Staff Picks

From Elizabeth: Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth by Lisa Napoli ($25.00) I have been intrigued by the South Asian country of Bhutan since seeing pictures of a friend's trip in the mid 1990's.  Nestled in the Himalayan mountains between China and India, this small country has long restricted the number of visitors allowed to enter each year.  Television and the Internet were introduced in 1999.  The first democratic election was held in 2008 and it is now a constitutional monarchy. Subtitled "What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth," this book is both a travelogue and the story of the author's personal journey as she takes a leave of absence from her public radio job in Los Angeles to help launch a radio station in Bhutan. As changes come to this mysterious land, the reader is introduced to a number of its interesting citizens and its breathtaking beauty.

From Kathleen: Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program [with CD] by Sharon Salzberg ($14.95) This straightforward how-to book on insight meditation is a great introduction to meditation or even a refresher for those who started a meditation practice but are finding it difficult to continue. Salzberg presents a 28-day program, with lesson plans, to bring meditation into the reader's daily life. With Salzberg as your guide, meditation becomes a possible and realistic goal to achieve. Especially during this time of year, we anticipate spring and are itching for some kind of change. A meditation practice reduces stress, assists with our abilities to focus and brings clarity. This book includes a CD of four meditations lead by the author.  

From Shuchi: The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht ($25.00; our price: $20.00) Set in war-torn Eastern Europe, The Tiger's Wife is about a young doctor, Natalia Stefanovi, who is grieving over the death of her grandfather while working at an orphanage in an unnamed European country. Piecing together the mythical stories of her grandfather's past - the deathless man, the tiger that haunted his village when he was a boy, and a deaf-mute girl who protects the tiger from the villagers - Natalia learns why her grandfather disappeared right before his death. Téa Obreht's much buzzed about debut is imaginative, engaging, and beautifully told, fulfilling all expectations.

The Terror of Living by Urban Waite ($24.99; our price: $19.99) After a drug deal gone wrong, Phil Hunt is on the run. Chasing him are a do-gooder deputy sheriff and a psychotic hitman. Set in the Pacific Northwest's cinematic backdrop, this modern day western is full of memorable characters and is impossible to put down. What makes Urban Waite's gritty debut so engaging is his ability to effortlessly and eloquently whip from scene to scene. From page one, you are in the story, and trust me, you won't want to leave it. Fans of Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men will love this one. 

From Rita: Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell ($14.99) This is a story of a Ukrainian immigrant family starting a new life in the harsh western Canadian prairies in the late 1930s. The author tells a gripping tale of two families struggling to survive through family feuds, violence and hardship. I enjoyed this book as it was different from most immigrant stories I've read, since it highlighted an immigrant group that hasn't been written about previously and since that group chose to emigrate to a prairie, instead of an urban setting.  

From Karen: The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas ($24.99; our price: $19.99) Set in 1877 during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, this historical novel is imbued with traces of magical imagery. A flock of hoopoes, purple and white birds, seem to shadow a young girl, Eleonora. Raised by her father after her mother dies, it's soon discovered that she is a prodigy. She stows away in a trunk when her father sails to Stamboul for his carpet business. What follows is a fascinating peek into the fading days of the Ottoman Empire and the mind of a magical little girl. I learned quite a lot about this period of history in this area of the world - really interesting. Mystery and intrigue too! Highly recommend!  

From Vicky: Exposed by Kimberly Marcus ($16.99) This is a really powerful, beautifully written book about the impact of rape on two friends from Cape Cod.  Liz is 16 years old and determined to be a photographer.  Her very best friend is Kate, a talented dancer.  One night, they have an argument at Liz's house and suddenly nothing is the same.  Kate finally accuses Liz's brother of rape following their argument.  Suddenly everything changes as Liz, Kate and their families and friends deal with the painful reality of the accusation and its aftermath. Sparsely, eloquently written in free form verse, this novel is pitch perfect. Young adult.

Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack; illustrated by Henry Cole ($15.95) When a peacock is left at a farm by mistake, he attracts lots of new customers to the produce stand - which upsets the hens who have to work harder to lay more eggs.  When an old hound dog suggests switching places, the peacock tries his best to lay eggs, and the three hens get gussied up to attract people in passing cars.  As you can guess, the plan fails completely, no matter how hard they all try. I love a funny picture book and Three Hens and a Peacock is hilarious! The  illustrations perfectly complement and enhance this very clever story you will want to read again and again!

New and Recommended  

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain ($25.00; our price: $20.00) Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness--until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group--the fabled "Lost Generation"--that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people.  

Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly - now in paperback! ($15.99) In a rousing tale that echoes the myths and legends of Ireland, young Honora Keeley and Michael Kelly wed and start a family. So begins one Irish family's epic journey in this novel which captures the tragedy and triumph of the Irish-American experience.

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton ($26.00) Before Gabrielle Hamilton, one of America's most recognized chefs, opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent 20 fierce, hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Hamilton serves up a sharply crafted and unflinchingly honest memoir about the search for meaning and purpose and the people and places that shaped her journey.  

Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks, and Second Chances by Scott Brown ($27.99) With clear-eyed conviction and unflinching candor, Brown tells the story of his own bad-boy days, the coaches who mentored him, and his journey out of familial chaos through his love of basketball. He went on to law school and became a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, and was then picked as "Cosmopolitan" magazine's "America's Sexiest Man." But the man who was once ushered into the backrooms of Studio 54 returned to Massachusetts to continue with his military and legal training, settle down, raise a family, and soon found an unlikely path that would lead him to national political stardom. Here, too, he reveals the secrets from the unprecedented Senate race that captured the country's imagination, as well as divulging long held secrets from his childhood abuse.

Townie: A Memoir by Andre Dubus III ($25.95) After their parents divorced in the 1970s, Andre Dubus III and his three siblings grew up with their exhausted working mother in a depressed Massachusetts mill town saturated with drugs and crime. To protect himself and those he loved from street violence, Andre learned to use his fists so well that he was even scared of himself. He was on a fast track to getting killed or killing someone else. Nearby, his father, an eminent author, taught on a college campus and took the kids out on Sundays. The clash of worlds couldn't have been more stark. Only by becoming a writer himself could Andre begin to bridge the abyss with his father and save himself. His memoir is a riveting, visceral, profound meditation on physical violence and the failures and triumphs of love.

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf ($15.95) When teenager Allison Glenn is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls' golden girl forever. Her sister, Brynn, faces whispered rumors every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It's Brynn who carries the burden of what really happened that night. All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her. When Allison is released to a halfway house, she is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister. Now their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. And if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and the two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.  

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, With Recipes by Elizabeth Bard- now in paperback! ($13.99) In Paris for a weekend visit, Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman--and never went home again. Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs--one with her new beau and the other with French cuisine.

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes ($16.99) One bright spring day a little white rabbit sets out from home on an adventure. What does he find? Look! Everything is new. Anything is possible. This is a very sweet, imaginative book with beautiful illustrations and would make a wonderful Easter gift! 

Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by Jame Patterson ($17.99) In the seventh book of this bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they're trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, in spite of herself, Max is starting to believe it.