NEW ARRIVALS -APRIL 2012

ADULT FICTION

"Betrayal"  by Danielle Steel - " In this riveting novel, Danielle Steel reveals the dark side of fame and fortune. At the same time, she brilliantly captures a woman's will to navigate a mindfield of hurt and loss--toward a new beginning."--inside back cover

"The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka - "Julie Otsuka's long-awaited follow-up to When the Emperor Was Divine, is a tour de force of economy and precision, a novel that tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as "picture brides" nearly a century ago." -- inside front cover

"The Call" by Yannick Murphy - "A triumph of quiet humor and understated beauty...Murphy's subtle, wry wit and an appealing sense for the surreal leaven moments of anger and bleakness, and elevate moments of kindness, whimsy, and grace." -- Publisher's Weekly

"The Cat's Table" by Michael Ondaatje -  "an eleven-year-old in Columbo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the "cat's table" with a ragtag group of "insignificant" adults and two other boys. ..As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship.. it tells a spellbinding story...about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage."--inside front cover

"A Clash of Kings" by George R. R. Martin - "In this eagerly awaited sequel to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination. A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any you have ever experienced." -- back cover

"Cliff Walking" by Stephen Russell Payne - "Cliff Walking is a dramatic story of suspense, love, and redemption, written with clarity, passion, and great sympathy for, and understanding of, all aspects of human nature."--Howard Frank Mosher

"A Feast for Crows" by George R. R. Martin - "With A Feast for Crows, Martin delivers the long-awaited fourth volume of the landmark series that has redefined imaginative fiction and stands as a modern masterpiece in the making." -- back cover

"The Free World" by David Bezmozgis - "The Free World follows a contentious Latvian Jewish family as they join the chaotic exodus of Soviet Jews in 1978...Hoping to settle in America, the Krasnanskys end up stuck in Rome for the summer, poor, crowded into shabby rooms, and maddened by byzantine and corrupt bureaucracy. As they struggle to survive this baffling limbo, they are deluged with memories and become entangled in a casually brutal criminal underworld. Bezmozgis infuses every scene with prismatic significance, covering astonishing swath of Jewish and Soviet history, immigrant traumas, sexual drama, and family angst. A brilliantly ironic and beautifully human novel of exile and yearning." -- Donna Seaman, AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2011

"A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin - "George R. R. Martin has created a genuine masterpiece, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Mystery, intrigue, romance and adventure fill the pages of the first volume in an epic series sure to delight fantasy fans everywhere." -- back cover

"Home Front" by Kristin Hannah - "At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family. Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, and ultimately, hope." -- inside back cover

"I've Got Your Number" by Sophie Kinsella -"a thoroughly modern romantic love triangle... a laugh out-loud comic caper...Fresh, fast-paced, and fiercely funny, Kinsella proves once again that in chick-lit, it's less about predictably feel-good denouement, and more about the rollicking good ride it takes to get there." -- Publishers Weekly, c2012.

"Lone Wolf" by Jodi Picoult - "Another tour de force by Picoult, Lone Wolf brilliantly describes the nature of a family: the love, protection, and strength it can offer -- and the price we might have to pay for those gifts. What happens when the hope that should sustain a family is the very thing tearing it apart." -- inside back cover

"A Storm of Swords" by George R. R. Martin - "Here is the third volume of George R. R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the greatest achievements of imaginative fiction." -- back cover

"A Moment in the Sun" by John Sayles - "A brutal picaresque complete with melancholy whores, militaristic robber barons, desperate cutthroat prospectors, and puppet soldiers. [Moment's] greatest achievement is to illuminate the parallel between imperialism and racism fin turn-of-the-century America -indeed, to shine so glaring a light on it that even if we screw our eyes shut, the horror remains." -- William T. Vollmann, Bookforum

MYSTERY

"Along Came A Spider" by James Patterson - "Along Came A Spider is written simply, powerfully...In Patterson's Washington, there's not a cartoonish power broker or marble monument in sight. Ultimately, the novel's foundation is the character of Alex Cross, detective, psychologist, and family man." -- Washington Post Book World

