c
d
paperback picks PENGUIN.COM
Carnal Curiosity
Cell
Dead But Not Forgotten
Robert B. Parker’s Bull River
When Manhattan’s elite are beset by a series of clever crimes, Stone Barrington is drawn into the world of high-end fraud. And as he digs deeper, Stone learns he has intimate ties to the mastermind...and that the biggest heist is yet to come.
George Wilson, M.D., radiology resident, awakens to find his fiancée dead in bed—not long after she participated in a beta test for iDoc, a cutting-edge medical app. After more participants die, George is determined to find the truth—no matter how lethal the consequences.
The Sookie Stackhouse novels captivated fans around the world—including other authors. Now this group of writers, chosen by Charlaine Harris, pays tribute to legendary series with a collection of fifteen all-new stories about your favorite residents of Bon Temps.
A bank robbery in San Cristóbal draws Territorial Marshal Virgil Cole and Deputy Everett Hitch into a mystery involving the bank president himself, the daughter of St. Louis’s most prominent millionaire, and a notorious desperado who’s out for revenge.
9780451466884 • $9.99
9780425273852 • $9.99
9780425271742 • $26.95 • NEW in Hardcover!
9780425272305 • $9.99
Darkness Falls
Checkmate
Kill Fee
Shadow Catcher
The search for the last key to the gates of hell is on, and half-werewolf, half-Aedh Risa Jones is in more danger than ever. Now, it’s a race against time to save those she loves and to stop an apocalyptic plan to open the very gates of hell.
When an FBI facility is attacked, Special Agent Patrick Bowers gets caught up in trying to stop one of the deadliest massacres ever planned on American soil. Full of mind-bending twists and turns, Checkmate brings this cycle of the Bowers Files to an unforgettable conclusion.
After witnessing the assassination of a prominent billionaire, investigator Kirk Stevens and FBI special agent Carla Windermere uncover a murder-for-hire social media website. But just who has the assassin targeted next...and who’s choosing his victims?
9780451419606 • $7.99
9780451467348 • $9.99
A CIA operative long thought dead has just sent a desperate call for help from China. Only the Shadow Catcher—a smaller, less detectable version of a stealth plane—flown by Air Force Major Nick Baron and his team has a chance to accomplish such a dangerous mission.
9780425272831 • $9.99
9780425266885 • $9.99
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton comes a bonus all-new Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel. “Long before Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels, [there was] sexy, strong-willed vampire hunter Anita Blake.” —USA Today “Hamilton remains one of the most inventive and exciting writers in the paranormal field.”—Charlaine Harris Werewolf-shifter Jason Schuyler is having some unique relationship growing pains—and only Anita Blake can help sort out his most personal affairs…
ON SALE NOW
9780515156072 • $7.99
contents
DECEMBER 2014 B O O K PA G E . C O M
features 24
4
KIMBERLA LAWSON ROBY Meet the author of A Christmas Prayer
26
Books make great gifts! Our holiday catalog is packed with choices for every kind of reader.
COVER STORY: BEST OF 2014 Our editors pick the 50 best books of the year
29 30
CHRISTMAS FICTION Books that celebrate the season
32
PAMELA SMITH HILL Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir
43
ANDREW MARANISS Breaking barriers in the SEC
44
CHRISTMAS STORIES Holiday tales for little readers
47
BAGRAM IBATOULLINE Meet the illustrator of A Little Women Christmas
columns 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24
WELL READ LIBRARY READS WHODUNIT LIFESTYLES BOOK CLUBS ROMANCE AUDIO COOKING
Novel
R EADS from
Avon Romance
Cover image © thinkstockphotos.com/RiSem
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN A grand tour of Westeros
Holiday gifts
reviews
gift books 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 46
HOLIDAY TRADITIONS NATURE INSPIRATION LITERARY GUYS QUIRKY HUMOR ART & PHOTOGRAPHY ENTERTAINMENT ANIMAL ATTRACTION CHILDREN
41 FICTION top pick:
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
also reviewed:
Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler How to Be Both by Ali Smith
42 NONFICTION top pick:
The Unspeakable by Meghan Daum
also reviewed:
Two Days in June by Andrew Cohen There Was a Little Girl by Brooke Shields A Royal Experiment by Janice Hadlow Strong Inside by Andrew Maraniss
31
33
34
35
37
38
40
46
A M E R I C A’ S B O O K R E V I E W PUBLISHER Michael A. Zibart
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Cat Acree
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Allison Hammond
Elizabeth Grace Herbert
CONTRIBUTOR
ADVERTISING COMMUNICATIONS
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Julia Steele
Lily McLemore
Roger Bishop
EDITOR
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Hilli Levin
Penny Childress
Lynn L. Green
MANAGING EDITOR
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
PRODUCTION INTERN
Trisha Ping
Sukey Howard
Sadie Birchfield
Sada Stipe
MARKETING Mary Claire Zibart
CONTROLLER Sharon Kozy
EDITORIAL POLICY BookPage is a selection guide for new books. Our editors evaluate and select for review the best books published in a variety of categories. Only books we highly recommend are featured. BookPage is editorially independent and never accepts payment for editorial coverage.
SUBSCRIPTIONS Public libraries and bookstores can purchase BookPage in quantity. For information, visit BookPage.com or call 615.292.8926, ext. 34.
Individual subscriptions are available for $30 per year. Send payment to: BookPage Subscriptions 2143 Belcourt Avenue Nashville, TN 37212 Subscriptions are also available on Kindle and NOOK.
ADVERTISING To advertise in print, online or in our e-newsletters, visit BookPage .com or call 615.292.8926, ext. 19.
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All material © 2014 ProMotion, inc.
3
FICT ION
Nora Bonesteel’s Christmas Past
Spend Christmas with Jane Austen, amateur sleuth
New York Times best-selling author McCrumb revisits her most loved characters as they recognize that there is more to this world than the eye can see . . . especially at Christmastime.
Christmas 1814: Jane Austen is attending festivities at the home of a prominent family when a partygoer dies tragically. With strange clues appearing, Jane begins to suspect foul play and fears the murderer is amongst the snowbound guests.
Soho Crime
$25 9781426754210
The River
Dollbaby
When two sisters return home for a visit after leaving the Amish world, both are troubled by the secrets— and the people—they left behind.
A sweeping family saga of Southern eccentricities and secrets set against the backdrop of civil-rights era New Orleans, this debut weaves together the lives of five women in a poignant tale of love, loss and redemption.
Bethany House $15.99
9780764212451
9781616203757
Abingdon $18.99
The Secret of Pembrooke Park As secrets come to light at the abandoned manor house Pembrooke Park, will Abigail find the hidden treasure and love she seeks . . . or very real danger?
Bethany House $14.99
Pamela Dorman $26.95
9780764210716
9780670014736
The High Divide
Seven Wonders
In 1886, a father leaves his family to seek redemption, causing his wife and two sons to follow him across the mountains and plains on the search for the truth behind his motives and identity.
From New York Times best-selling author Ben Mezrich comes a high-octane, globe-trotting experience rife with historic secrets, conspiracies, intrigue and a whole lot of adventure.
Algonquin $24.95
Running Press $26
Duck Commander fiction for the whole family
9780762453825
A.D. 30 In this sweeping epic novel, the outcast daughter of a Bedouin sheik crosses the harsh deserts of Arabia to find her way to the healer from Galilee.
This Christmas, the Robertson Family is bringing their promise of faith, family and fun to humorous and heartwarming stories for both adult and youth fiction readers.
Center Street $25
Tyndale House $19.99-$29.99
9781599954189
FICT ION
Harper Perennial Olive Editions
Flesh and Blood New York Times best-selling author Cornwell delivers the next enthralling thriller in her highstakes series with this complex tale involving a serial sniper who strikes chillingly close to Kay Scarpetta.
Small format editions of some of our best-selling titles featuring beautiful and unique hand-drawn cover illustrations. All Olive Editions are $10 each and will be available for a limited time only.
Harper Perennial $10 each
Morrow $28.99
9780062325341
Gray Mountain
The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man
The 2008 recession has not been kind to Samantha Kofer, a high-powered New York City attorney. Newly unemployed, she winds up working as an unpaid intern in a legal aid clinic deep in small-town Appalachia.
Doubleday $28.95
A Call to Duty The first book of Weber and Zahn’s newest series is set in the world of Honor Harrington.
This wonderful tale about finding truth, love and yourself comes from the author of the 52-week New York Times bestseller A Dog’s Purpose.
Baen $25
Forge $24.99 9780385537148
9780765377487
9781476736846
Need a good listen this holiday season?
BOOKS MAKE
great These audiobooks present you with great stories as you bake, gift-wrap or travel for the holidays.
Penguin Random House Audio tryaudiobooks.com
$40-$45
gifts
WORLD inside them
NON FICT ION
A Season to Remember Carson Tinker, the starting long snapper for the Crimson Tide football team, was among those forever changed by the April 27 tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Tinker explains how he held onto his faith during the tragedy in this stirring memoir. 9781433682896
Share the magic of The 13th Gift For fans of Richard Paul Evans and Debbie Macomber comes The 13th Gift, a heartwarming story about how a random act of kindness transformed one of the bleakest moments in a family’s history into a time of hope and love. A beautiful reminder that the holidays are about giving, not receiving.
Harmony $15
B&H $14.99
New from Bill O’Reilly
Not to be Missed
The Wild Truth
Renowned critic Turan tells the stories behind his favorite films and illuminates the artistry that makes them unforgettable. “Essential reading for anyone who loves movies.” —Susan Orlean, author of Rin Tin Tin
The complete story of Chris McCandless’ life and his journey has not yet been told— until now. The missing pieces are finally revealed by Chris’ beloved and trusted sister.
HarperOne $27.99
PublicAffairs $25.99
9780062325143
9781586483968
The Roosevelts
The Birds of Pandemonium
This extraordinarily vivid and personal portrait of America’s greatest political family and its huge impact on our nation is the tie-in volume to Burns’ PBS documentary.
Join Raffin’s one-woman crusade to save the precious lives of endangered birds.
Algonquin $24.95
Knopf $60
9780307700230
9781616201364
The Court-Martial of Paul Revere Since General George S. Patton, Jr. died following the end of World War II, there has been suspicion that his death was not an accident. Killing Patton takes readers inside the final year of the war and recounts the events surrounding Patton’s tragic demise.
Henry Holt $30
Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard’s Prime Suspect
This riveting account sheds light on Paul Revere’s only military service during the Revolution—the Penobscot Expedition, a disastrous episode in his life as well as the largest naval disaster prior to Pearl Harbor.
ForeEdge $29.95
Jack the Ripper was one of the most vexing criminal mysteries of all time. House explains how DNA testing revealed the Ripper’s identity in this gripping and suspenseful book. 9781611685350
Wiley $34.95
9781630261221
C H I L D R E N ’S
The Night Before Christmas
9780807556252
Reid reimagines this classic Christmas poem in her own extraordinary style with a lively cast of young creatures anticipating the most exciting night of the year!
Frozen: Hideand-Hug Olaf This adorable readaloud story is sure to be a hit with fans of Frozen. Once you’re done reading, play a game of hide-and-seek with your very own Olaf plush. The winner gets a big, warm hug!
Disney $26.99
9781484721506
Albert Whitman $16.99
Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse
The Legend of St. Nicholas This newly illustrated edition tells the story of a young man named Nicholas, who spent his life secretly helping those in need all over the world.
9780310731153
Zonderkidz $15.99
With the intricate detail of a graphic novel, debut author Kuhlmann tells the story of a brave little mouse who flies himself to America after a plague of new mousetraps makes him the last of his kind in Germany.
This pack makes a great gift during the holidays—it comes in a carrying case with Velcro enclosure, and includes four festive books full of puzzles, games, stickers and coloring activities that are sure to entertain and delight.
Usborne
Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla Applegate tells the true story of the gorilla who inspired her Newbery Award-winning novel, The One and Only Ivan.
Clarion $17.99
$14.99
9780735841673
NorthSouth $19.95
9780544252301
Usborne Winter Activity Pack
Peanuts: A Scanimation Book
9780761181774
The Paddington Treasury
Good grief! Scanimation meets Charlie Brown in 10 memorable scenes from the most popular comic strip of all time.
Workman $14.95
Wonders from cover to cover Reading lights up her world! American Girl books add the perfect touch of dazzling adventure, brilliant advice and shining inspiration to your girl’s holiday or any day.
$14.99-$29.95
9780062312426
For more than 50 years, the stories of Paddington Bear have captivated generations of young readers. This beautiful treasury collects six classic Paddington stories filled with adventure!
HarperCollins $21.99
The Heaven of Animals Best-selling author and artist Tillman explores the magical heaven of animals in a beautiful message of comfort to those who have lost a beloved animal friend.
Feiwel & Friends $17.99
9780312553692
T EE N
The Maze Runner
Autumn Falls Pick up the first book in a breakout new series from teen icon Bella Thorne. Autumn receives an enchanted journal that brings her writing to life—anything could happen!
Dashner’s New York Times best-selling novel is now a major motion picture! This special movie tie-in edition features photos from the film and makes the perfect gift for fans.
Delacorte $10.99
9780385385206
Be rebellious. Be brave. Be bold.
Delacorte $18.99 9780385744331
Jackaby
Endgame: The Calling
“Doctor Who” meets “Sherlock” in Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.
Twelve meteors. Twelve ancient lines. Twelve players. The fate of the world is in their hands. Endgame is real. Endgame is now.
HarperCollins $19.99
Don’t miss these riveting bestsellers.
$17.99 each
Algonquin $16.95
9780062332585
9781616203535
The Rithmatist
The Lost
yolo
The New York Times best-selling epic teen adventure is now available in trade paperback—and the follow-up is out in 2015!
Patterson brings the fifth and final book in the best-selling Witch & Wizard saga to a head, exposing the nature of power—and what it means to have it.
Through texts and messages, the best-selling Internet Girls series is back! It’s freshman year of college for the winsome threesome, and everything is different.
Tor $9.99
Little, Brown $18
Abrams $16.95
9780316207706
9781419708718
9780765338440
The Qwikpick Papers: Poop Fountain!
READERS on the laps parents
Survivors Box Set: Volumes 1 to 3
Told with the mix of journal entries, doodles and notes that has made best-selling author Tom Angleberger’s books so appealing, this first book in a new series captures the odd preoccupations of preteens.
The time has come for dogs to rule the wild! The first three action-packed books in the best-selling Survivors series are now available in this musthave box set.
Abrams $12.95
HarperCollins $19.99 9781419704253
9780062342836
GI F TS
Audiobooks = Gifts
Shake Puppies The highly anticipated follow-up to the best-selling book Shake, Shake Puppies also features 61 dogs caught mid-shake—only this time they’re even more adorable and hilarious.
9780062351722
Harper Design $17.99
Unlikely Heroes Holland uncovers and celebrates another side of animals that we often think belongs primarily to humans: heroism. This book features 37 true stories of animals that found the courage, compassion, heart and grit to go above and beyond.
Workman $13.95
Listening Library audiobooks will delight everyone on your list!
$29.95-$50 9780761174417
Dogs in Cars
Really Important Stuff My Dog Has Taught Me
9780761181798
In this tender, funny and utterly inspiring collection, every page pairs an irre9781581572797 sistible photograph with a life lesson that appeals to our hearts and minds.
Catch Frozen fever with Hal Leonard songbooks! Frozen has been called one of Disney’s greatest musicals of all time—high praise indeed! This souvenir piano/ vocal/guitar songbook features 11 songs as penned by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Also available for voice, easy piano, easy guitar and ukulele.
$14.99-$16.99
Through lively maps, illustrations, photographs and infographics, this essential reference book invites young readers to explore geography, pop culture and school life around the globe.
Countryman $19.95
Workman $12.95
Hal Leonard
Lonely Planet Kids Amazing World Atlas
The pure joy of a dog with his nose to the horizon, in a moving car, is captured on every page. It’s fullspeed happiness!
9781743604335
Lonely Planet $20
Ocean: A Photicular Book See the ocean come to life through eight mesmerizing “photicular” images of creatures of the deep—from the glowin-the-dark anglerfish to the haunting, hooktoothed tiger shark.
Workman $25.95
9780761180517
This Season—Give a Gift WILSON
HAVANA STORM
From #1 New York Times bestselling author A. Scott Berg comes the definitive—and revelatory—biography of one of the great American figures of modern times: Woodrow Wilson.
Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
A. Scott Berg
BERKLEY TRADE PAPERBACK
A DIRK PITT® NOVEL
Dirk Pitt returns in the thrilling new novel from the grand master of adventure and #1 New York Times–bestselling author. PUTNAM HARDCOVER Also available as an ebook
Also available as an ebook
DARK BLOOD A CARPATHIAN NOVEL
SHIFTING SHADOWS STORIES FROM THE WORLD OF MERCY THOMPSON
Patricia Briggs
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a collection of stories from the world of shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson— including four all new works. ACE HARDCOVER
Also available as an ebook
TOM CLANCY FULL FORCE AND EFFECT A JACK RYAN NOVEL
Mark Greaney
Jack Ryan and a cast of Tom Clancy’s greatest characters come together to fight a very clear and present danger in this continuation of the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. PUTNAM HARDCOVER Also available as an ebook
On sale December 2nd
ON THE ROAD WITH JANIS JOPLIN John Byrne Cooke
Janis Joplin’s road manager reveals the untold story of his years with the young woman from Texas who would become the first female rock and roll superstar. Includes rare and personal photographs. BERKLEY HARDCOVER Also available as an ebook
Christine Feehan
The fates of a warrior reborn and a seductive Dragonseeker are irrevocably entwined in the new Carpathian novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author. BERKLEY HARDCOVER Also available as an ebook
DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN STORIES FROM THE WORLD OF SOOKIE STACKHOUSE
Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
A collection of fifteen all-new stories set in the world of Sookie Stackhouse, written by authors handpicked by Charlaine Harris herself. ACE HARDCOVER
Also available as an ebook
On sale November 25th
VANISHED THE SIXTY-YEAR SEARCH FOR THE MISSING MEN OF WORLD WAR II
Wil S. Hylton
From a mesmerizing storyteller, the gripping search for a missing World War II crew, their bomber plane, and their legacy. RIVERHEAD TRADE PAPERBACK Also available as an ebook
IMMORTAL A NOVEL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS
J. R. Ward
The #1 New York Times bestselling series comes to an epic conclusion as mankind’s reluctant savior struggles with his greatest challenge yet... NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY HARDCOVER Also available as an ebook
THE LOST KEY A BRIT IN THE FBI NOVEL
Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison
The newest entry in the sizzling international thriller series featuring Nicholas Drummond, from #1 New York Times–bestselling author Catherine Coulter. PUTNAM HARDCOVER Also available as an ebook
TRUE LOVE
Jennifer Lopez
In True Love, Lopez opens up about a defining period—the transformative two-year journey when she confronted her greatest challenges, identified her biggest fears, and ultimately emerged a stronger person than she’s ever been. Includes intimate and electrifying never-before-seen photographs. CELEBRA HARDCOVER
Follow #GIVEABOOK this holiday season!
Also available as an ebook Available in Spanish: Amor Verdadero
That Sparks The Imagination THE REPUBLIC OF IMAGINATION
THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS
AMERICA IN THREE BOOKS
Azar Nafisi
Patrick Rothfuss
Azar Nafisi, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran, offers an impassioned, beguiling, and original tribute to the vital importance of fiction in a democratic society.
A brand-new companion to the Kingkiller Chronicles featuring one of the most beloved characters from the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy series. DAW HARDCOVER
VIKING HARDCOVER
Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
DOGFACE
DEADLINE
Gorgeous (and adorable) four-color photographs of man’s best friend.
John Sandford
Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
PUTNAM HARDCOVER
Barbara O’Brien
A VIRGIL FLOWERS NOVEL
The thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series from John Sandford.
VIKING STUDIO HARDCOVER
Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE
THE IMAGINARY WORLD OF…
ONE MAN’S FUNDAMENTALS FOR DELICIOUS LIVING
Keri Smith
The creator of Wreck This Journal invites artists and dreamers of all ages to imagine and build a unique world of their own making.
Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson, offers a hilarious memoir featuring advice on manliness, woodworking, love, style, and assorted meats.
PERIGEE TRADE PAPERBACK
NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY TRADE PAPERBACK Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
NAPOLEON
HERE COMES SANTA CAT
A LIFE
Deborah Underwood Illustrated by Claudia Rueda
Andrew Roberts
Napoleon is the first one-volume cradle-to-grave biography to take advantage of the recent release of Napoleon’s thirty-three thousand letters and will radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation.
A cat with flair to spare and holiday ambitions that will delight readers!
DIAL BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
VIKING HARDCOVER Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
ONCE UPON AN ALPHABET
BLOOD MAGICK
Oliver Jeffers
BOOK THREE OF THE COUSINS O’DWYER TRILOGY
THE alphabet book to top all others, from the illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Day the Crayons Quit!
Nora Roberts
The stunning conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling trilogy about the land we’re drawn to, the family we learn to cherish, and the people we long to love…
PHILOMEL HARDCOVER Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
BERKLEY TRADE PAPERBACK Also Also available available as as an an ebook ebook
DIAL DIAL
BERKLEY BERKLEY
Members Members of of Penguin Penguin Group Group (USA) (USA) LLC LLC A A Penguin Penguin Random Random House House Company Company
DAW DAW
Distributed Distributed by by Penguin Penguin Group Group (USA) (USA) LLC LLC
Available Available from from Penguin Penguin Random Random House House Audio Audio
GI F TS
Hickory Daiquiri Dock
Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry Barrow presents a beautiful collection of preserving techniques for turning the fleeting abundance of the farmers’ market into a pantry full of canned fruits and vegetables, jams, soups and more.
9780393240733
9780762455058
Running Press $15
Tasting Whiskey
Around the Table
This insider’s guide to the world of whiskey explores how it’s made and the best way to taste it, along with drink recipes and food pairings.
Country music megastar McBride invites fans into her home, her kitchen and her family’s traditions in this beautiful, full-color illustrated collection of culinary celebrations. 9781612123011
9780062323910
With advice on everything from plants to pavers, this guide will inspire you to develop your own garden personality.
SWALLOWED
9780761145264
This book captures the show’s trademark wit, advice and recipes for a year of holidays—from Easter to Halloween to Christmas—and all that comes with them.
Cultivating Garden Style
others to be
Workman $18.95
The Chew: A Year of Celebrations
Morrow $29.99
some books are to be
to be
Midda is a watercolorist whose delicate and beautiful paintings shine like jewels in this treasure of a book, which celebrates food and the pleasures that accompany it.
From best-selling author Federle comes the ultimate cocktail recipe book for new parents. Featuring 20 classic nursery rhymes with a grown-up twist—it’s time to put the baby down and pick up a shaker!
Norton $35
Storey $18.95
A Bowl of Olives
Kingswell $19.99
9781484711088
The gift of great books
Timber $35 9781604694772
Digested
Lonely Planet: The World Find plenty of vacation inspiration with pages of destination highlights, travel planning tips and fascinating facts about every country on the planet.
There’s no better gift than a DK book. Stunning photos, evocative illustrations and illuminating text will impress everyone on your list. From photography to astronomy, you’ll find something inspiring and beautiful this holiday.
Lonely Planet $29.99
DK 9781743600658
$25-$50
COOK BOOKS
Heritage
Mark Bittman revolutionizes dinner
Brock—“the most conspicuously gifted American chef of his generation” (Time) whose restaurants include Husk and McCrady’s—begins with delicious dishes he cooks at home and builds toward recipes that have put him in the global spotlight.
The best-selling series just got faster! With How to Cook Everything® Fast, award-winning author Bittman presents 2,000 all-new, pareddown, flavor-packed recipes that get food on the table in 45 minutes or less.
$35 each
Based on the wildly popular blog, here is proof that you can eat healthy and still be a badass in the kitchen.
Will it waffle? Steak? Yes! Pizza? Yes! Apple pie? Emphatically, yes. Try these 53 irresistible recipes to make in a waffle iron—easy, delicious and pure culinary fun.
9780761176466 9781623363581
The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook The fabulous Beekman boys welcome vegetarians and omnivores alike to the table in this gorgeous, lushly illustrated collection of heirloom vegetable-based recipes.
National Geographic Kids Cookbook Join master chef Seaver on a culinary adventure with mouthwatering recipes, tips for healthy eating, fun crafts and activities and foodfocused challenges. 9781426317170
Rodale $32.50
The Doctor’s Diet Cookbook
America Farm to Table
A companion to the #1 New York Times bestselling diet book, The Doctor’s Diet Cookbook is a collection of simple, delicious recipes that help you maintain a healthy weight throughout your life.
Best-selling author and chef Batali pays homage to the American farmer— from Maine to Los Angeles—in stories, photos and recipes.
Bird Street $27.95
Now in its 16th edition, the New Cook Book is the go-to cookbook in millions of homes across America with more than 1,200 recipes and more how-to information than ever before.
Rodale $24.99
Workman $14.95
9781609615758
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Thug Kitchen
Will It Waffle?
9781939457271
Grand Central $35
Artisan $40
9781579654634
9780544307070
Better Homes and Gardens $29.99
Food, family and t radition
National Geographic $19.99
From family traditions and recipes (with bacon no less!), the Southern hospitality, charm and delicious food in these three distinct books make the perfect gift (even for yourself!) from the editors and contributors of Southern Living! 9781455584680
Oxmoor House $22.95-$40
CH R IST I A N LI V I NG
Daily Guideposts 2015
Make room for God this holiday season
Centered on the theme of joy, this devotional features all-new material from 50 popular Christian writers.
Find meaning in a season that feels increasingly frivolous. Go back to the beginning—before Christ’s ministry, crucifixion and resurrection— in Not a Silent Night, and use the daily readings in All I Really Want to discover God during the hectic holidays.
Guideposts $19.99
$15.99-$16.99 9780824904678
You Can, You Will
The Grave Robber
New York Times best-selling author Osteen identifies the traits of highly successful people and presents practical principles that will help readers become champions in their own lives.
No matter how big the problem is, God is bigger still. If you long to see God work in miraculous ways today, then you will love this faith-building, lifegiving message.
Something big is happening!
Baker $22.99
FaithWords $24 9781455575718
9780801015946
Books you can’t miss! Looking for the perfect gift for every reader? Howard has it! Find us at HowardBooksOnline.com Scripture, science and history align. In Four Blood Moons, John Hagee explores the supernatural connection between certain celestial phenomena, biblical prophecy and world events— past, present and future.
Worthy
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The first in a new series from Karen Kingsbury is a dramatic love story that shows miracles do still happen, and angels are watching over us.
A powerful and moving novel of love, illicit passion, the illusion of possession and the ultimate surrender to God.
Star of “Duck Dynasty ®” and family patriarch Phil Robertson shares his simple philosophy on life—Love God. Love your neighbor.
A Travel Guide to Life
Sadie Robertson—star of “Duck Dynasty ®” and this season’s “Dancing With the Stars”—shares life skills that are setting her on a path to a successful future.
In the follow-up to his New York Times bestseller A Travel Guide to Heaven, DeStefano offers readers an uplifting handbook for achieving lifelong happiness.
FaithWords $22
$22.99-$25.99 9781455521029
BI B L E S
The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible With nearly 300 beautiful two-page illustrations, this striking storybook can lead your child in their faith—and into a lifetime of love of the Bible.
9780736962131
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Introducing an exciting new Bible translation—the Modern English Version
The #1-selling study Bible! Dr. David Jeremiah draws on his more than 40 years of ministry to bring you this transformational study Bible that achieves a simple, threefold purpose: to help you understand what the Bible says, what it means and what it means for you today.
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Love Letters from God: Bible Stories
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A whimsical collection of 18 iconic Bible stories that include lift-the-flap love letters from God— written especially for the young reader.
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HAPPINESS
BOOKS NKJV Adventure Bible
THAT’S THAT’S KIND KIND OF OF
The #1 Bible for kids is now available in the New King James Version with full color throughout! The NKJV Adventure Bible takes kids ages 8 to 12 on a fun, exciting journey through God’s word.
A new translation that combines the beauty of the past with clarity for today! The Modern English Version heralds a new day for Bibles with the most modern translation produced in the King James tradition.
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ifts for eve Great g n your list r yone o
This holiday give a gift that will bring the people on your list a refreshing new way to read, study, understand and apply God’s word. HarperCollins Christian Publishing offers a wide range of Bibles for all interests.
HarperCollins Christian $29.99-$59.99
Now a Major Motion Picture The book that inspired the film The Imitation Game
“One of the finest scientific biographies ever written.” —New Yorker
Paper $16.95
“Authoritative, superbly researched, deeply sympathetic, and beautifully told.” —Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind “An almost perfect match of biographer and subject.… A great book.” —Guardian “A captivating, compassionate portrait of a first-rate scientist who gave so much to a world that in the end cruelly rejected him. Perceptive and absorbing, Andrew Hodges’s book is scientific biography at its best.” —Paul Hoffman, author of The Man Who Loved Only Numbers See our E-Books at press.princeton.edu
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columns
WELL READ BY ROBERT WEIBEZAHL
Revisiting Alice Munro I have to admit I was a bit nonplussed when Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in 2013. Not because she didn’t deserve it. On the contrary, no writer is more worthy of this crowning literary honor. No, my dismay stemmed from the fact that the secret had gotten out: For years, we Munro fans had fooled ourselves into thinking we were part of some exclusive society with special appreciation for an unsung master. Crazy, of course, since Munro had been reaching tens of thousands of readers for decades with her stories in The New Yorker. But such is the unvarnished assuredness of Munro’s prose, the knowing intimacy of her plots—it is easy to believe she is writing for you alone. For those who haven’t had the pleasure, as well as those who can’t get enough, Munro has issued her second volume of selected stories, Family Furnishings (Knopf, $30, 640 pages, ISBN 9781101874103), collecting work published between 1995 and 2014. These stories have all appeared elsewhere; there are no new offerings, but Munro—who has announced that she is retired from writing, but has wavered in the certainty of that decision—always bears revisiting. The stories here range in length from fewer than 10 pages to more than 50, but each displays Munro’s trademark talent for compression. As many have noted, she can fit whole lifetimes into a single story and capture the natures of her characters with a few strokes. Munro’s fictional landscape principally comprises the places she herself has lived—Ontario and British Columbia—and one senses that, while not necessarily autobiographical, many of her stories grow out of the details of her own life. This is especially true with the last two stories in the volume,
“Dear Life” and “The Eye,” which are told in the first person and share common elements and characters. The collection opens with the longest of the stories. A novella, really, “The Love of a Good Woman” is a small masterpiece, its narrative focus shifting until at last we home in on who is really at the center of the story. It is ostensibly a love story— many of Munro’s plots circle love, marriage and, at least sub-textually, sex—but nonetheless captures the essence of an entire community and way of life. Two of Munro’s stories, both collected here, have been adapted into films in recent years. “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,” renamed Hateship Loveship, and “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” Munro can fit which was the basis for Away lifetimes into from Her, the a single story heartbreaking and capture movie about characters Alzheimer’s starring Julie with a few Christie. It says strokes. much about Munro’s gifts that her short stories are so rich they can easily translate into fulllength films with little amending. Munro has sometimes been pigeonholed as a writer of the womanly, domestic realm, and there is no denying that many of her central characters are women, and ordinary women at that. But she writes just as knowingly about male characters, digging under their skin and into their hearts with laser-like precision. Her stories are about the lies we tell ourselves to survive, the accommodations we make to get through and the unwanted truths with which we often do battle. “We say of some things that they can’t be forgiven, or that we will never forgive ourselves,” says the narrator at the end of “Dear Life.” “But we do—we do it all the time.”
To celebrate the first year of Library Reads, library staff voted for their favorite Library Reads titles published from September 2013 to September 2014.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
#1
THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin
Now in Paperback
Algonquin, $14.95, ISBN 9781616204518
A spirited sales rep and an abandoned baby bring hope to a widowed bookseller in this emotional story that is also a tribute to the power of books.
Do you believe in . . .
THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion
Simon & Schuster, $15.99, ISBN 9781476729091
Second chances?
When a socially awkward professor decides it’s time to wed, he launches “The Wife Project,” a scientific strategy to find the perfect woman for him. Then he meets Rosie . . .
Unexpected gifts and small miracles?
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr Scribner, $27, ISBN 9781476746586
A French girl and a German boy cross paths in occupied France during World War II, and through their stories, Doerr illuminates the human cost of conflict.
The redemptive power of books?
FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell
St. Martin’s, $18.99, ISBN 9781250030955
Twins Cath and Wren got through their teenage years thanks to the Simon Snow fandom, but as college looms, Wren has had enough of that world. Is Cath ready to let go?
THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt
This holiday season, read the novel that’s capturing the hearts of book lovers everywhere.
Little, Brown, $30, ISBN 9780316055437
After his mother dies in a tragic accident, Theo is left with the secret of a lifetime in Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning third novel.
WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
Delacorte, $17.99, ISBN 9780385741262
Something is rotten in the seaside home of the wealthy Sinclair family, where the teenaged Cadence pieces together the past that she has forgotten—perhaps for good reason.
STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel
Knopf, $24.95, ISBN 9780385353304
After a virulent flu strain decimates the world’s population, Mandel examines the human need to create and appreciate art even in the most trying times.
ONE PLUS ONE by Jojo Moyes
Pamela Dorman, $27.95, ISBN 9780525426585
LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell
St. Martin’s, $24.99, ISBN 9781250049377
The heroine of Rowell’s second novel for adults finds a way to communicate with her younger self in this lighthearted romance that asks, “What if?”
LONGBOURN by Jo Baker
Vintage, $15.95, ISBN 9780345806970
The servants take the stage in this accomplished literary tour de force, which provides an alternate take on the classic novel Pride and Prejudice. LibraryReads is a recommendation program that highlights librarians’ favorite books published this month. For more information, visit libraryreads.org.
“ENTERTAINING . . . ENGAGING AND FUNNY . . . MARVELOUSLY OPTIMISTIC.”
Original Painting by Joan Griswold
House-cleaner Jess ends up on the road trip of a lifetime with her straitlaced, wealthy boss and her two children in this madcap romantic comedy.
–The Washington Post
Available wherever books, e-books, and audiobooks are sold. ALGONQUIN BOOKS
a l g onqui n. c om
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WHODUNIT BY BRUCE TIERNEY
Incriminating pictures are worth a thousand words How could you not be fascinated by a photo of a woman wearing a wedding dress, standing alone on a beach, clasping a handgun behind her back? There has to be a story there, right? Well, there is, titled (unsurprisingly) Woman with a Gun (Harper, $26.99, 304 pages,
shot to death. To further complicate matters, Megan suffered a blow to the head and cannot remember anything that happened that evening—or so she says. The scanty evidence was all circumstantial, and the murder was never solved. The photo went on to win a
ISBN 9780062266521) and penned by Phillip Margolin. The woman in the photograph is Megan Cahill, on the night of her 2005 wedding to multimillionaire Raymond Cahill— the very night that Raymond was
Pulitzer Prize. Fast forward to 2015, when fledgling novelist Stacey Kim sees the photograph in a trendy Manhattan art exhibit. Captivated by the image, Kim wants to write a novel based loosely on the de-
THE ENEMY HAD BURNED AND BANNED OVER 100 MILLION BOOKS, BUT
U.S. SOLDIERS READ MORE THAN EVER.
T H E S T O R I E S T H AT H E L P E D U S WIN WORLD WAR II
★ “A thoroughly engaging, enlightening, and often uplifting account of America’s counterattack against Nazi Germany’s wholesale burning of books.” —TIM O’BRIEN
www.hmhco.com
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a newspaper story of cade-old news item. Little does she a murder know that the truth is much strang- and then er than any fiction—and exponen- sets out to tially more dangerous and deadly. duplicate it in every WAR CRIMES detail. But Those crazy Scots. For lack of what if something better to do, a number you have a copycat killer who ups of them have taken up free-climbthat game a notch, copying several ing, scaling the outside of old of the goriest murders depicted buildings without the benefit of in modern fiction, such as James ropes or other climbing aids. It Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia or Bret would seem that the greatest danEaston Ellis’ American Psycho? A ger in this pastime would be a fall well-written mystery could give a from a high place, so imagine the would-be killer all sorts of helpful surprise of an acrophobic building hints at honing his craft, and the inspector when he happens upon killer known as “The Novelist” the skeleton of a free-climber in a borrows from the best. One word Gothic turret high atop a Victoriof caution: The violence is graphic, an-era building, in Val McDermid’s overflowing with torture, dismemaptly titled The Skeleton Road berments and miles of entrails, so (Atlantic Monthly, $25, 384 pages, use discretion when reading Irène ISBN 9780802123091). But this is close to bedtime. no natural death, as there is a hole the size of a shirt button just above TOP PICK IN MYSTERY where the right eyebrow used to If you want to create a badass be. Enter Karen Pirie of the Edinprotagonist in suspense fiction, burgh cold case squad, because, as give him only one name, like it turns out, cases don’t get much Robert B. Parker’s Spenser (and colder than this. Her forensics team his uber-cool sidekick, Hawk) or turns up dental evidence suggestJames W. Hall’s Thorn, hero of more ing that the skeleton may have than a dozen first-rate novels, the originated in the Balkans. Meanlatest of which is The Big Finish while, an ocean away on the sunny (Minotaur, $25.99, 304 pages, ISBN Greek isle of Crete, a retired history 9781250005014). Thorn would like professor is murdered. There is no for his action days to be behind apparent connection to the skelehim; he wants nothing more than ton in Scotland, but a bit of digging to live off the grid, just a simple life reveals the deceased to have been a tying expensive flies for wealthy Balkan war criminal who managed sport fishermen. But last year, Thorn discovered that he has a to slip away scot-free. The Skelegrown son, the result of a fleeting ton Road is listed as a standalone novel, but don’t be surprised to see liaison a couple of decades back. His son, Flynn Moss, possesses an Pirie again; I suspect McDermid’s extraordinary talent for creating readers will demand it. drama in Thorn’s otherwise staid OFF THE PAGE existence. Flynn is a major player In reviewing Pierre Lemaitre’s in the eco-underground and is an experienced nonviolent saboteur. American debut novel, Alex, I notNow he is on the run, or perhaps ed that the book was “deliciously twisted and truly not to be missed.” dead, the only clue to his recent existence a postcard bearing the I am pleased to report that the second novel of the Camille Verwords “Help me!” Novels are often described as “character-driven” or hoeven trilogy, Irène (MacLehose Press, $26.99, 416 pages, ISBN “plot-driven”; the Thorn novels are 9781623658007)—which is actually rage-driven. Thorn will bear a lot a prequel to Alex—is every bit as with equanimity, but if you incur twisted as its predecessor. Cops his serious ire, step back—no, everywhere dread the notion of a scratch that, run away as fast as copycat killer, someone who reads you can.
