eBranch Blog

April 26, 2005

New Bestsellers 4/25/05

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Laurell K. Hamilton. A Stroke of Midnight
Meredith Gentry, P.I., a.k.a. Princess Merry, heir to the throne of Faerie, faces dark and erotic encounters which grow ever stronger, threatening to consume her as she challenges new and ominous enemies. (NYT #6, PW #5, USA #6, WSJ #3)

Nicholas Sparks. True Believer
As a science journalist with a regular column in Scientific American, Jeremy Marsh specializes in debunking the supernatural and has a real nose for the strange and unusual. A born skeptic, he travels to the small town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, determined to find the real cause behind the ghostly apparitions that appear in the town cemetery. What he doesn't plan on, however, is meeting and falling hopelessly in love with Lexie Darnell, granddaughter of the town psychic. Now, if the young lovers are to have any kind of future at all, Jeremy must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows, or do something he could never do before-take a giant leap of faith. (NYT #1, PW #1, USA #1, WSJ #1)

Stuart Woods. Two-Dollar Bill
Stone Barrington is caught between a clever con man--who's just become his client--and a beautiful prosecutor in this stylish thriller in the bestselling series. "Two-Dollar Bill" delivers all the storytelling twists and whip-smart banter readers have come to love in Woods's thrillers. (NYT #7, PW #9, WSJ #11)

Nonfiction

THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST, by Buzz Bissinger. (Houghton Mifflin, $25.) A three-game series in 2003 between the Cubs and the Cardinals, as seen through the eyes of Tony La Russa, the St. Louis manager. (NYT #8)

Bob Dole. One Soldier's Story
In his own words, Bob Dole relates his legendary World War II story--a personal odyssey of tremendous courage, sacrifice, and faith. With insight and candor, Dole also focuses on the words, actions, and selfless deeds of countless American heroes with whom he served. (NYT #7, WSJ #14)

Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world. (NYT #5, PW #12, WSJ #10)

GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES, by Ruth Reichl. (Penguin, $24.95.) The editor in chief of Gourmet relives her days as the restaurant critic of The New York Times. (NYT #9)

Michael Savage. Liberalism is a Mental Disorder
Dr. Savage, sage prophet of the airwaves, has been diagnosing liberal mental illness for more than a decade. Now, in his third and most insightful book, he strikes at the root of today's most desperate issues, providing a hefty dose of his unique conservative medicine. (NYT #6, PW #11, WSJ #11)

Suzanne Somers. Suzanne Somer's Slim and Sexy Forever
Aging gracefully takes on new meaning with Suzanne Somers, who shares the secret of her fountain of youth by combining her ever-popular Somercize series with her bestselling "The Sexy Years" to teach readers the easy and effective way to lose weight, keep it off for good, and to balance hormones for optimal health and vitality. (PW #8, WSJ #7)

Children's Chapter

Libba Bray. A Great and Terrible Beauty
After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world. (PW #10)

James Patterson. Maximum Ride
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. (NYT #1, WSJ #8)

Willa Awards Book List

The Willa Awards are given annually by Women Writing the West. They are awarded in several categories, including Contemporary Fiction and Historical Fiction, for outstanding literature featuring women's stories.

2004 Contemporary Fiction
Ruth Ozeki. All Over Creation
A dramatic story of a prodigal daughter's homecoming to a heartland of genetically modified crops.

2004 Historical Fiction
Ann Parker. Silver Lies
As 1879 draws to a close, this Rocky Mountain boomtown has infected the world with silver fever. It's not much different than the dot.com mania or the corporate scams that heat up over a century later. Unfortunately for Joe Rose, a precious-metals assayer, death stakes its own claim. Joe's body is found trampled into the muck behind Inez Stannert's saloon.

April 18, 2005

New Bestsellers 4/18/05

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

The Library Journal Lists of Most Borrowed Books in Public Libraries for Fiction and Nonfiction were updated for April 15.

The Cr?ticas [Spanish language] Bestsellers were updated for February.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

THE YEAR OF PLEASURES, by Elizabeth Berg. (Random House, $24.95.) A recently widowed woman moves to the Midwest in search of a new life. (NYT #10)

Mary Higgins Clark. No Place Like Home
In the latest thriller from America's queen of suspense, a young woman is ensnared into returning to a place she had wanted to leave behind forever--her childhood home. (NYT #1, PW #3, USA #6, WSJ #3)

Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
Criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has no memory of the fairy people and his dangerous enemy, Opal Koboi escapes from jail and is planning revenge. (WSJ #5)

Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes. Full Bloom
The temperature is on "sizzle" again in Beaumont, South Carolina, and the peach trees are bursting into full bloom in this fifth book in the mega-bestselling Full series from the bestselling team of Evanovich and Hughes. (USA #9)