"Believing the Lie" by Elizabeth George - "In the seventeenth Inspector Lynley mystery, Bernard Fairclough, ...uses his pull to get Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard on a death investigation involving Fairclough's nephew....The plot gets mired at times, though, in George's overexpansive exposition--she can take most of a page to lay out a character's musings over whether to don a winter or a summer suit. Tension would be greater with less verbiage, but this is still great George."--Booklist

"Celebrity in Death" by J.D. Robb - "It's spooky enough when Lt. Eve Dallas attends the big-bash opening of a film based on of her exploits but even more spooky when the actress who plays Peabody goes missing--and is found drowned in the pool at the director's swank building. Apparently, the actress was disliked, which gives Eve plenty of leads. Robb's 'In Death' series shows no signs of flagging; don't miss."--LJ Prepub Alert Online Review, Library Journal

"The Chalk Girl" by Carol O'Connell -"Kathy Mallory of the NYPD's Special Crimes Unit and wounded by a horrific childhood, concentrates her entire being on the vengeful pursuits of bad guys...The case (she is called out to solve) turns on one witness, an eight-year-old girl with a rare genetic disease that leaves her physically and emotionally vulnerable, who knew a serial killer's first victim, found hanging from a tree in Central Park....O'Connell delivers shock after shock, held together by exquisitely detailed police and forensic procedure and by the riveting, punishing figure of Mallory herself."--Booklist

"The Cruelest Month" by Louise Penny - "When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a seance at the old Hadley house, one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was it murder? Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate, and the case will force him to face his own ghosts as well as those of a seemingly idyllic town where relationships are far more dangerous than they seem."--back cover

"Defending Jacob" by William Landay - "William Landay makes bold use of his genuine storytelling gift, his amazing ability to craft believable dialogue, and, above all, his extraordinary understanding of what it means to be a husband and father to present us with an unforgettable tale of an ordinary marriage and family in crisis....It's the story of a man who adores his wife and child, but more than that, it's a novel that describes the fine edge between love and madness, and the lies we sometimes tell ourselves."--Nicholas Sparks

"November Hunt" by Jess Lourey - "Tom Hunter dies in a freak hunting accident, but aspiring PI Mira (October Fest) learns that Tom had a dark secret that probably led to his untimely death."-- Library Journal

"One Blood" by Graeme Kent - "Sister Conchita is temporarily posted to a small mission in the Western Solomons to keep an eye on three elderly nuns before the new priest arrives, and one of her first ideas is to hold an open house. All the locals and a group of tourists are in attendance when one of the American men is found dead. Naturally the curious sister can't resist snooping around, which means she's more than ready to serve as assistant to the new policeman, Ben Kella, who has been exiled to the islands by bureaucrats wanting the troublesome cop out of their way. Soon Ben and Sister Conchita realize that their investigating has roots that reach back to World War II--to Lieutenant John F. Kennedy and the other survivors of PT-109, which landed nearby in 1943. Now it's the fall of 1960, and the American presidential elections are only a few weeks away. Can Ben and Conchita solve the crime and avert a scandal?"--American Library Association

"Private Games" by James Patterson - Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, has a monumental task. Four hundred of the firm's top agents have been dispatched to London where they will provide security for competitors in the 2012 Olympic Games. When a high-ranking member of the games' organizing committee is killed just hours before the opening ceremony, Agent Peter Knight knows they're in for trouble."--Brodart Co.

