BookEnds’ Book Group
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 07:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Please join us for a discussion of Marti Leimbach's Daniel Isn't Talking. Set in London, it is a story of an American mother and the effects her son's diagnosis of autism has on her family. Told with humor and poignancy, the novel chronicles the emotions of a mother who loves her children desperately but urgently wants to find a way to pull her son out of his symptoms.

The Final Harry Potter Party
Friday, July 20, 2007 at 11:00 PM - 1:00 a.m.

Join us in celebrating the release of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (0545010225). Upon the release of the last several Harry Potter books, we have thrown a party at the store—with great success and excitement. Come in your favorite Hogwarts costume or come in your pajamas if you want to get your hands on your copy before daybreak on Saturday when the book is set to be released.

We will have games, contests, prizes and, of course, The Book! If you have not already reserved a copy, you may do so in person, by phone or on our website. We are asking that reserved orders be prepaid.

At the party, and until 11:59 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24^th, you may also enter a contest to win a trip for four to London. The sweepstakes are open to residents of the U. S. who are 13 or older as of the date of entry. Stop in for more details and an entry form!

Dede writes: Penelope Lively won the Booker Prize a few years ago for Moon Tiger. In her splendid new novel Consequences (0670038563), she presents the reader with three women—grandmother, daughter and granddaughter—who make unconventional choices in their lives. The book begins on the eve of WWII with the sudden marriage of Lorna and Matt in London and continues to the present day when Lorna’s granddaughter breaks away from a cold and stifling marriage and finds the courage to start anew. Penelope Lively’s eye for modern social history sets her apart from other present day novelists. Unexpectedly, for older readers, this book has a whisper of a hint of Rumer Godden about it....More

Pete Hamill’s North River (0316340588) is another of his heartfelt salutes to Manhattan. This novel begins in the depths of the Great Depression. Dr. James Delaney cares for the poor, the politicians and the gangsters in his Greenwich Village neighborhood near the Hudson River, which New Yorkers call the North River. His life has been shattered by his service in the Great War in France, and he is haunted by the loss of his wife. His daughter has disappeared with her lover to Mexico. He is pulled from despair by the arrival of his three-year old grandson, who is literally left on his doorstep by his errant daughter. Caring for the child and threatened by gangland vendettas, James finds strength from an unexpected source. This is warm and old-fashioned storytelling....More

Linda Greenlaw of The Hungry Ocean fame has written her first novel—a mystery, no less! Slipknot (0786866780) is set in a small town in Maine. On the first page, her heroine finds a dead body in the harbor, and things go from bad to worse when she is trapped on a fishing boat during a frightening storm at sea. Linda’s own experience provides the essential lore of seamanship, and she can really ratchet up the tension! Lots of fun....More

In her review in The New York Times, Liesl Schillinger praises Min Jin Lee’s Free Food for Millionaires (0446581089), echoing my thought that this long book is a luxurious read in the spirit of fat 19^th Century novels. Set in New York, the author’s tale of a Korean-American family with two brilliant daughters is as up-to-the-minute as a phone call from your twenty-something child and as absorbing as any long family saga. From Wall Street to Queens to Park Avenue, Lee pulls the reader along with her strong narrative....More

Alice writes: Psychologically intricate, Michael Ondaatje’s Divisadero (0307266354) opens with a family living on a farm in northern California. Anna and Claire are 16-year olds, both daughters of mothers who died in childbirth. Anna’s father cares for them while also welcoming in Coop, their enigmatic farmhand. When Anna and Coop’s relationship becomes sexual, violence ensues, leaving in its wake a cast of characters shattered by that fateful event. Coop becomes a professional card shark; Claire works in San Francisco as a lawyer’s investigator, and Anna loses herself in academic work in Southern France. Ondaatje nicely parallels Anna’s study of the writer Lucien Segura with the emotionally wrought lives of the present-day characters. Engaging but poetic, I raced through this novel. There were aspects that were reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. ...More

BookEnds’ Book Group
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 07:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Please join us for a discussion of Marti Leimbach's Daniel Isn't Talking. Set in London, it is a story of an American mother and the effects her son's diagnosis of autism has on her family. Told with humor and poignancy, the novel chronicles the emotions of a mother who loves her children desperately but urgently wants to find a way to pull her son out of his symptoms.

Gretchen writes: I have 3 suggestions for summer reading, books that celebrate messing around in boats and memoirs that honor life on and off the water…

Rosemary Mahoney is an enthusiastic rower who has navigated waters in Maine, Boston Harbor, the Aegean and Narragansett Bay. In Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff (031610745X), she writes about her more difficult and dangerous trip along the Nile. Although she says, “Egyptian women don’t row on the Nile, and tourists aren’t allowed for safety’s sake,” she is undeterred. She prepares for her journey with intensive research (including 19^th Century journals by Flaubert and Florence Nightingale) and three visits to Egypt. The biggest obstacle to her journey, Mahoney realized, would be cultural. Amazingly, she manages to find and buy her own skiff to complete what proves to be a dramatic journey. A fine writer, Mahoney underscores her prose with an empathetic eye and ear for the Egyptians she encounters. Down the Nile offers not only an engrossing travel tale but also insight into another culture. ...More

