Bling, Bling, Bling, Artfully

 

A Spectacular Selection of More Than 150 Fantasy Art Shoes from the Stuart Weitzman Collection

When Stuart Weitzman opened its first boutique on Madison Avenue, its displays of specially commissioned fantasy shoes quickly became a destination, drawing crowds form all over the world to its magical windows. The best of this carefully curated collection is on display in book form for the first time in this unique gift volume, where these imaginative creations are presented in vivid detail. With its inventive and beautifully crafted footwear in a vast range of materials—from watercolor paper to playing cards, from fresh flowers to frosting—this stunning showcase where fashion and fantasy meet will thrill shoe and art lovers alike.

“A moving, lyrical saga from a time so distant, yet so near.” —Kirkus Reivews

When Robert Morgan s novel Gap Creek was published in 1999, it became an Oprah Book Club Selection and an instant national bestseller, attracting hundreds of thousands of readers to its story of a marriage begun with love and hope at the turn of the twentieth century. Set in the Appalachian South, it followed Julie and Hank Richards as they struggled through the first year and a half of their union. But what, readers asked, of the years that followed? What did the future hold for these memorable characters?

The Road from Gap Creek holds the answers to these questions, as Robert Morgan takes us back into their lives, telling their story and the stories of their children through the eyes of their youngest daughter, Annie. Through Annie, we watch as the four Richards children create their own histories, lives that include both triumphs and hardship in the face of the Great Depression and then World War II.

Much more than a sequel, The Road from Gap Creek is a moving and indelible portrait of people and their world in a time of unprecedented change, an American story told by one of our country's most acclaimed writers.

“A superb analysis of American paranoia…terrific, measured, objective.”

A history of America's demons:

1693: Cotton Mather suggests that the spirits attacking Salem are allied with the colony's human enemies. At their "Cheef Witch-meetings," he writes, "there has been present some French canadians, and some Indian Sagamores, to concert the methods of ruining New England."

1835: A gunman tries to kill Andrew Jackson. The president accuses a senator of plotting the assassination. Jackson's critics counter that the shooting was arranged by the president himself to gain public support.

1868: An article in the New-York Tribune declares that the Democrats have engineered malaria outbreaks in the nation's capital, pumping "the air, and the water, and the whisky of Washington full of poison."

1967: President Lyndon Johnson asks his cabinet if the Communists are behind the country's urban riots. The attorney general tells him that the evidence isn't there, but Johnson isn't convinced.

Conspiracy theories aren't just a feature of the fringe. They've been a potent force across the political spectrum, at the center as well as the extremes, from the colonial era to the present. In The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker explores this rich history, arguing that conspiracy stories should be read not just as claims to be either believed or debunked but also as folklore. When a tale takes hold, it reveals something true about the anxieties and experiences of those who believe and repeat it, even if the story says nothing true about the objects of the theory itself.

In a story that stretches from the seventeenth century to today, Walker lays out five conspiracy narratives that recur in American politics and popular culture. With intensive research and a deadpan sense of humor, The United States of Paranoia combines the rigor of real history with the punch of pulp fiction.

Read an interview with the author HERE.

6 of the Craziest Conspiracy Theories From The Book via MotherJones.com

TC Tidbit: 50 Essential Works of LGBT Fiction

From the folks at flavorwire.com.

" A treat—and all without saying a word!" ~Jocelyn

 

Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination — and unexpected friendship.

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all.

Jocelyn says:

"Rarely does a wordless picture book compel me to immediately 'reread' it as soon as I've finished, but Journey did. With loving nods to many books that have captured our hearts (such as The Phantom Tollbooth, Harold And The Purple Crayon, The Red Balloon,  and, to my minde, even Little Bird and The New Way Things Work), this completely original book provides hours of fascinating details, gloriously illustrated.

A young girl with no one to play with creates her own  fantastic world. As I witness her adventure and can't help applauding her courage.

Oh! Did you see...? 

But how about the.....-- 

What? Oh! I hadn't noticed that before-whoa!

 I  flew along my first time through, caught up in this young girl's spirit, wondering where it would go next. After savoring the satisfying ending for a moment or two, I immediately started at the beginning again, scrutinizing each page in amazement. With each 'rereading' I see something new—and I'm looking forward to some young friends 'reading' it to me, for a whole new story to emerge.  Rich, evocative colors throughout. A treat—and all without saying a word!"

Noteable New YA Titles

Once you get in, there's no getting out.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, a summer program for gifted students is the chance of a lifetime. No one else at his high school gets his weird fascinations with history and science, but at the New Hampshire College Prep program, such quirks are all but required.
Dan arrives to find that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline dorm—formerly a psychiatric hospital.

As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because it turns out Brookline was no ordinary psych ward. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring haunting found photographs from real asylums, this mind-bending reading experience blurs the lines between past and present, friendship and obsession, genius and insanity.

Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 

The Fall of Five is the fourth novel in the New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series by Pittacus Lore. The Garde are finally reunited, but do they have what it takes to win the war against the Mogadorians?

John Smith—Number Four—thought that things would change once the Garde found one another. They would stop running. They would fight the Mogadorians. And they would win.

But he was wrong. After facing off with the Mogadorian ruler and almost being annihilated, the Garde know they are drastically unprepared and hopelessly outgunned. Now they're hiding out in Nine's Chicago penthouse, trying to figure out their next move.

The six of them are powerful, but they're not strong enough yet to take on an entire army—even with the return of an old ally. To defeat their enemy, the Garde must master their Legacies and learn to work together as a team. More important, they'll have to discover the truth about the Elders and their plan for the Loric survivors.

And when the Garde receive a sign from Number Five—a crop circle in the shape of a Loric symbol—they know they are so close to being reunited. But could it be a trap? Time is running out, and the only thing they know for certain is that they have to get to Five before it's too late.

The Garde may have lost battles, but they will not lose this war.

New York Times bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS. While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.

This follow-up to the bestselling Every Day showcases David's trademark sharp-witted, warm-hearted tales of teenage love, and serves as a perfect thematic bookend to David's YA debut and breakthrough, Boy Meets Boy, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2013.  

Tattered Cover Tidbit: Check Out the Trailer For C.O.G.

This movie is based on a short story of the same name by David Sedaris in the book Naked.

"This is Penny's most suspenseful book to date," says Hank. Come Meet Louse Penny Tonight At Tattered Cover!

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” —Leonard Cohen

Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn’t spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Mystified by Myrna's reluctance to reveal her friend's name, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.

As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna’s friend but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear?

Hank says:
"Following the monastic side trip of The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny returns to the remote Quebec village of Three Pines in How the Light Gets In. The storylines involve the family history of a fictionalized version of the Dionne quintuplets, and the police corruption that Chief Inspector Gamache has been contending with, over the course of the last several books. This conflict finally comes to a head, precipitated by Gamache out of desperation. Loyalty and trust are tested to the limit, and always in question.

This is Penny's most suspenseful book to date, the result of careful building of plot and character throughout the series. The story arc wraps up many loose ends in a way that would be satisfying, if this should happen to be the end of the series. I hope it is not, and my instinct is that Penny is not through telling the stories of Three Pines. If I'm right, it will be interesting to see whether the situation somehow reverts after this pivotal book, or continues off in a drastic new direction."

Louise Penny will be reading from and signing her latest book at our Historic Lodo store TONIGHT, August 29, 2013 at 7:30 pm.  Don't miss this chance to meet this beloved mystery writer.

“In his exceptional debut novel, Mott brings drama, pathos, joy, horror, and redemption to a riveting tale…” ~ Publisher's Weekly

"Jacob was time out of sync, time more perfect than it had been. He was life the way it was supposed to be all those years ago. That's what all the Returned were."  
Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time…. Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

The Returned has also been optioned by Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B,  in association with Brillstein Entertainment and ABC.  It is slated to begin airing as an ongoing television series titled Resurrection beginning March 2014.

Read an interview with the author HERE.

