Wonderful New Books on Sale Today!

It's another big release day in the publishing world. All kinds of exciting new books arriving in the store today. Here's just a sampling of what's just arrived:

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, is the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. You know the author has something good going on when you have a quote from Stephen King on the back along these lines: "...a novel that generates nearly constant suspense....I couldn't stop reading." Technically a young adult novel, but the series is being enjoyed by all ages and all genders. [If you blew through Book Three this morning and are looking for another YA dystopic novel, try the series by James Dashner. Book One, The Maze Runner, just came out in paperback.]

A Gate at the Stairs, by one of my all-time favorite short story writers, Lorrie Moore, just came out in paperback today. A finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and shortlisted for the Orange Prize, the novel was also named one of the Best Books of the Year by several major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and The Christian Science Monitor. Set in the shadow on 9/11 on a midwestern college campus.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, by John Vaillant, just came out in hardcover today. In this gripping true tale of man and nature, Vaillant tells the story of a man-eating tiger on the prowl in Russia's Far East in 1997, and the team of men and dogs hunting for the tiger. Vaillant wrote another great book, The Golden Spruce, that is available in paperback. The Tiger is going on my to-be-read stack today! [We also have an audio version of the book -- perfect for your end-of-summer road trip.]

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, by Richard Dawkins, has just been released in paperback. After transforming our view of God in The God Delusion, Dawkins takes on the proponents of "intelligent design," clearly and beautifully delineating the evidence behind evolutionary theory, from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record.

Mockingjay is Here!

Haven't yet picked up your copy of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins? Here's the author reading from the first chapter to whet your appetite. We've got the book! This trilogy is terrific.

Book Three in The Hunger Games Trilogy!

Book Three in the compelling YA dystopic trilogy by Suzanne Collins will be released August 24th. Mockingjay follows the bestselling books The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, which tell the story of a futuristic North America that has become Panem, a TV-dominated dictatorship run from a city called the Capitol, exploring the idea "What happens if we choose entertainment over humanity?"

The Hunger Games are an annual fight-to-the-death for young combatants from each of the 12 districts in Panem -- think "Survivor" only with teenagers and instead of getting kicked off the island you get killed. The books feature intense action, love stories, a wry sense of humor, the exploration of big ideas, and a main character with the not-so-mellifluous name Katniss (sometimes called "catnip"). In Catching Fire, the air of rebellion is spreading through Panem, and Katniss finds that personal acts can affect others and create unintended consequences she is powerless to stop. One reviewer described Catching Fire as "Stephen King meets Dr. Zhivago." I wrote about the first two books earlier.

If you haven't read the first two books in The Hunger Games Trilogy yet, I strongly recommend them. They are interesting and entertaining, thought-provoking and well written. You can get the first two done in time to read Book Three when it hits the store in August!

Sequel to The Absolutely True Diary...

Good news for fans of Sherman's Alexie's book The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian (is there anyone who isn't???): He's currently at work on the sequel to that book: The Magic and Tragic Year of My Broken Thumb, which will continue telling the story of Arnold Spirit, Jr., as he heads into his sophomore year. The Absolutely True Diary, winner of the National Book Award, is technically a Young Adult book, but I recommend that everyone read it, regardless of age.

Sherman is one of my favorite authors at book events, because he is smart, wickedly funny, and wildly supportive of independent booksellers. If you ever get a chance to go hear him read or speak in person, DO IT! You will be glad you did.

Here's some background information about Sherman you might find interesting, taken from his Web site: He was born in 1966 and grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane. He was born with water on the brain -- hydrocephalic -- and not expected to survive the brain operation he underwent at the age of six months. Fortunately for us, he did! But he suffered from seizures throughout his childhood. Despite these challenges,he learned to read at age three and became a voracious reader.

He chose to attend high school off the reservation in Reardan, about 20 miles south of Wellpinit, because he knew he would get a better education there. He was the only Indian at the school, except for the school mascot. Sherman excelled academically and became a star player on the basketball team. His experiences there inspired his YA novel.

After graduation he attended Gonzaga University and then transferred to WSU, intending to become a doctor. After fainting numerous times in human anatomy class he decided to change his career path. A poetry workshop fueled his writing ambitions, and Sherman had found his new path. He earned a BA in American Studies and then received a couple of poetry fellowships, which led to the publication of his first two poetry collections.