Get Cozy With Great Fiction “WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING.... Thrilling, funny, touching and, yes, horrific.” —The Washington Post From the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid’s Tale
“BRILLIANT.... A MOVING, ALWAYS ENTHRALLING JOURNEY
“A CAN’TPUT-IT-DOWN HISTORICAL EPIC filled with
—Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland
—Bookreporter.com
suspense, romance, keen wit, adventure and scandal.”
into the dark and light of history.”
From the author of The Testimony of Taliesin Jones
“A PAGETURNER
“HEARTBREAKING.... MORDANTLY FUNNY....
Filled with glitz and glamour as well as murder, greed, and deceit.”
Moments of recognition bring jolts like electric shocks.”
—Romantic Times
—The New York Review of Books
“A SUSPENSEFUL, COMPELLING TALE of courageous young women fighting for justice.”
—Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker From the author of The Dressmaker
Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize Finalist
“POWERFUL.... EXQUISITE....
“A POIGNANT AND TENDER STORY
A novel that’s wonderfully hard to encapsulate, because it faces in many directions at the same time, and glitters with different emotional colors.”
of five courageous World War I Gold Star mothers...you will never forget.” —Fannie Flagg
—The New Yorker From the author of Last Things
Win an LL Bean Wool Throw and Great Books! ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER Will receive a L.L. Bean “Bean’s Washable Wool Throw” in Blackwatch Plaid, a Reading Group Center tote bag with an Orhan Pamuk quote, and one copy of each of the books advertised.
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NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the United States 18 years of age and older by DECEMBER 1, 2014. Entries must be received no later than DECEMBER 31, 2014 (11:59 PM EDT). ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive one (1) L.L. Bean’s “Bean’s Washable Wool Throw” a tote bag with an Orhan Pamuk quote, and a copy of each of the books advertised. FIVE RUNNERS UP will each receive a tote bag with an Orhan Pamuk quote, and a copy of each of the books advertised. The total approximate retail value of all prizes is $837.80. Limit one entry per person. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. For the official rules, go to www.bookpage.com
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ANCHOR
TUC K INTO a coz y fall read
Christina Baker Kline’s #1 bestselling novel is now available as a special edition hardcover “Christina Baker Kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything or— perhaps most importantly—ourselves.” —Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train comes a novel about the choices we make. Four people, two marriages, one lifelong friendship: Everything is about to change. “A gripping tale about two crumbling marriages, Bird In Hand offers a realistic and, at times, heartbreaking look at love and friendship.” —RealSimple.com, Entertainment Pick
Fans of Alice Sebold and John Green will be transfixed by this sophisticated, edgy debut novel packing dark humor, biting wit, and a lot of Jack Daniels. “An intense and compelling page-turner about what keeps us loyal to friends and lovers who betray us, and one young woman’s struggle back from the brink.” —Jennifer Echols, author of Such A Rush and Dirty Little Secret
columns Put a wreath on it There are few better ways to celebrate the cycle of the seasons than through decorative wreaths. The Wreath Recipe Book (Artisan, $24.95, 272 pages, ISBN 9781579655594) inspires readers to design an array of living sculptures to hang on your wall, door or ceiling throughout the year—or, alternatively, to use the same ingredients to make arrangements
for shelves and tables. As owners of a popular design company in San Francisco, authors Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo are ideal guides for launching year-round adventures in wreath making. Starting with suggested tools (wires, frames and cutters of every kind), they take you step-by-step through the building of any wreath using branches, stems, leaves and flowers with hundreds of pages of “recipes” for spring, summer, fall and winter—each holding in sweet suspension the fleeting pleasures of its particular season. My favorite set calls for a garland, vase or wreath of blackberry branches. These are the perfect projects to bring the season-by-season splendor of the outdoors into your home.
FORM AND FUNCTION A young woman leaves the Scottish countryside to find her destiny in three of the most exciting cities in the world— New York, Paris, and London. “This glamour-filled read with strike a chord with anyone who’s been betrayed.” —Glamour magazine (UK)
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Book Club Girl
LIFESTYLES BY JOANNA BRICHETTO
In just one little book, Susie Hodge has brought together the most impressive triumphs of commercial design spanning the last century and more. Her pintsized When Design Really Works (Barron’s, $14.99, 224 pages, ISBN 9781438004549) explains how success is a byproduct of the union between inspired design and plain old commercial appeal. Whether it’s a deceptively comfortable modernist chair or the Zippo cigarette lighter (which might kill you eventually, but at least you’ll die a well-designed death), these arti-
facts define the absolute harmony between art and commerce. Instead of names of items, the title of each section presents what the item stands for: “Elegance,” “Sinuousness,” “Grace,” “Poise,” “Extravagance,” etc., all under the larger rubric of “BEAUTY” (the first among 10 big ideas). I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many grandiose ideas crammed into such a compact volume. Believe it or not, LEGO® is all about compatibility and expression—a rather highbrow children’s toy, indeed. I just thought the bricks were fun to play with, but now I have a theoretical framework! This little book is such a nerdy treat.
TOP PICK IN LIFESTYLES “We like working with everyday items.” That’s music to my ears. Oh, the clever beauties you craft in your own home, out of tea bags and tea towels and coffee beans; pillboxes and candy and weeds from the yard. Anything and everything is fair game in Make & Give: Simple and Modern Crafts to Brighten Every Day (Roost, $21.95, 176 pages, ISBN 9781611801484). Authors Steph Hung and Erin Jang lay out 35 projects with lists of cheap materials, simple instructions, great photos and helpful templates (along with the personal inspiration behind each project) that yield never fussy, always appealing and sometimes funny and sweet gifts: like the Secret Love Note Shirt with a message ironed on the inside, or the board games with pieces made of candy. Because each object is conceived as a present for a special someone— cards, prints, temporary tattoos, personal storybooks—each one is naturally a labor of love.
BOOK CLUBS BY JULIE HALE
Father-son memories In his latest book, The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son (Dial, $16, 384 pages, ISBN 9780385343527), Pat Conroy continues to mine his remarkable family history. This fascinating memoir features his parents, Peg and Don Conroy, both of whom appeared in The Great Santini, Conroy’s acclaimed 1976 novel that was adapted into a popular
film. A Chicago South-Sider who was raised as a Catholic, Don—a violent, volatile fighter pilot—ruled the family with his capriciousness and black moods. Peg, a Southern belle, was often the target of Don’s abuse. Together, they raised seven children. Over the course of this darkly compelling narrative, the author takes a fresh look at the troubled Conroy clan, remembers his time as a young man at the Citadel and offers insights into his development as a writer. Perhaps most importantly, he comes to terms with his past and forgives his father, for whom the book serves as a memoriam of sorts. All in all, this is classic Conroy—a dramatic tale of complex family connections recounted with the skill, sweep and passion that have made him a reader favorite.
A CANVAS COMES ALIVE The Anatomy Lesson (Anchor, $15.95, 288 pages, ISBN 9780804169233), the second book by Nina Siegal, is a clever, masterfully constructed historical novel set during Amsterdam’s Golden Age. Inspired by Rembrandt’s “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp,” Siegal has imagined a fascinating backstory for the famous painting. The medical dissection that Rembrandt captured sets the course for her story, which trails
various characters who are connected to the event. Aris the Kid, a thief who will soon hang, will provide the corpse for the dissection, while Flora, his lover, is desperate to save him. Jan Fetchet procures medical cadavers for Dr. Tulp. Rene Descartes, the great scientist and philosopher, is also on hand for the lesson. And then there’s Rembrandt, who has been commissioned to record the event and feels ambivalent about the task at hand. An expert storyteller, Siegal paints a rich picture of an enthralling era, mixing elements of suspense and romance, fact and fiction with a sure hand. Fans of historical fiction will find this multifaceted novel irresistible.
STOCKING STUFFERS From Silly to Sweet Scared of Santa A hilarious collection of over 250 photographs of kids posed on Santa’s lap—panicked, screaming and crying.
When Elves Attack A joyous Christmas greeting from the criminal nutbars of the Sunshine State, Tim Dorsey delivers the antidote to sappy holiday novellas.
TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS A treat for bibliophiles, Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Algonquin, $14.95, 288 pages, ISBN 9781616204518) is the tale of a lonely bookstore proprietor whose life takes an unexpected turn. Fikry—a widower who has resorted to drinking alone—owns a bookshop on Alice Island off the coast of Massachusetts. He leads a retiring life until 2-year-old Maya is abandoned at his store. Fikry decides to adopt her, and she brings a much-needed spark to his daily existence. So does Amelia Loman, a spunky rep for Knightley Press who makes regular sales calls at Island Books. Zevin, a gifted novelist with a knack for creating authentic characters, has crafted a heartwarming tale about one man’s re-engagement with life. Each chapter of the novel begins with the title and description of a short story that the book-obsessed Fikry has read, and the literary allusions add a rich extra layer to the narrative. This is a sparkling story about the thrill of second chances.
The Christmas Pearl A heart-warming tale of the magic of Christmas miracles full of Dorothea Benton Frank’s warmth, humor, and Southern charm.
Christmas on Jane Street The warm and wonderful true story about a Vermont family who sells Christmas trees on a corner of Jane Street in Manhattan every holiday season.
@Morrow_PB
@bookclubgirl
William Morrow Paperbacks
Book Club Girl
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columns
ROMANCE B Y C H R I S T I E R I D G WAY
Warm up with tales of wintry love
T
he holiday season is a wonderful time to snuggle by the fire with a great romance novel. These love stories are the perfect accompaniment to a mug of hot chocolate—or a hot toddy!
An accidental collision leads to a charming Christmas romance in A Gift to Remember (St. Martin’s, $26.99, 416 pages, ISBN 9781250058621) by Melissa Hill. Dreamy, bicycle-riding bookstore manager Darcy Archer tangles with pedestrian Aidan Quinn and his
with the hardworking man and his appealing children during a long train ride. She even shares a secret: An aristocrat plied her with drink, and though her memories of the subsequent hours are hazy, Joan is afraid she might be pregnant. Sympathetic, and not without prac-
dog just days before Christmas. The attractive man lands in the hospital with amnesia, while Darcy ends up with his dog and a mysterious package. Conscience-stricken, Darcy cares for his pet and follows clues to reunite Aidan with his loved ones. Beautiful blondes, a luxurious brownstone and a magnificent book collection all indicate that Aidan might be unavailable and way out of her league, but there’s an undeniable spark between them. When the puzzle pieces come together, could it result in the happiest holiday ever? Hill has conjured up a sparkling romantic fantasy in this novel.
tical consideration for the business opportunities marrying a well-off woman will bring him, Dante offers a swift marriage to quiet any rumors. Love grows under the mistletoe, but Dante and Joan find that scandal might threaten their happiness. Tender and sweet, this story paints a picture of the joy of family and finding love.
A FAMILY CHRISTMAS There’s so much to enjoy in What a Lady Needs for Christmas (Sourcebooks Casablanca, $7.99, 416 pages, ISBN 9781402278815) by Grace Burrowes. When Lady Joan Flynn escapes Edinburgh just ahead of a scandal, widowed businessman and single father Dante Hartwell agrees to escort her to the home where she’s to spend the holidays. As it turns out, their destinations are the same, and Joan becomes acquainted
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OLD FLAME, NEW YEAR First loves reunite in the poignant Mistletoe on Main Street (Forever, $6, 400 pages, ISBN 9781455557165) by Olivia Miles. Grace Madison returns to her small hometown in Vermont to get over a broken engagement and a flagging career, as well as to emotionally support her family after her father’s recent death. The homecoming isn’t happy—her mother and sisters have lost their Christmas spirit, and Grace is dismayed to find her father’s bookstore has closed. Worse still, she runs into old flame Luke Hastings. She had once left him for the big city, and when she’d tried to win him back, Luke rejected her. He’s now a widower, and while their former feelings resurface, wounds and regrets still stand
between them. Can the holidays illuminate the way into a future together? This tale is as warm and sweet as Christmas cocoa.
A SOLDIER’S TALE A page-turning holiday romance is spiced with suspense in Lori
Wilde’s Christmas at Twilight (Avon, $7.99, 400 pages, ISBN 9780062310248). Meredith Sommers is hiding from her dangerous past with her 4-year-old son in the idyllic Texas town of Twilight. All seems well until her flighty housemate, Ashley, leaves Meredith with her small daughter. Then Ashley’s brother, wounded Delta Force veteran Brian “Hutch” Hutchinson, returns to Twilight expecting to take up residence in Ashley’s home. Suddenly, Meredith is sharing the house with a scarred and silent man. Hutch is reeling from his injuries, but as he settles into his hometown again, he begins to heal—in no small part due to the beautiful woman who is trying to make the holidays special for the two children. As Meredith and Hutch get to know each other, deep feelings take root, but her secrets and his wounds might preclude a happy-ever-after.
A TOY STORY A party-boy CEO finds true love in All He Wants for Christmas (Zebra, $6.99, 368 pages, ISBN 9781420131550) by Lisa Plumley. Jason Hamilton is less than pleased
when the board of his toy company forces him to fly to the best-performing store in the Moosby’s chain to inject some wholesomeness into his freewheeling bachelor image. Once in Kismet, Michigan, he’s introduced to single mother-of-three Danielle Sharpe, the store manager. Their attraction is instant, but he’s determined to focus on work. Though Danielle knows the CEO is only a temporary visitor, she has trouble denying herself the kisses she craves. When she and Jason finally give in to their physical urges, love follows. But Danielle remains wary, and someone behind the scenes is manipulating circumstances that just might break them up. Featuring well-drawn secondary characters, this story is steeped in Christmas fun!
TOP PICK IN ROMANCE The Cynster family celebrates the holidays in Stephanie Laurens’ lovely Regency romance, By Winter’s Light (MIRA, $16.95, 352 pages, ISBN 9780778317470). The extended Cynster clan travels to their mansion in the Lowlands of Scotland with growing children in tow, presenting the perfect opportunity for tutor Daniel Crosbie to romance widowed governess Claire Meadows. She distrusts men and marriage, but Daniel is so very appealing. As events unfold, Claire is surpised to find herself falling in love with the charming Daniel. But they come from two different households—will the Cynsters embrace the union? Details of the customs and traditions of the time enrich this delightful tale that includes a dash of adventure—an oncoming storm, a baby on the way, the unexpected appearance of a handsome stranger—and an intriguing glimpse at new romances in the offing. Observing this very popular dynasty enjoying themselves and the season makes for wonderful, heartwarming holiday reading.
AUDIO BY SUKEY HOWARD
Real-life listening It happened four years ago and we know how it turned out, but that doesn’t diminish the utterly compelling power of Héctor Tobar’s Deep Down Dark (Macmillan Audio, $39.99, 13 hours, ISBN 9781427244505). With a cinematographer’s bold eye, a compassionate heart and a reporter’s talent for telling a vividly immediate story, he follows the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped in the hellishly hot San José mine, 2,300 feet below the surface. Not found for 17 days, the men had almost
nothing to eat and only filthy water to drink. Then it took another 52 days to get them out. Tobar had exclusive access to the miners and to their wives, girlfriends and families, who waited in a makeshift camp above the mine. His detailed description of the lives of “los 33” in the deep dark, their roiling despair, collective faith and endurance is you-are-there narrative journalism at its best. And Tobar follows them in the years after their rescue, when the celebrity spotlight and their untreated PTSD made life difficult. Henry Leyva’s excellent narration captures the tension, triumph and tragedy of this kaleidoscopic chronicle.
THE ICY UNKNOWN The subtitle of Hampton Sides’ masterful In the Kingdom of Ice (Random House Audio, $45, 17.5 hours, ISBN 9780307966544), “The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette,” lets you know that there’s a grim ending. Yet listening to Arthur Morey’s perfectly paced reading of Sides’ remarkable retelling of the voyage is hair-raising and mesmerizing, the horror and heroism palpable. The North Pole “loomed as a public fixation” during the Gilded Age, and James
Gordon Bennett Jr., the eccentric, super-rich publisher of The New York Herald, wanted to fund an epic polar expedition that would bring his paper the same global attention it got when he sent Stanley to find Livingstone. He picked George Washington De Long, a young, gallant naval officer, to lead it. Naively believing that they could reach the pole through the Bering Strait, De Long and 32 seasoned men set sail in July 1879. In less than three months they were stuck in the ice where they remained for 21 months until the USS Jeannette foundered and sank. Then their harrowing ice odyssey began. With De Long’s journal, his wife’s letters and many survivors’ accounts, Sides brings these men’s stories and their era to life.
TOP PICK IN AUDIO In 2012, when the Taliban shot Malala Yousafzai in the face, they intended to kill her and to stop her from publicly championing the right of girls to an education. Fortunately, it had the opposite effect. Malala lived and, after extensive surgeries and rehab in England, has taken a prominent place on the world stage, fearlessly and resolutely raising her voice to demand that every child go to school. Now, she has become the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She’s an amazing young woman whom we all should know and support. And the best way to do that is to listen to I Am Malala (Hachette Audio, $30, 10 hours, ISBN 9781478979784), written with Christina Lamb. Malala reads the prologue herself, and then Archie Panjabi continues in a voice just as spirited as the author’s.