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Jason Mott will be reading from and signing his debut novel at our Colfax Avenue store on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 7:30 pm.  Don't miss your chance to meet this new author!

TC Tidbit: "Beautiful Ruins" Behind The Book

Did you know that it took Jess Walter 15 years to read the book?  Learn more about this book's back story HERE.

Topher's Recommending...

DC's new editions of Transmetrolitan begin here, with this volume collecting issues #1-6 of the acclaimed Vertigo series from writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson! After years of selfimposed exile from a civilization rife with degradation and indecency, cynical journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to return to a job he hates and a city he loathes. Working as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word, Spider attacks the injustices of his surreal 23rd century surroundings.

In this first volume, Spider ventures into the dangerous Angels 8 district, home of the Transients — humans who have decided to become aliens through cosmetic surgery. But Spider's interview with the Transients' leader gets him a scoop he didn't bargain for. And don't miss Spider's first confrontation with the President of the United States . . . in a men's room.

Topher says:
"Transmetropolitan’s main character is based off of Hunter S. Thompson, except he’s the distant future, fighting the government with a weapon known as a 'bowel disruptor'. If you haven’t been convinced yet, (which, I mean, c’mon…) take my word for it that this is one of the most entertaining graphic novel series that I have ever read. The writing is brash and crass, but is also surprisingly poignant. The artwork is dynamic, easy to follow, and never boring. A truly great read for both hardcore comics fans and newcomers to the medium."

Bone is the incredible comic book saga of the unwitting hero who must save an idyllic valley from the forces of evil.

The Bone adventures tell the story of a young bone boy, Fone Bone, and his two cousins, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, who are banned from their homeland of Boneville. When the cousins find themselves mysteriously trapped in a wonderful but often terrifying land filled with secrets and danger - and special new friendships - they are soon caught up in adventures beyond their wildest dreams.

In Out From Boneville, the three Bone cousins are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley where they come face to face with...

Topher says:
"At times cheerfully lighthearted, at times hauntingly dark, Bone is a thrilling read for both young and adult readers. The story immediately draws you in with a fun story about three plucky heroes, and keeps you invested with an intricate story involving well-developed characters and a thoroughly detailed universe. Jeff Smith’s talents both as a writer and artist are truly special."

Set in our modern-day real world, Ex Machina tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America's first living, breathing superhero after a strange accident gives him amazing powers. Eventually tiring of risking his life merely to help maintain the status quo, Mitchell retires from masked crime-fighting and runs for Mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide! But Mayor Hundred has to worry about more than just budget problems and an antagonistic governor, especially when a mysterious hooded figure begins assassinating plow drivers during the worst snowstorm in the city's history! Suggested For Mature Readers.

Topher says:
"Do you ever wonder how your favorite superhero would perform in other professions? In Ex Machina, Mitchell Hundred, known by his superhero alter ego 'The Great Machine', has hung up his costume in order to pursue another ambition: running for mayor of New York City. Brian K. Vaughan’s quirky imagination and completely unique voice make this series a fantastically fresh take on the superhero genre."

Diane Mott Davidson Is Sharing Her Tasty New Mystery TONIGHT at Tattered Cover

Caterer and sleuth extraordinaire Goldy Schulz jumps from the frying pan into the fire as she tries to solve a puzzling murder that is much too close to home, in this latest entry in the New York Times bestselling series from "today's foremost practitioner of the culinary whodunit" (Entertainment Weekly)

The Whole Enchilada

Goldy Schulz knows her food is to die for, but she never expects one of her best friends to actually keel over when she's leaving a birthday party Goldy has catered. At first, everyone assumes that all the fun and excitement of the party, not to mention the rich fare, did her in.

But what looks like a coronary turns out to be a generous serving of cold-blooded murder. And the clever culprit is just getting cooking.

When a colleague—a woman who resembles Goldy—is stabbed, and Goldy is attacked outside her house, it becomes clear that the popular caterer is the main course on a killer menu. With time running out, Goldy must roll up her sleeves, sharpen her knives, and make a meal out of a devious murderer, before that killer can serve her up cold.

Check out all of Goldy's adventures HERE. 

Diane Mott Davidson in her kitchen HERE.

Read a preview HERE.  

Diane Mott Davidson will be reading and signing her books at our Colfax Avenue store beginning at 7:30 pm tonight, Wednesday, August 28, 2013

TC Tidbit: 10 Orwellian Technologies That Exist Today

From the folks at listverse.com

"I think that this is what makes this book an exceptional read, the fact that it is both amusing and depressing." ~Lucas

The Remains of the Day is a profoundly compelling portrait of the perfect English butler and of his fading, insular world postwar England. At the end of his three decades of service at Darlington Hall, Stevens embarks on a country drive, during which he looks back over his career to reassure himself that he has served humanity by serving “a great gentleman.” But lurking in his memory are doubts about the true nature of Lord Darlington’s “greatness” and graver doubts about his own faith in the man he served.

A tragic, spiritual portrait of a perfect English butler and his reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England. A wonderful, wonderful book.

Lucas says:
"While I found this book incredibly amusing (thanks to the wonderful tone the narrator sets), I also found it incredibly sad. This novel brings to light the problems that British class culture of a certain era created for individual people (especially those who found themselves in the servant class).

It made me sad that some of the individuals found in the servant class were unable to form meaningful and long-lasting interpersonal relationships. It made me even more sad that these servants' masters either didn't notice that this problem was occurring or if they did notice, they simply did not care that it was happening. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be expected to be devoid of all emotional output because of my profession.

This book manages to keep a fairly bright tone throughout even though it deals with subjects such as unrequited love, family death, and a very ugly class society that no one should ever want to take part in. I think that this is what makes this book an exceptional read, the fact that it is both amusing and depressing. I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in equality, human rights, or to anybody looking for an emotionally satisfying read. "

“Dazzling. Full of razor-sharp wit, a keen sense of observation, and surprisingly tender compassion.” ~ Jeannette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle: A Memoir" and "The Silver Star"

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever met—achingly effortless and fiercely intelligent.

Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one's singular tragedy has already hit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

TC Tidbit: The 40 Best #FictionDates

From electricliterature.com.  These are great.  Check them out HERE.

Lynn Is Hyped Up About Her Summer Reading

When you are keenly attracted to what I'll call the 'sustainability genre' of reading matter, it can seem feast or famine sometimes when looking for real, serious sustenance in print, but I have to say discovering the following books this summer really felt like hitting the mother lode!

One, coming out September 24, 2013, is by Alan Weisman, well known for The World Without Us on what this world would be like if we humans all suddenly disappeared, leaving our civilization's debris behind. Here, Weisman follows that up with his latest work, Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope For a Future on Earth? and fearlessly takes on the potentials of a future where we don't disappear, but actually seriously grapple with facing that future's network of challenges that human expansion has wrought. Weisman cuts right to the chase regarding the overshoot of human growth on the planet, exploring the possibilities of and obstacles to shifting our dominant paradigm's habits to correct our most dangerous trajectories in order to achieve a more healthy and balanced way of living in sync with the biosphere.

Weisman had me hooked early on in Part One, where he dives in to the roiling Middle East, writing his erudite, yet almost lyrical descriptions of the quandaries of human contradictions writ large in a region hotly contested by its human inhabitants, beset with water, food, pollution, and political issues, plus it's a region that hosts an astoundingly significant avian wildlife corridor. This is one of the most urgent books I've read in a decade of urgency long denied, and the author so beautifully articulates the questions that so need to enter the mainstream of public discourse, it was no wonder this was not only the kickoff book for me to discover still more books to read (more on a couple of those in a minute), but also to exploring lifestyle changes that are 'outside the box' of business-as-usual. I don't know that I can say this book directly influenced my moving in August into a household that is consciously more in tune with nature and less consumption-oriented, but, empowered by good information, I do think we as human beings are better equipped to make choices more aligned with our personal and our species' survivability & thrive-ability. Which is why I heartily recommend Countdown to pretty much anyone with an interest in geography, world cultures, the environment and human potential for positive change.