"The Rope" by Nevada Barr - "Readers who have eagerly followed Anthony and Agatha award winner Barr's Anna Pigeon novels know that Pigeon is a ranger with the U.S. National Park Service. But how did she arrive at that pass? Here we learn that Pigeon, 35 and disappointed in love, goes on a bus in New York City and headed west, finally taking seasonal work at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. When she failed to return after a hike, her coworkers assumed she'd moved on; in fact, someone had imprisoned her at the bottom of a dry natural well, without supplies or even clothing."--Library Journal

"Still Life" by Louise Penny - " Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec and his team of investigators are called to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal and yet a world away. Jane Neal, a longtime resident of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul this holiday season... and is certain that Jane died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter..."--back cover

ADULT NON-FICTION

"Anatomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong" by Raymond Bonner - "Moving, enraging, suspenseful, and enlightening, Anatomy of Injustice is a vital contribution to our nation's ongoing, increasingly important debate about inequality and the death penalty."--inside front cover

"Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas" by Dale Carpenter - "Dale Carpenter's Flagrant Conduct does for Lawrence v. Texas what Richard Kluger's Simple Justice and Anthony Lewis's Gideon's Trumpet did for Brown v. Board of Education and Gideon v Wainwright. It tells the story of a profoundly dramatic and important Supreme Court decision in a way that brings to life the stakes, the participants, the Justices, and the drama of the constitutional controversy. It is a landmark achievement." --Geoffrey R. Stone, author of Perilous Times

"Frommer's Japan 10th Edition" by Beth Reiber with Janie Spencer

"Frommer's New York City 2012" by Brian Silverman, Richard Goodman & Kelsy Chauvin

"Lifting the Yoke: Local Solutions to America's Farm and Food Crisis" by Ron Krupp - "It is time to revitalize America’s local food networks. Ron Krupp navigates the issues and provides exemplary stories of people doing just that. The grim tale of our global food system may leave you feeling powerless, but you are sure to find inspiration in this book, thick with examples of grassroots efforts focused on putting people, integrity, and real food back into America’s food consciousness." – Meghan Sheradin, Executive Director, Vermont Fresh Network

"Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison Avenue to Wall Street" by John Nichols - "John Nichols recognized right away that the fight in Wisconsin was about a lot more than one state. It was the fight we had all been waiting for, the one where the people say 'We have had it!' John didn't just tell us what was happening in Wisconsin. He told us that what was happening in Wisconsin could happen anywhere." -- Michael Moore

"The Autobiography of Malcolm X" as told to Alex Haley - "If there was one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malcolm X. His Autobiography is not an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about race and racism in our times."--back cover

REFERENCE

"Guiness World Records 2012"
"Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus, Second Edition"
"The 2012 Rand McNally Road Atlas"
"The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2012"

DVD's

 ADULT

"Belly Dance for Beginners"
"Courageous"
"Downton Abbey"
"Freedom Riders"
"Friendly Persuasion"
"The Game of Thrones"
"The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall"
"The Philadelphia Story"

 JUVENILE

"The Adventures of TinTin"
 "The Brave Little Toaster"
"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"

MUSIC

"Dream with Me" by Janet Evancho

JUVENILE FICTION

"City of Orphans" by Avi - "Thirteen-year-old Maks Geless, the oldest son of Danish immigrants, makes eight cents a day hawking The World on Manhattan street corners in 1893. Newbery Medalist Avi tells his story in a vibrant, unsophisticated, present-tense voice...and it's a hard life....The contrasts among Mak's family's squalid tenement existence; Emma's incarceration in the Tombs, the city's infamous prison; and the splendor of the Waldorf bring a stark portrait of 19th-century society to a terrifically exciting read, with Ruth's fine pencil portraits adding to the overall appeal."--Publisher's Weekly, c2011.

"Hidden" by Helen Frost - "With care and precision, Frost deftly turns plainspoken conversations and the internal monologues of her characters into stunning poems that combine to present three unique and thoughtful perspectives on war, family, love and loss. Heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful, this is one to savor."--Kirkus Reviews

"Silvermist and the Ladybug Curse" by Gail Herman - "Silvermist is the calmest water-talent fairy around, and as cool as a deep mountain lake. But then an 'unlucky' white ladybug lands on Silvermist's head, and her orderly world goes topsy-turvy. She's never been the type of fairy to lose things or have accidents or make mistakes, until now. Silvermist doesn't believe in bad luck and silly old fairy superstitions but all her troubles began after she found the white ladybug. Could the other fairies be right? Is Silvermist really under a curse?" -- Brodart Co.

