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1. BRIEF
ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVARA: Stories
By Ben Fountain
"Ben Fountain's stories are absolutely jaw-dropping. The cynical assessment
of human nature is so beautifully balanced by the elegance of the writing.
The conclusions of his well-orchestrated stories resonate like deep satisfying
chords." --Audrey Bullar, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
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THE
GLASS BOOKS OF THE DREAM EATERS: A Novel
By Gordon Dahlquist
"This Victorian thriller -- with almost 800 pages of action, adventure,
and erotic evil -- demands ebullient praise. A professional killer, a
disillusioned Germanic officer, and a jilted young lady dash around Victorian
England risking their lives, their honor, and their virtue to save the
world from the alchemical machinations of an evil cabal. Great fun!" --Lisa
Wright, Oblong Books & Music, Millerton, NY
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I
FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
By Nora Ephron
"This is a laugh-out-loud wonderful book for people of all ages, but especially
for women of a certain age. Nora Ephron's reminiscences and current view
on life should be read by all. I plan to give it to everyone I know."
--Marggie Skinner, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, NY
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SPECIAL
TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS: A Novel
By Marisha Pessl
"If Dave Eggers and Donna Tart had a literary love child, she would be
Marisha Pessl. In this smart first novel, we meet Blue, the lonely daughter
of a brilliant and arrogant peripatetic professor. During her senior year
of high school, when one of Blue's teachers is murdered, she is forced
to examine secrets in her own past." --Stesha Brandon, University Book
Store, Seattle, WA
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THE
ASSASSINS GALLERY: A Novel of Suspense
By David L. Robbins
"What if someone had been sent to assassinate President Franklin Roosevelt
in 1945? Who would do that, and why? This riveting story is so plausible
it shakes my understanding of the history of the times. Readers will be
thrilled and fascinated by it." --Diggitt McLaughlin, Good Yarns Bookshop,
Hastings on Hudson, NY
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THE
JUDAS FIELD: A Novel of the Civil War
By Howard Bahr
"Characters lost on the Civil War battlefield, or lost at home, appear
and disappear, shrouded in a fog that holds memories better forgotten,
blurring lines between past and present, the living and the dead. Like
All Quiet on the Western Front, The Judas Field bares the
souls of soldiers and their loved ones in language so beautiful it makes
the reader weep, even as it describes the unspeakable carnage of war."
--Kathy Ashton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT
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JAMES
TIPTREE, JR.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon
By Julie Phillips
"Alice Sheldon trekked across Africa with her parents in the 1920s, became
an accomplished painter, joined the Women's Army Auxiliary, worked for
the CIA, received a Ph.D. in psychology, and married twice. She also had
a career as an influential writer of science fiction as James Tiptree.
Her complex gender identity and sexual orientation is utterly fascinating,
as is her remarkable life, which is made all the more vivid in this rich
biography." --Kris Kleindienst, Left Bank Books, Saint Louis, MO
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RESURRECTION:
A Novel
By Tucker Malarkey
"Two mysterious packets arrive at the London home of nurse, Gemma Bastian.
The sender is her archeologist father in Egypt. One week later, Gemma
receives word of his death. Arriving in post-World War II Cairo, Gemma
questions beget only more questions. At the center is the discovery of
the Nag Hammadi Gospels and her father's desire to bring the long-lost
gospels to light. Fans of Maisie Dobbs will love Gemma Bastian and this
richly detailed, well-paced novel." --Peg Patton, Front Street Book
Shop, Scituate Harbor, MA
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TALK TALK
By T.C. Boyle
"In Talk Talk Boyle explores identity, and how it can be stolen
in the cyber-age, through the story of Dana, a deaf schoolteacher, whose
identity is stolen by a career criminal. Boyle's writing is as taut as
ever, and his latest explores how the deaf perceive the world, and how
all of us are caught up in this increasingly overwhelming, and sometimes
confusing, swirl that is the 21st-century world." --Mike Dixon, Bayboro
Books, St. Petersburg, FL
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THE
PRISONER OF GUANTÁNAMO: A Novel
By Dan Fesperman
"Drawing on his years of experience as a foreign correspondent, Fesperman
has always done a tremendous job of making a place and time vividly come
to life in his novels. His latest thriller is true to form, as it takes
us into the politically charged world of prisoner interrogations at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. A riveting read full of surprises." --Richard Bennett, Shiretown
Books, Woodstock, VT
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THE
YACOUBIAN BUILDING: A Novel
By Alaa Al Aswany
"Aswany has woven for us a lush, rich tapestry of modern day Egyptians.
Their struggles with religion, culture, sexuality, and class explode into
inevitable and sometimes surprising endings. This beautiful novel is both
alluringly foreign and captivatingly familiar." --Stacie Williams,
Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop, Milwaukee, WI
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THREE
DAYS TO NEVER: A Novel
By Tim Powers
"Fans of Tim Powers will find some familiar elements here: political intrigue
and supernatural shenanigans. But what really make this book stand out
are the marvelous characterizations. Your heart races as the web surrounding
the father and daughter at the center of the story draws in closer and
closer. A taut, lean thriller -- one that kept me riveted from the first
page to the last." --Neil Rajala, Schuler Books & Music, Grand Rapids,
MI
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MY
HALF OF THE SKY: A Novel
By Jana McBurney-Lin
"Though the culture in contemporary China is quite different from our
own, family issues are universal. This is a powerful and moving coming-of-age
story, and readers will cheer Li Hui on in hope that she finds her way
as she attempts to 'hold up her half of the sky' while being a respectful
and dutiful daughter." --Keri Holmes, The Kaleidescope: Our Focus Is
You, Hampton, IA
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SACCO AND VANZETTI MUST DIE!
By Mark Binelli
"This is a genre-bending, pop-culture referencing, intellectually challenging,
roller coaster alternate history, with slapstick. The Sacco and Vanzetti
of the title are not exactly the Italian anarchists executed after a famously
xenophobic trial in the 1920s, but rather an early film comedy team in
the style of Abbott and Costello, and the story unfolds in movie scenes,
interviews, and historical asides. A first-time novelist to watch!" --Jessica
Stockton, McNally Robinson Booksellers, New York, NY
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SKINNY
DIPPING IN THE LAKE OF THE DEAD: Stories
By Alan DeNiro
"This is a great debut collection of loopy, off-the-wall, and still-somehow-packing-emotional-weight
stories; DeNiro can weld words into some mighty strange configurations."
--Caleb Wilson, Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Nashville, TN
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HAPPY HOUR AT CASA DRACULA
By Marta Acosta
"Milagro de los Santos hadn't planned on a stretch in the country with
her new, um, friends, but there she is. Hiding out from an ex-boyfriend
with an axe to grind she spends her time learning how to be a civilized
vampire. Breezy and funny, Milagro and her problems are just the ticket
for a slow day and a glass or two of ... wine." --Russ Harvey, Cody's
Books, Berkeley, CA
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AGAINST
A CRIMSON SKY: A Novel
By James Conroyd Martin
"An enticing blend of history and fiction set in 19th-century Poland,
with characters you come to care about as you share their joys and disappointments.
James Conroyd Martin will please readers who might not usually consider
historical fiction." --Nicola Rooney, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI
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SECOND
BURIAL FOR A BLACK PRINCE: A Mystery
By Andrew Nugent
"In Dublin's close-knit Little Africa, 23-year-old Jude Ekemauche Okafor,
a Nigerian of the Igbo tribe, has recently arrived to join his older brother,
Shadrack. When Shadrack is murdered in a particularly brutal way -- he
is left in a ditch to die of blood loss after someone has amputated his
leg -- the police are left with no leads. Andrew Nugent, who was formerly
a missionary in Africa, brings the inhabitants of Little Africa to life
in this highly recommended mystery." --Karen Spengler, I Love A Mystery,
Mission, KS
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MICROTHRILLS:
True Stories From a Life of Small Highs
By Wendy Spero
"Spero is a stand-up comic, and a former knife salesman. (There's a picture
in her new memoir to prove it.) She is also an absolutely hilarious 30-something
woman who cares nothing about her calorie intake, just her collection
of stuffed animals." --Melissa Lion, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Oakland,
CA
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THE
TENDER BAR: A Memoir
By J.R. Moehringer
"This exquisite memoir is about so much more than a boy's attraction to
both the Long Island neighborhood tavern where his uncle tends bar and
its regulars. Moehringer writes about how and where we find community
and grow into our own true selves." --Carla Jimenez, Inkwood Books,
Tampa, FL
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