The Learned Owl Book Shop, February 1, 2016

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Kate's Corner

Happy February! Despite the inevitable post-holiday slump, we had a busy January. We are in the midst of preparing the store for our yearly inventory. You know, that glorious moment where the inventory is exactly perfect for almost 12 hours between when we finish and the store reopens. It is always a good way to start off the year by cleaning up, cleaning out, and refreshing everything.

I also traveled to Denver for the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute. It was three days packed with education sessions and networking. With attendance over 750 people this year, it was a book nerd's dream. As usual, I came back with a number of ideas big and small that I would like to implement over the year, and I look forward to sharing them with you as we go.

Thank you for your support, and happy reading!

- Kate

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Author & book group events

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 5:30 PM (at The Owl)

Author Michael Sears will be signing his books - including his new book Saving Jason - at The Learned Owl at 5:30, then joining our Book Club in a Bar next door

at Peachtree to discuss his books.

Saturday, Feb. 6, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)

Local author Lisa Debenedictis will visit with her new book Short Skirts and Shorter Stories: Musings on Life, Love and Lust.

Saturday, Feb. 6, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)

Meet Christine Williams, author of The Listening Project: Lessons of Life, Love & Listening to God.

Monday, Feb. 8, 1 PM or Tuesday, Feb. 9, 7 PM

(at The Owl)

Join us as our Learned Owl Book Club discusses A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. New members are always welcome.

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 7 PM

(at Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library)

Meet award-winning journalist, sports columnist and author Terry Pluto. Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of The Learned Owl. Please register online or call (330) 688-3295

ext. 4. [read more]

Thursday, Feb. 11, 7 PM (at the Hudson Library)

The Hudson Library & Historical Society welcomes author Daniel de Vis�, author of Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show. Register for this free program online or call (330) 653-6658 x1010.

Monday, Feb. 15, 7 PM (at the Hudson Library)

In commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh, garden historian Kathryn Aalto will discuss her book The Natural World of Winnie-The-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest That Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood. Register for this free program online or call (330) 653-6658 x1010.

Saturday, Feb. 20, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)
Meet author/blogger/economist/forecaster/public speaker Don Ake, who will be visiting us to sign his book Just Make Me a Sammich.

New science fiction & fantasy for adults

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

[Del Rey Books, $27.00; available Feb. 9]

The conclusion to the trilogy that began with Red Rising. [read more]

All the Birds in the Sky

by Charlie Jane Anders

[Tor Books, $25.99]

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. But now they're both adults, and the planet is falling apart around them. Laurence is an engineering genius who's working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world's magically gifted. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together - to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark age.

Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau

[St. Martin's Press, $25.99; available Feb. 9]

Good guy Karl Bender is a thirty-something bar owner whose life lacks love and meaning. When he stumbles upon a time-travelling worm hole in his closet, Karl and his best friend Wayne develop a side business selling access to people who want to travel back in time to listen to their favorite bands. It's a pretty ingenious plan, until Karl, intending to send Wayne to 1980, transports him back to 980 instead...

A high-spirited and engaging novel, Every Anxious Wave plays ball with the big questions of where we would go and who we would become if we could rewrite our pasts, as well as how to hold on to love across time.

The Bands of Mourning

by Brandon Sanderson

[Tor Books, $27.99]

With The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a New York Times-bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America. Now, with The Bands of Mourning, Sanderson continues the story. [read more]

We recommend

Meet the author on February 3!

Saving Jason by Michael Sears

[G. P. Putnam's Sons, $27.00]

Jason Stafford was a hot Wall Street trader, went too far, and paid for it in prison. Now a financial investigator, he's been asked to look into rumors of a hostile takeover of his firm; but he has no idea it will turn his whole life upside down. Suddenly embroiled in a grand jury investigation of Mob-related activities on Wall Street, and threatened by some very serious men, he is thrust into witness protection with his young autistic son. And then his son disappears. Has he been kidnapped, or worse? With no choice but to act, Stafford must come out of hiding and risk everything to save his son, his firm, his pregnant girlfriend and himself.

Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

[Mira Books, $26.99]

Linda says: Another gripping suspense from Heather Gudenkauf. It will not take the reader long to get pulled into the story of Sarah and Jack. There are so many secrets to keep that Jack has stayed away from his family for years in the attempt to reinvent himself. When Jack's aunt is in an accident, he and Sarah return to the family home, and soon Sarah realizes that she doesn't really know her husband at all. You will be drawn into the rabbit hole of Jack's past as Sarah tries to understand the past, and Sarah's discoveries will surprise you.

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We recommend! New for kids & teens

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

[Philomel Books, $18.99]

Kate says: Tragic, heartbreaking, and eye-opening - Ruta Sepetys brings to light the deadliest disaster in maritime history in Salt to the Sea. Not to be missed. This is young adult historical fiction at its finest.

For ages 12 and up. [read more]

Duncan (age 10) recommends:

Masterminds: Criminal Destiny

by Gordon Korman

[Balzer & Bray, $16.99]

After their narrow escape from their perfect hometown, Eli, Tori, Amber, and Malik are finally in the real world and determined to expose the leaders of Serenity. They decide to track down Tamara Dunleavy, the mysterious billionaire and founder of Project Osiris. Evading capture by breaking laws and sneaking into houses, hotels, buses, and cars - are they becoming the criminals they were destined to be?

What they discover will change everything, leading them straight into the Plastic Works and the heart of the experiment, in order to uncover the deadly criminals they were cloned from and any evidence that will convince the outside world to believe the truth.

For ages 8-12.

Katherine recommends:

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

[Viking Books for Young Readers, $18.99]

London, 1812: Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation at the royal court of George III. Her life should revolve around gowns, dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's maids disappears, she is drawn into the shadows of Regency London.
There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few able to stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons that has infiltrated all levels of society. Carlston is not a man she should be anywhere near, especially with the taint of scandal that surrounds him. Yet he offers her help and the possibility of finally discovering the truth about the mysterious deaths of her parents... For ages 14 & up.

More new books for kids & teens

We haven't had time to read these yet...

Pax by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Jon Klassen

[Balzer & Bray, $16.99]

Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.

At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox. Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. For ages 8-12.

Bad Luck by Pseudonymous Bosch

[Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $17.00; available Feb. 9]

At Earth Ranch, things can get a little "magical" (some might say strange). Intrepid readers will discover a runaway boy, fishy cruise ship, strange cave paintings, dragon-like footprints, and other mysteries that Clay and his friends need to solve. Danger, adventure, mischief, mystery, llamas, and a delightfully irreverent and hilarious narrator make bestselling author Pseudonymous Bosch's new novel irresistible. Ages 9-12.

Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den

by Aimee Carter

[Bloomsbury Children's Books, $16.99]

A thrilling debut in the tradition of Rick Riordan about a boy who discovers a secret race of animal shape shifters with a hero hailed as worthy of a young Harry Potter. For ages 8-12. [read more]

The Siren by Kiera Cass

[Harper Teen, $18.99]

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can't resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude... until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can't talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny - and Kahlen doesn't want to.
Falling in love with a human breaks all the Ocean's rules; if the Ocean discovers Kahlen's feelings, she'll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart. For ages 12 and up.

"Books are, let's face it, better than everything else. If we played Cultural Fantasy Boxing League, and made books go fifteen rounds in the ring against the best that any other art form had to offer, then books would win pretty much every time."

- Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree