Better late than never, but it’s been an incredibly busy week.  The fall books are approaching and the calendars keep rolling on in…

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT:

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins.  HC $17.99 Last in the trilogy that began with the Hunger Games.

The Limit – Kristen Landon. HC $15.99 What happens when your parents go over the Federal Debt Limit?  13 year old Matt is about to find out…

ADULT NON-FICTION:

A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster – Rebecca Solnit.  PB $16 Fascinating book.

American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right – Markos Moulitsas.  PB$15.95 Founder of political website Daily Kos (be warned, you may spend Sanity Points freely when reading)Muolitsas has a great deal to say about current politics that is worth reading.

700 Places To Volunteer Before You Die: A Traveler’s Guide – Nola Lee Kelsey.  PB $22.95  The antidote to all those other books .

Rat Girl – Kristen Hersh.  PB $15 A year in the life of Kristen Hersh, lead singer for the band Throwing Muses (remember them?  I highly recommend 1991′s The Real Ramona)

RATIO: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking – Michael Ruhlman.  PB $16  I highly recommend his website as well for info about the world of professional cooking, insights about tv chefs, and commentary about the world of food.

Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street – Robert Scheer.  PB $15.95

Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession - Craig Childs. HC $24.99  I can’t wait to read this book about who owns the past, and what we should do with the artifacts littering our museums.  How do we record history and culture without destroying either?  Indeed, is it even possible?

Read It Before You Eat It: How to Decode Food Labels and Make the Healthiest Choice Every Time – Bonnie Taub-Dix.  PB $15

Healing of America: Global Quest or Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care – T.R.Reid.  PB $16

Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence – Rachel Simmons.  PB $15

Better World Shopping Guide 3rd ed – Ellis Jones.  PB $9.95  Everything you didn’t want to know about the everyday things we buy.

The Plant Hunters: Adventures of the World Greatest Botanical Explorers – Carolyn Fry.  HC $39.95  Comes with removable facsimiles images from the Kew Gardens archives.

ADULT FICTION:

Freedom - Jonathan Frantzen.  HC $28 Worth the hype?

Hector and the Search for Happiness – Francois Lelord. PB $14 Supposedly a Little Prince for adults.

Willful Behavior – Donna Leon PB $14

Body Work – Sara Paretsky.  HC $26.95 VI Warshawski takes the day off…

Hope the heat isn’t making you melt – til next time -
Cheers

Clea

A few titles for the week to peruse and enjoy.

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Over the Cliff: How Obama’s Election Drove the American Right Insane. -John Amato & David Neiwert.  PB $16.95  Excellent and frightening work from the founder of Crooks & Liars and the editor of political blog Orcinus.

Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil – Peter Maass.  PB $15.95

Lost Ski Areas of Southern Vermont – Jeremy K Davis. PB $19.99  I remember when Hasytack, Maple Valley, Hogback, Magic Mountain and the Putney School tows were all in session.  Seems like ages ago now – because it was!

Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude – Neal Pollack.  PB $14.95

What the World Eats: Around the World in 80 Diets – Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aulisio.  HC $40  Fantastic book about what we eat, fascinating to see the similarities and (very few) differences.

ADULT FICTION:

The Hundred-Foot Journey – Richard C. Morais.  HC $23 The story of one Indian boy’s journey from Mumbai to a small town in France, and his rise in the world of cooking.  For serious food porn addicts!  Recommended by Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio (dontcha just love him?), you can also hear an interview with the author on the Diane Rehm show. (audio only)

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell.  HC $26  Longlisted for this year’s Man-Booker prize. You can hear an interview with the author on Fresh Air.

The Children’s Book – A.S. Byatt PB $16.95

Super Sad True Love Story – Gary Shteyngart.  HC $26

Here are the fabulous new books we should all be reading this week:

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void – Mary Roach. HC $25.95 There’s also an NPR Interview about the book here.

Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids – Christina McGhee.  PB $15

Haikubes - $24.95  A box of cubes with words on them with which to make haiku using dice.

The Breast Cancer Companion: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed – Nancy Sokolowski and Valerie Rossi, eds. PB $16.95 A great guide with some useful advice as well as write-in-the-book detailing for surgeries, medical history, a (very small) bill tracker, treatment plan, medical team directory, etc.  I make it sound silly, but I could have used something like this when I was undergoing (non-cancerous) medical treatment a few years ago.

Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest – Adam Elebaas.  HC $24.95 Absolutely fascinating account of a preacher’s son gaining spiritual awareness – and coming to terms with his messed up life – using ayahuasca.

The Book of Silence – Sara Maitland.  PB $15.95 One woman’s discovery of the beauty of silence, ending with her living 20 miles from nowhere in Skye.

The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy (2010 Pulitzer Prize Winner, Non-Fiction) – David Hoffman.  PB $16.95

Sparking a Worldwide Energy Revolution: Social Struggles in the Transition to a Post-Petrol World – Kolya Abramsky, ed. Over 50 essays by contributors from 20 countries, this one looks like an essential read.

Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization – Spencer Wells. HC $26

Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War – Andrew Bacevich.  HC $25 The hell of America’s foreign  policy, or lack thereof.

ADULT FICTION:

City of Veils – Zoe Ferraris.  HC $24.99 The followup to the brilliant Finding Nouf PB $16, once again featuring Katya and Nayir as they investigate the death of an investigative filmmaker and the disappearance of an American woman’s husband.

I Curse the River of Time - Per Petterson.  HC $23

A Quiet Belief In Angels – R.J.Ellory. PB $14.95 I flipped through this international bestseller and was immediately sucked into the mystery, surrounding the murders of young girls in ’30′s Georgia.  50 years later our protagonist, who was 12 when the first murder occurred,  has to confront the truth of his past.  Seems very very well written.

The Year of the Flood – Margaret Atwood.  PB $15 Book 2 of the MaddAddam trilogy, the followup to Oryx and Crake.

Color Me Butterfly – L.Y.Marlow.  PB $15 The family saga of escape from abuse, Southern fiction stylee.

Generosity: An Enhancement – Richard Powers.  PB $15

~*~

That’s it unless I see a few more titles to add today or tomorrow.  Hope you’re not all melting in the heat and humidity.

Cheers

Clea

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent – Andrew Nikiforuk.  PB$17.95  My husband has worked in the oil industry all his life and says that Canada’s tar sands aren’t worth it.  The financial cost – for little in return – as well as the environmental cost is staggering.

Alabama’s Civil Rights Trail: An Illustrated Guide to the Cradle of Freedom – Frye Gaillard.  PB $24.95  Yes, it is an actual travel guide.

Evo Morales: The Extraordinary Rise of the First Indigenous President of Bolivia – Martin Sivak. HC $27

The Declaration of Interdependence: A Pledge to Planet Earth – Tara Cullis, David Suzuki, eds. HC $15

This Borrowed Earth: Lessons From the 15 Worst Environmental Disasters Around the World – Robert Emmet Hernan.  PB $17  Seriously scary listing of terrible events from around the world.  What’s even scarier are the well-known disasters that aren‘t on this list.  Makes you wonder what’s really flown under the radar, doesn’t it?

Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places – Bill Streever.  PB $14.99  A walking tour of the cold.

Barefoot in Baghdad: A Story of Identity – My Own and What It Means to Be a Woman in Chaos – Manal M. Omar.  PB $14.99  Oman, an American of Arabic descents, goes to Iraq as an Aid worker in 2003.  War ensues.

Tall Trees, Tough Men: A Vivid, Anecdotal History of Logging and Log-Driving in New England – Robert Pike.  PB $13.95 Actually, it’s really logging on the Connecticut.  There’s also a great pic of a log jam at the Brattleboro-Hinsdale bridge before the Island was washed away in the floods of ’29 and ’37.

