club penguin pete

BOOK CASE
From Hardcover to Paper,
How a Blockbuster Was Born
A Calculated Approach
For 'Eat, Pray, Love';
Memoir Strikes a Nerve
By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
September 14, 2007; Page A1

When Pearson PLC's Viking imprint published Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" early last year, it printed 30,000 copies -- only 5,000 more than the total U.S. hardcover sales of her previous release. "We had high hopes, but we didn't put it out in best-seller numbers," says Viking Publisher Paul Slovak.

The title -- a chatty recounting of the author's divorce, spiritual search and self-redemption as she traveled the world -- was the fourth for Ms. Gilbert, a former writer at GQ magazine. Although her work was well-reviewed, Ms. Gilbert was considered a mid-list author, talented but not a proven seller.

Then a strange thing happened: The paperback edition of "Eat, Pray, Love," published in January, quickly gained must-read status. Women everywhere, it seemed -- on trains, planes and exotic beaches -- were suddenly entranced, making it this summer's break-out publishing hit. The book has had a 32-week run on the New York Times paperback nonfiction best-seller list, where it currently occupies the No. 1 position. Paramount Pictures acquired the movie rights for actress Julia Roberts. The author says a sequel is already in the works.

"I was hooked on page one," says Barbara Gattermeir, a grandmother in Kansas City., Mo., who inhaled the paperback in two days. "I've since recommended it to a lot of people, and they've all called, said they loved it, and that they'd given it to somebody else."

The book's transformation from respectable-selling hardcover to paperback sensation was no accident. It came about after a series of calculated moves from Viking's sister Penguin paperback line, where executives worked to interpret sales patterns and create a marketing blitz to attract individual readers as well as book clubs.

Penguin's approach shows how publishers, which typically don't conduct market research, are becoming increasingly adept at hand-picking certain titles for stardom. It also underscores the pressure for publishing houses to deliver books that can get a big second wind from a paperback release -- even if hardcover sales don't exactly explode.

The vast majority of books face a tough reality. New releases that fail to take off in the first couple of weeks -- when publishers often pay to place copies on stores' front tables -- are relegated to the back shelves.

"The usual reflex is to give a book two weeks in the sun and then move on," says Bob Miller, president of Walt Disney Co.'s Hyperion book division. This rule of thumb, however, doesn't apply to books with break-out potential.

"These titles require a different mind-set, the realization that by staying on them you can build something bigger than you'd see with the normal best-seller pattern," says Mr. Miller.

VIDEO

Watch a Q&A session with "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert (YouTube).In the case of "Eat, Pray, Love," executives at Penguin paid close attention to the hardcover's early reception. It was excerpted in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine and landed a favorable cover article in the New York Times Book Review -- both big plums for any author.

Hundreds of readers were emailing Ms. Gilbert to tell her how much her story had affected them -- and to share their own intimate experiences. Instead of evaporating, hardcover sales surprisingly gained momentum in late spring both at major chains and large independent bookstores.

The title surfaced on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list at No. 12 for the issue dated March 19, and then fell to No. 15 the following week. On March 21, Ms. Gilbert appeared on NBC's "Today" show and the book again hit the list for another week.

Ms. Gilbert, 38 years old, says she was pleased with her progress, but figured the book had seen its best days. "I was so happy with everything that happened," she says. "I was more than satisfied. And then I thought that was it. It should have been over. But it wasn't."

Poring over sales data, Penguin executives saw that stores were reordering at unusual rates. Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation's largest book retailer, continued to sell 400 to 500 hardcover copies through the end of the year. The book had "legs." The trend suggested that the memoir was generating word-of-mouth publicity, believed by many to be the single most important factor in creating a major best seller.

"What you're looking for are books that didn't just ship and die," says Kathryn Court, publisher of Penguin Books. Hardcovers, in other words, that have already "seeded the audience." Ms. Court makes a point of sitting in on Viking's promotion and strategy sessions, where she looks for titles that have reordered well and whose sales are growing week to week.

