Reader's Advisory

Prior Book Lists:

Baseball...Football:

ONE SEASON ENDS…
Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember
by John Feinstein
The title of John Feinstein's Living on the Black refers to the area on the outer edges of the strike zone where veteran pitchers whose fast ones have slowed to under 90 mph must consistently place the ball. The term also reflects the precarious situation that the New York Yankees' right-hander Mike Mussina and former New York Mets left-hander Tom Glavine were in at the start of the 2007 season.

Still a Kid at Heart: My Life in Baseball and Beyond
by Gary Carter
A grounded, sincere man, Carter has gone on to help kids through the Gary Carter Foundation and worked as a broadcaster and a coach. Now, Carter is the manager for the minor-league Orange County Flyers. Reflecting on life before and after his 19-year career in Major League Baseball, Carter reveals how his hard work, dedication, and love of the game, as well as the love and support of his family, have helped him maintain his legendary youthful attitude.

You Can Observe A Lot by Watching: What I’ve Learned from Teamwork and Life from the Yankees and Life
by Yogi Berra
Notorious for his run-ins with the English language, baseball great Berra has become an improbably prolific author. He and coauthor Kaplan follow up 2002's What Time Is It? You Mean Now? with this charming, if meandering, book about teamwork. In anecdote after anecdote about his legendary career with the Yankees, his not-so-legendary career as a manager, and his days growing up on the streets of St. Louis, Berra shows how respect and cooperation made him a success on the field and in life.

The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox and the Playoff of ’78
by Richard Bradley
Major league baseball was vastly different 30 years ago when free agency and the designated hitter were relatively new concepts, and most games were not televised. But one thing was the same: the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox were fierce rivals. In the 1978 season, it all came down to a roller-coaster ride of a pennant race that culminated in one Monday afternoon playoff game to decide the winner of the American League East. Bradley scores a solid hit with his first baseball book, recounting the sudden-death game and the season leading up to it.

Magic Moments: The Yankees
by Phil Pepe
No team has quite the same legend as the New York Yankees. They're the celebrated overachievers--setting records that have redefined baseball; recruiting players whose names are synonymous worldwide with our national pastime--Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Gehrig, Jeter. In nearly every decade, there have been moments and players to celebrate. Discover the magic and relieve the memories in this commemorative look back at the Yankees of yesteryear.

ANOTHER BEGINS…

After a Few Seconds of Panic: a 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL
by Stefan Fastis
Fatsis is dwarfed by any of the NFL athletes who put their bodies on the line. But that doesn't stop him from asking to attend the Denver Broncos' training camp in hopes of learning one very specific athletic skill—that is, placekicking—and not to become an NFL-caliber kicker, but to become a credible one. Fatsis is treated like any rookie, from having to sing his alma mater's fight song minutes after stepping into the locker room to carrying the team's duffel bags and bunking in the hotel with all the other rookies. But his vibrant enthusiasm for improving his kicking ability helps his Bronco teammates accept him as one of their own. With that, the reader gets a glimpse of the true NFL.

Rozelle: Czar of the NFL
by Jeff Davis
Rozelle turned out to be arguably the most effective sports commissioner of all time, overseeing with quiet but effective diplomacy and incredible marketing savvy the joining of football with American pop culture and technology. Davis details the context out of which the modern game emerged, from the postwar band of hard-boiled owners (Halas being preeminent) to the growth of TV sports to key games that moved the sport forward.

Boots on the Ground at Dusk: The Life and Death of Pat Tillman
by Mary Tillman
Tillman, the mother of the late professional football player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, and former journalist Zacchino collaborate for this disturbing story of a mother's desperate search for the truth of her son's death. Pat Tillman constantly defied expectations; following 9/11, he shocked his family and football fans everywhere when he quit the NFL and joined the army rangers. On April 21, 2004, while on a combat mission in Afghanistan, Pat was killed in a firefight.

Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan
by Pat Jordan
Included is an exciting selection of Jordan's profiles of sports legends such as Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Seaver, Greg Louganis, Venus and Serena Williams—each one frank, insightful, and salty—as well as an extraordinary sampling of the pieces with which Jordan made his name: those about athletes who are obscure, unsuccessful, or have fallen from grace. Whether writing about the marginal, the famous, or the infamous, Jordan displays a hard-boiled, highly literate prose and a capacity to convey how the idiosyncratic mindsets of athletes lead to success or failure.

Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL
by Mark Bowden
Bowden tells the story of the 1958 National Football League championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants, a legendary game that proved to be a harbinger of the enormous popularity of pro football over the next 50 years. Bowden writes that the game featured the greatest assemblage of talent ever on one field, including 17 future Hall of Fame inductees. The game, played in frigid Yankee Stadium three days after Christmas, stretched into the evening, garnering the largest television audience in the history of the sport to that time.

Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty
by Jeff Pearlman
In his latest effort, Pearlman (The Bad Guys Won!) tells the story of how the Dallas Cowboys went from being a league doormat to a Super Bowl–winning machine. It's the cast of characters that makes this story a page-turner, starting with controlling owner Jerry Jones; all-business coach Jimmy Johnson, who would cut a player without blinking; and star players Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders. Pearlman explores the many other people who bought into the philosophy that if you were going to be a Dallas Cowboy... you needed to live the life—and that meant, in the early '90s, plenty of infidelity, cocaine, nightly trips to gentleman's clubs and hangovers at practice.

Summer Survival:

The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining: spirited recipes and expert tips for barbecuing, charcoal and gas grilling, rotisserie roasting, smoking, deep frying, and making merry
By Cheryl Alters Jamison
This title says it all!

Bobby Flay’s Grill It!
By Bobby Flay
The Food Network’s grill guru has done it again with 150 simple and delicious recipes in this fully illustrated, full color grilling book.

Closet Smarts : expert advice about finding flattering fashions that don’t cost a fortune, revamping your closet – what to keep, what to toss - what to wear with what, clothes you should never wear and why, filling wardrobe gaps, the truth about color, clothes, and you
By Emily Neill
Tired of last summer’s clothes? Here’s some helpful advice for a wardrobe makeover.

Crafts to Make in the Summer
By Kathy Ross
Presents twenty-nine easy-to-make craft projects with summertime themes for kids ages 4 and up.

The Family Kitchen : easy and delicious recipes for parents and kids to make and enjoy together
By Debra Ponzek
Take advantage of those long summer days with your kids by spending quality time in the kitchen preparing easy, nutritious meals, while teaching cooking skills, and encouraging them to discover new flavors.

50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America
By Marybeth Bond
For girls only: where to bond, celebrate birthdays, heal a broken heart, have an adventurous escape, or just have fun! Golfing, spas, chocolate baths, pampering, art havens, shopping and much more – leave the men and children home!

50 Nifty Super Travel Games
by Kevin Taylor and Joan C. Taylor

Car Smarts : activities for kids on the open road
By Ed Sobey
“I’m bored!” “Are we there yet?! “If I have to stop this car one more time…!”
Keep ‘em busy with these boredom busters and watch the miles fly by!

500 Places To Take your Kids Before They Grow Up
By Holly Hughes
Parents, grandparents, and kids can create a lifetime of shared memories while visiting destinations the whole family can enjoy. Here are cities, zoos, sports shrines, museums, castles, beaches, outdoor activities, and more—500 thoughtfully-chosen places that will enchant and beguile both the young and the young at heart.

The 5-Minute Face : the quick and easy makeup guide for every woman
By Carmindy and Palma Kolansky
Spend less time getting ready and more time out and about looking great, without heavy makeup in the sticky heat! The authors offer a practical, easy, and always successful makeup routine designed for all ages and skin types.

Let’s Take the Kids! : great places to go in New York’s Hudson Valley (including the Catskills, the Capital Region, the Adirondacks to Lake George, the Berkshires and Cooperstown)
By Joanne Michaels
Features hundreds of family activities for an afternoon, weekend, or a whole week in the Hudson Valley region. From picnic spots to riverboat cruises, every listing in this guide is written with a kid's interests and attention span in mind.

The Summer Shack Cookbook : the complete guide to shore food
By Jasper White
Enjoy the catch of the day with these tasty and fun seafood recipes, compiled by a winning chef, complete with helpful tips and insider tricks and techniques. Includes recipes for old time favorite desserts like strawberry shortcake and whoopee pies, to provide a sweet ending to your meal.

Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook : travel
By Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
Just in time for summer travel, this is the most delightfully terrifying, all-true, laugh-out-loud hilarious book which covers such horrors as alligators and quicksand. Don't leave home without it!

Big is Beautiful: Oversized Books:

From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated & Expanded
by Donald Johanson & Blake Edgar
Permitting a face-to-face encounter with human ancestors, this work furnishes
essential information, an incomparable visual experience, and a mulligan for
libraries that missed the first edition.

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
edited by Clair Nouvian
Species from as far down as four and a half miles are depicted in exquisite detail;
most are mere centimeters long, though the giant squid, a timid creature despite
its size, grows to almost 60 feet. Fifteen short, jargon-free essays assembled by
editor and French journalist Nouvian – who became enthralled with the deep after
visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium – flesh out the fantastical images with scientific
fact.

The Elements of Organic Gardening
by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales & Stephanie Donaldson
This volume offers a wealth of wisdom to delight and inspire any gardener. Prince
Charles’s practices, based on a deep respect for nature, can be adapted to
almost any garden, large or small. The Prince is hands-on in his gardens, and it is
this passion that reveals itself intimately to be at the heart of this book.

Islamic Art and Culture: A Visual History
by Nasser D. Khalili
Khalili’s visual history of Islamic art is breathtaking in its complexity, beauty, and
vast amount of information. It is impossible to understand another culture without
delving into its religion, history, and art. Khalili’s book is a portal into the artistic and
spiritual wonders of Islam.

The Sixties: Photographs by Robert Altman
Introduction by Ben Fong-Torres
Those nostalgic for the free love era will revel in this handsome, oversized
collection of gritty photographs by celebrated photographer Altman.

Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
by David Cote
Like the show itself, this gorgeous, full-color companion book captures the magic
and the original excitement of the band’s life and times through all-new interviews
with the band members. It also features the show’s libretto; interviews with the
show’s writers, director, and cast; and over 200 photos from the band members’
personal collections of rarely-seen memorabilia.

Richard Avedon: Photographs, 1946 - 2004
edited by Michael Juul Holm
In August of 2007, Denmark’s renowned Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
presented Richard Avedon: Photographs, 1946 - 2004, the first major retro-
spective devoted to Avedon’s work since his death in 2004. (With stops in
Milan, Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam, the higly-anticipated exhibition concludes
at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art in October of 2009.

Travel: Where to Go When
Consultant editor, Joseph Rosendo
Thirty destinations are presented for each month, with eleven covered in depth.
Tuscany, Italy, is recommended for October, when the grape and olive
harvests take place, and when porcini mushrooms, prized truffles, and other
specialties appear on regional menus.

Go Green:
Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities
by Mark A. Benedict and Edward T. McMahon
Green Infrastructure advances smart land conservation: largescale thinking and integrated action to plan, protect and manage our natural and restored lands. From the individual parcel to the multistate region, Green Infrastructure helps each of us look at the landscape in relation to the many uses it could serve, for nature and people, and
determine which use makes the most sense.

The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions: Herbs, Foods, and Natural Formulas to Keep You Young
By James A. Duke with Michael Castleman
Dr. Duke is convinced that almost all plants contain compounds that can slow aging and minimize its effects on the body and mind. In The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions, he identifies the herbs and foods that he believes deliver on the promise of lifelong youth. Some of these plants are familiar, like ginkgo for a sharp memory and garlic for...well, just about anything. Others are just beginning to attract attention, like pigweed to strengthen bones and astragalus to boost the immune system.

Green Babies, Sage Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby
by Lynda Fassa
The very first guide for new mothers in raising a "green" family-and doing it simply and inexpensively. Filled with necessary and convenient advice that takes the reader from the first months of pregnancy and beyond, this indispensable book explains: the safest ways to get the house ready for the baby; the best baby gear-from clothes to crib mattresses; how to keep play areas safe from chemicals; how to handle the diaper dilemma: wash vs. toss,
and much more.

Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care
by Alan Greene ... [et al.]
Dr. Greene and child safety experts show parents how to eliminate hazards in the home, room by room. They also discuss the perils of daily activities: eating, sleeping, getting dressed, playing, and traveling. Illustrations, checklists, and charts make this user-friendly. Everything from choosing the best diapers to selecting nontoxic nursery paint and organic baby food is offered along with commonsense advice about diaper rash and food allergies.

Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home
by Linda Mason Hunter & Mikki Halpin
Green Clean is the definitive, step-by-step guide to cleaning better while using nontoxic, eco-friendly products. Room by room and stain by stain, Green Clean breaks environmentally conscious cleaning into simple principles and easily mastered techniques that let readers set their own goals and develop their own cleaning plan. Also included are recipes for safe, simple, and economic cleaning solutions and the lowdown on the best eco-friendly cleaning products on the market today.

Green This! Greening Your Cleaning
by Deirdre Imus
Deirdre Imus reveals some of the chemicals we use to maintain our homes are doing us and our families much more harm than good. In Greening Your Cleaning, the first in her Green This! series, Deirdre shows how cleaning house the environmentally responsible way can be as effective and often cheaper than the more traditional, toxic, means.

Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth-and Animal-Friendly Living
by Ingrid Newkirk
If the term animal-friendly living conjures up only images of eating nothing but bland vegetarian casseroles and wearing dowdy cloth coats instead of sumptuous full-length furs, then this practical, comprehensive handbook will go a long way toward dispelling these popular misconceptions by enlightening readers about the many simple ways in which more environmentally aware and cruelty-free behaviors can be incorporated into everyday routines. Newkirk addresses such diverse issues as home decoration, food preparation, vacation destinations, and childhood education.

Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods: Earth, Plaster, Straw Bale, Cordwood, Cob, Living Roofs
by Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan
This absolutely groundbreaking manual doesn't just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually shows every step! More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the addition of final-touch interior details. Co-authors Snell and Callahan (a professional builder and contractor) provide thorough discussions of the fundamental concepts of construction, substitutes for conventional approaches, and planning a home that's not only comfortable and beautiful, but environmentally responsible.

Presidents and Wannabes:
Presidential Inaugurations
by Paul F. Boller, Jr.
Paul Boller Jr. examines the events and controversies surrounding Presidential inaugurations. Examining many of the human-interest stories behind the inaugural ceremony, Boller looks at how the President-elect got to Washington, DC, the often inclement weather, the inaugural addresses (most of which are quite forgettable), the swearing-in ceremony, the evolution of the parade and balls, and a host of other interesting aspects of this oft-neglected national spectacle.

Write It When I’m Gone
by Thomas M. DeFrank
In an extraordinary series of private interviews, conducted over sixteen years with the stipulation that they not be released until after Ford's death, the thirty-eighth president of the United States reveals a profoundly different side of himself: funny, reflective, gossipy, strikingly candid-and the stuff of headlines. Here is the real Ford on his relationship with Richard Nixon; Ford's experiences on the Warren Commission; his complex relationships with Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter; his startling, never-before-disclosed discussions with Bill Clinton during the latter's impeachment process; his opinions about both Bush administrations, the Iraq war, and many contemporary political figures; and much more.

For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions
by James R. Gaines
At the heart of this story is the complicated relationship between George Washington and Lafayette, the young French aristocrat with republican ideals who came to serve both Washington and the American cause. Gaines shows their relationship as nuanced: both sharing a tendency toward vanity, a thirst for glory, and a need to stand apart from their peers.

A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency
by Glenn Greenwald
Greenwald begins by documenting Bush's political collapse and then explores the core beliefs that have driven Bush's decision making, as well as the broader philosophical and political dangers of such strong convictions. He details how the president's absolutist moralistic worldview, the simple identification of good and evil, overshadowed decisions that required more nuanced views in the lead-up to the war in Iraq. Advisors with other points of view were ignored as Bush's strong ends-justify-the-means approach resulted in such decidedly un-American practices as indefinite detentions, use of torture, and preemptive war. This is a compelling examination of how moral beliefs can drive political decisions, with disastrous consequences.

Lincoln Revisited: New Insights from the Lincoln Forum
by Harold Holzer
This series of essays by noted Lincoln scholars, originally presented as lectures at the Lincoln Forum, an annual meeting held each November in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is a superb collection that covers a wide variety of topics and offers fresh perspectives on Lincoln's political views, religious impulses, and some of his more controversial actions as president. Joseph Fornieri examines the basis of Lincoln's moral opposition to slavery.

The Undecided Voter’s Guide to the Next President
by Mark Halperin
They call it a horse race, and in this election the candidates got out of the gate early. But it's still hard to tell them apart and make a choice. Mark Halperin, veteran reporter and political analyst, sizes up the White House hopefuls with intelligence, insight, and his trademark wit, offering engaging, in-depth examinations of the histories, qualifications, agendas, and personal beliefs of the major candidates—including Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson, as well as some "dark horse" contenders.

A Bound Man: Why We are Excited About Obama and Why He Can’t Win
by Shelby Steele
In Shelby Steele's beautifully wrought and thoughtprovoking new book, A Bound Man, the award-winning and bestselling author of The Content of Our Character attests that Senator Barack Obama's groundbreaking quest for the highest office in the land is fast becoming a galvanizing occasion beyond mere presidential politics, one that is forcing a national dialogue on the current state of race relations in America. Says Steele, poverty and inequality usually are the focus of such dialogues, but Obama's bid for so high an office pushes the conversation to a more abstract level.

One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln’s Road to Civil War
by John C. Waugh
Waugh covers the events in Lincoln's pre-April 1861 life, making liberal use of Lincoln's own words, primarily from letters and speeches, and the reminiscences of one of Lincoln's closest friends and associates, his former law partner William Herndon. Waugh shows that although Lincoln embraced white supremacy and opposed interracial marriage and black suffrage during his early years as an Illinois state legislator, he managed to separate those views from his strong opposition to the institution of slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong, Lincoln later said. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel.

Armchair Travel:
A Moveable Thirst: Tales and Tastes from a Season in Napa Wine Country
by Rick Kushman and Hank Beal
Hank and Rick set out to visit all 141 public tasting rooms in Napa during the course of a year and the result is an engaging, often hilarious book that's one part Sideways, one part Frommer's.

Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
by Joan Druett
Druett re-creates the different experiences of the survivors of two wrecked vessels, the Grafton and the Invercauld. Both shipwrecked on opposite ends of the same subantarctic island, and while Grafton's entire crew survived, the Invercauld, fell into arguing and dwindled to three.

Shadow of the Silk Road
by Colin Thubron
Thubron's beautiful prose details his journey through modern Asia along the ancient Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean. Eloquently describing the history, cultures and people along the way.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List by Patricia Schultz
Schultz has a gift for description and her love and enthusiasm overflow for the places she writes about for the reader. She tells you what is beautiful, fun and unforgettable-everywhere on earth.

No reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach
by Anthony Bourdain
The book traces Bourdain's trips from New Zealand to New Jersey and everywhere in between. It mixes beautiful, never-before-seen photos and mementos with Bourdain's outrageous commentary.

The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
by Colin Woodard
This is a fast-paced narrative that will be especially attractive to lovers of pirate lore and to vacationers who are Bahamas-bound. Includes maps.

Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran
by Jason Elliot
Timely portrait of a country and culture that is precariously balanced between East and West. Elliot captures the rich, complex, contradictory essence of Iran, its history and people.