Sherman had a problem with alcohol in college, but he gave up drinking at age 23 and has been sober ever since. His first collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, was published by Atlantic Monthly Press in 1993, and it earned a PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Book of Fiction. In the late '90s, he wrote a screenplay based on one of the stories in that collection, "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," which became the wildly popular film "Smoke Signals."

Sherman's first novel, Reservation Blues, was published in 1995 and his second, Indian Killer, in 1996 -- both by Atlantic Monthly Press. His novel Flight was published in 2007 by Grove/Atlantic. Besides being a writer, Sherman has also pursued work as a stand-up comic -- something you'll have no trouble believing if you've ever seen him speak.

While we don't yet have a date on the next Arnold Spirit book, we'll keep you posted as we hear anything. And if you haven't yet read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, now's your chance before the sequel is published!

Twilight Series as Graphic Novels

Ask most bookstores what their top-selling Young Adult titles have been for the past year, and you're likely to hear "Stephenie Meyer, Stephenie Meyer, Stephenie Meyer." It's true for us as well. The Twilight series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn) have been HUGELY popular, by far surpassing most other YA titles. (Although I must tell you that, YTD, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, has slipped into third place, pushing one of the Twilight books into "lowly" fifth place.) If you are one of the many who just can't get enough of all things Twilight, then you'll be happy to hear that on the horizon are graphic novel versions of the Twilight series. The books will be published by Yen Press, and the artwork is being created by Young Kim, a Korean artist. No publication date has yet been set -- but stay tuned and we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

For those of you who have been waiting for Eclipse, Book Three in the Twilight series, to be published in paperback, your wait is almost over. The paperback is due to hit stores on August 4th. If you just can't wait, however, stop by Broadway Books this weekend for our big sidewalk sale, where, for the first time, we are offering all hardcover fiction (including YA titles) at 25% off. The sale starts Friday, July 17th, at 10 am and runs through Sunday, July 19th, at 5 pm when we close. Eclipse in hardcover is $19.99. With a 25% discount, the book is only $14.99 -- only $2 more than the paperback price -- and you don't have to wait until August! While you're here, pick up the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, also at 25% off. Why not? Good prices and a chance to support your local independent bookstore. A definite win-win.

Hooray for Smekday!

I just finished The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex about 2 seconds ago, and I immediately feel the need to blog about it. Technically, it's a Middle Reader/Young Adult novel, but, really, who needs labels? The truth of the matter is that Smekday is awesome regardless of how old you are.

The story is narrated by 11-year-old Gratuity Tucci (her friends call her "Tip"). Aliens (Boov) have invaded the earth, her mom has been abducted, and she has decided to drive by herself (with only her cat, Pig, for company) from Pennsylvania to Florida, where the humans are being corralled by the Boov. Luckily, she's been practicing her driving skills for months and has gotten pretty darn good. Along the way, she picks up a stray Boov named J-Lo, who has wicked alien mechanical skills and a quirky sense of humor. J-Lo's on the run from his fellow Boovs after having made one teensy little blunder while working on the radio antenna farm where he was stationed. That teensy mistake turns out to be a bit larger than he lets on, but that's something you'll come to understand when you come here, buy the book, find a sunny spot in the park, pop open a cold beverage, and enter Rex's unique, post-apocolyptic vision.

The thing is, this book is seriously funny. Like, chuckle-softly-to-yourself-so-onlookers-think-you're-a-little-weird funny; but also guffaw-out-loud-so-passersby-cross-the-street-to-avoid-you funny. It's also smart, cute, snarky, heartwarming, clever (both wordplay-wise and in the way it connects the alien invasion with the colonization of America and the subsequent oppression of Native Americans) and, I can't stress this enough, HILARIOUS!

Now I will have to spend the rest of my day searching for another book that is going to be as satisfying. Luckily, I work at a bookstore, so I should be able to find something...

National Book Award winner, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, out in paperback (finally!)

The title may be a bit of a mouthful, but Sherman Alexie's latest young adult novel (finally, finally out in paperback), The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, will make you want to devour it whole in mere seconds--it's just that tasty. I'm always hesitant to assign the term "young adult" to any book for fear that it will stigmatize it for potential "adult" readers; so please take heed that this book is for any one of any age who has gone through or is currently suffering through the whirlwind of emotions, hormones and drama that we call "growing up."