In fall 2006, Ms. Court began to put a plan in motion. First, she decided that the hardcover dust jacket -- with its script lettering rendered in pasta, prayer beads and flowers -- was so appealing that she would use it again for the paperback. Penguin then threw all of its sales and marketing muscle behind the paperback release, set for Jan. 30, 2007.

Each month Penguin publishes 15 to 20 fancy "trade" paperbacks -- high-quality editions that are larger in format and easier to read than their cheaper, mass-market cousins. But it only really lends its weight to one or two. As a sign of its commitment, Penguin ordered a first printing of 170,000 paperbacks for "Eat, Pray, Love" -- more copies than the book had sold in hardcover, and very large for a nonfiction title. Price, too, was significant. The hardcover cost $24.95, while the trade paperback would be much more affordable, at $15.

Next, Ms. Court stoked interest throughout the publishing house itself. She asked every member of Penguin's sales and marketing team to read the book, including those who sell to the country's largest chains. She wanted to spark the sort of enthusiasm that becomes infectious among store buyers -- a tough crowd that is inundated with new books every week. "You've got to translate that excitement to people on the outside," Ms. Court says.

Upon its debut, Penguin made certain the paperback would have high visibility in stores, promoting "Eat, Pray, Love" with freestanding 12-copy floor displays. That was a show of confidence among retailers, who reserve such prime, paid real estate for books with huge promise.

Penguin also invested in ads. In addition to targeting usual suspects like the New York Times Book Review and the New Yorker magazine, it bought space in Yoga Journal -- a nod to the book's spiritual sensibility. The publishers' sales and marketing team focused on the book's progress in weekly meetings. The goal was to create so much buzz that the book would quickly become a New York Times best seller -- which it did.

"A lot of the reason that these big paperbacks have sold so many copies is that we're like a dog with a bone," says Ms. Court. "We don't give up."

Selling Ms. Gilbert, the author, was just as crucial. Unlike many writers who don't like touring and are uncomfortable in front of crowds, Ms. Gilbert has a sunny, upbeat personality that plays well on television and in personal appearances. Notes Ms. Court: "When the writer of a book is attractive, generous, and funny, booksellers end up rooting for her."

It helped that Ms. Gilbert had built a following from her prior books. Her debut novel, "Stern Men," a love story published in 2000 and set against the backdrop of lobster fishing in Maine, was chosen as a Discover Great New Writers selection at Barnes & Noble.

"We have a history," says Edward Ash-Milby, who buys biographies and memoirs for Barnes & Noble, which quickly emerged as one of Ms. Gilbert's most enthusiastic supporters.

Ms. Gilbert, who had toured at the hardcover launch of "Eat, Pray, Love," hit the road again in support of her paperback, visiting more than 20 cities through early summer. The itinerary included a West Coast trip in June where she appeared at bookstores in Pasadena, Malibu and San Jose.

The author gained book-club traction. Her memoir was the No. 3 Book Sense Reading Group Pick for spring/summer 2007, which meant many of the independent bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association recommended it to their customers.Sept. 21

"The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford" -- Brad Pitt plays the infamous outlaw in this problem-plagued art-house take on the classic American Western. More than 30 versions of the film have been cut after three years in the making. Casey Affleck plays the coward with indie fave Sam Rockwell playing his older bro. Directed by Andrew Dominik.

"December Boys" -- Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe goes wandless as one of four Australian pals who compete to be adopted by a childless young couple during the 1960s. In this 2005 production, just now being released, Radcliffe loses his on-screen virginity. Religious visions, symbolic horses and cancer figure into the plot as well.

"Dedication" -- A heinously misanthropic children's book author (Billy Crudup) gets a new outlook on life (and romance) when his longtime illustrator (Tom Wilkinson) draws his last breath and a pretty young woman (Mandy Moore) replaces him. The supporting cast includes director Peter Bogdanovich.

