New Releases 5/20/14

HARDCOVER FICTION

Beowulf translated by J.R.R. Tolkien
Joe’s new release pick of the day! “Make no bones about it, J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most important writers in my life. So, it is with great excitment that I hold in my hand his long-rumored translation of Beowulf. Whilst I don’t expect it to rival Seamus Heaney’s translation, I expect to enjoy it all the same.”

The One & Only by Emily Giffin
Signed Copies Available While Supplies Last!
Emily Giffin, the beloved author of such bestselling novels as Something Borrowed and Where We Belong, returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both. This is a novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

The Man With the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi
When a tsunami sends a massive island made entirely of trash crashing into the Taiwanese coast, two very different people—an outcast from a mythical island and a woman on the verge of suicide—are united in ways they never could have imagined. This is the English-language debut of an award-winning writer from Taiwan, who has written a novel that is at once fantasy, reality, and dystopian environmental saga.

Lost for Words by Edward St. Aubyn
The judges on the panel of the Elysian Prize for Literature must get through hundreds of submissions to find the best book of the year. Meanwhile, a host of writers are desperate for Elysian attention. This is a witty, fabulously entertaining satire that cuts to the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our celebrity-obsessed culture, and asks how we can ever hope to recognize real talent when everyone has an agenda.

The Devil’s Workshop by Alex Grecian
Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad faces the most shocking case of its existence, in the new historical thriller from the author of the acclaimed national bestsellers The Yard and The Black Country.

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America’s Most Powerful & Private Dynasty by Daniel Schulman
Like the Rockefellers and the Kennedys, the Kochs are one of the most influential dynasties of the modern age, but they have never been the subject of a major biography… until now. Sons Of Wichita traces the complicated lives and legacies of these four tycoons, as well as their business, social, and political ambitions.

The Good Spy: The Life & Times of Robert Ames by Kai Bird
This is Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Kai Bird’s compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history – a man who, had he lived, might have helped heal the rift between Arabs and the West.

Brunette Ambition by Lea Michele
The star of the hit show Glee shares her experiences and insider tips on beauty, fashion, inner strength, and more in an illustrated book that’s part memoir, part how-to, and part style guide.

PAPERBACK FICTION

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Ben’s new release pick of the day! “NoViolet has created an impeccable account of an individual navigating the shifting nature of the systems that oppress us and of the way tradition and obligation  haunt Darling as pushes forward for something new without knowing if it is for the better. This is a book overflowing with truth.”

Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois
Julie’s new release pick of the day! “Jennifer duBois is a master at getting inside the heads of her characters, forging an intimacy that never feels contrived. In this case, those characters are a girl in her early twenties who may or may not have murdered her roommate; the potential murderer’s parents; her sister; and her sort-of boyfriend. At turns creepy, literary, and a smart look at the mysteries of family, Cartwheel works on you.”

Transatlantic by Colum McCann
Consuelo’s new release pick of the day! “The story explores the idea that time and place are fluid, that our collective history is not fixed. Our choices reverberate off one another in a way that go backward and forward, and this is true of our memories, as well. McCann has a range of emotional nuance that allows his characters to come to life. He so carefully chooses the moments in these characters’ lives that best tell us who they are and how they connect with each other, that a novel epic in scope has a beautiful simplicity that truly soars.”

Borderline by Lawrence Block
MysteryPeople pick of the day! Molly: “In Borderline, Block has created a fascinating critique of Cold War conformity. In the taboo-free zone of Juárez, his characters find outlets to satisfy their pent-up urges, and the consequences are tragic and inevitable…Add this to your list of hard-boiled classics.”

PAPERBACK NONFICTION

The Footloose American: Following the Hunter S. Thompson Trail Across South America by Brian Kevin
In The Footloose American, Brian Kevin traverses the continent with Thompson’s ghost as his guide, offering a ground-level exploration of twenty-first-century South American culture, politics, and ecology. By contrasting the author’s own thrilling, transformative experiences along the Hunter S. Thompson Trail with those that Thompson describes in his letters and lost Observer stories, The Footloose American is at once a gripping personal journey and a thought-provoking study of culture and place.

The Hip Girl’s Guide to the Kitchen by Kate Payne
We’re excited to work with Edible Austin to bring one of our favorite local authors, Kate Payne, to the store, Wed 5/27 at 7PM, for her latest book, The Hip Girl’s Guide to the Kitchen! We’ll enjoy refreshments based Kate’s recipes & beverages courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing Company. Join us! #instock #shoplocal #bookpeople #newrelease

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Celeste by I.N.J Culbard
In Los Angeles, Ray is sitting in gridlock when he receives a call from an LAPD officer with news about his wife. Fearing the worst, he listens intently–but suddenly the caller and everyone else around him disappears. In London, the moment two commuters catch sight of each other on a packed Monday morning tube train, everyone around them vanishes. In Japan, comic artist Yoshi has come to the Aokigahara Forest to hang himself. But when the attempt fails and he slides free, the forest comes alive with mythological creatures. Taking us through the empty freeways of Los Angeles, the deserted streets of London, and the dream world of the Aokigahara Forest, Celeste is an ambitious and profound graphic novel that explores what it means to be alive.