Speaking of human potential for positive change, while enthusing about Countdown recently with someone, I wound up learning of another book that I've found to be immensely helpful for navigating my own changes, some well-reasoned and intentional, some by sheer accident, of the past year: A Buddhist Response to The Climate Emergency. Still not quite a card-carrying Buddhist who's officially 'taken refuge in the 3 jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma & the Sangha', but nevertheless finding myself more and more attracted to the depth of care espoused and lived by the Buddhists in my life and wanting to emulate that depth in my everyday mindfulness, I ordered a copy of this book edited by John Stanley, David Loy and Gyurme Dorje, and was delighted to find it begins and ends with the eloquence of two deservedly venerated Buddhist teachers, the 14th Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh.

A Buddhist Response to The Climate Emergency combines the sometimes beautiful, sometimes wrenching poetry of contemplation with the hard science of human impact on the planet that sustains us. The resultant mix of perspectives from numerous Buddhist leaders around the globe is a heartening assurance that more and more people are at work than one might assume, given the collective trance-like state of daily life and world affairs, and these folks are engaged in breaking that trance, overcoming delusion and taking seriously the need to end fossil fuel addiction and act out of genuine caring for each other and all life. So whether Buddhist or not, I highly recommend this book for anybody wanting to live more mindfully and more from the heart when it comes to earth-stewardship.

Lastly, because luckily I got to see the author when she came to the Tattered Cover on August 8th, I must recommend The Good Life Lab: Radical Experiments in Hands-On Living by Wendy Jehanara Tremayne.

Tremayne's disarming honesty about leaving a lucrative east-coast career to become a DIY enthusiast living off-grid with her equally inspired-by-Burning-Man husband in New Mexico and the poignancy of the inner paradigm-shifting of that transition literally had me in tears within the first few chapters. Having taken a stab myself at off-grid culture and not exactly having failed, but not exactly having thrived enough to continue either, I personally have found readjustment to Denver, my 'hometown', a bit daunting in the face of fond memories of open spaces, the Milky Way and a largely freegan, creative life experienced with like-minded souls. Living with chickens in the backyard helps. Sharing resources with several housemates and rarely feeling the need to shop for much of anything helps. And even though I am not in a position to launch into another experiment in radical hands-on-living in the New Mexican outback, I AM finding that more and more people I meet even here in the urban wilds are indeed finding numerous creative ways to transition out of the commodified default system in pretty significant ways and into a more interconnected, intuitive response to the changes anyone with eyes to see can't miss. Bit by bit we partake more and more in our own 'gift-economy' whether or not we ever make it to a Burning Man event, and incrementally we get closer to real freedom from the siren songs of the advertising world that tell us we need more to be happy, when what we really need is just to find our own way of doing what needs to be done with an increase in freedom from the constant intermediary of buying and selling things.....
 
Tremayne quotes Buckminster Fuller in her 'Wisdom' section (right before a section loaded with great DIY projects!):
"The things to do are: the things that need doing, that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done. Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done - that no one else has told you to do or how to do it. This will bring out the real you that often gets buried inside a character that has acquired a superficial array of behaviors induced or imposed by others on the individual."
 
Part memoir, part philosophical manifesto, part freeganomics manual, part guidebook on projects galore with plenty of inspiration to cultivate the gumption and faith to try them, this is one infectiously playful, creative and hopeful journey that deserves wide exposure.... Check it out & journey forward!

~ Lynn 
You can find more of Lynn's reviews in The Denver Voice.
 

