The Learned Owl Book Shop, April 1, 2016

Kate's Corner

Happy April! As much as I wish it were so, what I'm about to tell you is not an April Fool's Joke: One of our largest wholesalers announced this week that they are closing, as of today.

Partners is a company that has been in business for over 30 years. True to their name, they were partners to small and big publishers, university presses, and independent booksellers across the mid- and northwest. We ordered from them religiously 2-3 times a week throughout the year and 4-5 times a week during the holiday season.

However, much more than just the books will be missed with their closing. What will truly be missed are the people that made up this company. They were more than just business people - they were friends. Friends ready to talk books and give hugs when they saw you. Friends who actually answered the phone whenever you called, especially Mick. Without fail, Mick not only answered the phone because he saw your number on the caller id, but answered by saying, "Thank you for calling Partners where every day is a great day!" Those are people that you won't find anywhere else.

I think one of my sales reps put it best: "Sad for our territory, sad for their people and sad for our business." I thank them all for their years of dedication and hard work, and wish them all the best for the future.

- Kate

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Library events

The Learned Owl will provide books for purchase and signing at these events hosted by our local libraries. Click the title for more information, or the button to register online.

Mon., April 4, 7 PM (Hudson Library)

Pamela Smith Hill with Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Thurs., April 7, 7 PM (Hudson Library)

Mary Norris with Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

Tues., April 12, 6:30

PM (Hudson Library)

Joe Pulizzi with Content Inc.

Wed., April 13,

7-8:30 PM (Stow-Munroe Falls Library)

Mindy McGinnis with

A Madness So Discreet (YA)

Thurs., April 14, 7 PM (Hudson Library)

Antoine van Agtmael and Fred Bakker with

The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation

Sat., April 16, 2-3:30 PM (Twinsburg Library)

Amanda Flower with Crime and Poetry

Tues., April 26, 7 PM (Hudson Library)

Lucinda Hawksley with Queen Victoria's Mysterious Daughter

Wednesday, April 27,

7 PM (Hudson Library)

Joanna Connors with I Will Find You: A Reporter Investigates the Life of the Man Who Raped Her

Quick Links

Meet the authors - and bring the kids!

Saturday, April 9, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)

Retired Wooster middle school teacher Max Fischer visits with his young adult novel The Corkscrew App, a science fiction/historical fiction story about a 14-year-old boy, a clandestine time warp operation, and George Washington as suspected assassin.

Saturday, April 23, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)

Lana Wayne Koehler and Gloria G. Adams visit with their children's book Ah-Choo!. A boy is hunting for a new best friend by going through a menagerie of animals in alphabetical order. Unfortunately, his sister is allergic to all of them!


	read more

Friday, April 29, 4 PM (at The Owl)

Author Rosanne Parry visits with her new book for elementary age kids,

The Turn of the Tide.

Saturday, April 30

Independent Bookstore Day -

come celebrate with us!

New! Children's story times

Beginning Sunday, April 10th, children between the ages of 3 and 8 are invited to join us for story time. From 2 to 3:30 PM every other Sunday afternoon, we will gather in the children's room and hear stories, have activities, create something and enjoy a snack. The event is free to all, but please call 330-653-2252 to sign up so we know how many to expect.

The theme for April 10th is bears, all kinds of bears! If your child would like to bring a favorite bear from home, they are encouraged to do so. The theme for April 24th will be spring time, which we hope will have arrived by then!

This story time is in addition to the standing 11 AM slot on Saturday mornings; and the theme for each will be different, so feel free to come to both!

Book group & author events

Saturday, April 2, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)

Local author Lewis Jenkins visits to introduce his novel Diary of a Robot, which explores the subject of artificial intelligence.

Tuesday, April 5, 5 PM (at The Owl)

Meet local author Cinda Williams Chima and celebrate with us the launch of her new fantasy novel Flamecaster: Shattered Realms. Can't be with us on the 5th? Preorder a signed copy online!

Monday, April 11, 1 PM OR Tuesday, April 12, 7 PM (at The Owl)

Our Learned Owl Book Club discusses Orhan's Inheritance. Join us!

Saturday, April 16, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)

Ohio author Eileen Rohr visits with her book

What Love Sees.

Saturday, April 17, 2 PM (at The Owl)

Our History Book Club meets with special guest

Mark J. Price, author of Lost Akron.

We recommend: New fiction

Kate recommends - and we have signed copies!

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey

[Arcade Publishing, $24.99]

This art history thriller is the story of the nearly forgotten rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Storey brings early 16th-century Florence alive, and has entered with extraordinary empathy into the minds and souls of two Renaissance masters.

[read more]

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

[Ballantine Books, $26.00; available April 5]

Louise says: Based on a true story. An American, a German and a Polish girl, the triumphs and tragedies that tie them together during World War II.

[read more]

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets

[Berkley Books, $26.00]

Linda says: This beautifully written debut novel is one of survival, persistence and perseverance. We are drawn into the lives of two strong women, one who goes off into the wilderness alone and becomes vulnerable, the other who tenaciously commits to finding her, no matter how long it takes... [read more]

The Stopped Heart by Julie Myerson

[Harper Perennial, $15.99]

Linda says: An abandoned cottage in the English countryside, a new start for a couple mired in grief, and the lives of the family who lived in the cottage over a hundred years ago all feature prominently in this wonderful thriller... This is a story that will keep you enthralled and chilled from start to finish. [read more]

Louise recommends:

Three-Martini Lunch by Suzanne Rindell

[G. P. Putnam's Sons, $27.00; available April 5]

In 1958, Greenwich Village buzzes with beatniks, jazz clubs, and new ideas - the ideal spot for three ambitious young people to meet. All three share a common goal: to succeed in the competitive and uncompromising world of publishing. [read more]

We recommend: New for teens

Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan

[Sourcebooks Fire, $10.99]

Kate says: So much fun! Realistic teen fiction at its finest. Believable, funny, and right on target. Maxwell Cobb has always been just Max until he receives an invitation from The Chaos Club, an underground organization that has been pulling pranks at Ashville High School for over 30 years. The hilarious yet vindictive prank war that ensues changes the people involved in ways they never could have imagined. Can't wait to see what Kurt Dinan will do next!

A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty

[Arthur A. Levine Books, $18.99]

Katherine says: A wholly appropriate and satisfying conclusion to A Corner of White and The Cracks in the Kingdom. What I love most about this fantasy trilogy is the way the author has somehow captured actual real people - with all their dreams, frustrations, silliness, and heroism - in the scope of a totally unique framework of magic and alternate realities.
[read more]

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."

- Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey