Books so new that...

you can't buy them in the US yet. In my cache of advance reader edition books from the NAIBA conference, here are several more winners.

Incarceron by Catherine Fischer. 'One of this year's most striking fantasy novels' -- Amanda Craig, The Times '... imaginatively drawn and vividly described. ... an exciting adventure story.' -- School Librarian '... stands out above all others ... It's imaginative scale and gobsmacking finale make it one of the best fantasy novels written for a long time.' -- Times, Amanda Craig 'a deliciously dark and scary ride.'

The best review? A 13 year old friend races through the book and wants to share it with his friend before returning it to me. Scheduled for US release in Jan 2010.

The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch. "A man is given the chance to go back in time in one hour increments to prevent the murder of his wife, a crime that the police think he committed." I had a little trouble getting caught up in this "murder in reverse," but once I settled into the concept, I really enjoyed it. Scheduled for release in late December 2009.

books, books and more books

a veritable book orgy - so much as to be somewhat overwhelming. I just left the New Atlantic Independent Bookseller Association (NAIBA) Fall Conference. Besides helpful information, contacts and wonderful, generous spirit of the independent bookstore owners, I come home with piles of books. It's lovely!

I do feel a little selfish, so if any of my friends would like to read some wonderful new books, let me know. All I ask is that you give me a thumbs up/thumbs down on the book as many of these are soon to be released new books.

More specifics on the book bounty later...

First zombies, now sea monsters

That Jane Austen is still prolific. Following on the heels of the very popular Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies, she (along with co-author Ben H. Winters) just released Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (note the body in serpent's mouth). Early reviews appear to be mixed. I'm in the midst of reading P & P & Zombies which is enjoyable. Winters has done a good job of blending the backdrop of killing unmentionables seamlessly into the plot, including allusions to the Bennet sisters' training for deadly combat.

Another book to check out --
Jon Krakauer, author of Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Krakauer has been on the Diane Rehm Show, Good Morning America and All Things Considered this past week discussing the book. I've enjoyed all of his books immensely. A brief intro from the publisher Random House:

"The bestselling author of Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven delivers a stunning, eloquent account of a remarkable young man’s haunting journey.

...Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan."

Winners of the 2009 NAIBA (New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association) Books of the Year prize:

Fiction: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin)
Nonfiction: Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg (Other Press)
Trade Paperback Original: Buffalo Lockjaw by Greg Ames (Hyperion)
Picture Book: The Curious Garden by Peter Brown (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
Children's Literature: If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Dutton)