Nature of Vermont: Introduction and Guide to a New England Environment – Charles Johnson.  PB $22.95  Fascinating book about our home state.

What’s Luck Got To Do With It?  The History, Mathematics, and Psychology of the Gambler’s Illusion – Joseph Mazur.  HC $29.95 Local author!

It’s a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life [updated and expanded] – Keith Stewart.  PB $18.95

ADULT FICTION:

The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver.  PB $16.99

Inherent Vice – Thomas Pynchon.  PB $16

The Glass Rainbow – James Lee Burke.  HC $25.99 A Dave Robicheaux mystery.  Also available in unabridged Audio for $49.99

The Anthologist – Nicholson Baker.  PB $15 A novel about a poet who does know it, but is having trouble writing it.

Until next time -
Cheers

Clea

A few of the new titles for this week.

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT:

Alphabeasties Amazing Activities w/stickers – Sharon Werner, Sarah Foss, ed.  PB $12.99  Great travel activity book for the youngish set.

The Monstrumologist – Rick Yancey.  PB $9.99 the story of Will Henry, the orphan apprentice whose  master studies monsters (suitable for very very mature middle graders, otherwise young adult only)

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older – Sydney Eddison.  HC $19.95 Advice for a happy gardening life.

Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food – Paul Greenberg.  HC $25.95 Salmon, Tuna, Bass, and Cod – it’s hard to imagine a world without them.  If you’ve ever tasted the delights of wild fish vs farmed (and oh, the taste is so very different you’ll never want to buy the farmed stuff again) then this is the book for you.  The question he raises and tries to answer is this – will our children even know what a wild fish is?

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut – Rob Sheffield.  HC $25.95 Each essay focuses on one song, the moment in his life, and what happened to the band.  Features the sounds of the 80′s, so, yay!

Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love – Dave Zirn.  HC $25 I don’t care for most popular sports, but I have to say I found Zirn’s introduction absolutely compelling.

Tracks and Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species – Charley Eiseman and Noah Charney, eds.  PB $39.95 If you’ve ever wondered what bug bit you, how spiderwebs differ between species, what kind of track a centipede makes, or what kind of bug poop is sitting on the half-eaten leaf of your favorite lily (not that I’m annoyed), then this is the book for you.  Lots of color pics and incredibly readable by the average person,  ie, not dry and super scientific.

ADULT FICTION:

In the Heart of the Canyon – Elisabeth Hyde.  Pb $15 Over 13 days, 12 passengers, 3 guides, and 1 stray dog navigate not only the Colorado River, but their lives and relationships.

Border Songs – Jim Lynch.  PB $15 A new  Border Patrol agent discovers himself.

The Ice Princess – Camilla Lackberg.  HC $25.95 The latest murder mystery set in Sweden.

The Year’s Best Science Fiction 27th Annual Collection – Gardner Dozois, ed. PB $21.99  Featuring tales by Nancy Kress, Peter Watts, Vandana Singh, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen McHugh, Robert Reed,  John Barnes, and Steven Gould, amongst many other excellent writers.

‘Til next time -

Cheers

Clea

Greetings -  Here are this week’s titles, some newly published in paperback:

Authors, I will be more than happy to link to your website, just drop me a line.

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT:

Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into – Lois Metzger, ed. PB $4.99

Day of the Pelican – Katherine Paterson.  HC $16 This Vermont author has been on tour, talking about the difficulties immigrant children face after growing up in war, the subject of her latest title.

Shooting Kabul – N.H. Senzai. HC $16.99 One boy’s journey from California to Afghanistan to find his lost little sister.