Due out in paperback in August, I recommend Sea Room (0061238821) by Adam Nicolson. In 1936, Nicolson's grandmother read an advertisement for three small Hebridean islands off the coast of Scotland. Her son Nigel voyaged out to explore them, “fell in love on the spot,” and bought the islands with an inheritance. And, for years, he escaped to the Shiants for a mostly solitary sojourn every summer. However, “[o]ne grows out of it and moves on to other things.” So Nigel handed-down the Shiants to his then 20-year-old son, Adam, who became as passionately involved with them as his father. Sea Room celebrates this attachment at a time when Adam is about to pass the islands on to his son, Tom. He writes, “Land... that is a rich concentration of the marvels of the natural world is to be shared. This book is an attempt to share the Shiants.” And so he does, with great hunks of archaeological lore and local history flavored with colorful observations on the natural setting. Sea Room is a journal to be savored in bits and pieces—perhaps done best on some foggy shore with the sound of the sea in your ears. ...More

Gretchen continues: Time of Wonder (0140502017), a Caldecott Medal-winner by Robert McCloskey, is so simply and entrancingly written that adults have long enjoyed this timeless story. McCloskey’s beautiful watercolors follow a family vacationing on a Maine island located in Penobscot Bay. Fiddleheads slowly unfurl in a fog-bound forest, porpoises puff around sailboats in the bay, stars are reflected in the nighttime waters, and a hurricane roars against the cottage, uprooting trees to reveal treasure. Here is a book for everyone and every time—filled with beauty, warmth and quiet wonder....More

Judy H. writes: The White Giraffe (0803732112) by Lauren St. John includes a mystery, an adventure and timely environmental issues. Recently orphaned in England, Martine Allen goes to live with her grandmother who owns a wildlife reserve in Africa. Upon her arrival at the nature reserve, Martine hears rumors that a white giraffe—a very rare creature—lives in this reserve.  Martine finds the white giraffe, becomes involved in saving its life, helps solve the rash of poaching on her grandmother’s reserve and realizes that she has a special gift of healing. The ending of The White Giraffe suggests that this will be the beginning of a series involving Martine and her devotion to wildlife. This book is a good choice for 9 to 12-year olds looking for a story with excitement, mystery, and animals. ...More

Another great book for elementary school readers is No Talking (1416909834) by Andrew Clements. Two arch enemies in the fifth grade, Dave Packer and Lynsey Burgess, start a miniature battle of the sexes. Who can say the fewest words at home and at school for two whole days—the boys or the girls?!! Known as the loudest and most talkative fifth grade in the history of the school, their no talking challenge at first upsets the workings of the school, but before long everyone realizes that words are not the only form of communication. ...More

Barnstormers (1416918639) by Loren Long and Phil Bildner is a charming book for elementary school readers. Set in the late 1800s, the novel tells the story of the three Payne children and their mother, a member of the Travelin’ Nine which is a “band of barnstorming baseballers.” In addition to narrating the adventures of the Paynes and their magic baseball, Barnstormers describes the beginnings of the game of baseball. The book has great illustrations and is a wonderful guide to early baseball terms and their definitions. This is a great summer read for kids....More

Pat writes: First published in chapter book form almost 50 years ago, children met and fell in love with the little brown bear called Paddington in A Bear Called Paddington. A new reissue of this classic story as a picture book will introduce a whole new generation of children to this loveable bear in his blue coat and red hat. Michael Bond’s story is great for readers and listeners aged three and older. With new artwork in full color by R. W. Alley, Paddington (0061170747) is a classic with a refreshing new look....More

With the HOT days of July upon us, the need for activities to keep the kids content and happy at home or on a trip is even more pressing! We have lots of titles to consider for every interest. 

Crosswords and sudoku for kids are fun and very popular. Usborne, a publisher with a wide variety of titles, has a puzzle series with text as well as colorful illustrations to help the reader figure out the puzzle. Puzzle Mountain (0794507131), Puzzle Planet (079450437X) and Puzzle Town (0794504388) are a few of the great titles. 

Crosswords and sudoku for kids are fun and very popular. Usborne, a publisher with a wide variety of titles, has a puzzle series with text as well as colorful illustrations to help the reader figure out the puzzle. Puzzle Mountain (0794507131), Puzzle Planet (079450437X) and Puzzle Town (0794504388) are a few of the great titles. ...More

Summer Activities with Stickers (0794503985) as well as Step-by-Step Crafts for Summer (1590784774) are just a couple of titles for the arts and crafts-minded kids. Scribbles (0811855090) and Doodles (0811852504) are two really giant drawing and coloring books in the anti-coloring book style. Each page has just a suggestion of what to draw, helping the young artist get past the feeling of intimidation from a “blank” page. ...More

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Summer Activities with Stickers (0794503985) as well as Step-by-Step Crafts for Summer (1590784774) are just a couple of titles for the arts and crafts-minded kids. Scribbles (0811855090) and Doodles (0811852504) are two really giant drawing and coloring books in the anti-coloring book style. Each page has just a suggestion of what to draw, helping the young artist get past the feeling of intimidation from a “blank” page. ...More

Summer Activities with Stickers (0794503985) as well as Step-by-Step Crafts for Summer (1590784774) are just a couple of titles for the arts and crafts-minded kids. Scribbles (0811855090) and Doodles (0811852504) are two really giant drawing and coloring books in the anti-coloring book style. Each page has just a suggestion of what to draw, helping the young artist get past the feeling of intimidation from a “blank” page. ...More

Also, don’t forget about audio books. They are great for the plane when just one person is listening or for the car when the whole family can hear. Many of the newer and older titles from the Children’s Room are available on CD and/or cassette. The Harry Potter series has a particularly good narrator, so if the whole family wants to listen to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on compact disc (0739360388), order a copy now....More