Best Books of 2006

Listed below are the top ten books of 2006 according to the New York Times. I haven't read any of them so I'm going to make my own list of the top 5 books I've read in 2006 at the bottom of this post. Feel free to comment on which books you read that you favored this past year.

NYT best fiction:
1. ABSURDISTAN By Gary Shteyngart
2. THE COLLECTED STORIES OF AMY HEMPEL
3. THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN By Claire Messud
4. THE LAY OF THE LAND By Richard Ford
5. SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS By Marisha Pessl

NYT best non-fiction:
1. FALLING THROUGH THE EARTHA Memoir By Danielle Trussoni
2. THE LOOMING TOWER Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 By Lawrence Wright, Alfred A. Knopf
3. MAYFLOWERA Story of Courage, Community, and War By Nathaniel Philbrick
4. THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMAA Natural History of Four Meals By Michael Pollan
5. THE PLACES IN BETWEEN By Rory Stewart

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My List:
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
2. Vanishing Acts-Jodi Picoult
3. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
4. Osprey Island-Thisbe Nissen
5. Snow Falling on Cedars-David Guterson

Scooter McGavin's 9th Green

Scooter McGavin's 9th Green is this week's blog tenant (and he happens to be my first one!) Please welcome him by visiting his site.

What is Scooter McGavin's 9th Green about? It's a personal blog and he describes it as:
Your one-stop place for music, TV, sports, politics and anything else that peeks my interest. So make sure you come back everyday or you'll pay, listen to what I say.

His blog looks interesting and fun, so stop by and say hello!

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

I just finished this book at 3:00 this morning. I couldn't put it down. But I can't decide if it's a good book or not in spite of its ability to lure me in so completely. It was a horrible, frightening, gory, disgusting and morbid book. But that is the intent isn't it? So I guess that makes it a good book.

From the beginning of Pet Sematary, when the cat is resurrected, I thought how similiar the story is to The Monkey's Paw (which I read in a High School English class). Evidently King thought the same thing...or maybe it influenced this book...but he mentions The Monkey's Paw a couple of times in the later parts of the book.

The book is about a couple and their two children who move to Maine. They don't realize that they their new home is adjacent to an old indian gravesite whose spirits have the power to pull victims unto itself. The "gravesite" (nothing stays buried there) is beyond a plot that local children have tended for the last hundred years called Pet Sematary.

The father, Louis, is first introduced to the indian gravesite by his neighbor Jed. Jed takes him there after Louis' young daughter's cat is hit on the highway. Louis knows she will be devestated and is afraid for his death-neurotic wife. But Jed has the answer to his dilemma. They take the dead cat up to the indian burial ground and bury him. The next day Church (the cat) is back. But he's different. He's not quite all there, and he's meaner. He stinks of the grave, but Louis is happy to not have to break the news of his death to his family.

Jed warns Louis of past stories of people who have used the burial ground with ill results. He also warns him that "they" will call back those who have been there, to come back and continue to feed it. And even knowing the danger--the urgency to return is so strong, it can pull it's victims to return while repelling those who wish to intervene...

Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Pocket (February 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743412273
ISBN-13: 978-0743412278

My Rating: 4/5
It was so good in such a bad and terrible way! :)

Customer Ratings: 4.5/5


BuyPet Sematary from Amazon

Royal Mail gears up for final Potter book launch

Associated Press
Updated: 6:38 p.m. ET Dec 28, 2006

LONDON - Britain’s mail service is conferring with retailers and renting out hundreds of extra trucks in anticipation of the launch of the seventh — and final — installment of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

The launch date for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” has yet to be announced, but the Royal Mail has already begun gearing up for the challenge of delivering the final volume to the hundreds of thousands of fans who are expected to order it before publication.

“We’re already planning for the launch,” Royal Mail spokesman James Eadie said Thursday. “We’re talking to retailers about what volumes they expect, and what they expect from us, so that we can put the logistics in place to deliver on the date of issue.”

Read the whole article

The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder by Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Miller gets a job as a second assistant at The Agency. A former Washington intern, she is somewhat out of her element. Her job duties include answering the phone and keeping her boss Scott Wagner happy and out of trouble. When Lizzie comes close to losing her job after a mix-up, she thinks she’s made a mistake coming out to Hollywood, but as she fills out résumé’s to send to different politicians, she realizes that “the scene” has really grown on her. Lizzie hopes to find friends and companionship, but her first friend (and first assistant) Lara warns her about dating Hollywood men. And none of the guys she meets outside of the Hollywood scene seem to be the right type. As the conflict between her personal life and her work life build, there is much going on behind the scenes that even a (new) Hollywood girl like herself can’t predict.

Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN-10: 0452286107
ASIN: B000C4SFMO

My Rating: 3/5
The Second Assistant wasn't highly exciting and was at times predictible. But overall it was a light and fun book to read.

Customer Review: 3.5/5


Buy The Second Assistant from Amazon

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

Everyone Worth Knowing is from the author of The Devil Wears Prada. (The movie has just been released on DVD).

The main character, twenty-seven year old Bette Robinson works a boring job at a bank, has a comfortable set of friends and lives on the verge of frumpiness with her dog Millington. That is until her best friend Penelope announces her engagement to her loser boyfriend (in Bette's opinion), and has two rings to flaunt (one for everyday wear and one for show).

Bette unexpectedly, especially to herself, quits her boring cozy job and lazes out in her apartment for weeks on end. With a little help from her uncle, Bette is offered a glamourous position with Kelly and Company, the hottest PR and events planning firm in Manhattean. Her job description is mainly to see and be seen. Before she knows what's hit her, Bette is the main attraction to a famous movie star and finds herself at every important party on a nightly basis.

Bette is often photographed with her famed boyfriend and is plastered in the papers daily. Her new boss loves the publicity and Bette can't believe that she is "in" with so many famous people and that she is paid for attending their parties.

But then the gossip coloumns start to get personal and it seems that someone is out to get Bette. And she begins to wonder if the glamour is all that it's cracked up to be.


Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 4, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743262298
ISBN-13: 978-0743262293

My Rating: 4/5
The story was enticing and adorable. A fun read!

Customer Review: 3/5

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter

From Publishers Weekly:
The term "good-faith" is almost inappropriate when applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a bloody struggle interrupted every so often by negotiations that turn out to be anything but honest. Nonetheless, thirty years after his first trip to the Mideast, former President Jimmy Carter still has hope for a peaceful, comprehensive solution to the region's troubles, delivering this informed and readable chronicle as an offering to the cause. An engineer of the 1978 Camp David Accords and 2002 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Carter would seem to be a perfect emissary in the Middle East, an impartial and uniting diplomatic force in a fractured land. Not entirely so. Throughout his work, Carter assigns ultimate blame to Israel, arguing that the country's leadership has routinely undermined the peace process through its obstinate, aggressive and illegal occupation of territories seized in 1967. He's decidedly less critical of Arab leaders, accepting their concern for the Palestinian cause at face value, and including their anti-Israel rhetoric as a matter of course, without much in the way of counter-argument. Carter's book provides a fine overview for those unfamiliar with the history of the conflict and lays out an internationally accepted blueprint for peace.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 14, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743285026
ISBN-13: 978-0743285025

Customer Review: 3.5/5

The Best American Classics: A Best Recipe Classic by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Book Description:
Step into our test kitchen and learn how to make truly great American food. Want to know how to keep lemon meringue pie from weeping or which type of chocolate makes the best pudding? Want to capture the flavors of a real clambake on top of the stove? To find the answers to these and hundreds more questions, we made 28 lemon meringue pies, chopped our way through pounds of chocolate, and steamed enough clams to feed a small town. In addition, we’ve included more than 200 illustrations plus no-nonsense equipment ratings and taste tests of supermarket ingredients.

The Best American Classics features more than 300 recipes that cover the wide range of American cooking. Choose from favorite regional dishes such as Chicago deep-dish pizza, New Orleans’ legendary red beans and rice, or New York cheesecake. Or select beloved family fare like chicken pot pie, glazed meatloaf, and green bean casserole. Restaurant classics are here as well, from Parker House rolls and Waldorf salad to bananas foster. The Best American Classics celebrates the breadth of our cuisine with foolproof recipes that will stand the test of time.

Real Boston Baked Beans that are worth the wait

If you want to make Boston baked beans that are a cut above the tourist variety, you’ll need salt pork and bacon for authentic smoky flavor. And for best results, bake the beans for five hours, leaving the cover off the pot during the final hour to thicken the sauce to just the right consistency.

Stovetop Mac ’n Cheese that’s Silky Not Sticky

This all-around family favorite appears in more guises than just about any other comfort food on the planet. But the best recipe, we found, is made on the stovetop (not baked) and uses evaporated milk in the sauce (not a fussy béchamel).

All-American Meatloaf that’s Crusty and Glazed Not Soggy

For the best meatloaf, use a mix of meats (beef, pork, and veal). Then, select the right binders: cracker crumbs and breadcrumbs don’t mask the flavor of the meat. Lastly, bake the loaf free-form (so it doesn’t get soggy) and give it a double dose of glaze.