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meet KIMBERLA LAWSON ROBY the title of your new book? Q: What’s
would you describe the book Q: Hinow one sentence?
heroine, Alexis, struggles with the holidays after the loss Q: Yofour her mother. What advice do you have for people who find
columns
Q: What would you like Santa to bring you this year?
Q: What’s your New Year’s resolution?
A CHRISTMAS PRAYER Kimberla Lawson Roby worked in the corporate world before turning to fiction in her 30s. Her books have since sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Her 21st release, A Christmas Prayer (Grand Central, $20, 176 pages, ISBN 9781455526048), is also her first holiday novel. Roby lives in Illinois with her husband, Will.
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BY SYBIL PRATT
Cooking up great gifts If your holiday hit list includes cookbooks, you’re in luck. Pick the right book for the lucky cook and serve it up! With 26 restaurants, nine cookbooks and TV shows galore, Mario Batali is a cooking-scene icon. So, when he says, “Where chefs once ruled the waves, local small farmers are the new rock stars,” you’d better listen up. To prove his point that sourcing the best local ingredients is the real secret to cre-
the season difficult?
is your favorite Christmas tradition? Q: What
COOKING
ating great food, he and his buddy Jim Webster asked 14 chefs from coast to coast to point out their favorite farmers. You meet them in America—Farm to Table (Grand Central Life & Style, $35, 352 pages, ISBN 9781455584680), accompanied by more than 100 recipes they inspired Batali to create, along with his always engaging, informative header notes. Grazie molto, Mario, for this gorgeous celebration of American farmers and food. Weighing in at almost five pounds and including more than 600 recipes, Mexico: The Cookbook (Phaidon, $49.95, 704 pages, ISBN 9780714867526) by Margarita Carrillo Arronte, a well-known chef/ restaurateur in Mexico City, offers a grand tour of Mexico’s regional cuisines. Well, “grand tour” may not do it justice—it’s encyclopedic, an extravaganza, but it’s also fun and peppered with 200 tantalizing photographs. Arronte loves the food of her country and the rich, complex culture it represents, and she’s made sure that these recipes are muy auténtica. You’ll find everything from guacamole, chilaquiles and quesadillas to Tuna with Chipotle Crust and Chiles in Walnut Sauce sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, from the legendary Tres Leches Cake to sweet Strawberry Tamales and Candied Limes stuffed with Coconut. ¡Buen provecho!
Do hotshot chefs really cook at home? If their recipes are tempting and achievable by mere mortals, who cares? The dishes Marcus Samuelsson includes in Marcus Off Duty: Recipes I Cook at Home (HMH, $35, 352 pages, ISBN 9780470940587) are super tempting and truly doable. Plus, they’re a marvelous mélange of the international flavors that have intrigued Samuelsson throughout his multinational cooking career, from Ethiopian (Doro Wat) Tostados and his Swedish grandmother’s Meatballs & Gravy to Orange-Curry Beef StirFry and Harissa-Crusted Turkey. All these great dishes are presented in a sumptuous package with yummy photos.
TOP PICK IN COOKBOOKS If you want Gabrielle Hamilton’s backstory, read her acclaimed memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter; if you want to cook some of her acclaimed recipes, read her debut cookbook, Prune (Random House, $45, 576 pages, ISBN 9780812994094), get into the kitchen and follow orders. There’s no introduction or header notes, but with the amped-up attitude you’d expect, Hamilton talks to you as if you were a line cook in her restaurant. Many of the more than 250 recipes have handwritten advice and admonishments, and all have the kind of detailed cooking and plating instructions you rarely, if ever, find in books for “civilians.” It’s a unique trip from bar snacks through lunch, dinner, brunch, desserts, cocktails and garbage or, better yet, repurposed rinds, skins and scraps. Prune is an unusual and unusually appealing cookbook.
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cover story
BEST OF 2014 B Y T H E E D I T O R S O F B O O K PA G E
One Day, with this poignant, funny story of a man trying to save his ailing marriage over the course of a European vacation. Even as he details the flaws, failures and losses that marked the Petersens’ marriage, Nicholls never loses sympathy for them, and the book’s bittersweet conclusion will linger in readers’ minds.
Our editors pick the year’s best books
A
s 2014 draws to a close, we look back at the stories that have moved us, sparked our imaginations and incited our admiration. Whether fiction or nonfiction, these 50 books are true standouts.
Check out the full list at right, and read on for some highlights.
#1
STATION ELEVEN
Just when we thought we were over post-apocalyptic fiction, Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel breathes fresh life into the genre with this suspenseful and intelligent story. Set nearly 20 years after a flu pandemic has decimated the world’s population, her novel is less concerned with how this disaster came about than it is with portraying the human urge to create and hold on to art and culture even in its darkest hour.
#5 ASTONISH ME
Maggie Shipstead artfully pulls readers into the intensely passionate, grueling world of professional ballet. We follow Joan from her early years in New York to the discovery of her pregnancy, which puts an end to her prima ballerina dreams. Shipstead’s examination of the dancer’s psyche is as well choreographed as one could hope.
AGAIN #6 TOAT ARISE DECENT HOUR
Dentistry, Judaism, the Boston Red Sox, Facebook, genetics, a biblical cult and a broken billionaire: Only a writer with Joshua Ferris’ considerable talents could turn these wildly disparate topics into a profound meditation on the meaning of existence. When New York dentist Paul O’Rourke discovers
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that someone is impersonating him on social media, he’s forced to re-examine who he is, why his relationships have failed—and why his patients won’t floss. Through Paul’s personal odyssey, readers get a penetrating, hilarious and unsettling look at life in an era of constant connection and persistent loneliness.
#10 BARK
There’s a playful bite to the eight short stories that make up Lorrie Moore’s new collection: They address the banality and bitterness of romance with subversive, mordant humor. In these tales of marriage and divorce, comedy is the coping mechanism for the disappointments of being in (and out) of love. It’s like laughing with a mouthful of food—the reality isn’t pretty, but we’re laughing anyway.
TSUKURU #18 COLORLESS TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE
Few writers inspire the fierce devotion that Japanese author Haruki Murakami does, and he’s returned with a novel about the dynamics of friendship. Anchored by a unique blend of existential contemplation and magical realism, the novel follows Tsukuru on his lonely journey to confront his four high school friends and solve the mystery of the friendship’s abrupt end. As with Murakami’s previous efforts, this perplexing yet beautiful journey is well worth taking.
ME #19 REMEMBER LIKE THIS
In his debut novel, Bret Anthony Johnston investigates the pain and growth of a Texas family. Justin, the oldest son, is returned home four years after his kidnapping—and the family is caught in a strange duality of grief and joy that Johnston deftly captures on the page.
#21
MERMAIDS IN PARADISE
TRIP TO #39 THE ECHO SPRING
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever, Tennessee Williams, John Berryman and Raymond Carver—each a genius writer, each a self-destructing alcoholic. In pursuit of some explanation for the tragic connection between the writing life and booze, Olivia Laing traverses the U.S. by train, visiting each of these writers’ haunts and homes. She explores their childhoods and relationships, digs into their works and searches for clues to their addictions. There’s so much to enjoy in this provocative, moving exploration of literary history.
#40 BIG LITTLE LIES
Lydia Millet’s satirical tale of a honeymoon that takes an unexpected twist is perhaps the funniest novel you’ll read this year. Humorous fiction doesn’t always get the literary credit it deserves, so it’s important to note that, while nearly every page is likely to inspire a chuckle if not an outright guffaw, it’s equally likely to contain an illuminating turn of phrase or expertly tuned metaphor.
Australian author Liane Moriarty proves that the success of her fifth novel, The Husband’s Secret, was no fluke. Not since Where’d You Go, Bernadette has the competitive nature of parents of school-aged children been so deftly skewered—and Moriarty is also adept at creating emotional moments that have real impact. Thanks to Moriarty’s genuine writerly chops, this juicy page-turner is a pleasure that’s anything but guilty.
#25 TIBETAN PEACH PIE
#46 MY SALINGER YEAR
How does a Southern Baptist boy from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, become an enthusiastic proponent of LSD and the countercultural voice of the 1970s? Tom Robbins connects the psychedelic dots in a mind-blowing memoir that reminds us why we love his hilarious, colorful and utterly unique voice.
#33 US
British writer David Nicholls follows his 2009 bestseller,
Journalist and novelist Joanna Rakoff perfectly captures the anxiety and uncertainty of young adulthood in a memoir about her experiences working at an odd, stodgy literary agency in the late 1990s. All the unfortunate trappings of your early 20s are here: the lame boyfriend, the money problems and the aching hope for something better.
Visit BookPage.com/bestof2014 for more best books coverage.
BOOKPAGE TOP 50 1. S tation Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 2. Some Luck by Jane Smiley 3. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi 4. Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast 5. Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead 6. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris 7. Lila by Marilynne Robinson 8. In Paradise by Peter Matthiessen 9. In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides 10. Bark by Lorrie Moore 11. Internal Medicine by Terrence Holt 12. A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James 13. California by Edan Lepucki 14. The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai 15. The Untold by Courtney Collins 16. Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart 17. Updike by Adam Begley 18. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami 19. Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston 20. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty 21. Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet 22. The Prince of los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco 23. The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh 24. Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne 25. Tibetan Peach Pie by Tom Robbins 26. Under Magnolia by Frances Mayes 27. The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis 28. Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler 29. Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 by Francine Prose 30. All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld 31. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez 32. The Vacationers by Emma Straub 33. Us by David Nicholls 34. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell 35. Living with a Wild God by Barbara Ehrenreich 36. The Bees by Laline Paull 37. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue 38. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 39. The Trip to Echo Spring by Olivia Laing 40. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 41. What Is Visible by Kimberly Elkins 42. Blood Will Out by Walter Kirn 43. Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen 44. Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey 45. Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan 46. My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff 47. My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead 48. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters 49. The Wind Is Not a River by Brian Payton 50. Natchez Burning by Greg Iles
Dynamic Debuts to Brighten Your Winter
A hilarious debut novel about neighbors who’ll stop at nothing to win a gardening contest.
S
“A GREAT WINTER READ.” —Amanda Thomsen
A witty, honest, food-centric novel about a woman’s journey to find true happiness.
S
“SMART AND COMPELLING.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
on The Girls’ Guide to Love and Supper Clubs
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP. America’s Independent Publisher K E N S I N G T O N B O O K S . C O M
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A WORLD OF IDEAS: SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW
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interviews
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN BY CAT ACREE
KAROLINA WEBB
History is written in blood
W
ithout question, Tolkien set the standard for worldbuilding. Readers of epic fantasy aren’t content with a few generations of kings mentioned in some measly footnotes; they want a world so vast and detailed that it could be real. With Tolkien’s template in mind, George R.R. Martin addresses fans’ demands for a truly epic history. While fantasy readers have long immersed themselves in Martin’s mega-best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” introduced thousands more to his world full of dragons, magic and brutal murders of (spoiler alert!) everyone. At the risk
romance between King Aerys I and his queen. There are a lot of stories there to be told.” Talk about an understatement. Martin’s novels are brimming with references to untold history and legends, and if he pursued every tangent, we’d never get to the end of the story. Even The The Eyrie, copyright © Ted Nasmith. Reprinted with World of Ice and Fire, permission of Random House. which is intended to be the definitive historical volume for the Seven Kingdoms, can only briefly touch on the wealth of tales here. The storytelling possibilities are limitless—which is the reason why Martin is still charmingly enthusiastic about this world, even after inhabiting it for the last 20 years. In response to fans’ constant requests for extended genealogies and fleshed-out, panoramic histories, Martin announced in 2006 that he would begin writing this companion book. “There’s a great thirst on the part of some of the fans for more and more of further delaying the author from details about the world,” Martin writing the sixth book in the series, says. “But I didn’t want to get too BookPage called Martin to talk close to the so-called present day about his new encyclopedic history of Westeros, because I don’t want of Westeros and beyond, The World to give away any of the developof Ice and Fire. ments in the coming novels.” “The [Song of Ice and Fire] world The full history of the Sevis full of stories, just as our world en Kingdoms exists in Martin’s is,” Martin says. “Because I’ve brain—a magic trick if there ever been writing about this world for was one—but even the author’s so many years now, the world has vast imagination needs some help become very real to me, and I can keeping it straight. Elio M. García see all these other stories, and part and Linda Antonsson, founders of me wants to tell them, too. . . . of the fan site Westeros.org, have If I had all the time in the world, been studying (and fact-checking) I could easily write novels about the details of Martin’s world for the reign of Aegon III or Aegon IV, years. As co-writers, they pored the Dance of the Dragons or the over 10,000 pages of novels, pulling
out all references to history, myths and legends. After they organized and formed the book’s structure, Martin stepped in to fill in the blanks. This is far from a complete and infallible account, however. Where Tolkien was concerned with myth and languages, Martin is fascinated by history—and the challenges of retelling it. The narrator of The World of Ice and Fire is Maester Yandel, who acknowledges the difficulties in composing this book, though he insists his multitude of sources has provided a mostly complete narrative: “[E]very building is constructed stone by stone, and the same may be said of knowledge, extracted and compiled by many learned men, each of whom builds upon the works of those who preceded him. What one of them does not know is known to another, and little remains truly unknown if one seeks far enough.” As in our own world, history is written by the victors, who often skew truth toward more flattering legend. In an attempt to condense hundreds of years and to represent disparate cultures’ beliefs while coming to some sort of truthful conclusion, Maester Yandel has presented a history that is undeniably distorted. These far-off places and long-dead men refuse to give up all their secrets. For example, Valyrians insist they descended from dragons, and Ironborns believe they come from fish, but these elements of “history” are born out of religion. Where did these people actually come from? Often the answer is only speculation. Perhaps the book’s greatest strength—and Martin agrees—is the sumptuous illustrations that bring these stories to life. The
author collaborated with Random House on choosing the fantasy artists featured in the book, and the artwork ranges from paintings to digital images, from portraits of kings to gory, blood-soaked battle scenes. Martin especially enjoyed working with Ted Nasmith to create the definitive representations of castles such as Winterfell and Casterly Rock. “We went back and forth to get the look of all those castles exactly as I imagine them,” Martin promises. One question remains for fans who might hope to find clues in this ambitious companion book: Does history repeat itself? Martin’s cheeky answer: “A resounding yes and no. A bit of maybe.”
THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE
By George R.R. Martin, Elio M. García and Linda Antonsson Bantam, $50, 336 pages ISBN 9780553805444, audio, eBook available
FANTASY
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Christmas fiction
D
eck the halls with . . . books that celebrate the holidays! These selections are sure to provide hours of comfort and joy. NORA BONESTEEL’S CHRISTMAS PAST by Sharyn McCrumb
Abingdon, $18.99, ISBN 9781426754210
In her first holiday novel, best-selling author McCrumb brings back the Appalachian soothsayer Nora Bonesteel.
A QUILT FOR CHRISTMAS by Sandra Dallas St. Martin’s, $17.99, ISBN 9781250045942
Set in the waning days of the Civil War, this heartfelt novel follows a widow who finds solace in the camaraderie of her quilting group.
JANE AND THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS by Stephanie Barron Soho Crime, $25, ISBN 9781616954239
It’s Christmas Eve 1814, and Jane Austen is visiting a political family’s ancestral home. But then one of the revelers dies in a suspicious accident.
AN AMISH CHRISTMAS QUILT by Charlotte Hubbard, Kelly Long and Jennifer Beckstrand Kensington, $15, ISBN 9781617735547
Three acclaimed writers of Amish romance share stories of love and the simple life in a collection that’s guaranteed to warm hearts.
WINTER STREET by Elin Hilderbrand Little, Brown, $25, ISBN 9780316376112
Spend the season on snowy Nantucket with the quirky Quinn siblings, whose holiday includes a love triangle, a wife caught kissing Santa Claus and a few shots of whiskey.
THE MISTLETOE PROMISE by Richard Paul Evans
Simon & Schuster, $19.99, ISBN 9781476728209
Elise is no fan of Christmas—it’s the time of year she discovered her husband was cheating on her. Can a stranger help her find joy in the season?
THE CHRISTMAS LIGHT by Donna VanLiere St. Martin’s, $16.99, ISBN 9781250010650
The best-selling author of the Christmas Hope series returns with the story of two single parents, a lonely teen and a childless couple who discover the true meaning of Christmas.
gifts
BY HEATHER SEGGEL
A season of magic and redemption
T
he Christmas season is full of touchstones: Santa with the Rockettes at Radio City, small kindnesses from strangers and boisterous shouts of, “God bless us, every one!” These new books pair nicely with a crackling fire on a frosty night. Author Joanne Huist Smith was struggling. As a newly widowed single mother, she wanted to forget Christmas altogether, a resistance that was making the season harder on her kids. When a poinsettia turned up on their porch with a personalized verse from “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” she wanted to chuck it, but the children were intrigued. Then more gifts showed up, and the family had a mystery on their hands. The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle (Harmony, $15, 224 pages, ISBN 9780553418552) shows how an anonymous kindness can bring a family back together, first when they attempt to catch the givers in the act, and later when they welcome the holiday spirit back into their altered landscape. The gifts they receive are small but make a lasting impact, and this warmhearted story is sure to inspire others to help those in need.
GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST It doesn’t matter where you live; for many of us, Christmas belongs to Charles Dickens’ London. Inventing Scrooge: The Incredible True Story Behind Dickens’ Legendary ‘A Christmas Carol’ (Cider Mill Press, $18.95, 256 pages, ISBN 9781604335002) explores the author’s life and times and finds the real inspirations behind the characters and places in Dickens’ novella. The book is a gold mine for Dickens fans, worth it for the thumbnail biography of Ebenezer Scroggie (Scrooge’s namesake) alone. Author Carlo DeVito also notes Dickens’ gift for reading his work aloud on stage, a practice that earned him more money than the sales of his books. Inventing Scrooge is a beautiful history of a holiday classic and a brilliant peek behind the curtains at the creative process.
HOME BY CHRISTMAS A Christmas Far from Home: An Epic
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HOLIDAY TRADITIONS
Tale of Courage and Survival During the Korean War (Da Capo, $26.99, 304 pages, ISBN 9780306822322) is not typical holiday fare. Stanley Weintraub’s gritty look at the early months of the war, and General MacArthur’s declaration that it would be over by Christmas despite deadly advances by Chinese forces, is a tragedy
suffused with stories of triumph. Caught in battle but losing more men to frostbite than combat, American soldiers repaired broken equipment with pocket-melted Tootsie Rolls and tried to eat holiday meals that froze solid when uncovered. The battle scenes are gripping, the losses grave, but the last troop ships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve, making good on MacArthur’s boast. Give this book to the history buffs in your life, along with some Tootsie Rolls, and they’ll be occupied until New Year’s.