The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino
by Alec Wilkinson
Wilkinson, who specializes in portraiture, tells Neutrino's enthralling story of how he has roamed the country. Wilkinson's account of Neutrino's life is filled with wonder, respect, and marvelous literary finesse.

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: One Woman's Hilarious Adventure into a Country and a Culture Not Her Own
by Polly Evans
Evans recounts her solo trip across China. She includes historical nuggets on the Mao regime and more. She makes an entertaining companion for armchair travelers who enjoy women's magazine-style travel writing.

The Ends of the Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic
by Elizabeth Kolbert and Francis Spufford
Stocked with first-person narratives, cultural histories, nature and science writing, and fiction, this book is a compendium of the greats of their fields: including legendary polar explorers and such writers as Jon Krakauer, Jack London, Diane Ackerman, Barry Lopez, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

 

CONNECTING WITH NATURE:

Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and other Winged Wonders to Your Backyard
By Kris Wetherbee
This well illustrated guide is an attractive and delightful resource designed to help novices develop wildlife gardens that range from easy container planting all the way to planned wildlife sanctuaries.

Bedside Book of Birds: an Avian Miscellany
By Graeme Gibson
In an eclectic collection of writings that ranges through hundreds of years and across continents, Gibson provides glimpses into the bond humans feel with birds: as parables, natural history, allegory, and mythic guides. The reader will be well rewarded by these insights into avian-human relations.

Divine Wind: the History and Science of Hurricanes
By Kerry Emanuel
Hurricanes are presented in verse, art, history, and science in this gripping, popular treatment, written in exceptionally clear prose by MIT professor Emanuel.

Frogs: a Chorus of Colors
By John and Deborah Behler
With richly colorful photos and compelling, informative descriptions, the authors have written a homage to nearly 5,000 species of frogs. "Frogfacts" in each section furnish fun trivia.

Ice: the Nature, the History, and the Uses of This Astonishing Substance
By Mariana Gosnell
A compendium of the human and natural history of ice. En route through the science, condensed from the technical literature, the author imparts eclectic information through excerpts from poems, adventure and disaster stories, and discussion of ice sports and diversions. An entrancing account for nature readers.

Snowstruck: in the Grip of Avalanches
By Jill Fredsen
An electrifying account of the dangers of avalanches, their causes, their victims, and their victims' rescues, from the author's own vast experiences tracking avalanches and rescuing skiers trapped by them. Fredsen sends a wake up call to those who ski, hike, or drive snow machines through snow-packed peaks and passes, describing the best ways to minimize their risk.

Zamba: the True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived
By Ralph Helfer
Legendary Hollywood animal trainer and behaviorist Helfer writes a fascinating story of his unique bond with a lion cub named Zamba. In training the cub for a movie role, he developed the revolutionary "affection training" method of animal training which is based on love, not fear. The authors bond with his lion becomes a true spiritual connection which will touch the heart of any animal lover.

On Entertaining:
At Home with Michael Chiarello: Easy Entertaining, Recipes, Ideas, Inspiration
by Michael Chiarello
The Napa Valley-based TV chef and author takes his own message to heart in this collection of 135-plus recipes for imaginative entertaining. Chiarello's formulas, for the likes of Grilled Salmon and Spinach Salad with Corn Juice "Zablione," Turkey Osso Buco, and "Short Stacks" with Shredded Chicken and Balsamic BBQ Sauce, do reflect his ceaseless invention; but unlike some other chef's recipes, these are cook-friendlier, with flavors rooted in "homier" Italian and American culinary traditions. His chapter on pasta and rice dishes, with the likes of Lasagna of Roasted Butternut Squash, and Bordetto of Shrimp-Stuffed Pasta Shells, is particularly good.

Do It for Less! Parties
by Denise Vivaldo
Do It for Less! Parties has all the tools you need to plan efficiently and entertain flawlessly when cooking for a crowd. Packed with quantity recipes for 12, 25, 50, or 75 friends and family, this combination party cookbook, decorating guide, and entertaining primer shows today’s savvy hostess how to do it for less time and do it for less money without sacrificing one’s sanity or style.

Everyday Celebrations: Savoring Food, Family, and Life at Home
by Donata Maggipinto
Donata Maggipinto, lifestyle contributor for NBC's Today show, reawakens our appreciation for all that has meaning in life in Everyday Celebrations and shares her sensational craft and food recipes to create heartwarming gatherings at home. Sparkling with style and great ideas, this entertaining book will make every day a special occasion, and every get-together a celebration.

Katie Brown Entertains: 16 Menus, 16 Occasions, 16 Tables
by Katie Brown
Katie Brown provides easy and affordable advice on casual entertaining. Her Katie Brown Entertains offers readers 16 menus for as many occasions, plus table décor and other party projects, including invitations, centerpieces, and favors.

Perfect Party Food: All the Recipes & Tips You’ll Ever Need for Stress-Free Entertaining from the Diva of Do-Ahead
by Diane Phillips
Cooking teacher Phillips includes more than 600 recipes, each one serving 10 to 12 guests, and each containing do-ahead components that can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen (many recipes can be completely cooked advance). The recipes are generally simple, though no less appealing, and include dips and spreads, "small bites" like Pigs in a Blanket and Prosciutto Pinwheels, salads, side dishes, main dishes, breads, beverages and desserts (there's also a chapter on breakfast and brunch).

Perfect Recipes for Having People Over
by Pamela Anderson
Anderson revives the art of entertaining in this unthreatening collection of simple but elegant dishes, following her successful The Perfect Recipe (which won a Julia Child Award), Cooksmart and How to Cook Without a Book. She focuses on moderately easy, stick-to-your-ribs, crowd-pleasing dishes that can be made in bulk (for up to 20 people). Anderson helpfully answers anticipated questions for each recipe: When should I serve it? Any shortcuts? How far ahead can I make it? What should I serve with it? What about leftovers? Throughout, Anderson's easygoing tone and reassuring attitude will relax any nerve-jangled host or hostess. This is not a book for master chefs, certainly, but it delivers solid dishes sure to impress the average dinner party crowd.

Raising the Bar: Better Drinks, Better Entertaining
by Nick Mautone, et al
Mautone, former manager of New York's Gotham Bar and Grill, and Gramercy Tavern, applies 20 years of fine-dining knowledge to the art of the cocktail, explaining how to perfect the Manhattan and the Martini, and bringing herbs, exotic fruits and other unpredictables into the realm of the highball. Beginning with chapters on bar basics and ingredients, Mautone addresses the science of balancing liquor and mixer, lectures on the proper size of ice cubes, and reveals that homemade grenadine is as simple as sugar, water and pomegranate juice. Fifty-two of the 250-plus offerings fall into the "Favorite Classic Cocktails" section, resplendent with standards like the Old-Fashioned and the Rusty Nail. Thus fortified, the rest of the book strives for, and often attains, a level of Falstaffian bliss.

New Biographies:
Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age With the New York Yankees
By Matthew McGough
McGough, a Fordham Law School graduate and New York City attorney, tells the tale of his two years as batboy for the New York Yankees, in 1992-93. It is a pretty story of a boy who made a dream come true and then remembered to live all the parts of it.

Copy This!: Lessons From a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America’s Best Companies
By Paul Orfalea & Ann Marsh
A charismatic, heart-warming business memoir that’s filled with life lessons on overcoming obstacles, Copy This! is the story of how Paul Orfalea opened a small copy shop called Kinko’s in 1970 and turned it into a $1.5 billion-a-year company, while barely being able to read, write, or sit still through a business meeting.

Down Came The Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression
By Brooke Shields
In this compelling memoir, actress Brooke Shields talks candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and provides millions of women with an inspiring example of recovery.

Even After All This Time: a Story of Love, Evolution and Leaving Iran
By Afschineh Latifi
Similar in tone to Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003), this poignant memoir chronicles one family's odyssey through the Iranian Revolution and beyond, as remembered by the author, a schoolteacher, who was also the daughter of a colonel in the shah's army. Latifi's tribute to her family's courage and resilience is a compelling testament to the dauntless nature of the human spirit in the face of all types of repression and adversity.

The Glass Castle: a Memoir
By Jeannette Walls
Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, Walls, her brother and two sisters were left largely to their own devices. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. On the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover.

Hans Christian Andersen: a New Life
By Jens Andersen
Danish biographer Andersen (no relation to his subject) provides a fascinating backdrop for the life of the acclaimed fairy tale writer on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Most readers will be caught up in this smoothly translated, accessible evaluation of a budding genius placed in the context of his time.

No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me
By Linda Armstrong Kelly
The mother of six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has managed to turn out an honest, fun and engaging account of her life. Kelly was thrown for a loop when she unexpectedly became pregnant (with Lance) as a junior in high school. She made the most of her limited circumstances, raising Lance alone and relates their trials—as well as the string of less-than-perfect boyfriends and husbands she went through—in a winningly homey and self-teasing manner making for a sincerely heartwarming tale, laced with true Texas grit.

Smashed: the Story of a Drunken Girlhood
By Gail Zailckas
Zailckas is unsparingly insightful and acutely aware of what drinking can and does do to girls. At 24 (her present age), she gave up drinking after a decade of getting drunk, having blackouts and experiencing brushes with comas, date rape and suicide She explains that while kids are taught that drugs are always dangerous, alcohol is perceived as an acceptable rite of passage. Her book is deeply moving, written in poetic, nuanced prose that never obscures the dangerous truths she seeks to reveal.

A Widow’s Walk: a Memoir of 9/11
By Marian Fontana
On September 11, 2001, Marian Fontana lost her husband, Dave, a firefighter from the elite Squad 1 in Brooklyn, in the World Trade Center attack. A Widow's Walk begins that fateful morning, when Marian, a playwright and comedienne, became a widow, a single mother, and an unlikely activist. Written with great heart and humanity, her memoir presents a timely opportunity for remembrance and a timeless testament to love's loss and the resilience of the human spirit.

