The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. SeattleDan, along with his wife, SeattleTammy, are operators of both an on-line bookstore, as well a brick and mortar in small town Washington State. Both have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.

So it turned out to be a fine week. Lord knows we were nervous much of Tuesday, not having the exuberant confidence that the Romney campaign seemed to have had. But it all worked out pretty darn well. Congrats to everyone. It will be a long four years to come, and there will be disappointments along the way. But it will be a better four years, considering the alternatives we might have had.

In the world of literature and publishing, the Random House/Penguin merger is still controversial. Current president of the Authors Guild, Scott Turow, nails it here.

Collaborating on writing a book, of course, is not anything new. But two “friends”, and, as it happens, Nobel Peace Laureates get together to do so is special. Very special when the authors are Elie Wiesel and President Obama. This book should be very engaging.

For those of you who may be considering some home remodeling, here are some ideas for you, particularly if you are hiding crazy relatives in the basement. Or if you just want to have a very cool house. Secret doorways and bookcases, long a literary staple, and Clue gameboards.

And speaking of gameboards, this one would go nicely with the secret passageway bookshelves in your den. Replicas only going for $7000 or so. Let me find my checkbook.

And while we are on the subject of books written for children, ABE Books put together about the Brothers Grimm and their rather spooky stories. Nothing about Grimm’s law though.

Dr. Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, has a new book out, Hallucinations. NPR featured him recently, and it is fascinating.

In our featured lists department, Publishers Weekly had this list of cities in literature. Some really fine books here. Missing, of course, is Joyce’s Dublin in Ulysses, and Biely’s St. Petersburg. But nobody’s perfect.

And, finally, we were all young once. Flavorwire had this list of authors when they were young and handsome. If I ever get a book published, the picture of the 22 year old SeattleDan goes on the dust jacket.

So what’s on your nightstand this weekend? Tell us about some great reads.

The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. SeattleDan, along with his wife, SeattleTammy, are operators of both an on-line bookstore, as well a brick and mortar in small town Washington State. Both have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.

As the election draws nearer, let me put in my two cents worth, and urge you to vote early if you can, and if not, get to the polls on Tuesday. All elections are important. This one is critical. But I suspect I am preaching to the choir here. But if you can make phone calls, drive folks to their polling stations, do whatever you can, I think we will all be much happier come next Wednesday. Crunch time, folks.

Ah, yes, Book News! Obviously the big story remains the pending merger of Penguin Books and Random House.
I am still convinced that the concentration of media in fewer and fewer hands is not a good thing. And my concerns are shared. Especially if the connection to Newscorp and Rupert Murdoch are taken into account.

Still, The BookBlog over the Guardian is bit more sanguine and sees a great opportunity for Indie publishers.

I guess the folks that handle the William Faulkner estate apparently have no senses of humor, or have ever heard of fair use, and have filed a lawsuit against Woody Allen’s use of a line from Requiem for a Nun in his delightful film, Midnight in Paris. Geez.

Some of the writers mentioned here would probably love to be quoted by Woody Allen in one of his movies. Or any other film for that matter.

The unreliable narrator has become a staple in fiction, pioneered many years ago by Joseph Conrad and Ford Maddox Ford. Amy Wilson has an appreciation of three modern works over at NPR.

For those of you who cannot get enough Halloween, the estimable Otto Penzler listed his favorite ghost stories over at HuffPo. There’s some great cover art in the article. I would only add Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw to the list.

It was filmed brilliantly by Jack Clayton back in the early sixties as The Innocents, starring Deborah Kerr with a screenplay by Truman Capote.

Speaking of Capote, a few more tidbits of Answered Prayers has turned up. The New York Times has the story.

Although we still have a couple of more months left to this year, Publishers Weekly released its list of the best books of 2012.

There are some fine books here. But in case you had a book published this year and PW ignored your tome, Grant Snider at the New York Times book page has some prizes for you, anyway.

In our lists department,we have from Flavorwire, musicians who are inspired by great works of literature. I’d echo the selection of Kate Bush, who, in a four minute song, gives you Wuthering Heights. And anyone who has ever heard Woody Guthrie’s Tom Joad, well….

And, finally, Wired.com has a list of the best sci-fi and fantasy movies adapted from books. Any list that includes Blade Runner is all right by me.

Remember to set your clocks back one hour this weekend. Remember to Vote! Tell us what your plans are for election night. SeattleTammy and I will spend the evening listening to returns with our virtual friends in Second Life, over at the Cafe Wellstone (hello Wellstoners!) and, we hope, celebrating. Oh, and don’t forget to tell us what fine books are on your nightstand this weekend!