"Sunrise" by Erin Hunter - "A mysterious murder in the ranks has ripped ThunderClan apart but more secrets still remain to be discovered. Jayfeather is determined to find out who his real parents are. He'll have to trample through a forest of lies in order to uncover the truth. Hollyleaf is shocked by her Clan's disobedience of the warrior code, and distraught enough to strike out at some she's always admired. And Lionblaze must bear horrified witness to events that will change everything he believes."--Brodart Co.


"Troublemaker" by Andrew Clements - "Clay Hensley is no stranger to the principal's office, and he is sure that his latest prank--drawing a picture of the principal as a donkey--will land him there again, hopefully impressing his older brother, Mitchell who has just returned for a brief jail stint...Clements offers a characteristically engaging story with realistic dilemmas and topic kids will respond to."--Shelle Rosenfeld, American Library Association

"Water Balloon" by Audrey Vernick - "a well-paced coming-of-age story that offers a realistic depiction of growing pains....With her parents recently separated, Marley will be living with her father while her mother is away...Vernick conveys Marley's uncertain navigation of new experiences and conflicting emotions with sincerity and keen perception."--Publisher's Weekly

JUVENILE NON-FICTION

"An Egg is Quiet" by Dianna Aston & Sylvia Long - "From Tiny hummingbird eggs to giant ostrich eggs, oval ladybug eggs to tubular dogfish eggs, gooey frog eggs to fossilized dinosaur eggs, it magnificently captures the incredible variety of eggs and celebrates their beauty and wonder."--inside front cover

"Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature" by Joyce Sidman & Beth Krommes - "This is one of those rare children's books that make you look at the physical world differently...spirals are beautiful--whether we see in them hints of infinity, a visual banquet, as well: working in her signature scratchboard style and employing a gorgeous burnished palette, Krommes creates spiral-packed nature scenes that have a timeless, classic beauty."--Publishers Weekly

"Titanic Sinks!" by Barry Denenberg -  "This book puts a new spin on the sinking of the Titanic. The book blends fact and fiction in an unusual way to create an engrossing story in a book with a unique design....The Titanic disaster continues to have a hold on our imaginations, and this remarkable work of historical fiction is grounded in meticulous research."--ABC-CLIO, Inc., c2012.

BOARD BOOKS

"Moo, Baa, La La La!" by Sandra Boynton
"Smile" by Roberta Grobel Intrater
"What Shall We Do With the Boo-Hoo Baby?" by Cressida Cowell and Ingrid Godon

PICTURE BOOKS

"All the Water in the World" by George Ella Lyon and Katerine Tillotson
"The Balloons over Broadway" by Melissa Sweet
"Blackout" by John Rocco
"The Dot" by Peter J. Reynolds
"The Great Fuzz Frenzy" by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
"Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life" by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm
"Me...Jane" by Patrick McDonnell
"No Two Alike" by Keith Baker
"The Princess and the Pig" by Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene
"Three by the Sea" by Mini Grey
"What Do People Do All Day?" by Richard Scarry

YOUNG ADULT

"Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi- "In a dystopian future America, 'ship breaker' Nailer discovers a wrecked clipper ship and its sole survivor, Nita. Nailer chooses to protect Nita and help her find her family. Bacigalupi's novel vividly depicts a bleak vision: a 'whole waterlogged world...torn down by the patient work of changing nature.' This thriller will grab readers' attention as Nailer and Nita 'crew up' to survive."--The Horn Book,c2010.

"Somebody: Please Tell Me Who I Am" by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis - "strong characters and storytelling are used to explore the slow and painful recovery of an injured teenage soldier. ...he is deployed to Iraq where he receives a head injury and suffers brain damage in the line of duty....The authors carefully demonstrate the effect the tragedy has on everyone involved, particularly Ariela's attempts to maintain a social life in college, while vividly bringing Ben's struggles to life...Readers will likely sense where the story is headed, but the journey is powerful and worthwhile."--Publisher's Weekly, c2012.