Will’s Choice: a Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery
By Gail Griffith
In this beautifully written and gripping account, readers learn a great deal about adolescent depression through the experiences of the author, whose 17-year-old son Will attempted suicide by overdosing on the antidepressant drug Remeron. Griffith describes the effect of the suicide on herself, her husband, and Will’s girlfriend. Parents and teens will find it instructive in how to recognize and respond to a child’s depression for positive results.

 

New Adult Fiction Books:

The Ottoman Cage : A Novel of Istanbul by Barbara Nadel
British writer Nadel (Belshazzar's Daughter) delivers on the promise of her American debut in this second outing featuring Turkish homicide detective Çetin Ikmen. This time around, the chain-smoking, brandy-swilling inspector is investigating a young man's murder in an apartment in one of Istanbul's upscale neighborhoods. Nadel's lively characters pop off the page-particularly tech-challenged Ikmen, who recalls Clouseau in his slapstick relationship with his mobile phone-and the author ably evokes the sights and sounds of Turkey, a country where ethnicity is destiny, and the present is shadowed by events of the past. This is a richly textured tale packed with earthy humor and intrigue.

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride
Relentless rain reflects the tormented mood that permeates MacBride's impressive debut set in Aberdeen, Scotland. Det. Sgt. Logan MacRae, back from a lengthy convalescence caused by a crazed suspect's knife attack, is plunged straightaway into the investigation of a brutally murdered child. Logan must eliminate the distractions caused by the sensational publicity and summon his barely restored strength to anticipate the killer's next move. MacBride allows his characters their humanity, while weaving intriguing subplots in this edge-of-your-seat page-turner.

Love @ First Site : A Novel by Jane Moore
Thirty-four year-old television producer Jess Monroe triumphs over the vicissitudes of singlehood with a wry sense of humor and a little help from her friends in Moore's snappy but familiar novel (after Fourplay). The spirited daughter of happily married parents and adoring younger sister to happily married Olivia, fancy-free Jess is looking for the perfect mate. Jess's friends sign her up for an Internet dating service for her 34th birthday, a venture that, not surprisingly, leads to a series of bruising, dead-end encounters. Moore's latest is an entertaining re-tread of the personal growth and happily-ever-after story.

Belle Ruin by Martha Grimes
When twelve-year-old Emma Graham, a waitress at her mother’s decaying resort hotel and now the youngest cub reporter in the history of La Porte’s Conservative newspaper, discovers the crumbling shell of a fabulous hotel hidden in the woods near her small town of Spirit Lake, she never imagines that the mysteries it holds will bring her one step closer to solving a forty-year- old crime—and force a new transgression to light. Highlighting Martha Grimes’s extraordinary range and depth, Belle Ruin is a fitting follow-up to the acclaimed Hotel Paradise and Cold Flat Junction that will continue to enchant readers who avidly follow the adventures of intuitive, calculating, and irrepressible Emma Graham.

Evening Ferry by Katherine Towler
The second volume of Towler's trilogy (after Snow Island) continues the story of a small and isolated New England island, picking up over 20 years after the end of the first book, in 1965. At 33, Rachel Shattuck, a recent divorcée and schoolteacher who grew up on Snow, has lived most of her adult life on the mainland. When her widowed father, Nate, has an accident, Rachel returns home for the first time since her mother's funeral the year before. Towler succeeds in bringing the small island community to vivid life, and the introspective characters are sympathetic.

The Ezekiel Option: A Novel by Joel Rosenberg
New York Times best-selling author Joel Rosenberg brings readers this thrilling new novel. When Russia's richest oil baron is killed, Moscow suddenly teeters on the verge of political chaos. Tehran races to complete its nuclear arsenal. Washington finds herself dangerously divided from her European allies. And in the dead of night, in the hills overlooking Jerusalem, a senior White House advisor uncovers a chilling ancient conspiracy as real as the morning's headlines. Woven through the writings of the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, more than 2,500 years old, are eerily prescient descriptions of modern countries then unborn, modern alliances then unformed, and an imminent day of unspeakable terror. Now, with the clock ticking down to war, two Americans are caught in the crossfire, wondering, Is the last judgment at hand?

The Big Over Easy : A Nursery Crime by Jasper Fforde
Crime lies at the heart of the most innocent-seeming nursery stories: con games (The Emperor's New Clothes), counterfeiting (rumpelstiltskin), domestic violence (Punch and Judy), destruction of property and vigilantism (The Three Little Pigs). Fforde, who in his terrific Tuesday Next books (Something Rotten, 2004) enjoys deconstructing literature (Next is a cop charged with keeping the classics from falling into chaos), here launches a new detective series, set in Reading, England's no-respect Nursery Crime Division (their clues tend to come in threes). Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary are summoned to a trash-strewn and albumen-spattered yard where, at the foot of a wall, lie the mortal remains of one Mr. Dumpty. The British have a rich tradition of nonsense and whimsy, and Fforde is a worthy standard-bearer.

The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Rennie Airth
The many admirers of Airth's impressive debut, River of Darkness (1999), which was an Edgar finalist, will relish his gripping second police procedural, set in 1932. The brilliant Scotland Yard inspector John Madden has retired to the countryside and built himself a new life and a new family, but his tranquil, pedestrian existence is shattered when he stumbles on the battered corpse of a young girl. Evidence soon surfaces that the killing is one of a series that spans several countries, and the trail gets murkier when a major suspect proves to be linked to international espionage. The political ramifications of the murders, which may complicate British-German relations on the eve of the Nazis' rise to power, only add to the challenges the police face in preventing another death.

Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure
Ure's debut so compellingly evokes the hot, dry Southwest, readers may want to have an icy-cold glass of water nearby while reading it. Trial consultant Calla Gentry loves living in Tucson, despite the triple-digit heat, and she doesn't mind her job--as long as she can stick to civil cases. Inevitably, Calla's demanding boss insists she take on a criminal case--working for the defense team of accused rapist and murder Ray Cates. For Calla, whose sister Amaryllis was raped and nearly killed, and now sleeps in a coma following a suicide attempt, this task is almost unbearable. In the process, she must reopen the deep wounds of previous rape victims, who are her only hope of proving Cates' guilt. Ure, a Tucson native, clearly adores the city, and she brilliantly depicts its landscape, citizenry, and culture. This could be the start of a very special series.

Dark Harbor by David Hosp
Compelling characters pulse through attorney Hosp's surprisingly engaging fiction debut. Why surprising? Because readers will think they've seen all this before, and more stylishly told: there's a gritty urban center (Boston) menaced by a serial killer (nicknamed "Little Jack" because of his similarities to the legendary Ripper) but protected by a tough cop (prickly police lieutenant Linda Flaherty). But Hosp works some wrinkles on the formula with a terrorist subplot and digs deep for complex portraits of Flaherty and a jittery suspect, lawyer Scott Finn. Finn was the last known person to see Natalie Caldwell, the killer's latest victim, alive: they were colleagues at the prestigious law firm as well as former lovers.

American History Books:

The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West
by Joel Achenbach
The story of Washington's ambitions for the brand-new republic that he had fought so hard to create. His western journey culminates in a breathtaking scheme: Washington, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, will transform the Potomac River into a commercial artery that will link the new West to the old East. The future of the Union, Washington believes, depends on the Potomac route to the West, which will bind the country to one enterprise.

Light and Liberty : Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness
by Thomas Jefferson, Edited by Eric Peterson
Were Thomas Jefferson alive to read this book, he would recognize every sentence, every elegant turn of phrase, every lofty, beautifully expressed idea. Indeed, every word in the book is his. In an astonishing feat of editing, Eric S. Petersen has culled the entirety of Thomas Jefferson’s published works to fashion thirty-four original essays on themes ranging from patriotism and liberty to hope, humility, and gratitude. The result is a lucid, inspiring distillation of the wisdom of one of America’s greatest political thinkers.

Dred and Harriet Scott: A Family's Struggle for Freedom
by Gwenyth Swain
A well-researched and engaging account of the life and struggle of two slaves who fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for their freedom. The book traces Scott's life from his earliest days as a slave through his travels around the United States and its territories. After Dred and Harriet married and started a family, they decided to appeal to the courts for their freedom. Although the Scotts did not gain their freedom, the case added more fuel to the fire that would eventually engulf the country in the Civil War.

Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940 :
How Americans Lived During the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression
by David E. Kyvig
In this fascinating book, David Kyvig describes everyday life in the 20s-40s decade, when automobiles and home electricity became commonplace, and radio and the movies became popular. The details of work life, domestic life, and leisure activities make engrossing reading and brings the era clearly into focus.

No Greater Glory :
The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II
by Dan Kurzman
In the Battle of the Atlantic's catalog of tragedies, the 1943 sinking of an American troop transport stands out as a heroic vignette witnessed by survivors. They recounted how four chaplains, after pressing their life jackets on terrified young men, went down with the ship, praying. The chaplains have been commemorated over the years in various media but never in so comprehensive a fashion as in Kurzman's book.

The Most Fearful Ordeal :
Original Coverage of the Civil War by Writers and Reporters of The New York Times
by James M. McPherson
The format of depicting a war through coverage by war correspondents is now effectively applied to the American Civil War in this collection of New York Times articles on major events from John Brown at Harper's Ferry to Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. Noteworthy is the amount of rumor, innuendo, and downright fancy that even the best correspondent could spread... and considerable was the effect of that state of reportage on public opinion and individuals' states of mind.

The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin &Eleanor, the King & Queen of England...
by Will Swift
Comparative politics involving Great Britain and the United States during the 20th century forms the background for this book, which traces the lives of two couples, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. British amateur historian Swift elucidates the monarchical aspect of World War II, which is typical slighted; accounts tend to focus on the American presidency and the British prime ministership.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors :
The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
by James D. Hornfischer
This piece of World War II naval history reads like a particularly good novel. It is an account of the October 1944 battle off Samar, in which a force of American destroyers and escort carriers drove off a Japanese fleet at least 10 times its strength. The struggle was a part of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was the beginning of the campaign to liberate the Philippines.