WALKING IN SANTA’S BOOTS For 27 years, Charles Edward Hall embodied the Christmas spirit by ho-ho-hoing as Santa Claus in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. In Santa Claus Is for Real: A True Christmas Fable About the Magic of Believing (Gallery, $14.99, 208 pages, ISBN 9781476743738), he describes getting the job and being a bit of a Scrooge about it. Still hurting from abuse in his past and determined to be a “serious” actor, he made life for everyone around him harder until the job, and the holiday spirit, softened his heart. Hall also had a lifelong relationship with the jolly old elf himself that better enabled him to step into those big black boots. Enemies became friends, then family, as he warmed to the role. Santa Claus Is for Real is a short, sweet redemption tale.
NATURE BY SHEILA M. TRASK
Up close and personal
I
f you’ve seen one book of nature photography, you might think you’ve seen them all. Think again. Get ready to see everything from anemones to elephants in a whole new light.
Portraitists are known to spend a lot of time working with their subjects to get just the right shot. Acclaimed photographer Susan Middleton does just that, but her subjects are an unusual lot. We’re used to seeing evocative human portraits and even animal portraits, but invertebrate marine life? Jellyfish, maybe. But flatworms? Slugs? Middleton collects all these animals and many more, and sits with them for hours, waiting to take what can only be called their portraits. The results in Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates, the Backbone of Life (Abrams, $50, 256 pages, ISBN 9781419710070) are nothing short of spectacular. Set against a stark backdrop of plain white or black, each image seems full of life and movement, as if set to music. Middleton shares some of her techniques as well as the impetus behind her work: giving a face to the invertebrates that make up 98 percent of our ocean’s animal life, at a time when their environment faces unprecedented challenges.
ALL BUG-EYED Where Middleton’s jellyfish glide gently across the page, John Hall-
mén’s magnified images of insects stare boldly out at the viewer. The Swedish nature photographer uses the latest digital technology to create startling color images of beetles, mites, flies and more. Bugs Up Close: A Magnified Look at the Incredible World of Insects (Skyhorse, $35, 192 pages, ISBN 9781629144825) features full-page pictures that bring out every detail in these diverse creatures, with extreme close-ups of compound eyes and enlarged pictures of ants that show their individual hairs. Some images are a challenge to understand at first glance, such as the incredibly detailed image of the mouthparts of a tick, but Lars-Åke Janzon’s text offers ample explanation. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief natural history of the insect, along with their common and scientific names. It’s easy to get caught up in the patterns Hallmén highlights in his subjects’ bodies, hair and eyes, but true-sized silhouettes of each insect appear nearby as well, reminding us that these largerthan-life images are just that.
WHOLE WIDE WORLD At first glance, Art Wolfe’s nature photography feels more familiar than either Middleton’s or Hallmén’s. The sweeping vistas and colorful tribal portraits remind us of National Geographic magazine, and in fact the collection of photographs in Earth Is My Witness: The Photogra-
phy of Art Wolfe (Earth Aware Editions, $95, 396 pages, ISBN 9781608873067) is narrated by Amazon river dolphins, copyright © 2014 Art Wolfe. From Earth Is My the National Witness, reprinted with permission from Earth Aware Editions. Geographic Society’s Wade green, lush swamps of the Florida Davis. Wolfe’s body of work, Trail to the dusty, dry deserts of presented here in large format the Arizona Trail. Smith captures and spanning more than 50 years, the grandeur and intimacy of truly celebrates photojournalism walking these trails with images of as an art form. The sheer scope of Wolfe’s work is a bit overwhelming: breathtaking mountaintop vistas and human-sized footpaths across He has worked on every continent otherwise untouched meadows. and hundreds of locations around Through this contrast, he illusthe globe. This collection takes us trates humanity’s effect on nature on some of those journeys, which as clearly as nature’s effect on Wolfe makes accessible with his humanity. attention to color, pattern and atmosphere. He captures the geometry of Namibian sand dunes CUTTING EDGE Most books of nature photogand Ethiopian tribal scarification raphy are content to illustrate the patterns, as well as the vibrant red clothing of Kenyan Maasai tribesknown world, albeit in new ways. The images selected for William A. men and the dazzling, bejeweled Ewing’s new collection, Landmark: headscarves of Rajasthani women The Fields of Landscape Photogin India. Seemingly infinite landscapes pour over two-page spreads raphy (Thames & Hudson, $65, 256 and often require additional page pages, ISBN 9780500544334), take folds to hold the wealth of the that one step further, as the featured artists ask what might have world that Wolfe observes. been or what might yet be. Abstract AND I MUST GO chapter categorizations such as Scaling back to North America, “Sublime,” “Pastoral,” “Rupture,” the scenery is no less majestic “Hallucination” and “Reverie” reveal humanity’s hand in the in America’s Great Hiking Trails (Rizzoli, $50, 336 pages, ISBN development of the world’s landscapes. Philippe Chancel illustrates 9780789327413), a comprehensive photographic pilgrimage that the truly skyscraping modern traverses each of America’s 11 construction in Dubai, and Simon Norfolk’s provocative series depicts national scenic trails. Photographer and avid hiker Bart Smith was one military tank in four seasons in Afghanistan. These contrast the first person to hike all of with Didier Massard’s otherworldly these trails—from the Appalachian to the Pacific Crest and “Aurora Borealis” and “Mangrove,” all those in between—and he which reveal the haunting beauty documented every step. Smith’s of the planet, as well as indoor mostly unpeopled photographs, landscapes by Robert Polidori. accompanied by Karen Berger’s Ewing’s selections show art’s power informative writing, convey not only to observe and document the unique atmosphere of nature, but also to imagine its each trail, from the incredibly future.
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BY ARLENE McKANIC
Pearls of hard-won wisdom
H
ow much of an understatement is it to say that we need inspiration in this day and age? When the world is riven with war, pestilence and those other horsemen of the Apocalypse, a bit of hopefulness is just the thing. The late Louis Zamperini—the Olympic athlete and war hero who died in July at age 97—was indeed an inspiration. He wrote about his POW nightmare in Devil at My Heels, and Laura Hillenbrand chronicled his experiences in the bestseller Unbroken. In the last book from Zamperini, Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In: Lessons from an Extraordinary Life (Dey Street, $22.99, 272 pages, ISBN 9780062368331), co-written with David Rensin, he mines his experiences for advice that will encourage others. Even as a young man, he had the gumption to turn his excess energy into something positive and became a champion athlete. His ebullience led him to set up camps for delinquent boys. In his twilight years, Zamperini carried the Olympic torch and went skateboarding. He also fully appreciated getting hugs from Angelina Jolie, whose film of Unbroken opens on Christmas Day.
men found on match.com, at politicians both heartless and gormless, at perfect, stay-at-home moms who wear size 0 and run around in biker shorts, at her rather grotesque mother, long-dead father and the state of the world in general—much of the book also focuses on forgiveness. Forgiveness may be a useful thing, she says, but people often need to be dragged to it kicking and screaming. According to Lamott, forgiveness probably needs one of those improbable moments of grace to happen at all. Surely, when it comes to questions of faith, Lamott is to essay writing what Marilynne Robinson is to fiction. Awesome.
ABOVE & BEYOND
Eric Metaxas, author of Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life (Dutton, $27.95, 352 pages ISBN 9780525954422), certainly believes in miracles, those eruptions of the ineffable into the mundane. THE POWER TO FORGIVE He has no patience with those who Thank goodness for Anne Lamott. think what the human being can discern with five senses is all there Her writing style, both unfussy and diaphanous, her congeniality, loopy is. The miracles Metaxas writes of here range from the spectacular to humor and dogged optimism are balms. Her latest book, Small Victo- what can be called “miracle light.” ries: Spotting Improbable MoOne of his acquaintances, a very British, High Church Anglican ments of Grace (Riverhead, $22.95, type, sees 50-foot angels in full 304 pages, ISBN 9781594486296) battle rattle. Others see an incanis a gem. In addition to hope, she also brings anger, even rage, and descent Jesus or are healed at the uses it like a finely honed weapon. last minute from deathly illnesses. Metaxas has no use for subtlety; Because of her rage—at ridiculous these miracles only happen through the intercession of Jesus. But his writing, and the miracles he describes, encourage all of us to ponder the possible.
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q&a
M
PAMELA SMITH HILL
ore than 80 years ago, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote Pioneer Girl, an autobiography about growing up on the prairie. Editor Pamela Smith Hill explains why the book is finally being published and what it means for Little House fans.
BY JULIE HALE
JEFFREY SKEMP
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INSPIRATION
What were Wilder’s intentions with this autobiography? Who was she writing for? Wilder wrote Pioneer Girl for an adult audience, hoping for initial publication in a prominent national magazine of the period—The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies’ Home Journal or Country Gentleman. Such magazines published longer fiction and nonfiction in serial form. If Pioneer Girl had been published in one of these magazines, Wilder then hoped to sell Pioneer Girl to a book publisher. Why is it being published now for the first time? When I was conducting research for my biography, Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life, at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, I overheard an archivist field a call from a Wilder fan who wanted to order a photocopy of Pioneer Girl. I learned then that the Hoover receives dozens of calls like that every year. And once A Writer’s Life was published, readers began asking me how they could get a copy of Pioneer Girl. It occurred to me then that perhaps it was time for an annotated edition of Pioneer Girl, one that would place the various versions of the manuscript into context along with the Little House series itself. I took the idea to the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, and together we drafted a proposal for the Little House Heritage Trust, which holds the copyright to Wilder’s work. Fortunately, the Trust also thought the time was right for Pioneer Girl. Pioneer Girl played a key role in the development of Wilder’s fiction. Can you tell us a bit about how she adapted the material for her Little House novels? Wilder used Pioneer Girl as the foundation for her Little House books. It gave her an overall framework for the series, as well as narrative material. But she expanded episodes for her fiction, adding more details, eliminating others. In Pioneer Girl, for example, Wilder wrote one brief paragraph about the cabin her father built on the Osage Diminished Reserve in Kansas. In Little House on the Prairie, Wilder devoted two entire chapters to its construction and the family’s move inside. Then she added three more as Pa completed the house, adding doors, a fireplace, a roof and floor. Careful readers will also notice similarities in phrasing and key passages. Sometimes Wilder lifted a sentence or paragraph from Pioneer Girl and placed it, with virtually no changes, into her fiction. What surprised you, as an editor, about Pioneer Girl ? Wilder’s narrative voice? Her structural approach? When I first read Pioneer Girl closely, I was struck with the variations in story and character—that Jack in the Little House series is largely fictionalized or that the real Ingalls family shared their home with a young married couple during the Hard Winter. After working on this project, however, I came away with a new respect for Wilder’s understanding of her pioneer material and her ability to shape it into a meaningful narrative—first as nonfiction for adults, then in expanded Read an extended version of form as fiction for young readers. this Q&A on BookPage.com.
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LITERARY BY JULIE HALE
The season’s best picks for serious readers
I
f you’re shopping for a book-obsessed guy or gal who geeks out over all things literary, then you’ve turned to the right page. The holiday selections featured below offer the sort of author anecdotes, book-related trivia and top-notch storytelling that bibliophiles are wild about.
Countless young readers have warmed to the novel form thanks to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books. Images from Ingalls-family lore—silent Indians, swarming locusts, interminable wagon journeys with Jack the bulldog trotting behind—are now part of America’s collective literary consciousness. Followers of Wilder’s prairie adventures have something new to look forward to with the release of Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography (South Dakota State Historical Society Press, $39.95, 472 pages, ISBN 9780984504176). Wilder wrote this factual account of her life in 1929-30, and when publisher after publisher passed on it, she repurposed it for the Little House books, using it as the foundation for her fiction. The newly released manuscript displays the forthright style and easy grace associated with the Wilder name and delivers an unsentimental look at the reality behind her novelized life. In a compelling introduction to the book, editor Pamela Smith Hill examines the evolution of the manuscript and offers insights into Wilder’s development as a writer. Maps, photos and other memorabilia make this a must-have for the beloved author’s many fans.
WRITERS ON THE ROAD The armchair escapist on your gift list will love An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers (Lonely Planet, $15.99, 320 pages, ISBN 9781743603604). A wide-ranging anthology that pays tribute to the transformative power of travel, the volume features contributions from an impressive lineup of literary celebs. Far from being savvy explorers, the authors in this globe-trotting collection confess their incompetence when it comes to crossing borders and cracking
maps. Ann Patchett’s Paris sojourn contains a quintessential comingof-age escapade: As a teenager made giddy by the City of Light, she toys with the idea of getting a cow (yes, cow) tattoo. Mary Karr’s Belize eco-tour results in personal growth, as she sheds her civilized self and becomes one with the jungle. Alas for Richard Ford—his hair-raising run-in with kief sellers on a remote road in Morocco demonstrates that danger is all too often the traveler’s companion. Yes, vicarious voyages are sometimes the best kind, and this travel-writing treasury offers an instant—and expedient—adventure fix.
AUSTEN IS AWESOME Fans of Emma and Persuasion may OD on the eye candy contained in Margaret C. Sullivan’s Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Covers (Quirk, $24.95, 224 pages, ISBN 9781594747250). A fascinating survey of the visual treatments Austen’s work has received over the centuries, this charming anthology opens with marble-boarded first editions of Sense and Sensibility from London publisher Thomas Egerton and ends with a roundup of foreign translations that range from old-fashioned to funky (a 1970 Spanish edition of Pride and Prejudice has a disembodied eye on its jacket). Sullivan, author of The Jane Austen Handbook, tracks how the presentations of the novels changed along with the publishing industry to reflect graphic design trends and technological advances. Austen’s many disciples will swoon over traditional covers from Penguin, Signet and the Modern Library but may cast a skeptical eye at graphic-novel and zombie
editions of Austen’s work. It seems every company under the sun has done Austen, and this irresistible album provides an intriguing overview of their efforts.
THE MAN FROM HANNIBAL Imagine it: Mark Twain on Twitter. With his carefully cultivated persona and gift for succinct verbal expression—it seems his every utterance was a perfect epigram—the author’s following would’ve been off the charts. Viewing the humorist through just such a contemporary lens, Mark Twain’s America: A Celebration in Words and Images (Little, Brown, $40, 256 pages, ISBN 9780316209397) proves that his voice and his work are as resonant today as they
were in the 1800s. Harry L. Katz, a former Library of Congress curator, teamed with that institution to produce the book, which features a treasure trove of archival materials, including maps, photos, cartoons and correspondence that depict the rough-and-tumble America of Twain’s era. Documenting the many manifestations of Twain— gold prospector, riverboat pilot, newspaperman, novelist—this lavish volume provides a fascinating portrait of a multifaceted figure who was ahead of his time and whose influence, today, is every-
where. With a foreword by Lewis H. Lapham, former editor of Harper’s Magazine, this is a stunning appreciation of a true American original.
20 QUESTIONS The arrival of the popular “By the Book” column in The New York Times Book Review is the peak of the week for many literature lovers. A writer-in-the-spotlight feature overseen by editor Pamela Paul, “By the Book” made its Review debut in 2012 (the first subject: David Sedaris). A new collection of Paul’s insightful interviews, By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from The New York Times Book Review (Holt, $28, 336 pages, ISBN 9781627791458),
contains Q&As with 65 writers, including Donna Tartt, Junot Díaz, Hilary Mantel, Michael Chabon and Neil Gaiman. In their candid conversations with Paul, the great writers come clean about their reading tastes, work habits and inspirations, the books that moved them and the ones that left them cold. Jillian Tamaki’s pencil portraits of the authors are a plus. (Test your writer-recognition skills using the grid of famous faces that graces the cover.) With a foreword by Scott Turow, this is a book that will give bibliophiles a buzz.
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GUYS BY MARTIN BRADY
Something for the well-rounded man
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ith every passing day, our world seems ever more gender-neutral. Nevertheless, some topics still fit pretty comfortably into the category of the “historical purview of men,” and some fine new publications have arrived to stake their claim as appropriate holiday gifts for special guys. Bob Ryan recently retired after clocking in close to 50 years as a print sports reporter. But Ryan’s career also encompassed television, and through the miracle of ESPN, this less-than-obviously-telegenic fellow came to be known far and wide for his knowledge of sports and no-nonsense opinions about the controversial personalities who played them. In Scribe: My Life in Sports (Bloomsbury, $27, 336 pages, ISBN 9781620405062), Ryan offers an enjoyable memoir that spans his early days as a sports-crazy lad in Trenton, New Jersey, the launching of his career with The Boston Globe and on to the decades spent covering local teams, in particular his beloved Celtics. Ryan also covered baseball, football, the Olympics and golf, but it is no surprise that his most interesting words here concern basketball figures such as Red Auerbach, Bobby Knight and Larry Bird. Ryan’s on-air activities with ESPN continue, so this volume really serves as the capper to his newspaper days as a man on a steady beat.
FIXER-UPPER Guys are certainly not alone these days when it comes to home repairs and general Mr. (or Ms.) Fix It concerns. Yet the phrase remains “nice to have a man around the house,” and the new fourth edition of The Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual (Reader’s Digest, $35, 528 pages, ISBN 9781621452010) updates a volume that’s been of value to amateur handymen since 1973. The coverage is exhaustive, from descriptions of the basic tools and accessories necessary to tackle any job to wonderfully detailed instructions for completing all manner of interior and exterior repair and remodeling projects. The editors assume the reader’s can-do spirit and dive right in with thorough de-
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scriptions of plumbing, electrical, landscaping, masonry and woodworking projects, along with stepby-step instructions supplemented by color photos and drawings. Even for those guys who may not muster the chutzpah to actually replace a toilet or asphalt shingles, this hefty tome will serve as a superior, safety-conscious general guide and reference for home use.
information and useful diagrams for home kitchen prep, including good reminders on hygiene and safety. The hundreds of recipes by Christopher Trotter, Elena Rosemond-Hoerr and Rachel Green look nothing short of spectacular
WHAT A MARVEL
FIRE IT UP In a health-conscious modern world, meat—especially red meat—has endured its share of revisionist dietary criticism. But that doesn’t stop acclaimed U.K. food writer Nichola Fletcher from providing endlessly supportive and knowledgeable text for The Meat Cookbook (DK, $35, 320 pages, ISBN 9781465422873), which emerges as a salutary—and heavily illustrated—celebration of all things carnivorous. Fletcher’s lengthy opening section, “Meat Know-How,” is a storehouse of general info on meat, from assessing the various cuts to using cutlery, from modes of cooking to preparing sauces. The individual chapters focus on the specific meat categories—poultry, pork, beef, lamb, game and even offal (organ meats that require special cooking attention). A final section, “Home Butchery,” goes where most of us regular folks fear to tread, but it provides valuable
400 train engines and railcars, explores worldwide rail journeys and features plenty of side trips over bridges and through tunnels. The detailing of the trains themselves is spectacular, all in vivid color and including the minutiae of technical specifications, which will enthrall any train buff. For those happy enough with the history alone, the text is enjoyable and comprehensive, filled with profiles of early 19th-century pioneer inventors, interesting facts about the industry’s expansion from England to Europe to the U.S., plus sidebars on the train’s roles as a prime mover of people and an engine of war.
and provide a survey of meat dishes from across the globe.
