sunlight in the room.

18. Mary Meyer EarthMates, Fuzz That Wuzz 100% Recycled, Wee Pawzzzz Bear - he was once that plastic bottle of water you drank at the park on a hot day. Now, he is an adorable stuffed animal. These cute and cuddly little guys are made from 100% recycled PET bottles.

19. Sprig Toys Dolphin Adventure Playset - The Sprig guys are back at it with some really cool new playsets in the adventure series. This set has two boats (that really float!), two dolphins and a captain that like to explore your bath tub, sand box, or even a local stream. Made form Sprig Wood once again, this playset is ultra durable and totally green.

20. Wonderworld Eco-Friendly Cooking Center - This play center has plentry of room for multiple children. Made from rubberwood and non-toxic paints, it will help your little ones cook up a pretend storm.

Hope you enjoyed this year's list and here's to another green holiday!

--Laura M.

Popcorn & Kleenex - "Up" and Other Movies that Make Us Lose It

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:35:26 -0800

You know how it goes...the moment when you're watching a movie and you're tearing up a little bit, attempting a quiet sniffle, averting your eyes or taking deep breaths. But then something snaps and you decide to just ride it out, let loose and enjoy the cleansing catharsis of sobbing your heart out. I'm an unabashed crier - overly emotionally responsive to everything...a movie, book, song...if I'm in the right (wrong) mood, just about anything can set me off, but it's a rare occasion when I experience that end-of-the-road-totally-lose-it-moment. And I kind of love it...am I the only one?

The last time this happened to me was completely unexpected. Heading into a weeknight 3-D showing of Up, I'd heard rumblings that it was a little emotional, but I certainly didn't expect to end up sobbing behind my awesome 3-D old man glasses. And boy, did I sob. I considered leaving the theater to catch my breath and my friend started giving me sincerely concerned looks. Eventually I pulled it together and so thoroughly enjoyed Pixar's latest masterpiece that even before the Oscar-buzz season begins, I'm confident in saying it's my absolute favorite movie of 2009. The really sad stuff is over in the first 15 minutes (but what a beautiful 15 minutes!) and the rest of the film is hilarious, moving, exciting and really, in my opinion, just about perfect.

Amanda already blogged about the romantic films that make her cry like a baby, but I was curious about the other-non-Notebook-y type movies that destroy us (in the best possible way) and here a few responses from my movie-addict friends here at Amazon.

Angela: Million Dollar Baby
"I bought the DVD in the morning, watched it that night, promptly gave it away the next day because I knew I could never subject myself to that much of a sob-fest ever again."

Ellen: The end of Schindler’s List, when Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) looks at the items of luxury around him (his car, his ring) and imagines how many more Jews he could have saved. It was me and four other people in the theater at a weekday matinee, so that gave me freedom to let the waterworks go. I don’t cry in movies that often, but this was like a heaving-shoulders-sputtering-using-sleeve type of crying, a level of cinematic reaction only matched by the end-title sequence of Philadephia, when home movies of Tom Hanks’ character as a happy (alive) boy play over the Neil Young title song.

Stephanie: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Yes, I am revealing the depths of my geekitude here, but when Spock sacrifices himself for the Enterprise, his farewell to Kirk … well, I’m tearing up just thinking about it. The way he straightens his coat when he rises to greet his superior officer (a gesture you see echoed by Zachary Quinto in the new Trek). “I have been and always shall be your friend” he says, his voice reduced to a croak.

I completely echo Ellen for that end-title sequence in Philadephia - I've got to be armed and ready with tissues and twizzlers to make it through that. The final episode of Six Feet Under also destroys me so completely each and every time that's it's become my go-to viewing for the random occasion I actually want to feel like that. What's your "Lose It" movie or TV show?

Up comes out tomorrow - order the 4 Disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack before Wednesday and get a second Disney Blu-ray movie for $10 off. Check out all the details here and get your kleenex ready (though I readily admit that my reaction was probably not typical :) ---Kira

Nov. 9 Weekly Open Thread

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:40:04 -0800

As always, this is the thread for any random, off-topic conversation that doesn't belong anywhere else.