"The Devil Came on Horseback" -- Using the exclusive photographs and first-hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Capt. Brian Steidle, this doc takes us on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where an Arab-run government systematically executes a plan to rid the province of black African citizens.

"Fierce People" -- A working-class New York teen (Anton Yelchin) wants to spend the summer studying South American Indians with the anthropologist father he's never met. Instead, he and his drugged-out masseuse mom (Diane Lane) wind up among the ranks of the super-rich where they encounter a culture much more mysterious and lethal. With Donald Sutherland, Kristin Stewart and Chris Evans.

"Freshman Orientation" -- A college freshman (Sam Huntington) pretends to be gay so he can get in good with the girl of his dreams (Kaitlin Doubleday). Let's hope the movie has more imagination and laughs than its overused premise suggests.

"Good Luck Chuck" -- Every woman who sleeps with cursed dentist Dane Cook finds true love with the next guy she hooks up with. Suddenly, he has women taking numbers to sleep with him, just so they can find true love. His perfect life takes a tumble when he falls for an accident-prone penguin specialist (Jessica Alba).

"The Jane Austen Book Club" -- What a delightful, Austentacious chick flick! This romantic drama centers on five women who form a book club to read six Austen novels, not realizing how their own lives begin to resemble those of the characters they're reading about. Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace and Amy Brenneman star. Based on Karen Joy Fowler's novel.

"Resident Evil: Extinction" -- "Resident Evil" movies extinct? Please, don't tease us! Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues her fight against the evil Umbrella Corporation by traipsing across the Nevada desert on her way to Alaska. Ashanti, Ali Larder and Mike Epps join her and risk succumbing to the dreaded T-virus that turns people into carnivorous zombies. Based on the video game.

"Sydney White" -- Make that "Snow White," because this comedy retells the fairy tale about a young woman (Amanda Bynes) who winds up living with seven rejects after being bumped out of her mother's wicked college sorority. Matt Long plays the princely Tyler.

"Transformers IMAX" -- Michael Bay's hit action film (more than $300 million and climbing), based on the 1980s toys, comes to the REALLY BIG screen at IMAX theaters after being digitally remastered for that format. Heartthrob Shia LaBeouf helps a race of shape-shifting aliens save Earth from the Decepticons.

Sept. 28

"Blame It on Fidel" -- Anna, a feisty Parisian girl, is forced to assimilate to cataclysmic changes when her parents devote themselves to radical activism in 1970. Anna's father fights to redistribute wealth in Chile; her mother researches a book on abortion. Anna transforms from a close-minded bourgeois princess to an open-hearted seeker of truth.

"Feast of Love" -- William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" gets a contemporary update to "Midsummer Night's Sex Fantasy" thanks to some hot sex scenes between Radha Mitchell and Billy Burke. Robert "Kramer vs. Kramer" Benton directs Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Selma Blair as Oregon residents caught up in the behavior of foolish mortals.

"The Game Plan" -- This Disney comedy stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a superstar football quarterback (now there's a stretch!) who sees his bachelorhood going down in flames when a little girl (Madison Pettis) shows up one day, claiming to be his daughter. Kyra Sedgwick closes the main cast.

"Into the Wild" -- Sean Penn directs a poetic ode to a young, promising college grad (Emile Hirsch) who opts to live -- and die -- in the Alaskan wilderness rather than pursue a life of conformity modeled after flawed parental expectations. William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden play the villainous parents. Based on the true story of a 1992 Emory University grad. He appears at the end of the film in a photo found undeveloped in his camera.

"King of California" -- Costco wins the product placement award of the month when it becomes the location where a nutty mental patient (Michael Douglas) thinks California gold might be buried. He convinces his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) to get a job there so they can dig for treasure under the building. Good thing Costco sells discount shovels -- but you can only buy them in 12-packs!

"Trade" -- The sex trade in Mexico gets a rough, blunt examination as a Mexican teenager (Cesar Ramos) aligns himself with a Texas cop (Kevin Kline) to rescue his little sister (Paulina Gaitan), abducted by sex merchants. Co-written by the guy (Jose Rivera) who gave us "The Motorcycle Diaries."