FULL STEAM AHEAD “Stunning” is one word that describes Train: The Definitive Visual History (DK, $40, 320 pages, ISBN 9781465422293). This massive, gorgeously produced volume is nothing short of a feast for the eyes, at once an impressive publishing achievement and probably the definitive popular work on its subject. Produced under the supervision of the Smithsonian and general consultant Tony Streeter, the book’s beauty and authority outweigh even its serious poundage as it chronicles the development of locomotives and railroads, describes more than
Finally, there’s Marvel Comics: 75 Years of Cover Art (DK, $50, 320 pages, ISBN 9781465420404), yet another gloriously hefty volume. This one celebrates that perennial obsession of just about every young guy—and even some older ones. Historically, there was always a divide between lovers of DC Comics (Superman, Batman, etc.) and those who favored Marvel Comics, purveyors of Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, X-Men and many other iconic superheroes. Yet comparisons are odious, and at their best, Marvel’s covers were (and are) wonderful. This compelling gallery of enlarged examples pops with dazzling color and dramatic action, backed by Alan Cowsill’s captions and sidebars describing each print, along with capsule profiles of important artists such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. The covers are divided into four historical periods—Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age and Modern Age—offering a striking overview of the development of the art form’s style, as well as comics’ reflection of societal changes. One cover even features President Obama!
QUIRKY BY LINDA M. CASTELLITTO
The strange and wonderful
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ibliophiles know books are the perfect gifts, rendering “they’re so hard to buy for” an empty lament. To wit, this trio of titles truly has something for everyone. All hail the curious mind!
Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them (Bloomsbury, $22, 144 pages, ISBN 9781620404904) takes a daring approach: There are no photos here. Instead, Wendy MacNaughton illustrates more than 60 tattoos, along with their hand-lettered origin stories curated by Isaac Fitzgerald. MacNaughton’s artfully rendered blackand-white line drawings of her subjects provide a neutral canvas for her full-color interpretations of their vibrant tattoos. Of course, the stories make these body-art vignettes whole: From sad to silly, emotional to eccentric, it’s fascinating to learn what can inspire such an everlasting form of self-expression. Chiming in are artists, professors, a naval officer, pizza aficionados and many more. This is a great gift for the tattooed, the tattoo considerers, art lovers and anyone curious about tattoo whys and wherefores but too shy to ask.
TANTALIZING TRIVIA The explosive cover art for 1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop (Norton, $15.95, 384 pages, ISBN 9780393245608) is a reasonable facsimile of readers’ brains after they’ve experienced this compendium of wildly interesting, weirdly true facts. The authors are the masterminds of popular BBC quiz show “QI”: John Lloyd is creator, John Mitchinson is director of research, and James Harkin is senior researcher. They’re also the authors of 2013’s best-selling 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off, the creation of which led them right to this follow-up book. “Once you are
“O N E O F T H E M O S T REMARKABLE BOOKS O F T H E Y E A R .” —Michael Schaub, NPR
in the Fact Zone, everywhere you look, astonishing new facts seem to wave and demand inclusion,” they explain. There are loads of facts here, on topics as varied as music, milk, Darwin, straitjackets and earlobes. For example: “There are only two sets of escalators in Wyoming,” and “A slug’s anus is on
its head.” Now get out there and win on “Jeopardy!”
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES Step aside, yarn-bombers and artisanal cheese-makers—the rogue taxidermists are here, and Robert Marbury leads the charge with Taxidermy Art: A Rogue’s Guide to the Work, the Culture, and How to Do It Yourself (Artisan, $18.95, 240 pages, ISBN 9781579655587). The book shares taxidermy’s origins, as well as illustrated how-tos for the aspiring taxidermist. It’s also an illuminating look at those who practice the craft today, via page after page of disturbingly beautiful (or beautifully disturbing) works by artists worldwide. Chicago’s Jessica Joslin combines animal bones and intricate metalwork in pieces that are at once robotic and fluid; Julia deVille embellishes her taxidermy with jewels, thus “dazzling us with death”; and Marbury practices “vegan taxidermy” by using toy stuffed animals instead of formerly living creatures. Taxidermy Art is a truly interesting read, rife with intriguing history, talented artists, memorable images—and skull-bleaching instructions, too.
“Scary as hell and hypnotic. I couldn’t put it down.” —Stephen King “Exquisitely paced and impeccably controlled... An enormously satisfying novel [that] dramatizes big ideas about art, the Internet and urban decay.” —Christopher Rice, New York Times Book Review
“Captivating...a thoroughly modern, supernatural thriller.” —Los Angeles Times laurenbeukes.com Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio ON SALE NOW at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, iBooks, Costco, and thousands of great independent bookstores nationwide MULHOLLAND BOOKS LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY
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HUMOR B Y L I LY M c L E M O R E
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G
ive the jokester in your life something to laugh about this holiday season by wrapping up one of these hilarious books. Because what’s better than the gift of laughter? Jim Gaffigan offers up a tender ode to everyone’s most reliable lover in Food: A Love Story (Crown, $26, 352 pages, ISBN 9780804140416). The stand-up comedian and best-selling author (Dad Is Fat) simply wants to tell you how much he adores eating. And really, there’s no better man to take you on a tour de fat. “I can’t stop eating. I can’t. I haven’t been hungry in 12 years,” he tells us. Gaffigan goes over just about every aspect of the food world in chapters ranging from “The Buffet Rule,” in which he accepts the implicit challenge of the all-you-caneat buffet, to “He’s Here!,” an homage to the beauty of food delivery. He also offers helpful advice on food choices, such as an informative guide to sausage and this pearl of wisdom concerning oysters: “I make a rule to not eat things that also make jewelry.” If you’re a big fan of Gaffigan, you may recognize some of the vignettes from his stand-up routines, but Food remains one of the funniest books about eating out there. If there’s someone in your life who may love tacos more than they love you, this is the book for them.
ODDBALL HUMOR There are some freaky looking animals out there, and in WTF, Evolution?!: A Theory of Unintelligible Design (Workman, $12.95, 272 pages, ISBN 9780761180340), Mara Grunbaum presents her
hypotheses on why Evolution, personified as a well-meaning blunderbuss, made some of Earth’s most bizarre creatures. The most probable answer? Evolution was overworked, very tired and probably a little drunk. Alongside more than 100 photos of strange animals, Evolution attempts to explain its reasons for creating creatures such as the uninspired sea potato, the duck-billed platypus and the truly unfortunate pigbutt worm. And if you thought humans were at the top of the evolutionary totem pole, think again. Evolution attests that its proudest accomplishment is the incredibly resilient, microscopic and strangely adorable tardigrade.
POSITIVELY POEHLER Amy Poehler—“Saturday Night Live” alum, star of “Parks and Recreation” and third runner-up for the title of “Most Casual” in high school—has blessed us with her first book, Yes Please (Dey Street, $28.99, 352 pages, ISBN 9780062268341). A collection of essays, personal blunders, advice and even haiku, it is perhaps best described as a scrapbook of generally hilarious thoughts and experiences. Poehler shares the tale of her journey to comedic success, a few seminal childhood anecdotes and the behind-the-scenes scoop on her nine-year run on “SNL.” “Antonio Banderas smelled the best of any host,” she confides. But this book is more than just funny—it’s poignant, thoughtful and inspiring. Yes Please is divided into three parts: “Say Whatever You Want,” “Do Whatever You Like” and “Be Whoever You Are.” By the end of the book, you will want to do all three.
ART & PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALICE CARY
Expand your visual frontiers
W
hether you prefer classic design, historic photography, performance art or up-and-coming modern artists, you’ll find something in these five books to whet your appetite.
Books represent one of my favorite forms of artistic expression, and The Thing The Book: A Monument to the Book as Object (Chronicle, $40, 156 pages, ISBN 9781452117201) takes a truly novel approach to the subject. Creators Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan (publishers of THE THING Quarterly) decided to make a book into what they call an “exhibition space.” They invited a variety of artists and illustrators to celebrate the physical nature of books, and the result is certainly an unusual conglomeration of creativity. Sam Green, for example, writes a colophon describing, in pictures and words, the phone book entries of a San Francisco man named Zachary Zzzzzzzzzra from 1963 through 1986. Mark Dion presents a wonderful photo essay called “Cover Life,” which simply depicts the covers of more than 50 well-worn books, ranging from the classic children’s book A Hole Is to Dig to a tattered Ulysses paperback. His montage is a thoughtful way to examine how books influence a life. With varied entries like this, the result is pure fun and oddly compelling. Everything is worth examining (there’s even a naughty errata slip), including the bookplate, bookmark ribbon and index.
IN FOCUS More typical in layout and structure is the massive Photography: The Definitive Visual History (DK, $50, 480 pages, ISBN 9781465422880). Photography
expert Tom Ang has compiled this comprehensive look at the subject, beginning with inventions such as the camera obscura and continuing through today’s digital age. This well-organized volume contains sections that examine historical trends, such as “Diversity and Conflict” from 1960 to 1979. There’s also an A-to-Z list of photographers, along with short profiles. You’ll see much that is familiar, but you’re also bound to discover new treats, such as Dutch photographer Frans Lanting’s “Dead Camelthorn Trees.” This striking image, taken in a national park in Namibia, is otherworldly, reminiscent of an exceptional illustration from a children’s book. Each historical discussion examines a variety of topics, such as the Polaroid camera, photography in space and the advent of the iPhone 3GS. Certain photographers are profiled in detail, such as Walker Evans and Cindy Sherman. Noteworthy photos are explored as well, including Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother.” Even if you’re not a camera buff, this book is nothing short of fascinating.
nese police destroyed the artists’ village where he had been working. His signature style then emerged when he painted his entire body to blend into the background of the demolished village. Bolin went on to photograph himself in painted camouflage all over Beijing, and later in places like New York and Venice. In the book’s introduction, Sorbonne art professor Philippe Dagen writes that Bolin “composes images that at first attract, then surprise and disturb, and finally imprint themselves on the memory. He uses a unique artistic form with a rare effectiveness that is perfectly in sync with the modern times.” Bolin’s images are indeed mesmerizing, managing to be compelling to everyone from a preschooler to the most sophisticated art critic. Watch him appear and disappear in front of a tropical fruit stand, a locomotive, racks of magazines, a toy shop or in the midst of a Venice street scene. This volume is a worthy tribute to this artist’s singular accomplishments.
DISAPPEARING ACT
Eames: Beautiful Details (AMMO, $59.95, 408 pages, ISBN 9781623260316) is just the visually arresting package one would expect from two of the greatest designers of the 20th century. Encased in a bold, colorful slipcase, this hefty compendium is a very personal look at the work of husband-and-wife team Charles and Ray Eames, renowned for their
Chinese artist Liu Bolin is known as “The Invisible Man,” and Liu Bolin (Abrams, $60, 224 pages, ISBN 9781419713941) presents a captivating retrospective of his politically charged work, complete with 200 color photographs. Bolin’s well-known Hiding in the City series began in 2005, after the Chi-
DESIGN LEGENDS
work in architecture, furniture, textile, film, photography and graphic design. After marrying in 1941, the couple was commissioned by the U.S. Navy during World War II to produce molded plywood splints, stretchers and more. One art critic called their molded plywood chair “the chair of the century.” Another creation, the Eames lounge chair, is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The fact that this couple was creative on so many different fronts means that this book is a particularly rich edition, full of family photos and personal memories, as well as reminisces describing the designers’ process and design philosophies. Charles summed up his and Ray’s life perfectly by saying, “At all times love and discipline have led to a beautiful environment and a good life.”
MODERN ART SAMPLER What’s happening in modern art? The 21st-Century Art Book (Phaidon, $39.95, 304 pages, ISBN 9780714867397) will bring you up to speed. This alphabetical overview takes a look at contemporary art since 2000, including paintings, photography, sculpture, performance art, video and digital art and more. The pleasing layout makes for easy browsing, with each page containing a photograph and a short write-up about an artist. Some entries will likely be familiar, such as the 110-ton Chicago “Bean” sculpture, more properly known as Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate.” Many entries document the ever-expanding criteria of what defines modern art, such as a video and sound installation by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat that depicts a funeral procession on a beach. British artist Michael Landy catalogued everything he owned (7,277 items) and then placed them on a conveyor belt to be destroyed by a machine. Regardless of your opinions about such works, all are thought provoking and likely to lead art lovers to new discoveries.
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ENTERTAINMENT B Y PAT H . B R O E S K E
to RHPS) and has a side panel with eight buttons that play musical clips of songs like “Dammit Janet” and more. An envelope in the back contains extras: a poster, temporary tattoos and an instructional Time Warp dance chart.
RAISE A GLASS
The cult of Hollywood
S
anta’s gift bag is heavy with books celebrating enduring filmmakers, the making of a Golden Age screen classic, two beloved cult films and a toast to Hollywood’s drinking circuit.
Martin Scorsese: A Retrospective (Abrams, $40, 288 pages, ISBN 9781419710629) celebrates one of America’s most original and audacious filmmakers. Written by incisive film critic Tom Shone and lavishly illustrated, this book—like a Scorsese film—packs a passionate wallop and is elevated by scrutinous attention to detail. The film-by-film format encompasses Scorsese’s student films, B-movies (the Roger Corman-produced Boxcar Bertha), slick Hollywood entries (New York, New York), curiosities (The Last Temptation of Christ), documentaries (The Last Waltz) and iconic titles that established him as “the patron saint of blood and pasta” (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas).
A SINGULAR STYLE In The Ultimate Woody Allen Film Companion (Voyageur Press, $30, 192 pages, ISBN 9780760346235), author Jason Bailey—film editor for Flavorwire—focuses on professional output, not controversial personal life, as he moves through nearly 50 years of Allen’s films—from What’s Up, Tiger Lily? to Blue Jasmine. The book’s lively, intuitive essays include surveys of Allen’s recurring themes (Jewish mothers, magic and magical realism, Groucho idolatry, infidelity, younger women, hypochondria), intermingled with charts and pages on related subjects including New York (complete with a map showing locales of film
scenes), his favorite leading ladies and more.
BEHIND THE ULTIMATE EPIC Lawdy! Who’d have guessed— after all these years and so much dissection—that The Making of Gone with the Wind (University of Texas Press, $50, 352 pages, ISBN 9780292761261) would be as startlingly informative as it is sumptuous? But, then, author Steve Wilson, curator of the film collection at the University of Texas at Austin, had the benefit of access to the archives of David O. Selznick, the film’s producer, and his business partner. As a result, more than 600 rarely seen items, including storyboards, telegrams, contracts, fan mail, concept art and more, are grandly reproduced and scrutinized. The book doesn’t skirt the racial controversies that have dogged the movie over the decades, but in this, its 75th year, neither is there any denying of its influence—and endurance.
AN IMPROBABLE CLASSIC It was at a 25th anniversary gathering for the 1987 cult movie The Princess Bride that Cary Elwes—Westley to the film’s many devoted fans—was inspired to pen, with the help of Joe Layden, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride (Touchstone, $26, 272 pages, ISBN 9781476764023). The filmmakers and stars share
Scorsese on the set of Goodfellas, copyright © 1990 The Kobal Collection. From Martin Scorsese, reprinted with permission from Abrams.
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their stories as Elwes charts the film’s unlikely journey from modest hit to cult status (thanks to VHS sales) to a timeless favorite featuring derring-do, pirates, giants, oversize rodents and the quest for true love.
UNABASHEDLY CAMPY FUN Thanks to a magical blend of music, madness and gender bending—the lead, played by the riotous Tim Curry, is a transsexual mad scientist—a strange little musical became a pop culture legend. The Rocky Horror Treasury: A Tribute to the Ultimate Cult Classic (Running Press, $27, 48 pages, ISBN 9780762455195), by devotees Sal Piro and Larry Viezel, follows the film’s history, includes lots of fun facts (an entire episode of TV’s “Glee” was devoted
And finally, hoist a glass to Of All the Gin Joints: Stumbling Through Hollywood History (Algonquin, $21.95, 336 pages, ISBN 9781565125933), a clever compendium of equal parts showbiz and booze. Written by Mark Bailey and illustrated by Edward Hemingway, the book includes often outrageous stories of famed inebriates (John Barrymore and Liz Taylor among them), the bars they frequented, hangover cures and cocktail recipes. Read all about that bastion of Tiki glory, Don the Beachcomber, and discover the origins of Chasen’s Shirley Temple (yes, it was created expressly for the tiny starlet). Sprinkled with celebrity quotes (Dennis Hopper: “I only did drugs so I could drink more.”), this book also works as a kind of tour guide—find “Open” signs hanging over sections in which the bars and other alcohol-centric joints are still serving. My personal favorite bartender, the legendary Manny Aguirre of Musso & Frank Grill, gets a shout-out and shares his martini recipe. Cheers!
Put Some
a M g i g i B into Yourc
Holiday!
Compelling stories of animal heroism, in words and pictures, from the author of the New York Times bestseller Unlikely Friendships.
The sea horse sways, the octopus pulses. From the creators of the New York Times bestseller Safari, it’s a breathtaking dive into the wonders of the deep.
Happiness is a book that moves! The newest in the bestselling Scanimation® series brings to life those beloved PeAnuTS characters.
This work of pure enchantment celebrates all things food and cooking through watercolor paintings that shine like jewels, and language as sweet as poetry.
A funny, warm, and inspiring book for dog lovers, delivering a life lesson on every page.
For kids who love magic, here’s how to perform 25 astonishing illusions that require little prep time and dexterity, yet are guaranteed to deliver big applause and big fun.
workman.com WORKMAn is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing Co., Inc. SCAnIMATIOn is a registered trademark of eyeThink, Inc.
gifts
ANIMAL ATTRACTION BY LINDA M. CASTELLITTO
Celebrating the joys of a dog’s life
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arning: These books will make you want to adopt a dog. Or another. Maybe even several. The pooches featured in the five books here do everything from joy riding to going for a swim (or at least a dog paddle). So, you’ve memorized the images in Seth Casteel’s Underwater Dogs (2012) and long for more? Never fear, Underwater Puppies (Little, Brown, $21, 128 pages, ISBN 9780316254892) is here! It’s worth the wait: These delightfully damp puppies are even sweeter than those that came before, not least because most of the pups are so very tiny (or: automatically cute). Casteel is a master at capturing the looks on their faces, and the effect is irresistible, whether the subject is Sugar (a boxer who serenely floats among the bubbles) or Bentley (a French bulldog whose expression says, what is going ON here?). The dogs pictured hail from shelters and rescue groups and serve as a reminder that, as Casteel writes, “adoption is a fantastic option when considering bringing a puppy into your life.” And how.