I just returned from the SEMA/AAPEX trade shows in Las Vegas last week. If you're not familiar with SEMA, it's astoundingly large and vibrant event that features scantily clad models, hugely expensive exotic and custom cars, and large, flashy displays from most of the major car manufacturers and nearly every aftermarket parts, tire, wheel, and electronics manufacturer. Subtle it ain't, but it is an incredible spectacle.

Last year I wrote up a bit of a recap; I didn't have as much time for pictures of coverage this year, beyond getting a cell-phone snapshot of the lowered and customized Gremlin pictured here. Jalopnik has some coverage as well that is worth a look; apparently there was a 1984 Mugen CRX that I somehow missed. Ah, well.

--Chris H.

Omni Daily News

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:35:32 -0800

History in the cards: James McManus charts America's rise to wealth and power by looking at our most practiced poker players in an interview with NPR about Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker (one of our Best Books of the Month).

Temps perdu, indeed: Now, if someone could just take Middlemarch down next, I'd be eternally grateful.

If you've noticed there are no empty seats in your coffee shop lately... It may be a byproduct of NaNoWriMo, or of the just-announced (and seemingly much more doable) Fall 2009 Story Contest, sponsored by Narrative Magazine. Deadline for submissions--"works with a strong narrative drive, with characters we can respond to as human beings, and with effects of language, situation, and insight that are intense and total"--is November 30. [via The Millions]

Comic Strip Superstar, we know who you are: Congratulations to Dana Simpson of Kent, Washington, Grand Prize winner of the inaugural Comic Strip Superstar contest for her strip entitled "Girl." Dana's prizes include a publishing contract with Andrews McMeel Publishing, a development contract with Universal Uclick and syndication on Gocomics.

Selling books is good for the soul: Today we find both the audiobook and hardcover of bestselling author and healer Dr. Sha's Divine Soul Mind Body Healing and Transmission System leading our Movers & Shakers list. --Anne

Winter Trends: High Fashion in Low Temps

Amazon Daily — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:32:55 -0800

Winter. A time for both piling on the layers and giving the teeniest party dresses time to shine. So how to look fashion-forward while bundling up and dressing up? Find loads of styling inspiration in Shopbop’s Winter Trends feature.

The season’s best daywear is a little rough around the edges. Think flannel dresses and faux fur accents, distressed denim and over-the-knee boots, army canvas and chunky knits: Shopbop’s stylists show how to give plaid a little sex appeal, and make rustic layers look decidedly put-together.

And let’s not forget about that most important layer. Though black wool coats are a wardrobe staple, this season uncommon outerwear is coming into its own. Cheetah and zebra, polished plaid and cashmere capes–these styles stand alone.

But because layers won’t cut it at festive fetes, it’s also crucial to find a party look that suits your style. Do you love the lamé of Studio 54-inspired ’70s fashion, or adore the elegant, glamorous styles that take their cue from the bright lights of the big city? Or are you in the mood for something vibrant and vivacious, a jewel-toned mini dress accessorized with tights, black booties, and layers of rhinestone and tangled chain necklaces? Ring in the new decade with something perfect for your personality.

But don’t let the compliments you’ll be getting distract you from the gifts you should be giving. After a walk through Winter Trends, find something for all the good girls on your list (and everyone else) in the Gift Guide.

Tonya

End-o'-the-Week Kid-Lit Roundup

Amazon Daily — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:38:49 -0800

Quick links from around the kid-lit blogosphere:

NYT: Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009. Every year, the New York Times pulls together a list of their ten favorite illustrated kids' books. Adam Gopnik (King in the Window) was one of this year's judges, and the NYT site has a great slideshow of the winners.

Riordan goes to Egypt. The man behind the Percy Jackson and the Olympians phenomenon has announced his next series, due in May 2010: The Kane Chronicles, based on Egyptian mythology, and revolving around (according to Cynopsis Kids) "what happens when a magical accident unleashes the Egyptian gods on the modern world, and siblings Carter and Sadie Kane discover that they are descendants of the greatest Egyptian magicians and thus the only ones who can put things right." Read more details at Publishers Weekly.