ADULT NON-FICTION:

A Country For All: An Immigrant Manifesto – Jorge Ramos.  PB $14

Living With Crohn’s and Colitis: A Comprehensive Naturopathic Guide for Complete Digestive Wellness – Jessica Black, N.D., and Dede Cummings (local author). PB $15

Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luthor King, jr and the International Hunt for his Assassin – Hampton Sides.  HC  $28.95

101 Places Not To See Before You Die – Catherine Price.  PB $13.99 She’s not kidding.

How To Grow A School Garden: A Guide for Parents and Teachers - Arden Bucklin-Sporer and Rachel Kathleen Pringle.  PB$24.95

Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic (revised & updated) – Peter Green and Rory Jones. HC $24.99

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook – Anthony Bourdain HC $26.99

Zeitoun -  Dave Eggers. PB $15.95 One family’s story during Hurricane Katrina.  Absolutely devastating, brilliantly written.

The Adirondack Reader: Four Centuries of Adirondack Writing (3rd Ed)- Paul Jamison, Neal Burdick, eds. HC  $39.95

Inside America’s Concentration Camps: Two Centuries of Internment and Torture - James L Dickerson. HC$24.95

Too Good To Be True: The Rise and Fall of Bernie Madoff (updated epilogue) – Erin Arvedlund,  PB $15

Simpler Living: Back to Basics Guide to Cleaning, Storing, Organizing and More – Jeff Davidson.  HC $24.95

Leavings - Wendell Berry.  HC $23 New poems.

The Shadow of Sirius – W.S. Merwin.  PB $16 Our new Poet Laureate of the United States!

ADULT FICTION:

Far North – Marcel Theroux. PB $15 Environmental post-apocalyptic novel, National Book Award Finalist.

Short Girls – Bich Minh Nguyen.  PB $15 Two very different sisters reclaim their relationship.

Last Night in Twisted River – John Irving. PB $17

Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffenegger.  PB $15 Two sisters, the apartment they inherit, hijinks ensue.

Kraken - China Mieville.  HC $26.  A comedy.  Apparently.

This Is Where I Leave You – Jonathon Tropper.  PB $15 Absolutely hilarious yet still touching novel of one family’s attempt to sit shiva after the death of their father.  Nancy and I loved it.

Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It – Maile Meloy.  PB $15 Stories

See you next bat-time.

Cheers

Clea

Here are this week’s sparkling and shiny new titles:

YOUNG ADULT FICTION:

Immortals: Dark Flame – Alyson Noel.  HC $17.99 – Book four in the saga of Ever.

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Goat Song – Brad Kessler.  PB $14

Cowboy & Wills: A Remarkable Little Boy and the Puppy That Changed His Life – Monica Holloway.  PB $15

Mean Little Deaf Queer: A Memoir – Terry Galloway.  PB $15 Terry Galloway began losing her hearing when she was 9 due to an experimental antibiotic given to her mother.  This is her story.

Echoes Of Vermont: People and Politics in the Green Mountains – Thomas C Davis. PB $16.95 Davis was the editor of Vermont Life magazine and has kindly signed our copies of his book.

Fifty Gay and Lesbian Books Everybody Must Read – Richard Canning, ed. PB $16.95 Essays by modern authors about novels and stories by GLBT (mostly GL) authors or featuring GLBT characters.  I think, I confess to being a little confused over the theme of this book.  Regardless, there are some fabulous works listed here.

ADULT FICTION:

Sizzling Sixteen – Janet Evanovich.  HC $27.99 Another Stephanie Plum novel.

Stories: All New Tales - Neil Gaiman, Al Sarrantonio, eds. HC $27.99 Anthology of work by Elizabeth Hand, Michael Moorcock, Jody Picoult, Jonathon Carrol, Michael Marshall Smith, Jeffrey Deaver, Stewart O’Nan, and many more.  Looks excellent!

Marrowbone Marble Company – Glenn Taylor. HC $24.99  30 years of race and class on the swing shift in a glass factory in Virginia.  This book was a finalist in the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award.

What Is Left the Daughter – Howard Norman. HC $25 Wartime confessions.