Gettysburg: You Are There
by Robert Clasby
Essentially a colorful Civil War reenactment in book form, this volume uses photos and digital technology to reconstruct realistic and detailed images of key scenes in the battle. Well-selected photographs show each location as it was in 1863 and as it is today, along with some scenes from the 1880s. The digital reconstructions are the heart of the book, its most novel feature and the one likely to draw the most comment. On the whole, that comment should be favorable...

A History of New York
by Francois Weil
This compelling, single-volume history takes on the New York of myth and offers an original analysis of how it actually developed into a global city -what some have called the capital of the twenty-first century. Founded in the 1620s as New Amsterdam, New York City maintains a perpetual and uneasy tension between capitalism and multiculturalism. The book shows how, over the course of nearly four centuries, this tension has been at the heart of the city´s immense physical, social, economic, and cultural transformation as well as of American notions of what urban "space" is, for whom it exists, and how it is used.

 

Books with Musical Themes:

Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and the Rise and Fall of American Soul
by Craig Hanson Werner
Werner's exquisite prose and his richly informed music history offer a deeply felt love letter to three of soul music's greatest. -- Publisher's Weekly

Jazz Styles
by Mark C.Gridley
This is a wonderful text about jazz appreciation, focusing on American instrumental jazz and styles rather than time periods. -- Publisher's Weekly

Latin Beat: the Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova toSalsa and Beyond
by Ed Morales
For everyone who has fallen in love with Latin music this is a guide to its many styles that also traces its place in American music and culture.

MakingIt in the Music Business: The Business and Legal Guide for Songwriters and Performers
by Lee Wilson
This book contains valuable practical advice songwriters and performers need to survive and thrive in today's competitive music industry.

Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs
by Jack Perricone
This guide unlocks the secrets of hit songs, examining them and revealing why they succeed. Fine-tune your craft and start writing hits!

Music Festival Guide: for Music Lovers and Musicians.
by Jon Pruett
This book covers 600 music festivals worldwide with lively descriptions of festivals of all manner, size and form.

New York Times Essential Library: Classical Music: A Critics Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
by Allan Kozin
It's always a tricky task to pick a list with as sweeping a title as this, but Kozin has managed to get the classics and more contemporary works as well. -- Publisher's Weekly

NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music
by Tim Smith
This volume includes major composers and performers. It also discusses the language of classical music and listening resources.

What to Listen for in Music
by Aaron Copland
This book owes its success to its simple jargon-free language and engaging style. This is an excellent guide for the novice. -- Library Journal

World Music: A Very Short Introduction
by Philip Bohlman
This book draws readers into a range that shows the power to evoke the exotic and give voice to the voiceless.

Health/Medical Books:

The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness
by Jerome Groopman, Md.
In this provocative book, New Yorker staff writer and Harvard Medical School professor Groopman (Second Opinions; The Measure of Our Days) explores the way hope affects one's capacity to cope with serious illness. Groopman successfully convinces that hope can offer not only solace but strength to those living with medical uncertainty. -- Publisher's Weekly

The Anti-Aging Solution: 5 Simple Steps to Looking & Feeling Young
by Vincent Giampapa, Ronald Pero & Marcia Zimmerman
Anti-aging expert Giampapa (Quantum Longevity), DNA researcher Pero and nutritionist Zimmerman present a five-step program that claims to reverse the aging process because it "attacks aging at its genetic roots with a comprehensive plan." --

Beautiful Bones without Hormones
by Leon Root, Md. & Betty Kelly Sargent
Osteoporosis, often called "the silent killer," affects both men and women. This is a practical, how-to book that lists the new bone-building medications available and provides readers with a 14-day, healthy, high-calcium diet; a seven-day, healthy, high-calcium diet for vegetarians; and one for the lactose-intolerant as well. -- Publisher's Weekly

His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine
by Jonathan Weiner
When Stephen Heywood, a 29-year-old carpenter, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), his older brother, Jaime, launched his own research project to search for a cure. Weiner can't give readers a happy ending for Stephen, but he can—and does—offer a powerful account of equal parts ambition and hope. -- Publisher's Weekly

Learning Sickness: A Year with Crohn's Disease
by James M. Lang
The author James M. Lang is a professor of English at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. His frank, intimate chronicle of the worst year of his life details suffering the pain and the ignominy of a severe bout of Crohn's, and it shares invaluable, hard-earned wisdom about how anyone with a debilitating disorder may learn to accept the cards he or she has been dealt and get on with living. -- Booklist

A Man After His Own Heart: A True Story
by Charles Siebert
This compelling and complex narrative is based on a New York Times Magazine story by Siebert (Wickerby: An Urban Pastoral) that recounted his involvement with a team of surgeons who "harvested" a human heart from a recently dead person and transplanted it into a waiting recipient. What has evolved from that essay is a combination memoir, biography, science essay, medical history, social study, mythological exploration; above all, it is an excellent piece of journalism. -- Publisher's Weekly

The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle
by Eric Lax
In this fluent, entertaining report on the history of the arguably most significant medical discovery of the twentieth century, Lax delves into the lives of the colorful scientists who played significant roles in developing the antibiotic. -- Booklist

The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health
by Paul F. Campos
The recent bowwow about rampant obesity shortening Americans' lives conflicts with the fact that Americans enjoy the longest life expectancy of any industrialized nation's populace. Campos shines a beacon on the deadly irony of America's obsession--unjustified, unrealistic, and downright unhealthy--with thinness. -- Booklist

Should I Be Tested for Cancer?: Maybe Not and Here's Why
by H. Gilbert Welch
Welch, a specialist in cancer detection, challenges common knowledge about everyday screenings, such as mammograms and PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests, citing patient anecdotes and research data on the most commonly diagnosed cancers in this readable, thought-provoking book. -- Booklist

Taking on Heart Disease: Peggy Fleming, Brian Littrell, et al, Reveal How They
Triumphed Over the Nation's #1 Killer -- And How You Can, Too!
by Larry King
Since King underwent quintuple bypass surgery in 1987, he has worked hard to convey the message that people can fight heart disease if they are willing to change their lifestyle. That's the lesson from this collection of stories from more than a dozen celebrities in the entertainment, sports and political world.
-- Publisher's Weekly

Earlier Book Lists:

March Upcountry by David Weber
Everything seems normal; even dull: Prince Roger MacClintock is making an obligatory visit to a distant planet for a ceremonial appearance. And then the unthinkable occurs: A crash leaves him and his guardian Royal Marine on a hostile planet. Now, to survive, the prince must become a man. (Barnes and Noble) Sequels: March to the Sea, March to the Stars

Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Young heroine Karigan hardly has time to regret being expelled from school (for dueling) before finding herself committed to the desperate errand of a murdered Green Rider...(Amazon.com) Sequel: First Rider's Call

Germ Line by Nelson Erlick
Dr. Kevin Kincaid is on the verge of a major breakthrough. He has developed a biological vector that can introduce new genes into the DNA of unborn children-and all their descendants. He hopes to eradicate a wide variety of genetic defects, but others see more sinister uses for this new technology.(Book description)

The Poison Master by Liz Williams
When the ruling aliens known as the Lords of Night take Alivet Dee's twin sister into their service, the young alchemist accepts the task of accumulating enough money to buy her sister's freedom. Accused of murdering a client, Alivet accepts a proposition from a mysterious stranger whose promise to help her may also result in her death. (Library Journal)

Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer
Imagine two parallel worlds. In one, not unlike our own, homo sapiens dominate. In the other, Neanderthals rule. Both civilizations have achieved impressive levels in culture and in science, but they remain quite different. When a Neanderthal physicist is popped accidentally into "our" world, he becomes a captive and the target of intense curiosity. How both species cope with this strange insertion is the subject of this novel, the first in a projected trilogy. (Barnes and Noble) Sequels: Humans, Hybrids

Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon
Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world. (Tom Doherty and Associates) Sequels: Prophecy, Destiny, Requiem for the Sun

On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Life of Sir Christopher Wren
by Lisa Jardine
Through the prism of the tumultuous life and brilliant intellect of Sir Christopher Wren, the multitalented architect of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, historian Lisa Jardine unfolds the vibrant, extraordinary emerging new world of late-seventeenth-century science and ideas. The man behind the bold, imposing beauty of Saint Paul's was as remarkable as the monuments he has left us.

The Degaev Affair: Terror & Treason in Tsarist Russia
by Richard Pipes
The organization People's Will, which was responsible for the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881, is pertinent not only to the genealogy of Russian radicalism but also, as one of its earliest modern exponents, to the practice of a terrorist. In one member of the People's Will, eminent historian Pipes has found a roiling theater of the inner psychology of terrorism. From a comfortable Muscovite family, Sergei Degaev was, like many students of the time, sympathetic to the People's Will. As well as a true-crime account, Pipes offers shrewd insights about the revolutionary mind. Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The Flyers: In Search of Wilbur & Orville Wright
by Noah Adams
Adams, cohost of NPR's All Things Considered and author of Piano Lessons, sets out to learn about the Wright Brothers, their family and why they loved to fly so much. Adams visits all the spots important to the brothers, from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where they flew gliders, to France; Dayton, Ohio; and New York. The most appealing part of the book is the look at the close relationship between Orville, Wilbur and their sister Katherine.
-- Publishers Weekly

Love & Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, & the Heart of a New Nation
by David Price
This sparkling book retells a beloved tale in modern terms. Price relates the entire riveting story of the founding of Virginia. Smith is of course at the center of the tale, because rarely did a colonial leader so bountifully combine experience, insight, vision, strength of character and leadership skills to overcome extraordinary odds. The book's leitmotif is the interaction of differing cultures and men, like the British gentry, whom Smith scorned for refusing to adapt to hard colonial labor, and the wily Indians, who resorted to starving out the colonists and in 1622 massacred many of them.
-- Publishers Weekly

The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, & Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism
by James McGrath Morris
Today, seventy-three years after his death, journalists still tell tales of Charles E. Chapin. As city editor of Pulitzer’s New York Evening World, Chapin was the model of the take-no-prisoners newsroom tyrant. In 1918, at the pinnacle of fame, Chapin’s world collapsed. Facing financial ruin, sunk in depression, he decided to kill himself and his beloved wife Nellie. On a quiet September morning, he took not his own life, but Nellie’s, shooting her as she slept. After his trial—and one hell of a story for the World’s competitors—he was sentenced to life in the infamous Sing Sing Prison.