Oct. 5

"Feel the Noise" -- A young man from the South Bronx dreams of making it as a rapper, until a run-in with local thugs forces him to hide in Puerto Rico with the father he never knew. With Giancarlo Esposito and Omarion Grandberry.

"Grace is Gone" -- Chicago's own John Cusack goes for Oscar-level seriousness as a father who struggles to explain to his two little girls that their mother (Dana Lynne Gilhooley) has been killed in action in Iraq. He decides to break the news during a road trip.

"The Heartbreak Kid" -- With Bobby and Peter Farrelly co-directing this remake of Elaine May's 1972 comedy, you can bet it will barely resemble the Charles Grodin/Cybill Shepherd original. Ben Stiller plays Grodin's role, only instead of falling in love with a hot woman on his honeymoon with a plain-Jane wife, Stiller marries a bombshell (Malin Ackerman), then falls for a less elegant girl (Michelle Monaghan). Co-starring Jerry Stiller (Ben's dad) as a foul-mouthed father.

"I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With" -- "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Jeff Garlin wrote, directed and stars in this comic look at a man in search of a soul mate. He plays James, a frustrated and underappreciated Chicago actor who lives with his mother and wants three things: someone to love him, a great part and less weight. He's 0 for 3. Sarah Silverman, Bonnie Hunt, Amy Sedaris and Dan Castellaneta join him in the cast.

"Lust, Caution" -- "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee's new erotic espionage thriller earned an adults-only NC-17 rating for its graphic sex scenes. Insiders compare it to Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris," although a Variety critic didn't like it that much. Tony Leung and newcomer Tang Wei star in a story about a reserved Chinese drama student drawn into an assassination plot during World War II.

"Sea Monsters 3-D: A Prehistoric Adventure" -- Be prepared as photorealistic computer-generated animation transports us back to the late cretaceous period where a curious dolichorynchops (known as a "dolly") experiences the world from her spot near the bottom of the food chain. Look out for those long-necked plesiosaurs! Giant turtles! Big, BIG fish! Flippered crocs! Fierce sharks! And the most dangerous sea monster of all: the mosasaur!

"The Seeker: The Dark is Rising" -- Based on the theatrical trailer, this fantasy looks closer to "Eragon" than "Harry Potter." It's another special-effects-stuffed, kid-saving-the-world fantasy, this time involving Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig), a boy shocked to discover he's the last of a group of immortal, time-traveling warriors fighting the eternal forces of evil in the universe. Ian McShane and Jonathan Jackson co-star.

Oct. 10

"Control" -- A bio-drama based on Ian Curtis (Sam Riley), the enigmatic Joy Division singer whose personal, professional and romantic troubles led him to commit suicide at the age of 23. Based on the book by Deborah Riley, played in the movie by Samantha Morton.

Oct. 12

"Canvas" -- In his debut feature film, writer/director Joseph Greco explores mental illness through the eyes of a child as he learns to cope with his schizophrenic mother. Based on the filmmaker's own childhood. Joe Pantoliano, Marcia Gay Harden and newcomer Devon Gearhart star.

"The Darjeeling Limited" -- Before his recent suicide attempt, Owen Wilson made this Wes Anderson-directed drama with Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman as his estranged brothers. After the death of their father, the siblings embark upon a spiritual journey across India. They shot it aboard a real train, too.

"The Final Season" -- Oh, no! Just as a small-town baseball team in Iowa is about to earn its record 20th state sports title, it gets merged with another town, sparking petty jealousies and political agendas. Worse, legendary coach Jim Van Scoyoc (Powers Boothe) gets replaced by a one-season assistant coach, Kent Stock (Sean Astin), a move that seems to guarantee the team's failure. Based on a true story.

