August 5, 2008
Booksellers are forever keeping track of new editions, sequels, and forthcoming books. The same may be said of booksellers themselves as we are thrilled to report that our own Aileen Pelkey has delivered a baby boy, Elijah Pelkey, 8 1/2 pounds 1 oz. The young lad is 20 1/2 inches long. Congratulations to Aileen and Lance! Speaking of offspring every now and then an old, beloved book gives rise to a modern rendering.  To bestow attention and affection upon beloved dead authors is a very congenial pursuit, but rarely has it been carried out with as much unfettered success as we find in Tony DiTerlizzi's Kenny and the Dragon. Caldecott winner DiTerlizzi's tribute to Kenneth Grahame's classic story, The Reluctant Dragon is a complete delight. Sprinkled with clever connections, Shepherd Hill and Parrish Hill are named after early illustrators, and the St. George character is recast as George the town bookseller, this book captures both the spirit, the tone and the wonder of the original. If ever there was a book to share with young and old it's this one.
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! |
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The Gargoyle
By Davidson, Andrew 2008/08 - Doubleday Books 9780385524940 - Hardcover List Price $25.95 - Your Price: $20.76
The Gargoyle is a book which has garnered an enormous amount of pre-publicity excitement from the publishing and bookselling community. It tells the tale of a fellow whose stark childhood led to a shelterless adulthood. The book begins with a drug induced automobile crash leaving the narrator burned to a crisp. His narrative takes the reader on a path of graphic detail and ultimate life affirming renewal at the hands of that busy source of complex healing, love. I tried hard to join the throng in loving this book, but ended up being left with a powerful impulse to reread Jane Austen's Emma, which I thanked The Gargoyle for. Still, my own failure aside, this is very much a book to watch out for and try your luck with....More
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The 19th Wife
By Ebershoff, David 2008/08 - Random House 9781400063970 - Hardcover List Price $26.00 - Your Price: $20.80
This highly anticipated release by the author of The Danish Girl
never made it off my night stand because I was working through The Gargoyle but word is that anyone who has enjoyed Ebershoff's earlier work is in for a treat here. In the honorable mention category Pulitzer prize winner Ron Suskind's new political book The Way of the World is out today. ...More
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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
By Beah, Ishmael 2008/08 - Farrar Straus Giroux 9780374531263 - Trade Paper List Price $12.00 - Your Price: $9.60
Beah's riveting account of being a child soldier in Sierra Leone is finally out in paperback!...More
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The World Without Us
By Weisman, Alan 2008/08 - Picador USA 9780312427900 - Trade Paper List Price $15.00 - Your Price: $12.00
Weisman's highly acclaimed speculative account of the earth's fate in a world without human beings is that much more affordable today. ...More
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Boogie Knights
By Wheeler, Lisa Siegel, Mark 2008/08 - Atheneum Books 9780689876394 - Hardcover List Price $16.99 - Your Price: $13.59
Picture books with terrific rhyme schemes are indeed pearls without price. Boogie Knights is such a book. It's playfulness, creativity, and warmth are just the thing for toddler's who could use just the right book to help them settle down for the night.
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Rules
By Lord, Cynthia 2008/09 - Scholastic Paperbacks 9780439443838 - Mass Market List Price $6.99 - Your Price: $5.59
It really is a banner week for kids books. Not only is Maine author Cynthia Lord's superb middle grade novel dealing with a sibling whose brother has autism,Rules, out this week, but there are two other fantastic releases as well, namely, Adele and Simon in America, by Barbara McClintock, and Tor Seidler's canine adaptation of Gulliver's travels, Gully's Travels....More
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