Pushkin: A Biography
by T.J. Binyon
This work won the Samuel Johnson nonfiction prize in Britain, and it's easy to see why: it's a fascinating treatment of an equally fascinating subject. By chronicling Pushkin's literary successes and his personal failures, Binyon draws a compelling portrait of the writer and his milieu. One of Russia's most celebrated authors, Pushkin (1799-1837) lived a life as captivating as his poems and stories. -- Publishers Weekly

Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened the East
by Giles Milton
Milton focuses on the exploits of another undiscovered historical personage to center a more expansive story. The individual is William Adams, and the larger narrative is the developing trade relationship between Japan and Western Europe. Adams arrived in Japan in 1600 after a death-defying 20-month voyage. Over the next two decades, he embraced Japanese culture, learned the language and rose to prominence in the court of the reigning Shogun, Ieyasu. -- Publishers Weekly

Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge & Her Remarkable Expedition to Easter Island
by Jo Anne Van Tilburg
Katherine Routledge (1866-1935) arrived at Easter Island, leading an anthropological and archeological expedition with her husband, William Scoresby Routledge, to investigate the origins of the island's mysterious giant statues. Although she made several critical discoveries about the Rapa Nui culture during her 17 months of research, the expeditionary force was wracked by internal tensions, and she found herself caught up in a native uprising led by a charismatic prophetess. -- Publishers Weekly

That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt
by John Q. Barret (Editor), William E. Leuchtenburg, Robert Houghwout Jackson
Robert H. Jackson was one of the ultimate FDR insiders. Nominated by Roosevelt to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1941, Jackson had previously served the president as attorney general, solicitor general and in other posts. More importantly from the standpoint of this book, FDR and Jackson were great personal friends. Through Jackson's informed lens, we are shown FDR as president, politician, lawyer, commander-in-chief, administrator, populist leader and companion. -- Publishers Weekly

Mary, Queen of Scots & the Murder of Lord Darnley
by Alison Weir
Mary, Queen of Scots has for centuries fascinated historians and the general public, her life involving murder, rape, adultery, abdication, imprisonment and execution. In bestselling historian Weir's able hands, we see the young Catholic queen ruling over Protestant Scotland and a group of unruly nobles. Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley, participated in the 1566 murder of Mary's favorite adviser, David Rizzio. Darnley himself was murdered the next year, and some historians have claimed that Mary plotted his death so she could marry her lover, Bothwell. But Weir argues convincingly that the evidence against Mary is fraudulent.-- Publishers Weekly

The Lady Godiva Murder by Laurie Moore
Cezanne Martin has had it rough-she made it through her rookie year as a Fort Worth, Tex., cop; survived a disastrous affair with a colleague who neglected to mention his unbalanced wife; and managed to see the silver lining in having crusty Roby Tyson, a longtime veteran of the force, as her partner. Yet her world is turned upside-down with the Lady Godiva case, where the lady in question is none other than the captain's daughter and Roby's secret lover. Cezanne has handily earned a spot among contemporary female crime solvers like Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, Grafton's Kinsey Millhone and Garcia-Aguilera's Lupe Solano. --from Publishers Weekly

Alice in Exile: A Novel by Piers Read
By critically acclaimed author Piers Paul Read, Alice in Exile is an exquisite historical novel featuring Alice Fry-a free-thinking and independent-minded woman in a world ruled by men-and the two men who love her. Alice in Exile is Piers Paul Read's triumphant return to the fiction for which he is widely hailed-romantic, dramatic, and rich with historical detail and fascinating characters that make Alice's story an enchanting and unforgettable read. -- from Amazon

The Lost Army of Cambyses by Paul Sussman
Sussman's accomplished first thriller mixes an ancient legend of an invading Persian army swallowed up by a sandstorm in the Egyptian desert with the explosive politics of modern Egypt. Sussman, who works on excavations in Egypt, has created a textured, well-researched and expertly paced debut. As the murders and thrills accumulate, the story veers toward melodrama, but the truly inventive plot twists come along at such a fast clip that readers won't mind. -- from Publishers Weekly

The Usual Rules: A Novel by Joyce Maynard
Wendy, the 13-year-old heroine of Joyce Maynard's The Usual Rules, lives in a happy, haphazard Brooklyn household with her dancer/secretary mom, her jazz musician stepfather, and her eccentric little brother. Life for Wendy is fraught with the usual teen angst until September 11, when her mom heads off to work at the World Trade Center and never comes home. -- from Amazon

Life Sentence by David Ellis
Ellis follows up the success of his debut legal thriller, the Edgar Award-winning Line of Vision, with an equally intricate and intelligent murder puzzle that feels like it's 100% plot, laid out with clean precision. First-person narrator Jon Soliday, workaholic legal counsel and best friend to state senator Grant Tully, lands in the middle of three homicide mysteries (and an oblique blackmail attempt) in the first 75 pages. -- from Publishers Weekly

A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel
Luna McGraw has reached a turning point: she has remained sober for four years and now her beloved teenage daughter, Joy, is coming to live with her in Taos, New Mexico. What she doesn't need is a relationship with a man, but that seems to be happening after she rescues an elderly neighbor from a house fire and runs into the woman's grandson. -- from Booklist

Wolf Pass: A Novel by Steve Thayer
Thayer brings back Deputy Sheriff P.A. Pennington of Kickapoo County, Wis. (hero of last year's The Wheat Field), who singlehandedly solves a set of sniper murders in which he is the chief suspect. The thriller is set in 1962, when Pennington is running for sheriff. This fast-paced, sexy suspense novel also offers a snapshot of postwar ethnic and social rivalries in the bucolic fictional Wisconsin county. -- from Publishers Weekly

Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
This debut thriller should come with a warning--do not pick up if you have anything else planned for as long as it takes to read it! Tropic of Night is a dramatic, stylish, smart, and very strongly plotted novel, mixing anthropology, ethnography, sorcery, mayhem, and murder in an intriguing and wholly captivating story that ranges from Mali to Siberia, Nigeria to Miami, and never lets up. -- from Amzon

The Deed: A Novel by Keith Blanchard
Jason Hansvoort lives an all-too-common 20-something existence: he has an unfulfilling job at an uncaring corporation, too many evenings spent in bars with friends, and a string of one-night stands to his credit, but very little direction in life. Then the beautiful Amanda, a Native American law student, finds him and tells him he may stand to inherit Manhattan Island if a 350-year-old deed can be found. -- from Booklist

The Chestnut Tree: A Novel of the Women of World War II by Charlotte Bingham
British writer Bingham follows the lives of four women from the fishing village of Bexham during World War II. The reaction of the men of Bexham to the abrupt emancipation of women during war and the women's perspective on this change shape much of the story as Bingham's quartet of women show breathtaking courage, suffer sorrow, find joy, and together create a haunting, distinctly female portrait of war. -- from Booklist

Painting Rooms: How to Choose & Use Color Like an Expert
by Judy Ostrow
For the cost of several cans of color and a few simple tools, you have the power to transform an ordinary room into something memorable, beautiful, and comfortable. Available in an almost infinite rainbow of colors, paint has become the most easily obtainable, versatile, and economical decorating medium.
--from the introduction

Cooking Spaces: Designs for Cooking, Entertaining, and Living
by Helen Thompson, Anna Kasabian
This is a wonderful book showing a wide range of kitchen styles from modern to country and blue and white to classical. It explains design secrets that help you create a beautiful, yet practical cooking space.
--from a Cleveland, Ohio, reviewer

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design: Fearless, Fabulous Decorating
by Christopher Lowell
Now, the most popular and colorful personality on the Discovery Channel brings his proven Seven Layers of Design system to readers in a lively blend of design theory and hands-on advice for do-it-yourself projects. In this book, as on his program, Lowell brings his humor, wit, and charm to a host of decorating projects and ideas, making them simple, fun, and rewarding.

Decorating Basics: Styles, Colors, Furnishings
by Linda Hallam, editor
Much of this book provides a look at homeowners' decorating schemes in a variety of styles, such as traditional, mid-century modern, and southwestern, through numerous color photographs captioned with budget-stretching tips and the homeowners' decorating tips.
--from Library Journal

Grand Finishes for Tile: Home Installation Projects 101
illus. by Matt Nikitas, Amy Evans, Ronald Monk
Nikitas, author of several excellent titles on finishing techniques, has produced a helpful introduction to tile installation. Written in a readable style, this title provides a variety of information about tools, selecting tile, designing, installation (including area-specific instructions for floors, walls, and counters), and maintenance.
--from Library Journal

Nell Hill's Style at Home
by Nell Hill
A fabulous home furnishings store in Atchison, Kansas? And one where 95 percent of its customers drive more than 50 miles? Stranger things have happened--but Garrity's store, named after her maternal grandmother, is all of that and more. Each of her five major tenets--layer, tell a story through displays, update with fabric, anything can be a wall, and home-ize your house--is explained well (with the help of coauthor Caldwell) through color photographs and a bit of text.
--from Booklist

Reader's Digest Complete Book of Home Decorating: Inspiring Ideas and
Practical Techniques for Making Your House Your Home
Tackling the field of home decorating, the editors of Reader's Digest provide a comprehensive, well-thought-out book whose five sections planning, style, color, decorating options and practical instructions cover everything needed to revamp a home.
--from Publishers Weekly

The Bathroom Planner: Hundreds of Great Ideas for Your New Bathroom
by Suzanne Ardley
The Bathroom Planner is full of practical advice and handy tools that will help readers looking to update their bathroom--or completely remodel it--find the perfect design.

