| Also,
visit ReadAround.com
to learn about other area author events
For
the first time in a few months, the floor is cold on your
feet when you get out of bed in the morning. We have plenty
of books to keep you snuggled under the covers for just that
longer. Also, for you well-organized holiday shoppers, we
have books pouring into the store that are great for all ages
and interests. Please come in to get introduced to some wonderful
novels, coffee table books, political diatribes, beguiling
biographies and more. We also have a lot of great author events
this month that are sure to spark ideas for the holidays.
Dede
writes: My new favorite book is On Beauty
(1594200637)  by
the very young and gifted author Zadie Smith.
You may remember her prize-winning novel White Teeth (0375703861)
that was published about five years ago. With very vividly
drawn characters, this new novel is set in New England and
Britain. At once a send-up of academia, liberals and conservatives
and a warmhearted look at how families work, her ear for language
is superb.
Fans of
Robert B. Parker will be very glad to know
that his new thriller School Days
(0399153233) has
just been published. BookEnds’ Dick Maloney tells us
that, even after his many novels, Parker has not lost his
touch. I can’t wait to read it and catch up with Spenser,
Susan and the dog, Pearl.
Readers
of Diana Gabaldon will welcome her latest
in the Outlander Saga, A Breath of Snow and Ashes
(0385324162).
The story begins in 1772 on the eve of the American Revolution.
In backcountry North Carolina, Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his
time-traveling wife Claire face many dangerous challenges
in what may be the final threat to their lives and to those
they love. I look forward to diving into the Gabaldon world,
suspending disbelief and just wallowing!
Anita
Shreve’s new novel, A Wedding in
December (0316738999),
will be published soon. Her novel Light on Snow
(0316010677) was
just released in paperback.
Alice
writes: In E. L. Doctorow’s The
March (0375506713),
we are taken on an epic journey in the last years of the Civil
War when General Sherman marched 60,000 Union troops through
Georgia and the Carolinas, carving a 60-mile wide wake of
destruction. There is a lot of historical resonance in the
story, but the most vivid characters are those that are fictionalized.
The novel sheds light not only on the battle but also on humanity
in general, the “brutal romance” of war and the
roots of today’s racism.
Next up
for book group, on Tuesday, October 11th from 7-8
p.m., we will discuss George Hagen’s
The Laments (081297218X).
In his hilarious debut novel, Hagen follows the Lament family
from southern Africa to England and finally to America. Will
Lament—the oldest son who was switched at birth—constantly
feels like a foreigner; however, the feeling of being an outsider
transcends these circumstances as Hagen explores what it means
to belong, how each culture is marked with its own shortcomings
and every family is stained by idiosyncrasies.
On the
list of “I hope to read soon” is John
Berendt’s The City of Falling Angels
(1594200580).
In this book, he explores Venice, a city of “magic,
mystery, and decadence.” In 1996, after the publication
of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Berendt planned
an extended, off-season stay in Venice. Just three days before
his arrival, Venice's opera house burned to the ground. He
uses the investigation into the disaster and the construction
of a new opera house as a central theme to explore the personal
and public character of this amazing city.
Also,
Julie and Julia (031610969X)
by Julie Powell looks intriguing. Powell
was 30 years old, living in a rundown apartment in Queens
and working a dead-end job when she decides to break the monotony
of her life. She invents an ambitious assignment: She will
take her mother's dog-eared copy of Julia Child's 1961 classic,
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and will cook
all 524 recipes…in the span of one year.
Judy
H. writes: Available in paperback, The Borgia
Bride (0312341385)
by Jeanne Kalogridis is great historical
fiction. Told from the point of view of Sancha of Aragon,
a young princess who is compelled to marry the youngest Borgia,
the novel follows the couple as he is summoned to live in
Rome where political intrigue, murder, incest and corruption
are rife.
Set in
the same era in Italy, Michaelangelo and the Pope’s
Ceiling (0142003697)
by Ross King gives a vivid picture of what
life was like during the Renaissance. Also in paperback, this
nonfiction book is a rendering of the conflict between Pope
Julius II—the successor to Pope Alexander VI—and
Michaelangelo. The book focuses on the work and techniques
Michaelangelo used to achieve his artistic masterpiece:
the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Many of the fictionalized
characters in The Borgia Bride are actual historical
individuals described in full in King’s work. These
two books are good companion pieces.
Nuala
O’Faolain’s first novel, My
Dream of You (1573229083),
is about a middle-aged journalist who is trying to come to
terms with the love-hate relationship she has with her homeland,
Ireland. After twenty-five years of self-imposed exile, Kathleen
de Durca, decides to return to Ireland in hopes of writing
a nonfiction account of a scandalous affair between an English
aristocrat and an Irish servant during the time of the famine.
The two story lines of the book—Kathleen’s journey
toward self-acceptance and the devastating potato famine—make
this book an interesting read. O’Faolain’s new
biography, The Story of Chicago May (1573223204),
was just released.
