Happy #BookBday (1/7/14 Edition)

Happy #BookBday (1/7/14 Edition)

It's our first #BookBday of the new year! We couldn't be more proud of these new releases:

RADIANCE OF TOMORROW by Ishmael Beah
This lyrical, haunting novel about a village trying to reclaim peace after war is a January Indie Next pick and is getting tons of media attention from the Washington Post, the New York Times Book Review, USA Today, TIME magazine, People magazine, NPR's "Morning Edition," "The Colbert Report," Shelf Awareness, and much more. Don't miss your chance to hear Beah speak at ALA Midwinter 2014 in Philadelphia!

THE EXILES RETURN by Elisabeth de Waal
Set in the ashes of post-World War II Vienna, de Waal's stunning novel follows a number of exiles, each coming to terms with a city in painful recovery. "De Waal’s acid, eyewitness drama of malignant prejudice, innocence betrayed, the disintegration of the old order, and love transcendent has the same jolting immediacy as the novels of Iréne Némorisky as well as deeply archetypal dimensions. Another de Waal triumph of illumination." – Booklist

BEFORE I BURN by Gaute Heivoll
Heivoll's "thrilling and poetic novel" (Booklist, starred review) that "reads like a top-tier crime story" (Publishers Weekly, starred and boxed review) was inspired by a real-life arson spree that deeply affected him as he grew up in Norway. You'll see another rave review in the January issue of Harper's magazine, with more attention to come from the New York Times Book Review, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the L.A. Times, and NPR's "Weekend All Things Considered."

DREAMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE by Carrie Vaughn
In this "worthy, rich and thoughtful sequel" (Booklist) to AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE, Celia West is now a mother and a powerful businesswoman who works hard to keep her city and her daughters Anna and Bethy safe. Meanwhile Anna and her friends are practicing to become a team of vigilante superheroes–something that comes to good use when Celia discovers a new archvillain, the Executive.

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Our #FridayReads

Our #FridayReads

Happy #FridayReads day, reader friends! Here's which books Talia and I are curling up with this weekend:

Talia's reading:

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB: And How He Saved My Life
by James Bowen

This heartwarming true story of a street musician and the ginger cat who saved his life is now available stateside after hitting bestseller lists from Turkey to Thailand! It's the perfect next read for fans of DEWEY: The Small-Town Library Cat That Changed the World. 

"A beautiful, never maudlin story of second chances for both man and beast and a poignant testimony to how much caring for someone—or some feline—can give you renewed direction where you're down and out. Understandably, this was a best-seller in England." —Booklist (starred)

opens in a new windowStreet Cat Named Bob video link

Ali's Reading:

DREAMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE
by Carrie Vaughn

This is the stand-alone sequel to the 2012 Alex Awards official nominee, AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE. DREAMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE follows Anna, whose father is a telepath and mother is Commerce City's most powerful businessperson. She’s the granddaughter of the city’s two most famous superheroes and the company car drops her off at the gate of her exclusive high school every morning. Privacy is one luxury she doesn’t have which makes hiding her burgeoning superpowers from her parents nearly impossible.

"[A] warm homage to and deconstruction of classic comic books. [...] For readers who admire Lois Lane more than Superman." —Kirkus Reviews on AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE

Get whitelisted and download an e-galley from Edelweiss now!

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More Books for Kitty Fans

More Books for Kitty Fans

I'm guessing that you have a few fans of Carrie Vaughn's bestselling Kitty Norville series lurking around your library. In between Kitty releases, those fans might get understandably antsy, so here's a few more Vaughn stories to keep them satisfied. 

DISCORD'S APPLE (7/2010) is a stand-alone dystopic fusion of mythology, fairy tales, and modern life. 

"Taking a break from the Kitty Norville urban fantasy series, Vaughn melds a near-future world torn by war with the legend of the fall of Troy in this brilliantly structured, beautifully written stand-alone." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE (4/2011) is a very different stand-alone novel following the decidedly average daughter of two famous superheroes (I'm sure you've already heard me singing praises for it).

Kirkus Reviews says, "In this warm homage to and deconstruction of classic comic books, a young woman demonstrates that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero."

And Library Journal specifically notes that this one is "a good bet for most public libraries, especially if they're home to Kitty Norville fans or comic book devotees."

And if your patrons just can't leave Kitty's world, they're in luck! Next month Tor will release KITTY'S GREATEST HITS (8/2011), a series of short stories following some of the other characters in Kitty's life. 

Library Journal says, "This collection should please fans of the series, especially those who want to know more about the side characters, but readers new to the Kittyverse will also find a fine introduction to this richly populated, fascinating paranormal world."

Vaughn is exceptional at pulling the strange, fantastic, and otherworldly into the lives of very real and modern young women. And if you want to get more people hooked on Vaughn's work, it should appeal to fans of Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter Series.

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E-Newsletter Scavenger Hunt Update

E-Newsletter Scavenger Hunt Update

I am astounded at how many of you sleuthed out all of the giveaway books in last week's e-newsletter contest! Next time I run a scavenger hunt I'm going to have to be much sneakier.

The randomly selected winners have been notified and their books are on the way. 

The titles in the giveaway were:

AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE by Carrie Vaughn (ARC)
ON BORROWED TIME by David Rosenfelt
EYES OF THE INNOCENT by Brad Parks
THE BROTHERS OF BAKER STREET by Michael Robertson
I SHALL NOT HATE by Izzenldin Abuelaish

Thanks to everyone for participating! 

Don't miss the next Macmillan Library e-newsletter: sign up here! [...]

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io9’s Spring Title Parade!

io9’s Spring Title Parade!

io9, that great hub of all things science and science fiction, announced which spring titles are making them wiggly with anticipation. Six of the must-haves are available from Tor:

      THE GRAVITY PILOT, by M.M. Buckner
      DEATHLESS, by Catherynne M. Valente
      AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE, by Carrie Vaughn
      ALL THE LIVES HE LED, by Frederik Pohl
      FUZZY NATION, by John Scalzi
      THE QUANTUM THIEF, by Hannu Rajaniemi

Having just finished Carrie Vaughn's AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE, I can only agree that this modern heroine story is an April must. It's the kind of book that lives in front of your face making getting off the bus at the right stop or pouring coffee in the cup, instead of all over the counter, impossible. Next up for me from this list is Hannu Rajaniemi's debut, THE QUANTUM THIEF, a hard sci-fi May release handed to me by our old buddy Ben. [...]

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