"Hitman" -- Based on the popular video game, this thriller stars Timothy Olyphant as a genetically engineered assassin called Agent 47, chased by Interpol and the Russians across Eastern Europe. With Dougray Scott.

"Lars and the Real Girl" -- From the director of the super-serious weepie "The Notebook" comes a bent romance about a man named Lars ("Notebook" star Ryan Gosling) who falls in love with Bianca, an inflatable doll he purchases online. (Cue the groaner puns about blowing things up out of proportion.) With Emily Mortimer as a real girl and Patricia Clarkson as a real shrink.

"My Kid Could Paint That" -- When the parents of a celebrated 4-year-old artistic genius named Marla Olmstead are accused of pushing their own paintings off as her work, they turn to documentary filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev to clear their names. This is his report on the child phenomenon profiled on NPR, "The Today Show" and "Good Morning, America." Is little Marla a genius? Or an unwitting accomplice to a scam?

"Rogue" -- A leisurely boat ride through Australia's Kakadu National Park turns deadly when a giant crocodile attacks, stranding the travelers on a tiny mud island that slowly shrinks as the tide rises. Where's Mick Dundee when you need him? Starring Michael Vartan, the alluring Radha Mitchell and Sam Worthington. From Greg Mclean, director of the nasty, violent "Wolf Creek."

"We Own the Night" -- Nope, not another vampire movie, although the title sounds like it. Joaquin Phoenix plays a club manager in 1980s Brooklyn. He winds up stuck between his cop brother (Mark Wahlberg) and police-chief dad (Robert Duvall) on one side and the mob on the other. Decisions, decisions.

"Why Did I Get Married?" -- It's a Tyler Perry movie. Critics will hate it. A sizable and indiscriminate chunk of the population will go see it anyway. Perry adapts his stage play about what happens when a hottie invades the space of a family. Perry co-stars with Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal and Michael Jai White.

Oct. 16

"Autism: The Musical" -- Reportedly a dynamic and intimate documentary that follows several autistic children for six months as they prepare and perform a live musical on stage.

"I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal" -- This documentary explores the life of the famed Nazi hunter and humanitarian. Narrated by Nicole Kidman. From filmmaker Richard Trank.

Oct. 19

"August Rush" -- Robin Williams gets one more chance to pull his spiraling career choices into something worth doing (and watching). An orphaned musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore) tries to track down his parents using his musical gifts as clues. With the adorable Keri Russell and Chicago's own Terrence Howard.

"Broken" -- Heather Graham plays a spirited girl with the significant name of Hope. She moves to Los Angeles where she fails to jumpstart her music career. She then falls in love with a handsome bad boy with the significant name of Will (Jeremy Sisto), who hooks her on drugs and passion. But mostly drugs.

"Gone Baby Gone" -- Ben Affleck co-wrote and directed this drama about two investigators (little bro Casey Affleck and John "Beverly Hills Cop" Ashton) on the trail of a missing 4-year-old girl in Boston. Based on Dennis Lehane's novel. With Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and Michelle Monaghan.

"Great World of Sound" -- Two guys (Pat Healy and Kene Holliday) get involved with a record industry talent scheme. They sign new acts and hit the road looking for the next big thing. But the you-know-what hits the fan when the checks get cashed. Director/co-writer Craig Zobel weaves real-life talent show auditions into the fictional narrative.

"Ira & Abby" -- A Jewish neurotic and a free-spirited gym employee meet and marry within a few hours. Then the guy discovers his new bride has been married before: twice. Chris Messina and Jennifer Westfeldt star.

"Lake of Fire" -- Filmmaker Tony Kaye, best known for "American History X," has worked on this documentary on abortion for 15 years. He shoots it in luminous black and white. He gives equal time to both sides, covering arguments from all extremes of the spectrum, as well as those at the center. Noam Chomsky and Alan M. Dershowitz appear with other speakers.

"Live-in Maid" -- When a maid named Dora decides to leave her 30-year employment with the haughty, upper-class Beba, the two square off in a clash of class resentment and unacknowledged interdependency. Sounds like Karen and her maid from an episode of "Will & Grace."

