The Learned Owl Book ShopAugust 15, 2014

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Kate's Corner




Back to school already?! I can't even believe where the summer has gone. We have been very busy moving some sections around, expanding our title base as room allows.

We have also spent the last two months following the ongoing Amazon / Hachette dispute. They are still in a stalemate as other publishers gear up for their own negotiations. It would appear that even the all mighty empire of Disney is not exempt from Amazon's bullying tactics as preorders for some of their biggest blockbuster DVD releases are being denied. Amid all this madness and mudslinging I must remember how thankful I am for all the people and businesses standing up for a fair market place where one corporation is not allowed to control our thoughts and actions when it comes to purchasing products.

I am also extremely thankful for all of you who choose to make your voices heard by supporting us and our community! 

Happy reading!
- Kate
Coming up at
The Learned Owl

Sat., Aug. 16, 1-3 PM
(at The Owl)
Terry Sykes-Bradshaw visits to sign her newest book, Sibling Revelry, a thriller about two sisters whose vacation goes horribly wrong.

Sun., Aug. 17, 2 PM
(at The Owl)
Our History Book Club will meet to discuss the sinking of the Titanic. Authors Mary Ann Whitley and Tad Fitch will also be attending.

Sat., Aug. 23, 11 AM
(at The Owl)
Bring your kids to hear the hilarious story of Peanut Butter & Cupcake! Please call 330-653-2252 to sign up for this free event.

Tues., Aug. 26, 11 AM
(at The Owl)
Storytime with the brand-new book Hug Machine. Each child will receive a handmade "hug" to take home with them.

Thurs., Aug. 28, 7 PM
(location TBA)
Join us as our Book Club in a Bar meets to discuss White Heat by M. J. McGrath.

Sat., Aug. 30, 1-3 PM
(at The Owl)

Sun., Aug. 31, 2 PM
(at The Owl)
Meet author Julie Drew, who will be introducing her first YA novel Glimpse, first in the Tesla Effect trilogy.

Wed., Sept. 3, 5:30-9 PM (The Owl / Rosewood Grill)
Meet author Julia Keller, who will be signing her newest book, Summer of the Dead, at The Learned Owl from 5:30-7 PM. There will also be a ticketed dinner with Ms. Keller at the Rosewood Grill from 7:30 to 9. Tickets will be $55, and will include dinner and a copy of her new book. Space is limited; call or stop in for reservations.

Sun., Sept. 7, 5-7 PM
(at The Owl)
The second in our Writers' Workshop Summer Series will focus on The Practical Side of Creative Non-Fiction, led by Wayne Elliot. Space is limited; call 330-653-2252 to register. Cost is $45.
Quick Links
New for adults
  
[Knopf Publishing Group, $25.95]
The long-awaited new novel - a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan - from the award-winning, internationally best-selling author Haruki Murakami.
Here he gives us the remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. It is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
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by Jan Karon
[Putnam Adult, $27.95; available Sept. 2]
After five hectic years of retirement from Lord's Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors. While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he's offered one, he decides he doesn't want it. Maybe he's lost his passion. His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion - for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet. Dooley's brother, Sammy, still enraged by his mother's abandonment, destroys one of Father Tim's prized possessions. And Hope Murphy, owner of Happy Endings bookstore, strruggles with the potential loss of her unborn child and her hard-won business. All this as Wanda's Feel Good Caf� opens, a romance catches fire through an Internet word game, their former mayor hatches a reelection campaign to throw the bums out, and the weekly Muse poses a probing inquiry: Does Mitford still take care of its own?
Millions of fans will applaud the chance to spend time, once more, in the often comic and utterly human presence of Jan Karon's characters, who have never been more sympathetic, bighearted, and engaging.
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What I Know for SureWhat I Know for Sure by Oprah Winfrey
[Flatiron Books, $24.99; available Sept. 2]
After film critic Gene Siskel asked her, "What do you know for sure?" Oprah Winfrey began writing the "What I Know For Sure" column in O, The Oprah Magazine. Saying that the question offered her a way to take stock of her life, Oprah has penned one column a month over the last fourteen years, years in which she retired The Oprah Winfrey Show (the highest-rated program of its kind in history), launched her own television network, became America's only black billionaire, was awarded an honorary degree from Harvard University and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, watched friends and colleagues come and go, lost beloved pets and adopted new ones, and celebrated milestone birthdays. Throughout it all, she's continued to offer her profound and inspiring words of wisdom in her column.
Now, for the first time, these thoughtful gems have been revised, updated, and collected in a beautiful book packed with insight and revelation. Organized by theme - joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power - these essays offer a rare and powerful glimpse into the mind of one of the world's most extraordinary women.
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by Randall Munroe
[Houghton Mifflin, $24.00; available Sept. 2]
From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd: hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.
Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have an enormous, dedicated following, as do his deeply researched answers to his fans' strangest questions. The queries he receives range from merely odd to downright diabolical: What if I took a swim in a spent-nuclear-fuel pool? Could you build a jetpack using downward-firing machine guns? What if a Richter 15 earthquake hit New York City? Are fire tornadoes possible? His responses are masterpieces of clarity and wit, gleefully and accurately explaining everything from the relativistic effects of a baseball pitched at near the speed of light to the many horrible ways you could die while building a periodic table out of all the actual elements. The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with the most popular answers from the xkcd website. What If? is an informative feast for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical.
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We recommend: New mysteries

