| The April 2013 Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF Staff Picks April 2013 (1.2MB) |
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APRIL FEATURE
A New Staff Favorite  Walking Home: A Poet's Journey by Simon Armitage.Armitage's droll account of hiking England's Pennine Way. Housed and fed in exchange for poetry readings, he reflects on nature, personal challenge and the generosity of strangers. A beautiful depiction of the region, from fells to fog-obscured heights. ~ Amy Palmer A thoughtful journey south along the Pennine Way for the poet results in nourishing entertainment for the reader. I laughed out loud and marveled at the place names and turns of phrase that pour effortlessly from his pen. This truly working poet shares a bit of his soul (and his sole) with us. ~ Karen Frank |
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| NONFICTION | ||
 Fresh Off the
Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang. How does
a loudmouthed
Chinese immigrant
find his way in
the U.S.? Through
hoops, hip-hop
and - it turns out - one helluva
sandwich. An uproarious memoir
from the East Village Baohaus
restaurateur with lots to say about
race, food and everything inbetween.
~ Charles Bottomley |
 Paleofantasy:
What Evolution
Really Tells Us
about Sex, Diet,
and How We
Live by Marlene
Zuk. Zuk
combines biology
and anthropology
to disprove the myth that humans
did not evolve to live as we do now.
Although we don't know exactly
how early man lived, Zuk dispels
the most common ideas through
meticulous research. A fascinating
and accessible read. ~ Krysta Piccoli |
 The Presidents Club:
Inside the World's Most
Exclusive Fraternity
by Nancy Gibbs and
Michael Duffy. A
fascinating books about
the ex-Presidents of the
United States - chock
full of surprising facts,
political intrigue and odd friendships
(Clinton and Nixon, really). A great
read and a satisfying jolt for the political
junky. ~ Liz and Erik Barnum |
 Banished:
Surviving My Years
in the Westboro
Baptist Church by Lauren Drain. The
most shocking,
disturbing, eyeopening
true story I have read.
Westboro Baptist Church's ability
to indiscriminately shatter countless
lives is mind-blowing, and it is a
testimony to Drain's spirit that she
survived, can share her story and
lives a relatively normal life after
banishment. ~ Jess Krawczyk |
 Salt Sugar Fat:
How the Food
Giants Hooked
Us by Michael
Moss. This
mind-blowing
book reveals that
food giants are not
simply providing consumers with
the food they crave; they create
cravings to skyrocket profits, at the
expense of public health. You will
NEVER look at packaged food
the same. ~ Krysta Piccoli |
OLD FAVORITE
 Riddle of Scheherazade:
and Other Amazing
Puzzles by Raymond
M. Smullyan.
After the original tales,
Scheherazade managed
to get herself into trouble
with the king once again
and invented some puzzles to keep him
entertained all over again. A fantasic-fun
book of math riddles that will keep you
busy for 1,001 nights. ~ Krysta Piccoli |
| COMING SOON! PRE-ORDER NOW | USED BOOKS | |
| April 23 Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan. Food writer Pollan learns to cook with fire, liquid, heat, fermentation. April 23 Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. Need we say more? May 7 A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Lots of publishing buzz about this first novel. May 14 The Outsider: A Memoir by Jimmy Connors. The tennis bad boy tells all. May 14 The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-5 by Rick Atkinson. Conclusion to the Liberation Trilogy. |
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 The Used Book Collection April display features Poetry. Look for interesting selections, check our blog www.northshire.com/picks/UsedBooks and sign up for the monthly used books e-newsletter. ~ Karen Frank |
| NORTHSHIRE READING GROUPS | ||
| Please register by contacting Karen at kfrank@northshire.com April 9 Cookbooks Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop April 15 Northshire Women Read I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck April 16 History Embers Of War by Fredrick Logevall April 17 NEW! Fountain of Youth Reading Group Compare The Fairy-Tale Princess by Su Blackwell to The Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yeh Mah April 17 Dark Side For The Thrill Of It by Simon Baatz April 18 Mystery & Thrillers In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming April 19 Poetry The Favorite Poem Project |
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 Artful by Ali Smith. Part contemporary
ghost
story, part academic
treatise, sparkling
with allusion,
crackling with wit
and brilliance. This
set of discursive
commentaries on love, loss and connection
by a dazzling wordsmith will
inspire you to explore philosophy,
poetry and literature with renewed
exuberance. ~ Amy Palmer |
 The Burgess Boys by
Elizabeth Strout. Relationships
between the siblings
of the Burgess clan
from Shirley Falls,
Maine are as tempestuous
as a North
Atlantic storm in
this memorable story of interwoven
lives and destinies and the inescapable
bond of family. A worthy successor
to Olive Kitteridge - no higher
praise. ~ Alden Graves |
NEW PAPERBACK
 By Blood by Ellen
Ullman. When
a mildly unstable
professor overhears
voices in a neighboring
shrink's office,
he's drawn into
a spellbinding tale
about parents and
the lies we tell ourselves to survive.