“Intelligent and lucidly written book is continuously interesting and illuminating, in places even brilliant.”—Wall Street Journal

 

 'The nightly routine of sirens, barrage, the probing raider, the unmistakable engine ... the bomb-bursts moving nearer and then moving away, hold one like a love-charm' --Graham Greene

When the first bombs fell on London in August 1940, the city was transformed overnight into a strange kind of battlefield. For most Londoners, the sirens, guns, planes, and bombs brought sleepless nights, fear and loss. But for a group of writers, the war became an incomparably vivid source of inspiration, the blazing streets scenes of exhilaration in which fear could transmute into love. In this powerful chronicle of literary life under the Blitz, Lara Feigel vividly conjures the lives of five prominent writers: Elizabeth Bowen, Graham Greene, Rose Macaulay, Hilde Spiel and the novelist Henry Green.
Starting with a sparklingly detailed recreation of a single night of September 1940, the narrative traces the tempestuous experiences of these five figures through five years in London and Ireland, followed by postwar Vienna and Berlin.

Volunteering to drive ambulances, patrol the streets and fight fires, the protagonists all exhibited a unified spirit of a nation under siege, but as individuals their emotions were more volatile. As the sky whistled and the ground shook, nerves were tested, loyalties examined and torrid affairs undertaken. Literary historian and journalist Feigel brilliantly and beautifully interweaves the letters, diaries, journalism and fiction of her writers with official records to chart the history of a burning world, experienced through the eyes of extraordinary individuals.

TC Tidbit: Cormac McCarthy’s Three Punctuation Rules, and How They All Go Back to James Joyce

From openculture.com.

“A deeply satisfying novel you will keep close to your heart, written in a style by turns witty and poetic.” ~Booklist

Brilliant, idealistic Esme Garland moves to Manhattan armed with a pres­tigious scholarship at Columbia University. When Mitchell van Leuven— a New Yorker with the bluest of blue New York blood—captures her heart with his stunning good looks and a penchant for all things erotic, life seems truly glorious . . . until a thin blue line signals a wrinkle in Esme’s tidy plan. Before she has a chance to tell Mitchell about her pregnancy, he suddenly declares their sex life is as exciting as a cup of tea, and ends it all.

Determined to master everything from Degas to diapers, Esme starts work at a small West Side bookstore, finding solace in George, the laconic owner addicted to spirulina, and Luke, the taciturn, guitar-playing night manager. The oddball customers are a welcome relief from Columbia’s high-pressure halls, but the store is struggling to survive in this city where nothing seems to last.

When Mitchell recants his criticism, his passion and promises are hard to resist. But if Esme gives him a second chance, will she, like her beloved book­store, lose more than she can handle? A sharply observed and evocative tale of learning to face reality without giv­ing up on your dreams, The Bookstore is sheer enchantment from start to finish.

A bit more information on this book and its debut author HERE.

"A probing inquiry into the most insistent of human hopes." ~Booklist

What have we not done to live forever?

Adam Leith Gollner, the critically acclaimed author of The Fruit Hunters, weaves together religion, science, and mythology in a gripping exploration of the most universal of human obsessions: immortality.

Raised without religion, Adam Leith Gollner was struck by mankind’s tireless efforts to cheat aging and death. In a narrative that pivots between profundity and hilarity, he brings us into the world of those whose lives are shaped by a belief in immortality. From a Jesuit priest on his deathbed to antiaging researchers at Harvard, Gollner— sorting truth from absurdity—canvasses religion and science for insight, along with an array of cults, myths, and fringe figures.

He journeys to David Copperfield’s archipelago in the Bahamas, where the magician claims to have found “a liquid that reverses genes.” He explores a cryonics facility, attends a costume party set in the year 2068 with a group of radical life-extensionists, and soaks in the transformative mineral waters at the Esalen Institute. Looking to history, Gollner visits St. Augustine, Florida, where Ponce de León is thought to have sought the Fountain of Youth.

Combining immersive reporting, rigorous research, and lyrical prose, Gollner charts the rise of longevity science from its alchemical beginnings to modern-day genetic interventions. He delves into the symbolic representation of eternal life and its connection to water. Interlaced throughout is a compelling meditation on the nature of belief, showing how every story we tell about immortality is a story about the meaning of death.

“Part journalist, part detective, part scientist.” (New York Post). Adam Leith Gollner has written a rollicking and revelatory examination of our age-old notion of living forever.

TC Tidbit: Eight Actors on Books and Reading

From bookriot.com.  Check it out HERE.