Publishers Weekly: Best of 2009. Speaking of PW, they just released their list of Best Children's Books of 2009, 30 titles in all, "from accounts of civil rights heroes, to harrowing (and hopeful) stories about contemporary teenagers, to picture books that perfectly capture friendship, curiosity, or flights of fancy."

Amazon: Best of 2009. Not to miss out on the fun, we also released our best kids' books of the year, as part of our big ol', not-to-be-missed Best of 2009 store. You'll find Top 10 Middle Readers as well as Top 10 Picture Books. (And as Heidi noted in YA Wednesday, you'll also find the Top 10 Books: Teens.)

"Running Wild with Michael Morpurgo." School Library Journal has a new interview with former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo, in which he talks about his upcoming book Running Wild. He also talks about getting kids involved in reading: "If boys don't want to read it's notoriously difficult to make them. The best way to get them interested in books and stories is for parents to read to them and share stories with them at every opportunity and try lots of different genres—classic adventure stories, fantasy, and funny stories. Hopefully, they will soon find something that appeals to them and that they will want to read themselves."

The Horn Book's best new holiday books. The Horn Book has pulled together a helpful list of their top picks for new holiday books, including What’s Coming for Christmas?, A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas, and The Gingerbread Pirates. ("On Christmas Eve, a pirate captain gingerbread man (with a toothpick for a peg leg) refuses to accept his crew’s fate on the plate of the season’s most notorious cookie eater, Santa....")

"How to Draw a Bear." A fun (and educational!) video from the illustrator behind The Terrible Plop:

(found via Fuse #8) --Paul

Zwieback AWOL. Still Looking for the Cheesecake of My Dreams...

Amazon Daily — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:58:57 -0800

I'm looking for the cheesecake of my youth, dense, not creamy, and with absolutely no graham crackers! Al Dente reader Marcy and I both had high hopes for a circa 1961 Craig Claiborne's Cheesecake recipe that she found the New York Times that she found. It calls for cottage cheese instead of cream cheese and uses zwieback for its razor-thin crust instead of graham crackers.

I had planned to try this recipe, or rather have my husband, the cheesecake enthusiast, try it last week, but finding zwieback, a crisp, twice-baked biscuit, proved impossible. With zwieback AWOL, I needed a substitute, and I spent all last week looking for it. My first thought was biscotti, the twice-baked Italian biscuit, but all the biscotti I came across had strong nutty flavor, which I thought would be overpowering in the cheesecake. I scanned the cookie aisle and finally settled on some crispy Italian ladyfingers. Not the perfect substitute, but I didn't want to wait any longer to try this recipe.

In the end, the results were disappointing. The cheesecake was watery, perhaps the cottage cheese should have been drained. The lemon juice and rind was overpowering. I'm still looking for my ideal recipe. Any suggestions for the cheesecake of my dreams?

Cottage Cheese Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1 6-ounce package zwieback
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 pounds cottage cheese
1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sour cream
Rind and juice of one lemon
Strawberry glaze (see below)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Roll zwieback into fine crumbs. Grease a nine inch spring form pan and dust the sides with zwieback crumbs. Mix the remaining crumbs with the one quarter cup of sugar and the butter and press onto bottom of the pan. Bake five minutes. Cool.

2. Press the cottage cheese through a fine sieve. Add half the remaining sugar, the flour, salt, egg yolks, sour cream, lemon rind and juice. Whip until thoroughly blended.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff, adding the remaining sugar gradually. Fold into cheese mixture.
Turn the mixture into prepared pan, bake at 325 degrees F about 1-1/2 hours. Cool in pan and glaze as directed.

Strawberry Glaze

Ingredients:
1 quart strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon butter

Directions:
1. Wash and hull berries. Crush enough berries to make one half cup.