Get the Look: How to Be a Stylist in Your Own Home
by Rebecca Tanqueray
Get the Look is an insider guide to the tricks of the home stylist’s trade, showing you how to create chic interiors simply and inexpensively. Complete with 300 tips and ideas, 20 “quick fix” projects, and 150 stunning color photos.

Trade Secrets from Use What You Have Decorating
by Lauri Ward
Ms. Ward provides a foundation of unassailable basics, from decorating to streamlining a room overstuffed with paintings and photographs.
--from the New York Times

Sounds of the River: A Memoir
by Da Chen
This is a beautifully written account of the experiences of a college student from a rural village in China who studied English in Beijing and eventually emigrated to the United States. While Da Chen describes unique aspects of the Chinese political and social environment, the story he tells is universal, involving the struggles to work hard, survive on very little money, separate from the family sphere, and deal with situations beyond one's immediate control.

Time Traveler: In Search of Dinosaurs & Ancient Mammals from Montana to Mongolia
by Michael J. Novacek
Transporting readers to dinosaur excavations across the globe, paleontologist Novacek (Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs) offers a spellbinding natural history of our planet, as well as the equally fascinating story of how he fell into the profession.
"Armchair travelers and paleontologists in training, to say nothing of readers going through a dinosaur phase of their own, will take much pleasure in Novacek's journeys into his--and the planet's--past." --Gregory McNamee

London: The Biography
by Peter Ackroyd
Novelist and biographer Ackroyd offers a huge, enthralling "biography" of the city of London. Ackroyd examines London from its pre-history through today, artfully selecting, organizing and pacing stories, and rendering the past in witty and imaginative ways.

A House in Corfu: A Family's Sojourn in Greece
by Emma Tennant
Exercise caution when reading this book--it's likely to induce a serious longing to hop on the next flight to Greece. British novelist Tennant's parents succumbed when, taking a Greek island cruise in the early 1960s, they impulsively decided to buy some land on Corfu and build a house. Tennant relays the challenges--primitive building methods, brackish water, the islanders' relaxed sense of time--but these turn out to be minor inconveniences compared to the sheer beauty of the place.

Venice: Lion City
by Gary Wills
The tiny island city-state of Venice was, for a time, one of the greatest maritime powers the world has ever known, its influence extending far beyond the Mediterranean. Garry Wills, well known for his studies of American political history, travels far afield to explore Renaissance Venice at the height of its power.

How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How
Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It
by Arthur Herman
Focusing on the 18th and 19th centuries, Herman has written a successful exploration of Scotland's disproportionately large impact on the modern world's intellectual and industrial development.

The Englishman's Daughter: A True Story of Love & Betrayal in World War I
by Ben MacIntyre
MacIntyre has uncovered the story of a small band of English soldiers who, in 1914, were found and sheltered by the peasants of Villeret, a small French village near the Somme River. When the German occupiers became more intrusive in local life, billeting their troops in private homes and confiscating supplies, the French took a more collective approach to hiding the Brits sharing their food and housing among a network of families. Private Robert Digby, the hero of this tale, blended in so successfully, "It's almost like he was running for mayor," said one villager, that he fell in love with the local belle, Claire Dessenne.

This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
by Gretel Ehrlich
From the acclaimed chronicler of open spaces, Gretel Ehrlich, comes a stunning and lyrical evocation of a practically unknown place and people. Beginning in 1993, Ehrlich traveled to Greenland, the northernmost country in the world, in every season--the four months of perpetual dark (in which the average temperature is 25 degrees below zero), the four months of constant daylight, and the twilight seasons in between--traveling up the west coast, often by dogsled, and befriending the resilient and generous Inuits along the way.

Looking for Alaska
by Peter Jenkins
In 1999, Peter Jenkins and his family left their farm in Tennessee to live in Alaska for a few seasons, eventually renting a house in Seward, Alaska (pop. 2,830) on the Kenai Peninsula. The principal aim of the trip was for Jenkins to write a travelogue, but he also saw it as an opportunity to end a period of personal stagnation. It appears to have worked, for Looking for Alaska is filled with a vibrancy that can only come from one with a fully charged battery.

The Last Days of St. Pierre: The Volcanic Disaster that Claimed 30,000 Lives
by Ernest Zebrowski
The eruption of Mount Pele on the Caribbean island of Martinique in the spring of 1902 destroyed the entire French West Indies city of St. Pierre. A hundred years later, natural disaster buff Zebrowksi has pulled together enough records to create a subtle though gripping account that combines powerful human drama (and tragedy) with a well-documented report of catastrophe in paradise.

Mae West: An Icon in Black and White
by Jill Watts
West, the shimmying belle of innuendo and unabashed female sexuality, and self-mythologizer extraordinaire, conquered stage, film, print, and television with her bawdy comedy, which bashed gender and racial stereotypes and aroused both worship and controversy for decades.

Her Own Woman: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
by Diane Jacobs
Diane Jacobs's exemplary popular biography makes pioneering 18th-century feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) a vivid character for contemporary readers. Jacobs acknowledges Wollstonecraft's extravagantly emotional nature and wearying demands on loved ones, yet roots her shortcomings in frustration provoked by a society blatantly unjust toward women.

The Execution of Major Andre
by John Evangelist Walsh
Popular history writer Walsh (Midnight Dreary) offers an account of the serendipitous events that led to British Major John Andre's capture and execution in 1780 which arguably made possible the success of the American Revolution. Andre was the British spy dispatched to plot the fall of West Point with Benedict Arnold. The British capture of West Point would have most likely diminished or even ended the chance for an American victory.

The Monarchy: An Oral Biography of Elizabeth II
by Deborah Hart Strober, Gerald S. Strober
This multifaceted "oral biography" presents a complex and intriguing portrait of the woman who has been Great Britain's head of state for nearly half a century. The Strobers whose popular, critically noted oral biographies of Reagan and Nixon are landmarks of the genre have shepherded quotes from more than 150 interviews into a balanced and critical (if sympathetic) study; their questions serve as section headings and are followed by responses from their interviewees.

Edith and Woodrow: The Wilson Whitehouse
by Phyllis Lee Levin
Former New York Times reporter Levin (Abigail Adams) delivers a beautifully written and impeccably researched account of Edith Bolling Galt Wilson and her key role after President Woodrow Wilson's stroke on October 2, 1919. The second Mrs. Wilson who had married the president one year after the untimely death of First Lady Ellen Wilson acted very much like a regent, restricting access to her sickly husband and issuing executive orders and directives that she presented at the time (and later, in her memoirs) as Wilson's own instructions.

52 McGs.: The Best Obituaries from Legendary New York Times Writer Robert McG. Thomas, Jr.
edited by Chris Calhoun
The late New York Times reporter Robert McG. Thomas Jr. (1939-2000) developed a loyal following for quirky, witty obituaries that illuminated the lives of people not automatically destined for "the Newspaper of Record." This highly browsable collection of 52 obits shows Thomas at his deadline best.

Music & Silence: A Memoir
by Andrea Bocelli
In this honest and engaging memoir, translated from the Italian, Bocelli talks as never before about his blindness, his early life, the importance of his family, stage fright, and the pressures of international stardom. Andrea Bocelli cannot remember a time when he was not passionate about music.

Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews & the Central Asian Expeditions
by Charles Gallenkamp, Michael J. Novacek
Roy Chapman Andrews wanted nothing more than to be an adventurer. He got his chance when he talked his way onto the staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1906, under whose auspices, 15 years later, he was to mount the first of his central Asian expeditions. This decade-long program of exploration took Andrews and his team into the heart of the Gobi, one of the last uncharted regions on earth.

Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray & the Oxford English Dictionary
by K.M. Murray, R.W. Burchfield
This is really two books in one: the life story of James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, the tale of the dictionary itself. Both are lovingly told. It's a must read for anyone interested in dictionaries or linguistics.

The Cat Who'll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of Norton, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect Human
by Peter Gethers
Fans of Gethers's two previous chronicles of life with his cat, Norton (The Cat Who Went to Paris and A Cat Abroad), will be delighted by this third installment. Here, Gethers (who was feline-unfriendly until he received Norton as a present) recounts Norton's physical deterioration (kidney failure, cancer) and eventual death in 1999 at age 16.