~*~

Until next bat-time -

Cheers

Clea

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION:

Shine, Coconut Moon – Neesha Meminger.  PB $8.99 A teenager must decide whether or not to bridge two worlds, America and Pakistan.

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Freedom Summer: The Savage Season that Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy – Bruce Watson.  HC  $27.95

Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family’s Feuds – Lyndall Gordon.  HC $32.95

Pass It On: Five Stories That Can Change the World – Joanna Macy.  PB $10.95 (mini book) True life stories from a Buddhist perspective.

Put ‘em Up! Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling – Sherri Brooks Vinton. PB $19.95

BROKE, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. – How the Working Poor Became Big Business – Gary Rivlin. HC $26.99 More stories about people making big bucks off poor folks.

The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village – Twesigye Jackson Kaguri. HC $25.95

ADULT FICTION:

Captivity - Deborah Noyes. HC $25.95 Ghost story…?

Indian Country Noir – Sarah Cortez & Liz Martinez, eds. PB $15.95 Short stories by the likes of Joseph Bruchac, Melissa Yi, Lawrence Block, and others.

A Short History of Women – Kate Walbert.  PB $15

Shakespeare Undead – Lori Handeland.  PB $13.99

Beirut 39: New Writing from the Arab World – Samuel Shimon, ed. PB $16

Into the Beautiful North - Luis Alberto Urrea.  PB $14.99 A young Mexican woman goes in search of Siete Norte Americanos Samurai to help defend her town from drug-dealing banditos.

Book-olas of interest for the week are:

CHILDREN & TEEN FICTION:

Seeds of Change – Jen Cullerton Johnson.  HC $18.95 Children’s picture book about Wangari Maathai.

Short Second Life of Bree Tanner – Stephenie Meyer.  HC $13.99 An Eclipse Novella.

ADULT NON-FICTION:

Navigating the Land of IF: Understanding Infertility and Exploring Your Options – Melissa Ford.  PB $16.95 Outstanding book about infertility by owner of the Stirrup Queens website.

Every Natural Fact:  Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting – Amy Lou Jenkins.  PB $14.95 Part memoir, part nature writing.

Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape From Tibet – Jonathan Green.  HC $26.95 True story of climbers who witness the murder of a 17 year old Buddhist nun.

Fidel (graphic novel) – Nestor Kohan, Nahuel Scherma.  PB $14.95 More bio than graphic.

Dreamers of a New Day: Women Who Invented the 20th Century – Sheila Rowbotham.  HC $29.95

The Nesting Season: Cuckoos, Cuckolds, and the Invention of Monogamy – Bern Heinrich.  HC $29.95

Economical Environmentalist: My Attempt to Live a Low-Carbon Life and What It Cost - Prashant Vaze.  PB $23.95 Author is British, price results will be in sterling

ADULT FICTION:

Madonnas of Central Park – Brando Skyhorse.  HC $23 LA Stories.

Nearest Exit – Olen Steinhauer.  HC $25.99 Thriller/Mystery

My Name Is Mary Sutter – Robin Oliveira.  HC $26.95 A novel of the Civil War

~*~

Until next time

Cheers

Clea

More titles will be added for the week, but for the moment:

ADULT FICTION:

Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson.  HC $27.95 Thriller/Myster.  Book Three in the saga. (also available as an audiobook)

The Wish Maker – Ali Sethi. PB $16

The Outside Boy – Jeanine Cummins. PB $15 Story of an Irish Traveller boy, lovely writing.

ADULT NON-FICTION

Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South – Alex Heard.  HC $26.99

Living On An Acre: Practical Guide To the Self-Reliant Life – US Dept. of Agriculture. PB $16.95

The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever In An Age of Less – John Robbins. HC $26

Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming – Naomi Orekses & Erik M. Conway. HC $27

Forbidden Creatures: Inside the World of Animal Smuggling and Exotic Pets – Peter Laufer. HC $19.95

An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship – Jeff Guidry.  HC $21.99

~*~

Cheers

Clea