"The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D" -- Henry Selick's 1993 stop-motion animated cult fantasy returns to the silver screen in glorious, digitally created 3-D! The amazing Danny Elfman composes the score and sings Jack Skellington's songs. Chris Sarandon provides Jack's speaking voice as the skeletal hero who tries to steal Christmas from Santa Claus. You have to see this movie on the big screen! (You know you do.)

"Rendition" -- A pregnant Midwestern woman (Reese Witherspoon) finds out her missing Egyptian husband (Omar Metwally) has been abducted by the U.S. government for interrogation by a rookie CIA agent (Jake Gyllenhaal). Worse, the abduction was ordered by Meryl Streep, and if you remember her chilling performance from the "The Manchurian Candidate," you don't want to mess with her.

"Reservation Road" -- Two fathers (Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo) and their families suffer in the aftermath of a terrible hit-and-run accident that kills one of their children. It happens on Reservation Road. Directed by Terry George, who last gave us another tragedy, "Hotel Rwanda." Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino play the mothers.

"Things We Lost in the Fire" -- Halle Berry stars as Audrey Burke, whose life has been shattered by the sudden death of her husband. In grief, she turns to one of his lifelong friends, Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro), a former lawyer also on a serious downward spiral. Can they repair their lives?

"30 Days of Night" -- Each winter, the town of Barrow, Alaska, gets plunged into darkness for 30 straight days, which means just one thing for hordes of hungry vampires: an all-you-can-eat buffet! Josh Hartnett's sheriff and his estranged wife (Melissa George) try to stay off the smorgasbord. Ben Foster and Danny Huston co-star. Based on the graphic novel. Directed by David Slade, who jettisons the supernatural elements of vampire lore (shape-shifting and flying) for a pungent sense of violent realism. The trailer is loaded with shocks.

Oct. 26

"The Comebacks" -- A spoof of the best-known inspirational sports movies ever made. It tells the story of an out-of-luck coach, Lambeau Fields (David Koechner), who takes a rag-tag bunch of college misfits and drives them toward the football championships! With Carl "Apollo Creed" Weathers and Andy Dick.

"Dan in Real Life" -- That 40-year-old virgin Steve Carell stars as Dan, a family advice columnist who falls for a woman (Juliette Binoche) in the bookstore, only to discover that she's the new woman dating his brother (Dane Cook). If this movie is anything like director Peter Hedges' other movies "Pieces of April" and "About a Boy," it should be a hoot, with heart.

"Funny Games" -- Not so funny, actually. Controversial German filmmaker Michael Haneke remakes his own 1998 thriller about two psychos who hold a family hostage in a remote cabin, then terrorize them for jollies. Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and relative newcomer Michael Pitt star.

"How to Cook Your Life" --Filmmaker Doris D?rrie turns her attention to Buddhism and that age-old saying, "You are what you eat." She enlists the help of charismatic Edward Espe Brown to explain the guiding principles of Zen Buddhism as they apply to the preparation of food and life.

"Man From Plains" -- Jonathan Demme directs a documentary that follows humanitarian and former President Jimmy Carter during the tour for his controversial book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

"Music Within" -- After losing his hearing in the Vietnam War, Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston) sets out to change people's perceptions toward the disabled and becomes a hero as one of the primary activists behind the Americans With Disabilities Act. The secret? Richard discovers the "music within."

"Run, Fat Boy, Run" -- Former "Friend" David Schwimmer directs a delightful underdog comedy about an immature doofus (Simon Pegg) who enters a London marathon to recapture the woman (Thandie Newton) he left at the altar five years earlier. Hank Azaria co-stars as the new Yank in her life, and he's an experienced marathon runner.

"Saw IV" -- Seen "Saw," "Saw II" or "Saw III"? Then you saw this film already. Even though Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and his apprentice are supposedly dead, tell that to SWAT Cmdr. Rigg (Lyriq Bent). He has 90 minutes to figure out a series of interconnected traps, or die most heinously. Bell's in the movie. But how? Hmmm.

