June 10, 2008 First, here's a heartfelt plug for an upcoming author event. Come join us to hear acclaimed playwright Madeleine George read from her new young adult novel Looks. Brilliantly written and conceived, Looks treats vital issues such as eating disorders, high school social culture, revenge, and what it means to be truly visible, in a unique and compelling manner. An important book for teens, parents, and indeed anyone who values superb literature, Looks is a book not to be missed. So mark your calendars! June 28th, 3:30pm, at the bookstore. And now to a matter of moment. It is time to announce the winner of our Father's Day give away, an autographed copy of My Father The Dog. And the winner is none other than the modest and deserving Wanda Heath. Congratulations Wanda! Here they are! Our weekly picks for the two best: two hardcover, two paperback, and two children's books. The very best new arrivals to leap out of the box and onto our shelves this week. Call or email us if you want more information on any of these titles, or to have us hold you a copy. Or stop in and check them out in person. We'd love to see you. Thanks as always for sharing your reading with us!   The Monster of Florence By Preston, Douglas J. Spezi, Mario 2008/06 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446581196 - Hardcover List Price $25.99 - Your Price: $20.79 Availability: Available   Preorder Title Back Order The Monster of Florence has an intriguing enough premise that one feels Preston and Spezi would have to trip over themselves to come up flat. Preston moved to a Florentine Villa with his family several years ago. He soon learned from italian journalist Mario Spezi that an orchard adjacent to his property had been the site of a murder by an Italian serial killer known as The Monster of Florence, who had killed only young couples. The case was never solved and as Preston and Spezi began to investigate they brought a police investigation down on themselves. The Monster of Florence offers their solution to the crime, as well as a host of other intrigue....More   Place Called Maine: 24 Writers on the Maine Experience By McNair, Wesley 2008/07 - Down East Books 9780892727605 - Hardcover List Price $25.00 - Your Price: $20.00 Availability: Available   Preorder Title Back Order This is a major new anthology of Maine writing. No book containing work by local favorites Alice Bloom, Bob Kimber, Bill Roorbach, and Wes Mcnair can fail to pique our interest. But A Place Called Maine is exceptional from cover to cover. Selection after selection, whether by Henry Beston, Rachel Carson, Richard Ford, Bernd Heinrich, Richard Russo, Monica Wood, and even expatriate Baron Wormser, (how's Vermont treating you Baron?), really do provide "the liveliest and most comprehensive view between two covers of the Maine experience."...More   Travels with Herodotus By Kapuscinski, Ryszard 2008/06 - Vintage Books USA 9781400078783 - Trade Paper List Price $14.95 - Your Price: $11.96 Availability: Available   Preorder Title Back Order A good traveling companion is truly beyond price, and Ryzard Kapusinski is certainly that. Now in paperback, his Travels With Herodotus is a book which, as with any well made condiment, should at least be sampled to test for agreement....More   The Maytrees By Dillard, Annie 2008/06 - Harper Perennial 9780061239540 - Trade Paper List Price $13.95 - Your Price: $11.16 Availability: Available   Preorder Title Back Order While good news has been in rather short supply of late, Annie Dillard fans can chalk up something this week, namely the paperback release of her acclaimed novel, The Maytrees....More   Mr. Pusskins and Little Whiskers: Another Love Story By Lloyd, Sam Lloyd, Sam 2008/05 - Atheneum Books 9781416957966 - Hardcover List Price $15.99 - Your Price: $12.79 Availability: Available   Preorder Title Back Order If you don't love Mr. Pusskins then love really must be a foreign object to you. Sam Lloyd delivers again in this, his second Mr. Pusskins book. ...More   Looks By George, Madeleine 2008/06 - Viking Children's Books 9780670061679 - Hardcover List Price $16.99 - Your Price: $13.59 Availability: Available   Preorder Title Back Order Whether you've been hearing the buzz about young adult literature, and been meaning to try a title, or are looking for a book to give a thoughtful high schooler, Looks is the place to start Critical Praise For Looks “Looks is a captivating commentary on high school society, where social standing can change in an instant. Told from the points of view of two teenage girls with more in common than anyone could believe, it is the emotional story of obese Meghan and anorexic Aimee’s determined friendship and retribution against a common enemy. Author Madeleine George uses her background as a playwright to incorporate expressive metaphors that bring the scenes to life. From the description of Meghan’s solitude ( “It’s like dying and coming back to life, being a fat girl who loses her only friend”) to Aimee’s response to betrayal (“she feels herself pressed into its angle, suddenly deaf, all the breath squeezed out of her—stunned”), it reads like a professional performance set upon any Broadway stage. An insightful debut about how we view others in response to how we ourselves are treated. I would highly recommend Looks for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Ellen Hopkins’s Impulse.." - Publisher's Weekly, Heather Doss “American Beauty meets Stargirl by way of Speak in this beautifully wrought story of two girls struggling to escape high school pain in opposite ways. Theirs is an unlikely friendship—which, for them, turns out to be the best kind. One of the most original YA novels of the year, Looks deserves critical attention as well as high school curriculum consideration. - Elizabeth Bluemle, author of Dogs in the Bed “George, a playwright by background, is a marvelous stylist and Looks is simply a pleasure to read. Her characterization of interpersonal relations takes no prisoners, and has a clarity of detail, opinionation and perspective rarely seen. It also provides a fascinating treatment of plagiarism, and the nature of theft and possession. In the end the book s...More