The Furies The Furies by Natalie Haynes
[St. Martin's Press, $25.99; available Aug. 26]
Linda recommends: There are few things better than settling in for a story filled with raw and real human emotion and characters who are as flawed and as confused as I am! This was a somewhat dark page-turner that taunted me as each chapter brought me closer to the event that was foreshadowed early on in the story. I look forward to Ms. Haynes' next offering!
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One of UsOne of Us by Tawni O'Dell
[Gallery Books, $25.00; available Aug. 19]
Linda recommends: I'd forgotten how captivating O'Dell's writing is, and her newest is every bit as good as the last one I read. She knows about the human psyche and the human spirit, and her stories ring true and honest.
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Words & pictures: New graphic novels
and illustrated books for kids

 

Sisters Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

[Graphix, $10.99; available Aug. 26]

The companion to Raina Telgemeier's bestselling and Eisner Award-winning graphic memoir, Smile.
Raina can't wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren't quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she's also a cranky, grouchy baby, and mostly prefers to play by herself. Their relationship doesn't improve much over the years, but when a baby brother enters the picture and later, something doesn't seem right between their parents, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all.
Raina uses her signature humor and charm in both present-day narrative and perfectly placed flashbacks to tell the story of her relationship with her sister, which unfolds during the course of a road trip from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado.

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Emperor Pickletine Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus: An Origami Yoda Book by Tom Angleberger

[Amulet Books, $13.95]

The final Origami Yoda case file from the kids at McQuarrie Middle School!
After successfully fighting to save their field trip in Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue!, Tommy and the gang prepare for a well-earned day of fun and adventure in Washington, DC... but of course it won't be that easy! This trip to the nation's capital will be full of shifting alliances and betrayals, carsickness and sugar rushes. Trouble starts even before the buses leave school, when Principal Rabbski decrees the field trip an "origami-free zone." Dwight secretly folds a Yoda from a Fruit Roll-Up, but will Fruitigami Yoda be a match for Harvey's sour, hate-filled pickle of darkness? Astronaut ice cream, a supersonic plane, a Johnny Appleseed sighting, and a near arrest are just some of the clues in the sweetest, stookiest, biggest, craziest Origami Yoda case file yet.

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Life of ZarfLife of Zarf: The Trouble with Weasels

by Rob Harrell

[Dial Books, $14.99; available Sept. 2]

Katherine recommends: Fast-paced, funny, well drawn, with a thoroughly likeable and furry protagonist - this is everything one looks for in a book for middle schoolers. It would be especially good for reluctant readers, although my two nonreluctant readers squabbled over possession of the advance copy! [read more]

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[Schwartz & Wade Books, $15.99]
Alvin, an Asian American second grader who's afraid of everything, is taking his fears to a whole new level - or continent. On a trip to introduce brand-new baby Ho to relatives in China, Alvin's anxiety is at fever pitch. First there's the harrowing 16-hour plane ride; then there's a whole slew of cultural differences to contend with: eating lunch food for breakfast, kung fu lessons, and acupuncture treatment (yikes!). Not to mention the crowds that make it easy for a small boy to get lost.
Katherine says: Anybody who is afraid of anything at all will love Alvin Ho, and cheer him on through his many harrowing adventures.
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Lilly recommends:
New Dog Books! (and a couple of cats)

I'm My Own Dog
Shoe Dog
Froggy Gets a Doggy
Training Tallulah
Dog vs Cat
Matilda's Cat
Thanks for supporting The Learned Owl Book Shop. Happy reading!