Controversial and captivating, By
Blood will stick with you for a long
time. ~ Charles Bottomley |
 Middle Men:
Stories by Jim
Gavin. Gavin's
heroes aren't swimming
in L.A.'s glittering
pools, but
they aren't quite
drowning either.
In fact, the SoCal
dreamers and couch surfers in his
stories make screwing-up as American
as Del Taco and as wincingly
funny as Girls. But, like, with dudes.
~ Charles Bottomley |
 A Tale for the Time
Being by Ruth Ozeki. A young Japanese schoolgirl plans to commit suicide but first feels she must record the life of her great-grandmother, a Zen Buddhist nun. A woman walking on the beach on Vancouver Island, Canada finds the young girl's diary and begins to investigate. This beautifully written novel goes back and forth in time and place between the characters in Japan and Canada. Very satisfying read. ~ Sarah Knight |
NEW PAPERBACK
 Last Friends by
Jane Gardam.
The finale of Gardam's
outstanding
portait of Edward
and Betty Feathers,
this time featuring
Eddy's old associate
and Betty's lover
Terry Veneering. An intelligent,
clever, haunting, funny insight into
a marriage. You also must read Old
Filth and The Man in the Wooden
Hat. ~ Louise Jones |
 The Unchangeable
Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma. An earnest
aspiring writer
can't commit, but
finally realizes how
intertwined his life
is with the stories he creates, discovering
the fine line between truth and
storytelling. Completely familiar but
unique - a page-turner you'll want to
revisit time and again.
~ Jess Krawczyk |
 Being Esther by Miriam
Karmel. A
wonderful portrait of
a seemingly simple
life reimagined from
Esther's last serene
days. The details
of her "modest"
existence take on a
brilliance and clarity, which allow
Esther to become alive and loveable
to the reader. ~ Karen Frank |
NEW PAPERBACK
 The Cat by Edeet
Ravel. Elise
wants to join her
11 year-old son in
death, but she can't
abandon Purrsephone,
her son's beloved
cat, forcing her
to somehow find the
courage not only to survive, but to
live. ~ Jess Krawczyk |
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 Life After Life by Jill McCorkle. This living, breathing
novel about human nature insightfully focuses on some of the
residents of a retirement home, touching the deepest human
experiences with entertaining glimpses into the minds of the
characters (both young and old) who are all growing and aging in
surprising ways. ~ Karen Frank |
 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. In this
moving tour de force, Ursula Todd is born, dies;
is born, lives; makes small decisions that alter her many
lives, creating different endings – and even change
history. As usual, the
splendid Atkinson
delights and amazes
with her power, wit
and inventiveness.
~ Louise Jones |
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 Delights & Shadows by Ted Kooser.
Wonderful word imagery paints short pictures,
but packs a real punch! Perfect for
experienced and new poetry readers
alike. ~ Jeanette Sessions |
 Ring of Bone: Collected Poems by
Lew Welch with Gary Snyder. One Beat poet
shows what's important to him in haunting detail, depth
and, even, simplicity of wording.
~ Jeanette Sessions |
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