Nov. 2

"American Gangster" -- Director Ridley Scott re-teams with his "Gladiator" and "A Good Year" star Russell Crowe to tell the true story of a drug runner (Denzel Washington) who smuggled heroin into the U.S. inside Vietnam soldiers' caskets. Crowe plays the dedicated cop determined to bring the 1970s Harlem drug lord to justice. With Chicago's own Cuba Gooding Jr. The film comes from screenwriter Steve Zaillian, so you know it'll be smart.

"Bee Movie" -- A busy bee named Barry B. Benson (voiced by comedian Jerry Seinfeld) decides to sue humans for eating the honey his fellow insects have to slave over a hot hive to make. A computer-animated comedy featuring the voices of Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock, John Goodman, Matthew Broderick and Kathy Bates.

"The Gates" -- In 1979, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude proposed to create a "golden river" of 7,500 fabric-paneled gates in Central Park. This doc, from Antonio Ferrera and Albert Maysles, chronicles the artists' 26-year commitment to transform the winter darkness of the park into a garden of light and color.

"The Kite Runner" -- Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland") directs a drama about an Afghan lad named Amir (Khalid Abdalla) who comes to America, then later returns to his Taliban-ruled homeland to rescue the best friend he left behind. Shot in China near the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.

"Martian Child" -- This domestic drama has been bumped more times than a woman on a date with the Butabi brothers. John Cusack plays a writer who, reeling from the death of his fiancee, adopts a 6-year-old boy (Bobbie Coleman) who thinks he's from Mars. With Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet and Oliver Platt. It'll be a miracle if this film actually opens on schedule.

Nov. 9

"Fred Claus" -- Chicago's own Vince Vaughn as Santa's trouble-making brother at the North Pole? This we gotta see, even if it does recycle gags from Will Ferrell's "Elf." The ubiquitous Paul Giamatti stars as the suddenly not-so-jolly St. Nick.

"Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten" -- Filmmaker Julien Temple chronicles the transformation of a self-described "mouthy little git" into an anti-establishment icon.

"Lions for Lambs" -- Robert Redford directs himself, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep in a drama containing three separate subplots on a collision course. Cruise plays a Republican senator, Streep a bleeding-heart journalist and Redford a sagely college professor whose former students (Derek Luke and Michael Pena) sign up to fight in Afghanistan against his advice.

"No Country for Old Men" -- Javier Bardem goes cold-blooded killer in the Coen brothers' visual translation of the Cormac McCarthy novel about a killing machine named Chigurh. He tracks down $2 million in drug money and mows down anyone who gets in his way. Tommy Lee Jones, who has plenty of experience playing dedicated cops, portrays the sheriff in hot pursuit. The film features the first silenced shotgun I've ever seen.

Nov. 16

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" -- Master filmmaker Sidney Lumet directs a thriller about two brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) who rob a suburban jewelry store owned by their own mother and father. It's another perfect-crime-gone-awry movie. Marisa Tomei plays Hoffman's trophy wife, who's fooling around with Hawke. Albert Finney plays Dad, who diligently pursues justice at all costs, unaware his own sons did the crime.

"Love in the Time of Cholera" -- Javier Bardem plays a man so devastated that his lover (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) leaves him for a rich doctor that he drowns his sorrow with 622 affairs over five decades -- almost up to Warren Beatty's record. Based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel. Directed by Mike "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" Newell.

"Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" -- Dustin Hoffman plays the mysterious, wacky, 243-year-old proprietor of a magic toy shop. He taps an insecure manager (Natalie Portman) to be his successor, and she's not at all sure she's up to being in the same league with Willie Wonka. Directed by Zach Helm, from a screenplay he wrote, sold, then bought back.