2. Boil the crushed berries, sugar, water, and cornstarch two minutes, stirring. Add the butter, strain and cool.

3. Arrange the whole berries over the top of the cheesecake and pour the glaze over the berries. Chill.

--Tracy Schneider

"Twilight" spoof on "Saturday Night Live" (Taylor Swift hosts)

Amazon Daily — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:58:55 -0800

I didn't tune in to see Taylor Swift hosting Saturday Night Live last night, but I hear one of the highlights was the Twilight spoof, called Firelight, and starring Swift as "Stella." Watch it below or on YouTube. --David

The Best Music of 2009

Amazon Daily — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:28:10 -0800

It may feel a little early for this sort of thing, but we on the Amazon music team have pooled our collective knowledge and taste to determine the best music of 2009.

We spent 2009 soothed by Neko Case's wail, moved to dance by Yeah Yeah Yeahs' turn towards big beats, intrigued by Somali hip-hop Troubadour K'naan, and ready to hear three key words from neo-twangsters the Avett Brothers.

On the songs side, French popsters Phoenix went nutty for a composer and we went nutty for Phoenix. La Roux made us feel invincible, Jay-Z officially crushed an awful trend, and Passion Pit sent us reeling.

Voting with their wallets, our customers told us they really like U2, as it was both our bestselling CD and MP3 album of 2009. Black Eyed Peas also popped up in plenty of playlists, as they locked down the top two slots on our songs chart.

Every year, great albums slip through the cracks. This year, our editors wanted to save some from that unfair fate. We shine a spotlight on excellent underheard CD and MP3 albums across all genres, and we've even made a playlist featuring a single song from each record, so you can sample 'til you find something you like.

Dig into the lists and see which lists line up most closely with your personal tastes:

Best Albums of 2009

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
the Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
Girls - Album
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
K'naan - Troubadour
Jay-Z - Blueprint 3
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

> See all top 100 best albums of 2009
> See the list at Amazon MP3

Best Songs of 2009

Phoenix - "Lisztomania"
La Roux - "Bulletproof"
Jay-Z - "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)"
Animal Collective - "My Girls"
Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta Nerve"
Passion Pit - "The Reeling"
Girls - "Lust for Life"
Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"
The Avett Brothers - "I and Love and You"
Lily Allen - "The Fear"

> See all top 100 best songs of 2009
> Sample songs 1-50
> Sample songs 51-100

Bestselling CDs of 2009 (through October, including pre-orders)

U2 - No Line on the Horizon
Susan Boyle - I Dreamed a Dream
Diana Krall - Quiet Nights
Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
Bob Dylan - Together through Life

> See all 100 bestselling CDs of 2009

Bestselling MP3 Albums of 2009 (through October)

U2 - No Line on the Horizon
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
Jay-Z - Blueprint 3
Paramore - Brand New Eyes
Lily Allen - The Fear

> See all 100 bestselling MP3 albums of 2009

Bestselling Songs of 2009 (through October)

Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow"
Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"
Flo Rida - "Right Round"
Miley Cyrus - "The Climb"
Pitbull - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho"

> See all 100 bestselling songs of 2009
> Sample songs 1-50
> Sample songs 51-100

Outstanding 2009 Albums You Might Have Missed

Throw Me the Statue - Creaturesque
Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band
The Legends - Over and Over
Lushlife - Cassette City
Point Juncture, Wa - Heart to Elk

> See all 100 2009 albums you might have missed at Amazon MP3
> Sample songs from albums 1-50
> Sample songs from albums 51-100

Head over to our best music of 2009 store to find complete lists, plus the best in everything from Latin music to Gospel to comedy and all points between.

We're aware there's still a decent chunk of the year left. We'll be adding a latecomers and honorable mentions feature over the next few weeks. Hit the comments, let us know what we missed, and perhaps it'll make an appearance.

-- Jeff Reguilon

Trailer Park: "Sherlock Holmes" (version 3)

Amazon Daily — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:07:31 -0800

This is the third trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie, opening on Christmas Day 2009, and starring Robert Downey Jr. as the title sleuth, Jude Law as Dr. Watson, and Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, and directed by Guy Ritchie. I like Downey and McAdams a lot, but the trailer's mix of high-impact action and comedy seems like it could be really good or really, er, not good. For my money, Jeremy Brett is still the best Holmes, though I know Basil Rathbone has his fans and there's an intriguing Peter Cushing version coming out this December. --David

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