JUST BREATHE Do you know someone who needs a chill pill? Here’s one in book form: Lessons in Balance: A Dog’s Reflections on Life (Running Press, $13.95, 112 pages, ISBN 9780762455249) by 9-year-old Scout, the pit bull star of the Tumblr blog “Stuff on Scout’s Head.” And that’s exactly what you get in this book—photo after photo of Scout calmly balancing all sorts of items on his head, with sayings like “Acknowledge your feelings” and “Look beyond appearances.” Turning the pages is a surprisingly hypnotic experience. After a while, the objects fade, and the consistency of Scout’s mellow gaze prompts a feeling of tranquility. The images can be a hoot, for sure: The bunch of asparagus on Scout’s head is funny, the soap-bubble is impressive and the hourglass is poignant. But the humorous images don’t belie the message. As object-placer and
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owner Jennifer Gillen writes, “From [Scout] I’ve learned to be present and mindful, focus on the task at hand, and complete it.”
DINING A DEUX If you live alone, it can seem easier to favor quick-and-easy meals. But there’s another way! Judith Jones offers time-tested strategies for feeding yourself and your canine companion in Love Me, Feed Me: Sharing with Your Dog the Everyday Good Food You Cook and Enjoy (Knopf, $24.95, 192 pages, ISBN 9780385352147). An esteemed editor at Knopf for 50-plus years who edited the likes of Julia Child and Jacques Pépin, Jones has also written cookbooks herself. She now raises grass-fed cattle on her farm in Vermont, with her dog, Mabon, by her side. He’s her kitchen compatriot, as well, which is
eminently sensible of him, since Jones is a longtime champion of cooking for pets. She began in 1933 at age 9, when cans of wet food and bags of kibble were not available. “I liked sharing some of what we were eating with a creature I treasured. It was my way of caring for her,” she writes. In Love Me, Feed Me, she offers 50-plus recipes for meats, pasta and more, along with plenty
of photos and stories. Clever tips abound, like this one: Why struggle to scrape Chulo enjoys the ride in Dogs in Cars, copyright © 2014 by Lara Jo Regan. a pot clean Reprinted with permission from Countryman Press. when you’ve got an eager dog who’s happy to to hug any nearby pets. All of the help with the task? images were taken in California and showcase the state’s natural HIT THE ROAD, FIDO beauty: palm trees, mountains, Ah, hitting the road—the beaches, glorious skies. Cars range time-honored tradition that celfrom a 1979 Cadillac Eldorado to ebrates freedom, possibility and a 2014 Toyota Prius (there’s a golf the delights of windblown hair. In cart, too), and indexes at the back Dogs in Cars (Countryman, $19.95, identify the various cars and dog 144 pages, ISBN 9781581572797), breeds. Dogs in Cars is a fun gift photographer Lara Jo Regan, best for dog lovers, road-trippers, car aficionados and anyone who wants to gaze upon joy, page after page.
FURRY FRIENDS
known as the guardian of the beloved Mr. Winkle, captures “the pure joy of a dog in its most heightened state” via a gorgeously photographed collection of dogs with eyes alight, tongues flapping, fur ruffled by the breeze. The pooches look thrilled (and beautiful—Regan knows her lighting), and will inspire an urge
Brittni Vega’s Harlow & Sage (and Indiana): A True Story About Best Friends (Putnam, $22.95, 144 pages, ISBN 9780399172878) is a sweet and funny story told from Harlow the Weimaraner’s perspective. (Thankfully, Harlow doesn’t use the mangled English favored by some Internet sensations— she would never spell cheese with a “z”!) The book began as an Instagram account in 2013, with wonderful photos of the adventures of Harlow and her older sister Sage. Alas, Sage died a few months later. In an effort to assuage everyone’s sadness, Vega and her husband brought home Indiana, a Dachshund puppy. Following along as the dogs and their humans move from fresh grief to fond memories, from begrudging acceptance to true sisterhood, is a lovely experience. There’s lots of dog-centric hilarity, too, which makes Harlow & Sage a great choice for reading to or with kids.
reviews THE BOSTON GIRL
FICTION
A girl grows in Boston REVIEW BY REBECCA STROPOLI
Reading Anita Diamant’s The Boston Girl is a bit like listening to an older relative tell stories at Thanksgiving—and that’s a good thing. Because Addie Baum, the book’s 85-year-old narrator (who is telling her tales to her college-age granddaughter throughout the book), is one entertaining older relative. The story Addie weaves is of her own life, which began in Boston in 1900. She grew up as the whip-smart daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants, who struggle to understand their free-spirited child, the only one of their three daughters born in the U.S. But despite being routinely smothered at home, she ably explores life on her own terms. In 1915, the bookish Addie is asked to recite “Paul Revere’s Ride” at the Saturday Club, a group of young women from many different By Anita Diamant religious and ethnic backgrounds. This is the start of her intellectual, Scribner, $26, 336 pages artistic and feminist journey. From there, we follow Addie as she forms ISBN 9781439199350, audio, eBook available friendships, endures family tragedies, explores career options and social activism and eventually finds romance, all as key world events POPULAR FICTION unfold in the background. While, refreshingly, men are far from her chief focus, one of the more touching sections of the book centers on her short-lived and disastrous relationship with a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Diamant, best known for her best-selling book-club favorite The Red Tent, does a fine job of instantly endearing Addie to the reader. Fiercely independent, frequently awkward and quite witty, Addie is simply fun to hang out with, in a literary sense. Her journey through the 20th century is one readers will relish.
MISSING REELS By Farran Smith Nehme Overlook $26.95, 352 pages ISBN 9781468309270
DEBUT FICTION
Life may not be going according to plan for Ceinwen Reilly, but she’s determined to find the cinema-worthy thread in her 1980s Lower East Side life. That may be easier said than done, given her retail job at a vintage shop and her shabby Avenue C apartment. But this Mississippi transplant and film buff finds the romantic in everything, from saving for a particularly stunning pair of earrings to the antics of her two male roommates. So Ceinwen is easily bewitched by her elderly neighbor Miriam’s stories of working as a seamstress in Hollywood, which
inspire a search for a long-lost silent film. Film critic and blogger (“The Self-Styled Siren”) Farran Smith Nehme packs the story with tidbits of classic movie knowledge that are sure to delight cinema lovers. Set against a backdrop of the AIDS epidemic and a down-on-its-luck neighborhood, Missing Reels offers a fresh take on the traditional coming-of-age in New York story. —CARLA JEAN WHITLEY
BRYANT & MAY AND THE BLEEDING HEART By Christopher Fowler
Bantam $26, 400 pages ISBN 9780345547651 eBook available
MYSTERY
In this, the 11th of Christopher Fowler’s superb Peculiar Crimes
Unit mysteries, it’s clearer than ever that the real hero of the series is London herself. If you’ve never visited the city, you could ask for no better education—or pressing invitation—than the one you’ll receive by reading the entire series. Fowler not only tells delightfully lurid tales of both famous and well-hidden landmarks, but also provides clear warnings about neighborhoods you should avoid (after all, these are murder mysteries). Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart finds detectives Arthur Bryant and John May tackling the bizarre case of a reanimated corpse seen rising out of its grave in a forgotten corner of a Bloomsbury public garden. Both high-school punks and high financiers are implicated, along with morticians, necromancers and medical-school dropouts. Apart from the elusive murderer(s?), the villain of the piece is the bureaucratic nightmare of the London Constabulary, personified by a barely-human being with the
implausible name of Orion Banks, who . . . but no, I shall not give that away. Bryant embodies all the peculiarity of Fowler’s narrative gifts. There is great goodness and camaraderie at the heart of the story. It’s so much bleeding fun. —MICHAEL ALEC ROSE
HOW TO BE BOTH By Ali Smith
Pantheon $25.95, 384 pages ISBN 9780375424106 Audio, eBook available
LITERARY FICTION
How to Be Both, by the British writer Ali Smith, tells two interconnected stories. The first is about Georgina, known as George, a 1960s teenager outside of London grieving the death of her mother and taking her first tentative steps toward love. The other is the story of the 15th-century Italian painter Francesco del Cossa, a historical figure responsible for the remarkable frescos in the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, Italy—and about whom very little else is known. The twist here—and that word is used purposefully—is that, depending on the copy the reader picks up, either George’s or Francesco’s story could be presented first. Though reading one before the other obviously doesn’t change the outcome, it shows that the stories both precede and follow each other, like fibers in a strand of yarn. The plot and the structure of How to Be Both play with many ideas and symbols, including androgyny, allegory and memory. Though it may sound intimidating, Smith makes the novel accessible and even fun. George is funny and earthy; a credible, albeit very articulate, teen. Francesco’s story is a picaresque masterpiece complete with brothels and a delicious rivalry. But Smith’s talent shines brightest in her tender depiction of the emotions that, like the underpaintings in a fresco, remain hidden but have a powerful impact. —LAUREN BUFFERD
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reviews
NONFICTION THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL By Brooke Shields
THE UNSPEAKABLE
Looking at life from both sides
Dutton $26.95, 416 pages ISBN 9780525954842 Audio, eBook available
MEMOIR
REVIEW BY AMY SCRIBNER
When Meghan Daum published her first collection in 2001— the brilliant My Misspent Youth—her fresh, honest musings as a Manhattan 20-something immediately made her the envy of a generation of aspiring writers. Now Daum is approaching middle age, but her voice is as singular and her insights as poignant as ever. A married newspaper columnist in Los Angeles, Daum deals with aging parents, health scares and her decision to remain child-free in a baby-obsessed world. Right out of the gate, it’s easy to see why this collection of essays is called The Unspeakable. Daum starts off with the searing “Matricide,” in which she recalls her fraught relationship with her now-deceased mother, a woman she calls a “flashy, imperious, hyperbolic theBy Meghan Daum ater person” with a “phoniness that I was allergic to on every level.” FSG, $26, 256 pages Unspeakable, indeed. And yet . . . who can say they’ve never been anISBN 9780374280444, audio, eBook available noyed with their mom? The rest of us just don’t have the ability to say it quite as potently and incisively as Daum. ESSAYS Reflections on love and death are woven throughout the essays. In the melancholy “Not What it Used to Be,” Daum writes wistfully of being her Older Self looking back on her Younger Self, “someone who took multiple forms, who could go in any direction, who might be a bartender or a guitar player or a lesbian or a modern dancer or an office temp on Sixth Avenue.” In the bittersweet “Difference Maker,” Daum examines her decision not to have children, how she and her husband struggle to ignore an amorphous Central Sadness in their relationship and find satisfaction in their “life of dog hikes and quiet dinners and friends coming over on the weekends.” Daum draws out larger truths about life whether she’s writing about Joni Mitchell, foodies or dogs. The Unspeakable is a stunner of a book about settling into one’s skin.
TWO DAYS IN JUNE By Andrew Cohen Signal $29.95, 416 pages ISBN 9780771023873 eBook available
HISTORY
On two consecutive days— Monday, June 10, and Tuesday, June 11, 1963—President John F. Kennedy gave two speeches that led to what many regard as the most significant achievements of his presidency, one in diplomacy and the other in civil rights. Both speeches were unprecedented and politically risky. Kennedy’s commencement address at American University on June 10 led to the Limited Nuclear
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Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the first of its kind. The next day, JFK made a nationally televised speech on civil rights. Some would call it the single most important day in the civil rights movement. The Civil Rights Act passed the next year, with Lyndon Johnson as president. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Andrew Cohen’s Two Days in June: John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours that Made History tracks the president’s activities during this short period. Cohen explores the context of the speeches and how they came to be, and shows what else was on the president’s plate. In what is often called the “Peace Speech,” JFK called for Americans to re-examine the Cold War and relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. President Nikita Khrushchev had the speech broadcast throughout his country and
For women of a certain age, Brooke Shields was our more perfect sister. In 1980, I didn’t understand what “nothing comes between me and my Calvins” meant any more than Brooke herself did. But I knew I needed a pair of those jeans. Central to the Brooke Shields mystique was her mother, Teri Shields, who became the focus of nasty speculation after allowing 12-year-old Brooke to be cast as a child prostitute in the 1978 film Pretty Baby. In fact, the motivation for Brooke to write her new memoir was the character-assassinating obituary the New York Times published on Teri after her death in 2012. There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me offers readers Brooke’s own perspective on this complicated and codependent relationship. Teri’s said Kennedy’s remarks were the alcoholism and its effects on her reason he agreed to negotiations only child form the nucleus of the and the final treaty. story. From an early age, Brooke The speech on Tuesday had a felt responsible for tending to her much different history. Earlier that mother’s emotional needs, rather day, representatives of the Justice than the other way around. This Department confronted Goverstory of Brooke’s career as a model nor George Wallace of Alabama and actress unfolds from the as he attempted to keep two perspective of an adult child of an African-American students from alcoholic. enrolling at the University of AlaHer voice in this memoir is unbama. Kennedy decided to speak guarded and raw and deals headto the nation that night, although on with the damage alcohol causes only one of his closest advisors, his in intimate relationships. For a brother Robert Kennedy, agreed celebrity of her stature to write so with him. Speechwriter Theodore honestly and intelligently about Sorensen had only about two hours emotional wounds is a refreshing to prepare for the telecast. change. The two speeches ultimately The book will appeal not only changed the course of history. In to Shields fans, but also to readthis important book, Cohen brings ers who seek out memoirs about it all alive and makes us feel that surviving dysfunctional families. we are there behind the scenes to Brooke Shields is still our sister, see history in the making. just more real and imperfect. —ROGER BISHOP
—CATHERINE HOLLIS
A ROYAL EXPERIMENT By Janice Hadlow Holt $40, 704 pages ISBN 9780805096569 eBook available
HISTORY
STRONG INSIDE By Andrew Maraniss Vanderbilt University Press $35, 472 pages ISBN 9780826520234 eBook available
CIVIL RIGHTS
What we usually remember about George III is that he was mad, but there was far more to this complex royal figure. As we learn in debut author Janice Hadlow’s fascinating account, A Royal Experiment: The Private Life of King George III, he had much to keep him busy during his long reign, including a very large family. This biography was originally published in the U.K. as The Strangest Family. It’s an apt title. Hadlow takes as her canvas not simply the private life of one monarch, but the entire House of Hanover, a dysfunctional dynasty if there ever was one. In fact, George III, who came to the throne at age 22, developed his rule in opposition to the intrigue and jealousies that marked his childhood. He determined that a king should be a moral force for good, providing a model of virtuous family life. This philosophy was to guide him throughout his life and would have unintended consequences for his children, especially his daughters, who struggled to create their own independent lives. George was fortunate in his choice of bride for his experiment. Hadlow’s portrait of the long-suffering Queen Charlotte (who managed the nearly impossible feat of successfully giving birth to 15 children in the 18th century) also provides insights into educational and child-rearing practices of the time. George III’s mental illness, the cause of which is still debated, did not come until later in his life. By this point in the book, the characters in this royal drama seem like familiar figures on a long-running television series. We are sad to see the old king fade, but immensely curious to see how his values and ideals shape the future.
As the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, Perry Wallace earned plenty of headlines. But few of the articles under those headlines told Wallace’s real story, or described the emotions he felt as he made history almost half a century ago. Andrew Maraniss, who graduated from Vanderbilt a generation after Wallace and first interviewed him for a black history class, takes readers behind the headlines with a meticulously researched book, Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South. The story is told unapologetically from Wallace’s side, but it’s a side that needs to be heard. As valedictorian of his class at Nashville’s all-black Pearl High School in 1966 and leader of the state champion Pearl Tigers, Wallace was, on the surface, the perfect candidate to integrate the SEC. In many ways, Vanderbilt’s move succeeded, with Wallace starring on the court and, off the court, being chosen for Vanderbilt’s highest honor for a male student. Unfortunately, the public only saw part of the story. Wallace was the target of vicious verbal abuse on the road and subtle and not-sosubtle racism in Nashville. A day after his graduation, Wallace gave a bombshell newspaper interview in which he described his Vanderbilt years as lonely and unfulfilling. Shortly thereafter, he left his hometown and settled in Washington, D.C., where he has enjoyed a successful career as a law professor. Maraniss sets Wallace’s story against the backdrop of the civil rights movement. Strong Inside is superbly written, hard to put down and fascinating for sports fans and non-sports fans alike.
—DEBORAH HOPKINSON
—KEITH HERRELL
q&a
ANDREW MARANISS
A sports pioneer
T
he author of a new book on Perry Wallace, who broke the color barrier in SEC basketball in the 1960s, explains why he decided to tell Wallace’s little-known story.
BY KEITH HERRELL
JEFFREY SKEMP
NONFICTION
Why did you want to write Strong Inside? Perry Wallace is a fascinating, brilliant person who overcame tremendously painful and challenging obstacles to make history—and yet most people have never heard of him. It’s as if nobody knew the story of Jackie Robinson. So it was an incredible opportunity to get to tell this story. It’s one I’ve wanted to tell since 1989, when I was a sophomore at Vanderbilt and wrote a paper about Wallace for a black history class. A lot of research went into this book. How long did you work on it? Eight years. My first interview was with Perry’s coach at Vanderbilt, Roy Skinner, in the fall of 2006. I spent several years just doing interviews and research before I began writing. What do you admire most about Perry Wallace? There are so many things to admire about Perry—his perseverance, his character, his desire to always do the right thing—but what I admire most about him is his intellect. Spending the last eight years talking to him has been an incredible education for me on everything from human nature to race relations to parenting. You were born too late to see Wallace play high school or college basketball. Of all the games you describe in the book, which one would you have liked to have seen in person? I would travel back to Oxford, Mississippi, on February 9, 1968, to see his game against Ole Miss, the first time an African American had ever played a basketball game there. By all accounts, the abuse he took from the crowd was as bad that night as any of his career—but Perry played one of his best games, completely dominating in the second half. How hard was it for you to come to terms with the day-to-day segregation and racial attitudes of the South in the 1960s? It was important for me to place Perry Wallace’s story in the context of the place and times in which he operated. He grew up in Nashville at the height of the civil rights movement and as a 12-year-old would sneak downtown to watch the sit-ins at the lunch counters. In college, he met Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer and Stokely Carmichael when they passed through town. Perry’s story is as much a civil rights story as a basketball one. Did you get any suggestions from your father [journalist and author David Maraniss] about writing this book? The best advice came through years of osmosis: just reading his great writing ever since I was a little kid. I used to spread The Washington Post over the dining room table, and our sheepdog Maggie would jump up on the table and finish my cereal while I read the paper. Rest of the family was still asleep, I guess. Put yourself in Wallace’s shoes. Knowing what you do now, would you have attended Vanderbilt and broken the color line in the SEC? I don’t know that Perry would do it all over again knowing what he knows. And as strong a man as he is mentally and physically, if he has those doubts, there’s no way I could do it.