Sue Monk Kidd. The Mermaid Chair
Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion. Jessie Sullivan's conventional life has been "molded to the smallest space possible." So when she is called home to cope with her mother's startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island-- amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks--she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mother's tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right. (NYT #2, PW #2, USA #3, WSJ #1)

PRETTY WOMAN, by Fern Michaels. (Pocket Books, $24.) After kicking her no-good husband out of the house, a Georgia woman wins $300 million in a lottery. (NYT #15)

Nonfiction

Johnny Damon & Peter Golenbock. Idiot
Autobiography and 2004 season retrospective from the Red Sox star. (NYT #10, WSJ #13)

Jane Fonda. My Life So Far
Born into the Hollywood of her legendary father Henry Fonda, the actress and bestselling author tells the story of her remarkable life--the movies, the men, the times of her life. From studying acting with Lee Strasberg to the making of many movies; from marriages to French movie director Roger Vadim, activist Tom Hayden, media billionaire Ted Turner, to her independent life today; from antiwar activism to feminism and child advocacy; My Life So Far reveals the woman herself, with rich insights into the struggles of being human. (NYT #1, PW #4, USA #11, WSJ #4)

Thomas L. Friedman. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century
The timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists. (NYT #2, PW #2, USA #8, WSJ #3)

Jack Welch. Winning
Since Welch retired in 2001 as chairman and CEO of General Electric, he has traveled the world, speaking and answering questions. Now, he has written both a philosophical and pragmatic book, which lays out his answers. He begins with his business philosophy, exploring the importance of values, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity for all. The core of the book looks inside the company, from leadership to picking winners to making change happen; outside, at the competition; and at managing your career--from finding the right job to achieving work-life balance. (PW #3, USA #4, WSJ #1)

WSJ Business

Jack Welch. %3Winning (#1)

2005 2 X 2 Reading List

The 2 X 2 Reading List is a project of the Children's Round Table, a unit of the Texas Library Association and is a list of 20 books recommended for children age 2 to grade 2.

Kevin Henkes. Kitten's First Full Moon
When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it.

April 13, 2005

Hans Christian Andersen Award Book List

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards book list has been added to our Kid's Know It All Book List page.

Every other year IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.

2004 Author
Martin Waddell (Ireland)
Farmer Duck and others
When a kind and hardworking duck nearly collapses from overwork, while taking care of a farm because the owner is too lazy to do so, the rest of the animals get together and chase the farmer out of town.

2004 Illustrator
Max Velthuijs (The Netherlands)
Frog in Winter and others
Frog's physiology does not permit him to enjoy winter, but his friends help him to make the best of the cold weather.

April 11, 2005

New Bestsellers 4/11/05

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

The Library Journal Lists of Most Borrowed Books in Public Libraries for Fiction and Nonfiction were updated for April 1.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Nevada Barr. Hard Truth
Park Ranger Anna Pigeon comes face-to-face with the dark side of humanity when she investigates the disappearance of three young girls in Rocky Mountain National Park. (NYT #14, PW #15)

Elizabeth Peters. The Serpent & the Crown
Once again the incomparable "New York Times" bestselling master of suspense, Elizabeth Peters, brings an exotic world of adventure, intrigue, and danger to vivid life, in a tale as exciting, mysterious, and powerful as ancient Egypt. (NYT #10, PW #9)

Mathew Stover. Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The novel based on "Star Wars: Episode III," the movie, brings the "Star Wars" epic full circle--to the creation of Darth Vader and the birth of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. (NYT #2, PW #2, USA #4, WSJ #1)

D. Weber & J. Ringo. We Few
Prince Roger MacClintock was an heir to the galaxy's Throne of Man-and a self-obsessed spoiled young brat . . . until he and the Royal Marines sent to protect him were stranded on Marduk with only their feet to get them half way around the entire planet. So far, they've crossed a continent, crossed a sea full of ship-eating monsters, taken over an enemy spaceport, and hijacked a starship. But they're not home-free yet, because home is no longer free. (WSJ #15)

Rebecca Wells. Ya-Yas in Bloom
Reveals the roots of the Ya-Yas' friendship in the 1930s and roars with all the raw power of Vivi Abbott Walker's 1962 T-Bird through sixty years of marriage, child-raising, and hair-raising family secrets. (NYT #3, PW #3, USA #14, WSJ #3)

Nonfiction

Jorge Cruise. The 3-Hour Diet: How Low Carb Makes You Fat and Timing Sculpts You Thin
With client success stories and the same easy-to-follow instructions that helped make "8 Minutes in the Morning" a bestseller, Jorge Cruise's "The 3-Hour Diet" is a winning combination of proven results and categorical innovation. (PW #4, USA #13, WSJ #2)