Ash Child: A Gabriel DuPre Mystery
by Peter Bowen
This compelling series, set in a contemporary Wild West where little old ladies come into the saloon, order red beers and go home and shoot at meddlesome strangers, offers another success... It's a pleasure to read a story that was clearly written with pleasure. --from Publishers Weekly

The Passion of Artemisia
by Susan Vreeland
Like her bestselling debut, Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland's second novel, The Passion of Artemisia, traces a particular painting through time: in this case, the post-Rennaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi's violent masterpiece, "Judith." Beyond the paintings Artemisia left behind, Vreeland's vision may be as close as we can come to understanding the anger and ambition that kept this talented woman at the doors of the Accademia, demanding entrance, in a time when respectable women rarely left their homes. --Regina Marler, for Amazon.com

The Caves of Perigord
by Martin Walker
The discovery of a fragment of a prehistoric cave painting stirs up old passions in modern Europe in this busy, fact-driven fourth novel by commentator and journalist Walker (America Reborn). When Maj. Philip Manners approaches auction house expert Lydia Dean about an object inherited from his father, he expects merely to turn a quick profit. But Lydia is alarmed: the fragment appears to be from an uncharted French cave and was probably obtained illegally. --from Publishers Weekly

Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen
by India Edghill
India Edghill's well-written debut novel Queenmaker paints a dark picture of the lauded biblical hero as seen through the eyes of his first wife, Michal... Those who like their biblical narrative served straight up and their heroes untarnished may be disturbed by this reassessment; those who like a good story and a new spin on biblical champions, however, will enjoy this unvarnished look a Judiasm's and Christianity's most lauded personalities. --Cindy Crosby for Amazon.com

A Collection of Beauties at the Height of Their Popularity: A Novel
by Whitney Otto
The bestselling author of How to Make an American Quilt experiments again with a patchwork narrative, building an elaborate, piquant story of the loves and lives of a group of young 1980s San Franciscans around a series of 18th-century Japanese woodblock prints. Each chapter begins with the reproduction and explication of a print; all date from a long period of peace in Japan, roughly from 1615 to 1868. --from Publishers Weekly

At Swim, Two Boys
by Jamie O'Neill
In the spring of 1915, Jim Mack and "the Doyler," two Dublin boys, make a pact to swim to an island in Dublin Bay the following Easter. By the time they do, Dublin has been consumed by the Easter Uprising, and the boys' friendship has blossomed into love -- a love that will in time be overtaken by tragedy. -- Amazon.com

Tepper Isn't Going Out
by Calvin Trillin
Anyone who lives and tries to park in Manhattan (or any other big city, for that matter) will respond to Trillin's take on life in the Big Apple (before 9/11). Murray Tepper, loving husband, father, grandfather, and part owner of a company that brokers mailing lists, also has a dark side -- he likes to park. But he doesn't just park, he finds a "beautiful spot," puts his money in the meter, and sits in his car until his time is up. -- from Booklist

A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery
by Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon continues his winning streak with the third Theophilos the Jester novel, after Thirteenth Night and Jester Leaps. This highly original and highly entertaining series, set in the early years of the thirteenth century, puts forward the wonderfully engaging idea that court jesters -- or fools, as they were called -- were members of an elite guild that, in fact, functioned as an intelligence organization run by the govenment. -- from Booklist

Instances of the Number 3
by Salley Vickers
The classic threesome husband, wife, mistress proves mathematically unstable in Vickers's profound comic novel (following her debut, Miss Garnet's Angel). When 62-year-old Londoner Peter Hansome dies in a car crash, his widow, Bridget, and his mistress, Frances, develop an awkward intimacy cemented by their shared loss. But Peter is never actually gone, as his ghost watches over his former "consorts." In the tradition of the late Iris Murdoch, this extraordinary book will inspire and delight.
-- from Publishers Weekly

The Lake of Dead Languages
by Carol Goodman
It has been twenty years since Jane Hudson graduated from Heart Lake School in the Adirondacks. She returns to her old, all-girls school to teach Latin. Heart Lake, like many schools, has its legends, the most persistent being that the lake claims the lives of students. One of her students almost drowns in what appears to be a suicide attempt, and Jane realizes that the nightmare she lived through at school may be recurring. -- from Amazon.com

Take Me Out to the Ballgame:

Shades of Glory
by Lawrence Hogan 796.357 HOG (New Shelf)
Celebrating African America's contribution to our great national pastime, this comprehensive, lively history combines vivid narrative, visual impact, and a unique statistical component, to recreate the excitement and passion of the Negro Leagues. Packed with stories, biographical essays, scores of archival photographs and other evocative artifacts, it is an important contribution to sports history and a wonderful tribute to the players and teams who wrote a unique chapter in the annals of baseball and American culture.

Spalding’s World Tour
by Mark Lamster 796.357 LAM (New Shelf)
In the late nineteenth century, Albert Spalding, a sporting-goods magnate and former baseball star, decided to improve business by anointing himself ambassador for baseball and taking two teams of professional players on a six-month world tour. He brought along sideshow attractions, including an aerialist who hung on a trapeze from a hot-air balloon before the game, and he paid a prominent journalist to lend his support in print. Spalding's success is debatable; spectators in Britain, for instance, were hard-pressed to follow the action and declared the game a knockoff of rounders. Spalding's jaunt was an early example of the globalization of sports.

The Only Game in Town
by Fay Vincent 796.357 VIN (New Shelf)
This first entry in an ambitious, multivolume oral history of baseball compiled by former commissioner Vincent collects the memories of 10 notable players from the 1930s and '40s. The tone is primarily upbeat, as when Dominic DiMaggio—one of the almost-as-talented but often forgotten brothers of Joe—sticks to the sunny side: "I think it's just a wonderful, wonderful game." It's the early integrators and Negro League pros like Larry Doby whose comments make the best reading; their stories have a drama and gravitas that some of the others lack. Dedicated fans stand to gain the most from this nostalgic spin through one slice of baseball history.

Sultans of Swat: the four great sluggers of the New York Yankees
796.357 SUL (New Shelf)
Sultans of Swat tells in dramatic words and vintage black and white photographs the stories of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle: the four legendary New York Yankee Hall of Famers. The Babe's 700th home run, Gehrig's farewell "Luckiest Man" speech, DiMaggio's fifty-six-game hitting streak, Mantle's triple crown--all are here, in a book all baseball fans will treasure.

Pedro, Carlos, and Omar
by Adam Rubin 796.357 RUB (New Shelf)
Hardcore New York Mets fans will be thrilled by this in-depth look at the team's 2005 season by the Mets beat writer for the New York Daily News. Rubin captures all the highlights of what became a memorable winning season, but he focuses on what was the biggest Mets story in years: new general manager Omar Minaya's signing of two major players, pitcher Pedro Martinez and outfielder Carlos Beltran, after the 2004 season.

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero
by David Maraniss B Clemente (New Shelf)
If ever a baseball player were deemed worthy of canonization, right fielder Roberto Clemente might be the one. Jackie Robinson may have suffered greater hardships during his career, but Clemente's nobility, charity and determination make him far more appropriate for a postage stamp than a Nike commercial. After 18 distinguished seasons, the Pirate star with the astonishing throwing arm died in a 1972 plane crash while en route to deliver relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

Clearing the Bases
by Mike Schmidt 796.357 SCH (New Shelf)
Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings. With bold and spirited counsel, Schmidt offers his own prescription for restoring integrity to the game and bringing baseball back, once and for all, to its rightful place.

Love Me, Hate Me : Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero
by Jeff Pearlman B Bonds (New Shelf)
In Love Me, Hate Me, author Jeff Pearlman offers a searing and insightful look into one of the most divisive athletes of our time. Drawing on more than five hundred interviews -- with former and current teammates, opponents, managers, trainers, friends, and outspoken critics and unapologetic supporters alike -- Pearlman reveals, for the first time, a wonderfully nuanced portrait of a prodigiously talented and immensely flawed American icon whose controversial run at baseball immortality forever changed the way we look at our sports heroes.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame for Younger Fans:

Play Ball Like the Hall of Famers
by Steven Krasner J 796.357 KRA
Krasner assembles an impressive group of subjects, from Johnny Bench and Gary Carter on catching, to Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, and Tom Seaver on aspects of pitching. Both offense and defense are covered: George Brett discusses clutch hitting and Rod Carew addresses baserunning techniques, while Golden Glove shortstops Ozzie Smith and Carl Yastrzemski discuss fielding.

Ballpark : the Story of America's Baseball Fields
by Lynn Curlee
In this succinct and thoughtful overview, Curlee traces developments in the game from the mid-1800s to the construction of landmark arenas. The early 1900s saw the building of intimate playing fields such as Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field. Yankee Stadium, "the House that Ruth built," opened in 1923 and immediately became one of the country's best-loved ballparks. In the era of expansion teams, Houston's Astrodome opened in 1965–a huge but characterless stadium typical of the era. Baltimore's Camden Yards in 1992 saw a return of nostalgia-inspired fields.

Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America
by Sharon Robinson; JB Robinson
There are numerous biographies about Robinson available for young people, but none have this book's advantage of family intimacy. In a personal account, Robinson's daughter, Sharon, describes her father's youth, his rise to become major-league baseball's first African American player, and his involvement in the civil rights movement. Sharon Robinson is an education executive for major-league baseball, and she writes about the sport and her father's life with the same immediate familiarity.

Derek Jeter
by Sandra Donovan; JB Jeter
In his first year of baseball Derek Jeter won the rookie of the year award. Jeter’s work in the community has made him a role model for fans and his skill on the field has made him a superstar.

A Whole New Ball Game: the Story of … Girls Professional Baseball League
by Sue Macy; J 796.357 MAC
Macy offers an excellent introduction to one of the least explored areas of baseball history. Established by Chicago Cubs owner and chewing-gum magnate Phil Wrigley in 1943 as an entertainment alternative to the war-depleted major leagues, the AAGPBL lasted until 1954--and until very recently was all but forgotten. Macy has wisely chosen to focus not on the trivia of games past (although the appendix offers enough statistics to satisfy the most rabid baseball addict) but on the social history that produced the league and on the experiences of its players.

Summer Outdoor Living Ideas:

The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining
by Cheryl & Bill Jamison
This is a book for cooks who want to grill great meals and put on terrific outdoor parties. The Jamisons devote their first three chapters to explaining the difference between grilling and traditional barbecue, how to build a fire and how to set up an outdoor kitchen with the proper grill, smoker or big-pot cooker. Next are lessons in Seasoning 101 and 102, with 200 recipes for rubs and sauces, and separate instructions for using them. There are more than a dozen burgers, plus pizza, tapas, salads, pastas, vegetarian entrees and desserts—all of which can be cooked and/or eaten outdoors.

Real Life Entertaining
by Jennifer Rubell
In Real Life Entertaining, Jennifer Rubell offers break-the-rules entertaining ideas and quick, easy, stylish recipes for last-minute drop-in dinners, sit-down meals, brunches, buffets, and one-pot meals. Conventional wisdom says it's rude to invite someone to dinner on the same day. Jennifer's real life wisdom says it's never rud