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children’s
CHRISTMAS STORIES BY JULIE HALE
Twinkling lights and candy canes
C
hristmas really is the most wonderful time of the year—especially for book lovers! We’ve selected a stack of seasonal goodies that the little angels and elves on your gift list will love.
Capturing the only-in-December sense of excitement that accompanies the holidays, Tom Brenner’s And Then Comes Christmas (Candlewick, $15.99, 32 pages, ISBN 9780763653422, ages 4 to 8) follows a jolly little family as they prepare for the big day. Out in the country, surrounded by snow-covered fields, everybody gets in on Christmas activities: Sis hangs paper snowflakes; Dad’s on light duty; little brother offers encouragement; and Mom accepts mysterious packages from the mailman. This prelude to Christmas is an especially festive affair thanks to Jana Christy’s textured digital illustrations. In her hands, the rituals of December—baking cookies, trimming the tree, sitting on Santa’s lap—have a special candlelit magic. Brenner’s poetic prose distills the essence of the season, including the special solemnity of Christmas Eve, when “the whole world seems to be waiting.”
POEMS FROM SANTA Who knew Santa was an aspiring writer? In Bob Raczka’s twinkling new book, Santa Clauses: Short Poems from the North Pole (Carol rhoda, $16.95, 32 pages, ISBN
9781467718059, ages 5 to 9), the King of Christmas crafts bite-sized poems just right for little readers. Starting on December 1 and ending on Christmas, the merry old elf himself pens a haiku a day, offering insights into his cozy home life with Mrs. Claus and the holiday preparations at the Pole. On Christmas Eve, Santa writes, “Which is packed tighter, / the sack full of toys or the / red suit full of me?” Through illustrations that are a wonder to study—from Santa’s palatial cabin, with its ornate onion domes, to the blue, lunar landscape of the frozen North— artist Chuck Groenink provides a visionary take on the kingdom of Claus. Raczka’s poems, with their arresting imagery and appealing simplicity, make this an ornament for any Christmas book collection.
A GUIDING LIGHT Finding the perfect Christmas gift is an issue of unusual import for the adorable angel-heroine of Alison McGhee’s Star Bright (Atheneum, $16.99, 40 pages, ISBN 9781416958581, ages 4 to 8). Considering the recipient—a very special baby who’s due in December—it’s no surprise she’s nervous.
The angel considers a few gift options—music, wind, rain—but none seems right. When she spies travelers on Earth who are lost in the dark of night as they journey to view the newborn, she sets off to guide them with her own special light—a bright Christmas gift, indeed. Peter H. Rey nolds’ angels are a spunky bunch who inhabit a celestial realm filled with ladders and catwalks. His swirling watercolor, pen-and-ink drawings keep the proceedings lighthearted. Adding a new angle to the Nativity story, this thoughtful tale serves as a poignant reminder of what Christmas is about: the spirit of giving.
SWEDISH CHRISTMAS A delightful departure from the Christmas story norm, Ulf Stark’s The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits (Floris, $24.95, 104 pages, ISBN 9781782501367, ages 4 and up) is a rollicking holiday adventure that features Sweden’s answer to Santa Claus. Grump is a Yule tomte, or holiday gnome—a miniature St. Nick who delivers Yuletide gifts. Unfortunately, the loss of his favorite red hat and much-needed mittens has turned him into a Christmas crank. Deciding to boycott the big holiday, he holes up in his cottage, but he’s not getting off so easily. Neighboring rabbits Binny and Barty are determined to celebrate the season the traditional way—with tomte in tow. Eva Eriksson’s delicate renderings of Grump and the bunnies are a delight. Told in 25 chapters—one for each day of the Advent calendar—this festive tale is certain to become a Christmas classic.
NIGHT OF WONDERS
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For a magical introduction to the miracle of Christmas, it’s hard to top Lee Bennett Hopkins’ Manger (Eerdmans, $16, 34 pages, ISBN
From Santa Clauses, reprinted with permission from Lerner Books. 9780802854193, ages 4 to 8). In this luminous new poetry collection, animals of every stripe possess the power of speech on Christmas Eve, and each pays tribute to the baby Jesus in verse. Hopkins, an award-winning poet, selected the 15 accessible pieces in this special volume, which includes work by X.J. Kennedy and Jane Yolen. Helen Cann’s delightful watercolor, collage and mixed-media illustrations are teeming with detail and color, the perfect match for poems that have a plainspoken narrative quality. This is an enchanting look at the holiest of nights.
SEASON OF PEACE A century has passed since World War I. In Shooting at the Stars: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (Abrams, $18.95, 40 pages, ISBN 9781419711756, ages 8 to 12), John Hendrix offers a moving account of the holiday ceasefire achieved by soldiers fighting at the French-Belgian border. Relating events from the front line in a letter to his mother, a young British soldier tells of the remarkable moment on Christmas Day when French, English and German men laid down their weapons and clasped hands, sharing biscuits and good wishes. Hendrix’s expert drawings in graphite, acrylic and gouache bring the battlefield to life. Among the mud and concertina wire, hope takes the shape of tiny Christmas trees in the trenches. Peace, as this solemnly beautiful story proves, is the greatest gift of all.
Something S E N S AT IO N A L for every kind of kid! T RIVIA BUFF
Curious kids from sprouts to teens will discover more than most people learn in a lifetime, all in one scintillating, fun-to-read, keep-forever volume.
OUT-OFTHE-BOX THINKER
Here’s a personal journal about the wacky world around us with 365 days worth of quirky facts and photos, plus spaces for kids to write their own weird-but-true observations.
JUNIOR FOODIE
Get scrumptious seasonal recipes, fun food challenges, awesome activities, tips on sustainability, and more from Master Chef and National Geographic Explorer Barton Seaver.
PET LOVER
Kids of all ages will want to pet, hug, and cheer for the adorable, amazing, and heroic pooches profiled in this precious little gift book.
SP Y BE NA WAN This fun book blows the cover off all kinds of sneaks, cheats, scammers, and scoundrels— human and animal—and all their clever tricks and tools.
ANIMAL FAN
Cuddle up with this delightful collection of new stories and classic favorites, filled with funny, heroic, and mischievous characters and brought to life with charming illustrations.
JOLLY JOKESTER
Everybody has fun when Just Joking is in the house! Collect them all and keep ‘em laughing.
CREATIVE STORYTELLER Kids fill in the blanks to create their own wild adventure stories. With lots to choose from, these affordable little gems make great stocking stuffers and Hanukkah presents!
AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD and at ShopNG.com/holidaybooks Copyright © 2014 National Geographic Society
gifts
CHILDREN BY ALICE CARY
Books to be cherished by curious, creative minds
W
hen I was in third grade, my parents gave me a bright red book that still sits on my bookshelf today: Great Stories for Young Readers. Here are some of our favorite new gift books geared toward all sorts of young readers. With luck, your present to a special someone will become a cherished favorite for decades to come.
Young readers always get a kick out of animals—old and new—and the amusing things they do. Leave Animal Antics (DK, $9.99, 144 pages, ISBN 9781465424471, ages 7 to 10) on a coffee table, and readers of all ages will dive in. The book combines superb photography with short write-ups about why each animal is behaving so comically. A baby orangutan gazes mischievously from underneath a “hat” of leaves; a koala snoozes while hanging slumped in a tree; and a bobcat sits atop a tall cactus in a prickly attempt to avoid the wrath of a cougar. The cover photo sets the tone as a chimp sticks out its tongue, and images inside explain that chimps’ facial expressions have different meanings from those of humans. The tidbits in Animal Antics are meant to educate and entertain. If you know a young reader who can’t get enough of dinosaurs, The Great Big Dinosaur Treasury (HMH, $18.99, 272 pages, ISBN 9780544325258, ages 4 to 8) is the perfect choice. This is my favorite sort of storybook collection, containing eight stories from different authors and illustrators, giving kids a chance to sample a variety of tales and styles. It features favorites like Curious George’s Dinosaur Discovery and Bernard Most’s If the Dinosaurs Came Back—always popular in our house. Carol and Donald Carrick’s Patrick’s Dinosaurs is a timeless story about two brothers and the amazing power of imagination. Kids will relish Howard Fine’s dramatic illustrations for Deb Lund’s Dinosailors, about a “dinotough” group of sailing dinosaurs who encounter a nasty squall. A “Meet the
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Authors and Illustrators” section will no doubt lead readers to more books. And if all that good reading isn’t quite enough, the book contains an access code so fans can download free dinosaur-themed party accessories. ’Tis the season for celebrations, after all!
GATHER ’ROUND Well-done editions of fairy tales sometimes shine like newly discovered jewels, and several recent offerings do just that. Chief among them is Little Red Riding Hood (minedition, $29.99, 52 pages, ISBN 9789888240791, ages 5 to 7). The Brothers Grimm tale is retold in its original form, accompanied by remarkable laser die-cut illustrations by German-born artist Sybille Schenker. Her delicate, colorful pages have transparent layers that look like lace. Colors pop against dramatic black backgrounds as these truly exquisite cutouts transform scenes from the beloved tale into striking silhouettes. The wolf threatens to eat Little Red Cap; through a window we see Grandmother sleeping peacefully in her bed as the wolf approaches; then the wolf lies menacingly underneath Grandmother’s lavender flowered quilt. Everyone knows this fairy tale, but believe me, you’ve never seen it quite so strikingly illustrated. Robert Sabuda is the king of pop-up, and The Dragon & the Knight: A Pop-up Misadventure (Little Simon, $29.99, 22 pages,
by masters like N.C. Wyeth and Arthur Rackham—that took artist Scott Gustafson nearly two years to complete. Tales such as “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” jump to life in Gustafson’s detailed scenes. In “The Lion and the Mouse,” a trapped, scared lion’s head dominates the spread as he gazes apprehensively at a lively, furry mouse. In “Jack and the Beanstalk,” the furious giant glows in candlelight as he angrily tries to grab Jack. Particularly beautiful is “Little Sambha and the Tigers,” based on the enduring, though controversial, tale written by Scottish author Helen Bannerman in 1899 about her experiences living in India.
ISBN 9781416960812, ages 6 and up) is another of his marvels. This collection of nine two-page fairy tales includes favorites such as “The Three Pigs,” “Goldilocks” and “Rapunzel.” Of course, pop-ups are the star here; the short fairy tales simply set the stage for the 3-D action. In the very first story, a mischievous dragon declares that he can’t stop his fire-breathing ways, and from that point on, he and a kindly knight face off on each of the book’s spreads. Sabuda’s paper sculptures rise magically, bursting out of the book’s text-filled pages. As Hansel and Gretel stand in front of the witch and her house, the dragon wisecracks, “You don’t want From The Dragon & the Knight, reprinted with permission from Little Simon. to know what kind of a sweet Gustafson injects much-needed tooth SHE has.” By the end, the dragon has begun to burn holes cultural context and humanity in the pages, throwing stories into here, resulting in an updated tale increasing disarray. Happily, all worth telling. Fans of the Percy Jackson and concludes in a friendly way, and there’s a fun surprise regarding the the Olympians series, take note. In Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods knight’s identity. Classic Bedtime Stories (The (Hyperion, $24.99, 336 pages, Greenwich Workshop Press, $19.95, ISBN 9781423183648, ages 8 to 12), 84 pages, ISBN 9780867131581, all author Rick Riordan offers insight ages) reminds me of the story into the mythology behind his books I loved as a child. This best-selling series. Written in the large-format book contains 50 voice of Percy, Riordan’s half-god, vibrant illustrations—influenced half-mortal hero, this is a fun yet
OLGA APARINA
CHILDREN
informative take on mythology, with selections such as “Hermes Goes to Juvie” and “Persephone Marries Her Stalker.” Percy explains in the introduction: “There’s like forty bajillion different versions of the myths, so don’t be all Well, I heard it a different way, so you’re WRONG! I’m going to tell you the versions that make the most sense to me.” This is a fun, breezy take on the gods that many will enjoy, whether or not they’re familiar with Percy Jackson. What’s more, Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator John Rocco adds his signature style to this collection with dramatic, engaging art.
BIG INTERACTIVE FUN These jam-packed volumes offer a fresh spin on several favorite activities. The Children’s Book of Magic (DK, $19.99, 128 pages, ISBN 9781465424594, ages 7 to 10) presents a compelling look at the history of magic along with step-by-step instructions that teach young magicians 20 magic tricks. It’s easy to lose yourself in this book, which is teeming with tidbits, photos and illustrations. Did you know that sword swallowing is rarely faked? And have you heard of William Robinson, who pretended to be a Chinese magician named Chung Ling Soo? Students will love learning the tricks within these pages, such as the Rising Aces, Coin Through a Bottle and the Magic String. All require everyday household items such as rope, thread, a ping-pong ball, a deck of cards, a water bottle and so on—no giant saws needed! There’s also a timeline of magic history, a glossary and a list of skills that every magician needs. Airplane books are another perennial favorite, and kids will flock to Nick Arnold’s Flying Machines
(Candlewick, $19.99, 31 pages, ISBN 9780763671075, ages 8 to 12). The book includes a brief explanation of how planes fly, along with a timeline of the history of flight, all accompanied by cheery illustrations by Brendan Kearney. The real fun starts with tear-out sheets that allow readers to build two paper planes. There’s also a box containing the materials to build three balsa wood and propeller aircraft, along with suggestions for flight experiments and a log to record notes about various flights. The models are colorful and easy to build, with names like Whirlybird Helicopter, Galactic Glider and Twin-Prop Superstar. There’s a reason why airplane books are so popular: Appealing to both boys and girls, they’re educational and offer hours of fun. Artsy kids will be inspired by You Call That Art?!: Learn About Modern Sculpture and Make Your Own (Abrams, $24.95, 48 pages, ISBN 9781419713071, ages 8 and up). The book’s engineers are pop-up creators James Diaz and David A. Carter, the latter known for The 12 Bugs of Christmas and other popup bug titles. This collaboration takes a serious look at the history of modern sculpture and includes brief profiles of 10 influential sculptors such as Rodin, Picasso, Duchamp and Calder. Students can dig deeper with the help of a bibliography and a list of websites in the end pages. The entertainment factor is a large envelope containing more than 100 colorful punch-out pieces that can be used to create six different sculptures modeled after those of the masters. These cardboard pieces are easy to maneuver, are numbered and come with instructional diagrams. Of course, kids are encouraged to forget the numbers and make their own creations.
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WORDNOOK
BY THE EDITORS OF MERRIAM-WEBSTER
CURSE WORD Dear Editor: I find anathema to be such an odd and interesting word. Where does it come from? E. G. Knoxville, Tennessee The word anathema is of Greek origin, a derivative of the verb anatithenai, which means “to set up, dedicate.” In the Septuagint, an influential Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, anathema was used to mean “something offered to God,” and could refer either to a revered object or an object representing destruction brought about in the name of the Lord. Since the objects symbolic of consecrated destruction were often the spoils of war stripped from the bodies of enemies, anathema came to signify something odious or accursed. In Medieval Latin, anathema was used interchangeably with excommunicatio and was pronounced chiefly against unrepentant heretics. In English, anathema contin-
ues to be used in this ecclesiastical sense. By the 18th century, however, it was also used in a broader sense to mean “the denunciation of anything as accursed.” That secular use remains common, as does the transferred sense, “someone or something intensely disliked.”
STARTING SMALL Dear Editor: I know that the bikini is named after an island, but can you fill me in on how that came about? F. T. Medina, Ohio In July 1946, a joint U.S. A rmyNavy task force detonated two thermonuclear bombs at Bikini, an atoll in the Marshall Islands. The second test, which propelled two million tons of water into an enormous mushroom-shaped cloud more than a mile high, remains one of the most enduring and terrifying images of the 20th century. Nothing so characterizes the innocence of the early Atomic Age as
the fact that the Bikini tests, which dominated news around the world, became the vehicle for a titillating fashion statement. A French couturier, Jacques Heim, introduced an abbreviated two-piece bathing suit billed as the world’s smallest and dubbed l’atome, or “the atom.” Another fashion designer, 49-yearold Louis Réard, created an even scantier suit, for which he registered bikini as a French proprietary mark. The new sensation debuted in Paris and was modeled by a striptease dancer whom Réard was forced to hire because Parisian couture models refused to wear the suit. By the time of Réard’s death in 1984, the style accounted for a fifth of U.S. swimsuit sales.
HELP YOURSELF Dear Editor: Am I right in thinking that the word cafeteria comes from Spanish? It looks like other Spanish words, but it doesn’t sound Spanish. M. C. Marion, Iowa
The American English word c afeteria is in all likelihood borrowed from the Spanish café (for “coffee”), but the details of the word’s passage from one language to the other remain murky. The word cafeteria was current in Cuba in the 19th century, but it referred to a shop that sold ground coffee, not a restaurant. Evidence for the word in reference to a self-service retaurant first surfaces in Chicago, where a “Cafetiria [sic] Catering Company” operated four downtown restaurants—presumably self-service style—in 1895. During the 1920s and ’30s, coin ages based on cafeteria proliferated: There were marketerias, gaseterias and washeterias, usually having some self-service feature. These have faded, while the cafeteria itself has survived mainly in schools, hospitals and other domains of institutional food service. Send correspondence regarding Word Nook to: Language Research Service P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102
Test Your Mental Mettle with Puzzles from The Little Book of Big Mind Benders alpHametics
DIffIculTY: TIMe: ___________
Puzzle TYPe: logIc coMPleTIoN:
eacH letter in the sum stands for a different digit.
an octagon by holding one another’s wrists. Instead of one octagon, how can they make two squares by holding wrists? Can they make two polygons with different numbers of sides?
For instance, E equals 5. Can you find the values of the other letters? If a letter appears more than once, it always stands for the same digit. The first digit of a number is never 0. Use logic to deduce digits: Why must S equal 1? HINT: S must equal 1; it is a carryover from the ten thousands place. V equals 3.
Photo by Steve Dibartolomeo
four people are making
HINT: One solution is to start by joining right hands to make a square.
answer: Make one square with right hands, another with left hands. Move one hand to the other group to make a triangle and a pentagon. workman.com
Workman is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing Co., Inc.
DIffIculTY: TIMe: ___________
answer:
Puzzle TYPe: sPATIAl coMPleTIoN:
8528 +9 5 8 2 8 104356
boDy sHapes