Paula H. Deen. Paula Deen and Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style
With trademark Southern charm that made her beloved by fans everywhere, Paula's new book features delicious, down home entertaining menus, with recipes that are guaranteed to be instant crowd-pleasers. (PW #13, WSJ #15)

BREAK, BLOW, BURN, by Camille Paglia. (Pantheon, $20.) The noted cultural commentator analyzes more than 40 short works in verse, from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 73" to Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock." (NYT #14)

Business

Jeffrey Sachs. The End of Poverty
Hailed by Time as one of the world's 100 Most Influential People, Jeffrey Sachs is world renowned for his work around the globe advising economies in crisis. He has advised a broad range of world leaders and international institutions on the challenges of hyperinflation, disease, post-communist transition, and extreme poverty. Now, at last, he draws on all he has learned from twenty-five years of work to offer a uniquely informed vision of the keys to economic success in the world today and the steps that are necessary to achieve prosperity for all. (NYT %#15, WSJ #13)

2005 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced

The 2005 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced on Monday, April 4. The following are the Pulitzer Prize winners for Letters & Drama

Biography or Autobiography

Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan. de Kooning: An American Master
Willem de Kooning is one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, a true ?painter?s painter? whose protean work continues to inspire many artists. The first major biography of de Kooning captures both the life and work of this complex, romantic figure in American culture.

Fiction

Marilynne Robinson. Gilead
In 1956, toward the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself and his forebears. Ames is the son of an Iowa preacher and the grandson of a minister who, as a young man in Maine, saw a vision of Christ bound in chains and came west to Kansas to fight for abolition. He tells of the tension between his father and grandfather and he tells a story of the sacred bonds between fathers and sons, which are tested in his tender and strained relationship with his namesake, John Ames Boughton.

General Nonfiction

Steve Coll. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
Ghost Wars answers the questions so many have asked since the horrors of September 11: To what extent did America's best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail?

History

David Hackett Fischer. Washington's Crossing
Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. George Washington lost 90 percent of his army and was driven across the Delaware River. Panic and despair spread through the states.Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, Washington -- and many other Americans -- refused to let the Revolution die.

Poetry

Ted Kooser. Delights & Shadows
For more than thirty years Ted Kooser has written poems that deftly bring dissimilar things into telling unities. Throughout a long and distinguished writing career he has worked toward clarity and accessibility, making a poetry as fresh and spontaneous as a good watercolor. A gyroscope balanced between a child's hands, a jar of buttons that recalls generations of women, and a bird briefly witnessed outside a window -- each reveals the remarkable within an otherwise ordinary world.

Drama

John Patrick Shanley. Doubt, a Parable

April 04, 2005

New Books/Movies/Audio Lists Updated

The New Books, Audios, and Movies lists have been updated with titles cataloged in March 2005.

New Bestsellers 4/4/05

The following books are appearing on the best seller lists for the first time this week. For a complete listing see our collection of Best Seller Lists.

NYT = New York Times
PW = Publisher's Weekly
USA = USA Today
WSJ = Wall Street Journal

Fiction

Ian McEwan. Saturday
Saturday is a novel set within a single day in February 2003. Henry Perowne is a contented man ? a successful neurosurgeon, happily married to a newspaper lawyer, and enjoying good relations with his children. Ian McEwan has written a masterful novel that keeps you balanced on the edge of your seat as Perowne?s happy safe world is unexpectedly shattered. At the heart of this extraordinary novel is the acute awareness of the details of our relationships, of life and of love, and the unforeseen violence that can threaten our peace. (NYT #3, PW #3, USA #14, WSJ #3)

DEAD OF NIGHT, by Randy Wayne White. (Putnam, $24.95.) Doc Ford, a government agent turned marine biologist, confronts the possibility of a catastrophic ecoterrorist attack in Florida. (NYT #14)

Nonfiction

THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST, by Buzz Bissinger. (Houghton Mifflin, $25.) A three-game series in 2003 between the Cubs and the Cardinals, as seen through the eyes of Tony La Russa, the St. Louis manager. (NYT #14)

PW Audio Fiction

Danielle Steel. Impossible
When a high-powered gallery owner collides with an offbeat artist, it's the perfect recipe for disaster. With unerring insight into the hearts of men and women--and into the soul of the artist--Danielle Steel takes readers into a world of glamour and genius, priceless art and dazzling creativity. (Abridged CD) (#10)

PW Audio Nonfiction

Greg Behrendt. He's Just Not That into You <%/a>
Based on a popular episode of "Sex and the City," this enlightening guide teaches otherwise smart women how to tell when a guy just doesn't like them enough. (Unabridged CD) (#15)