The story's narrator, Junior, was born on the Spokane Indian Reservation, and let's just say that poor Junior was born plagued by such a multitude of medical anomalies that it's a wonder he can perform even the most basic physical acts, let alone form coherent sentences. But, form coherent sentences he does (and laugh-out-loud funny ones at that), and through his diary entries, which are complemented by Junior's own comic drawings, we follow a small chunk of his teen life on the rez. Determined to get a good education, our Junior decides to leave the reservation school and attend an all-white school in a neighboring town. He is so determined, in fact, that even though his parents are rarely sober enough to drive him to school, he still shows up every day, at times having walked the 20 or so miles from the rez to the town of Reardan.

The Absolutely True Diary is sharp, witty, sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting, and what makes it such a gem of a book is its honesty and its poignancy. Junior may be cracking jokes left and right, but the desperation of his situation is always evident--he does not mince words and he does not sugarcoat. He merely has a candid outlook on his situation--one that shifts between defeat and hope and all the inbetweens. It's one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time, if only to experience the suprise and delight at discovering such an endearing and memorable character as Junior.

Sequel to The Hunger Games

One of the most compelling YA novels I've read recently is The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Imagine "Survivor," except with teenagers and instead of competing to stay on the island they're competing to stay alive! The book is well written and offers interesting characters and is definitely a page-turner.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.

I'm happy to report that the follow-up to this book, Catching Fire, will be published on September 1st. And, naturally, there will be a movie. Lionsgate has recently aquired worldwide film rights to The Hunger Games, and the author has been asked to develop a screenplay.

Stephenie Meyer, of humongous Twilight fame, is a big fan of this book. Here's what she had to say about her experience reading it: "I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn't have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it." And she's right; the book really does grip you.

Before writing The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins was best known for her Underland Chronicles series, starting withg Gregor the Overlander, written for younger readers. She says she was strongly influenced by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur in the writing of The Hunger Games. It's essentially an updated version of the Roman gladiator games, in which a ruthless government forces people to fight to the death as popular entertainment.

Any young reader interested in a private lunch with Suzanne Collins -- including the travel and accommmodations to go to New York City, where Scholastic, the book's publisher is headquartered -- can enter a writing contest where the Grand Prize is the trip and lunch. Just tell in 500 words or less how you would survive the Hunger Games. For details go to The Hunger Games web site. The contest runs until mid-may.

Top Young Adult Books for 2008

Not too surprisingly, the four books from the Twilight series topped our list of young adult best-sellers for 2008: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn -- and we still have all of them in stock if you're missing one or two or haven't yet started the series! Two of my favorites from the top ten list are the ones by China Mieville and Sherman Alexie -- the latter the winner of the National Book Award for young readers. Here they are:

Twilight

New Moon

Eclipse

Breaking Dawn -- all four by Stephenie Meyers

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie

The Book Thief, Mark Zusak

Brisingr (The third installment in the Inheritance series), Christopher Paolini

Slam, Nick Hornby

Un Lun Dun, China Mieville

The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman

I'd also like to give a shout out for The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. She is the author of the Underland Chronicles series about Gregor the Overlander (a series for younger readers), and this is her first YA novel. The subject is a bit creepy -- a boy and a girl from each district are chosen by lottery to come together for a fight to the death. I know, creepy. But well written, engaging, and thought-provoking.

Twilight on the Big Screen

Last night the filmed-in-Oregon movie based on the book Twilight hit the theaters to astoundingly large and enthusiastic crowds. This romantic thriller about teen vampires and the human girl who falls in love has taken the teen -- and adult -- world by storm. Check out all four books in the series by Stephenie Meyer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. If you've read all of those and are hungry for more, here are some ideas: The Host, Meyer's first adult novel, a science fiction tale with an eye for romance; Marked, Book One in the House of Night teen vampire series by P.C. and Kristin Cast; and the Sookie Stackhouse vampire mystery novels by Charlaine Harris -- the basis for the new HBO series True Blood.

National Book Awards

Here are the winners of the National Book Award, just announced this week:

• Nonfiction: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed (Norton)
• Fiction: Shadow Country, by Peter Matthiessen (Modern Library)
• Poetry: Fire to Fire: New and Collected Poems, by Mark Doty (HarperCollins)
• Young People's Literature: What I Saw and How I Lied, by Judy Blundell (Scholastic)

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