"A fun midgrade read- especially for avid readers. How refreshing to have a contest where gentleness counts for something!" ~Jocelyn

Kyle Keeley is one of the twelve 12 year olds chosen to spend the night in the fabulous new library in town. Lucky? Yes! But it will take more than luck  to win the challenge given to them all.

Mr. Lemoncello credits the library of his youth for his success in the board and video game business and has given back to his community by renovating a grand old bank to be the new town library, replete with every conceivable new gadget and luxury. Mr. Lemoncello is the Willy Wonka of books and this new state of the art library is his playground.

Kyle loves to play games more than read or participate in sports, like his two older brothers, but when challenged to find the secret way out of the library he can't resist.

You don't have to love books and puzzles  to read this  but it's more fun if you do.

Constant references to book titles and plots fill the pages, giving clues to the clever characters-- who will be the winner?

A fun midgrade read- especially for avid readers. How refreshing to have a contest where gentleness counts for something!

~Jocelyn

“'Good as Gone' goes from zero to 60 in under six seconds and never lets off the gas! If you like your thrillers filled with nonstop action in a race against time through Europe's underbelly, hop in and take a ride.” —Andrew Gross

Former U.S. Marshal Simon Fisk now works as a private contractor, tracking down and recovering children who were kidnapped by their own estranged parents. He only has one rule: he won’t touch stranger abduction cases. He’s still haunted by the disappearance of his own daughter years ago when she was just a child, still unsolved, and stranger kidnappings hit too close to home.

Until, that is, six-year-old Lindsay Sorkin disappears from her parents’ hotel room in Paris, and the French police deliver Simon an ultimatum: he can spend years in a French jail for his actions during a past case, or he can work with them now to find Lindsay Sorkin. So, Simon sets out in pursuit of the missing child and the truth behind her disappearance. But Lindsay’s captors did not leave an easy trail, and following it will take Simon across the continent, through the ritziest nightclubs and the seediest back alleys, into a terrifying world of international intrigue and dark corners of his past he’d rather never face again.

With lightning-fast pacing and a twist behind every turn, Douglas Corleone's Good as Gone is a gripping race against the clock for a young girl with her life on the line and a man who has nothing left to lose.

TC Tidbit: 5 Literary Movements That Shook The World

From the folks at inktank.fi.  Check it out HERE.

"Palacio’s novel gives us a perfect opportunity to discuss bullying, the importance of kindness, and the pressures that all kids (well, all of us) feel. It is chance to laugh, cry, and cheer together. " ~Lucy

On Saturday I read Wonder by R. J. Palacio. The whole book. On accident.  I picked up Wonder during my dinner break at the Colfax store and couldn’t leave behind Auggie and Via… or Jack… or Summer. I didn’t want to leave behind any of the amazing characters Palacio creates in her mid grades novel about a boy with a severe facial deformity who attends a school for the first time as a fifth grader.

So I didn’t leave them. I kept carrying the book around with me and sat it next to myself at the cash register. Basically I didn’t let the book out of my sight until 1 am, after I had gone home and, without meaning to, finished the book. I was crushed that it was over but was so absorbed by Palacio’s realistic writing and the emotional integrity of the story that I didn’t want to believe I had hit the acknowledgments.I didn’t want to believe I had hit the acknowledgments.

Wonder is a mid grades book, written for kids from 4th to 7th grade.  And it is a perfect book for that age, in which kids are transitioning. They begin to feel more self conscious as they simultaneously begin to feel the pull of peer pressure. Wonder deals with all of this in a beautiful, empathetic way. And, maybe most importantly of all, it does so in a very relatable way. I was so, so impressed by Palacio’s dialogue and her ability to capture the attitude and vocabulary of these kids.

I also strongly recommend Wonder as a book to read with a child. This is an incredible book that adults shouldn’t miss out on. But also, it is a great story to discuss. Palacio’s novel gives us a perfect opportunity to discuss bullying, the importance of kindness, and the pressures that all kids (well, all of us) feel. It is chance to laugh, cry, and cheer together.

~Lucy