"Naked Boys Singing!" -- Forget top-drawer entertainment. These guys have no drawers at all. The New York musical revue (now in its eighth year) comes to the silver screen with its cast of multitalented singers, dancers and actors who bare it all for their art. Actual cast members will be in attendance at the Music Box Theatre.

Such kudos are key to winning over retailers like the Tattered Cover. Based in the greater Denver area, it has three locations and sells to more than 100 book clubs. It also sends out a bimonthly email newsletter to 3,000 club members. Five years ago the retailer serviced only half as many clubs.

"It all feeds word of mouth, and that's what takes you from 5,000 copies to 50,000 copies to 500,000 copies," says Ms. Court. "We can't make people love a book."

Penguin is particularly adept at spinning gold from paperback titles. In addition to Ms. Gilbert's memoir, it published Sue Monk Kidd's "The Secret Life of Bees" in 2003 and last summer's smash hit "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards. Both novels were strong sellers in hardcover but exploded as paperbacks with more than three million copies each in print.

The $15 U.S. paperback edition of "Eat, Pray, Love" will generate about $15 million in sales for the publisher if it sells two million copies, a number that now seems conservative. On average, a successful nonfiction paperback may sell 50,000 copies in a year, translating to less than $400,000 in sales.

Ms. Gilbert's experience shows what a big influence fancy trade paperbacks are having on an industry that prices its mass-market paperbacks at about $7.99. Back in the 1970s, those smaller, rack-sized paperbacks were the blockbusters of the business, led by such best sellers as William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" (11 million copies sold); Peter Benchley's "Jaws" (more than nine million copies), and Sidney Sheldon's "The Other Side of Midnight" (six million copies plus).

"One of the mantras of publishing economics of the 1970s and early 1980s was that mass-market paperbacks could achieve 10 times the sales of a hardcover," says Stuart Applebaum, a spokesman for Bertlesmann AG's Random House Inc. Then retailers started discounting hardcover titles, and the smaller, cheaper paperbacks lost ground.

Laurence Kirshbaum, a book agent who heads up LJK Literary Management in New York, estimates that the current ratio between hardcover and paperback sales is one to one -- mostly because so many hardcover books are so steeply discounted. "These days the bulk of the people who are interested in a book buy it in hardcover; that's what makes titles such as 'Eat, Pray, Love' so exceptional," says Mr. Kirshbaum. "They are throwbacks to the days when paperbacks sold huge multiples of the hardcover."

Reading tastes, too, have changed. Virtually all of the hottest recent paperbacks have flourished largely because they appeal to women -- buyers who account for 60% to 70% of U.S. book sales. Among the hits are Jeannette Walls's memoir of her difficult childhood, "The Glass Castle," which now has 1.7 million fancy paperbacks in print, and Azar Nafisi's memoir "Reading Lolita in Tehran," which is selling at about the same level. Lisa See's novel "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," has topped 1.1 million. None were hardcover blockbusters.

"These books connect with readers because they are about lives that are being transformed, or lives that are being saved," says Patrick Nolan, director of trade paperback sales for the Penguin Group.

Ms. Gilbert's story seemed tailor-made for a female audience. Although she appeared to have everything a successful woman could want, Ms. Gilbert experienced a premature midlife crisis in her late 20s, crying on the bathroom floor at 3 a.m. To the dismay of her husband, she announced she was leaving him and wanted a divorce.

Then she found her "soul mate," only to discover that they had different emotional needs and couldn't build a life together. Finally, she decided to put everything behind her and get as far away as possible. She says her misery led to "prayer and a conversation with God that I wanted to take to the highest level." Although her plans were uncertain, she knew she wanted to learn Italian, meditate at her guru's temple in India and spend time with a healer in Bali.

It helps when a book has a happy ending, as it gives readers hope. Ms. Gilbert eventually finds love in the arms of a divorced Brazilian businessman whom she met in Bali. There was a hitch: If they wanted to live together in the U.S., they would need to get married -- something they both had sworn never to do again.

That romantic saga is the subject of her next book. The first printing will be considerably larger than 30,000 copies