FROM THE
CHILDREN’S ROOM:
Marilyn
writes: Britta E., aged 10, enjoyed Friends
(0439729912),
a short story collection edited by Ann Martin. Britta tells
us, “…Meg Cabot, Ann Martin, Pam Munoz Ryan and
many other authors…share a story of one of their best
friends. My favorite story is by Pam Munoz Ryan...Her story
is about a friend that helps her take on a bully. This book
was very good, and I highly recommend it. On a scale from
1 through 10, I would give it a 9 1/2.” Recommended
for fourth to seventh grade readers.
Alyssa
H., aged 12, tells us that Michael Molloy’s
Peter Raven Under Fire (0439724546)
“is
an awesome adventure. Peter Raven is a young British Navy
midshipman who gets tangled in the efforts of Commodore Beaumont,
Britain's genius spymaster. The Commodore pops in and out
of Peter's ship, the HMS Torren, as he intercepts Napoleon's
plans. Soon Peter is working with the Commodore in an adventure
with madmen, battles, hidden fortresses and a vast amount
of treasure...It's one of the best historical fiction books
I've read.” Recommended for fourth to seventh grade
readers.
Sam S.,
aged 12, gives high praise to An Innocent Soldier
(0439627710)
by Josef Holub. He says, “This is probably
the best book I've read all year. Yes, better than Eldest,
better than Harry Potter VI...it's that good. An Innocent
Soldier is the story of a young farmhand named Adam and his
numerous adventures with his friend, Konrad. Anyone would
love this tale of friendship in Napoleonic Europe, not just
scholars of history.” Recommended for seventh to twelfth
grade readers.
Liza P,
aged 13, reviewed Carrie Rosten’s Chloe
Leiberman (Sometimes Wong) (0385732473).
She writes, “This is a witty, sometimes sad, sometimes
funny, triumphant story of how Chloe Leiberman, a high school
senior with impossible-to-please parents, an obsession with
fashion, a trashy boyfriend and several very opposite lifestyles,
got her life together.” Recommended for seventh to twelfth
grade readers.
Pat writes: The children's section of BookEnds
is filled with new titles. Colorful picture books about autumn
are readily available for the young reader. Apple
Farmer Annie (0142401242)
by Monica Wellington is one of my favorites.
Annie is a very busy apple farmer. She bakes and cooks with
the apples from her farm but saves her best to sell at the
market. The colorful illustrations along with the simple but
informative story make this a great read-aloud. After reading
the story, the simple recipes would be fun to make with the
freshly picked apples now available.
Our Halloween
stories range from board books for the toddler to chapter
books for the independent reader. The picture book, The
Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
(0064431835)
by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan
Lloyd is spooky enough for Halloween but not too
scary. It's a fun read-aloud for the preschool and primary
grade child. Once upon a time, there was a little old lady
who was not afraid of anything. She goes out into the forest
to collect herbs, spices and nuts. Upon her return, the forest
has become dark and scary. Walking toward home she encounters
shoes that walk by themselves, pants floating in the air as
well as a shirt, gloves and hat that are followed by a huge
scary pumpkin. The little old lady who was not afraid of anything
has a solution that makes everyone happy.
Carl
Hiaasen's newest book for students in the middle
school is every bit as good if not better than his first book,
Hoot (0375829164).
Flush (037821821)
is a Florida-based story about a brother and sister out to
help their father who is passionate about the environment.
Discovering that an off-shore gambling boat in Florida is
dumping raw sewage into the ocean, he takes matters into his
own hands. From here on, the action never stops. With a memorable
cast of characters, along with humorous situations that they
all get into, Hiaasen manages to keep us entertained while
getting across a few good life lessons.
Isabel
writes: There are many wonderful new picture books
out this month including Jan Yolen and Mark
Teague's How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food
(0439241022),
which is about table manners; Patricia Polacco's Emma
Kate (0399244522),
a touching tribute to imaginary friends that she dedicates
to Dr. Seuss and Horton; Laura Numeroff’s If
You Give a Pig a Party (0060283262),
which is just as adorable and features all her characters
from the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series; and David
Almond and Stephen Lambert’s Kate, the Cat and the
Moon (0385746911),
a beautiful and enchanting story about Kate's nighttime adventures
with a cat. Almond has won the Whitbread Award twice, the
Carnegie Medal and the Smarties Prize.
In another
great picture book, John Kane has shot and
compiled some beautiful photographs of Pilobolus,
an internationally-known dance company, in a
book of the same name (1596430664).
The company’s dancers twist into all sorts of angles,
dressed in vibrant costumes, to form letters on each page.
This is a fun way to learn the alphabet, entertaining even
adults as you try to guess what image the dancers are conveying.
In Bill
Slavin’s Transformed: How Everyday Things are Made
(1553371798),
we learn how many of the objects around us are made. More
than sixty things we eat, drink, play with, wear or use every
day are described and illustrated step by step on every page.
In the same vein as David Macaulay’s The Way Things
Work, this book explains those everyday things we all wonder
about: how CDs are made, where blackboard chalk comes from…and
how they all originate in nature.
559 Main Street Winchester, MA
01890 (781) 721-5933
www.bookendswinchester.com M-F 9-8 Sat. 9-6 Sun 12-5
|