Strawberry Shortcake That Tastes as Good as it Looks

For a juicy filling that stays put between the biscuits, choose the ripest berries and then mash some of them into a chunky sauce and slice the rest. Left to sit with a little sugar, the mixture macerates, making a thick filling that soaks into the tender, easy-to-make biscuits.

Paperback: 421 pages
Publisher: America's Test Kitchen (August 30, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933615036
ISBN-13: 978-1933615035

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1 in Books on 12/25/2006

A Personal Note

I'd like to wish all my blog readers a Merry Christmas! I hope the coming year brings you much joy and many hours of happy reading!

-Laura

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan

From Publishers Weekly:
Labrador retrievers are generally considered even-tempered, calm and reliable;and then there's Marley, the subject of this delightful tribute to one Lab who doesn't fit the mold. Grogan, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife, Jenny, were newly married and living in West Palm Beach when they decided that owning a dog would give them a foretaste of the parenthood they anticipated. Marley was a sweet, affectionate puppy who grew into a lovably naughty, hyperactive dog. With a light touch, the author details how Marley was kicked out of obedience school after humiliating his instructor (whom Grogan calls Miss Dominatrix) and swallowed an 18-karat solid gold necklace (Grogan describes his gross but hilarious "recovery operation"). With the arrival of children in the family, Marley became so incorrigible that Jenny, stressed out by a new baby, ordered her husband to get rid of him; she eventually recovered her equilibrium and relented. Grogan's chronicle of the adventures parents and children (eventually three) enjoyed with the overly energetic but endearing dog is delivered with great humor. Dog lovers will love this account of Grogan's much loved canine.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (October 18, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060817089
ISBN-13: 978-0060817084

Customer Review: 4.5/5

Final 'Harry Potter' Title Announced

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: December 21, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- We now have a title for Harry Potter VII. But if you want to find out for yourself, visit J.K. Rowling's Web site and play a little game of hangman.

Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc., released a brief statement Thursday announcing the name of the world's most anticipated children's book, the finale to her phenomenally popular fantasy series.

No publication date or other details were offered. Rowling is still working on the book, she explained on her Web site in an entry posted early Thursday.

''I'm now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more,'' she wrote. ''I don't think anyone who has not been in a similar situation can possibly know how this feels: I am alternately elated and overwrought. I both want, and don't want, to finish this book (don't worry, I will.)''

Meanwhile, she set up a test for her Potter fans.

If you go to jkrowling.com, click on the eraser and you will be taken to a room -- you'll see a window, a door and a mirror.

In the mirror, you'll see a hallway. Click on the farthest doorknob and look for the Christmas tree. They click on the center of the door next to the mirror and a wreath appears. Then click on the top of the mirror and you'll see a garland.

Look for a cobweb next to the door. Click on it, and it will disappear. Now, look at the chimes in the window. Click on the second chime to the right, and hold it down. The chime will turn into the key, which opens the door. Click on the wrapped gift behind the door, then click on it again and figure out the title yourself by playing a game of hangman.

Or you can just take Scholastic's word for it: ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.''

Source Link

Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky, Sandra Smith

From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. Celebrated in pre-WWII France for her bestselling fiction, the Jewish Russian-born Némirovsky was shipped to Auschwitz in the summer of 1942, months after this long-lost masterwork was composed. Némirovsky, a convert to Catholicism, began a planned five-novel cycle as Nazi forces overran northern France in 1940. This gripping "suite," collecting the first two unpolished but wondrously literary sections of a work cut short, have surfaced more than six decades after her death.

The first, "Storm in June," chronicles the connecting lives of a disparate clutch of Parisians, among them a snobbish author, a venal banker, a noble priest shepherding churlish orphans, a foppish aesthete and a loving lower-class couple, all fleeing city comforts for the chaotic countryside, mere hours ahead of the advancing Germans. The second, "Dolce," set in 1941 in a farming village under German occupation, tells how peasant farmers, their pretty daughters and petit bourgeois collaborationists coexisted with their Nazi rulers.

In a workbook entry penned just weeks before her arrest, Némirovsky noted that her goal was to describe "daily life, the emotional life and especially the comedy it provides." This heroic work does just that, by focusing—with compassion and clarity—on individual human dramas. (Apr. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Knopf; Translatio edition (April 11, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1400044731

Customer Review: 4.5/5

Treasure of Khan by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler

From Publishers Weekly:
Dirk Pitt's 19th adventure, the second collaboration between father and son Clive and Dirk Cussler (after 2004's Black Wind), offers a plot as credible as it is monstrous and the kind of exotic aquatic detail that amazes, informs and entertains. The action, and there's plenty of it, ranges from Siberia's Lake Baikal and the wilds of Mongolia to the Hawaiian islands. The treasure is that of Genghis and Kublai Khan, the great Mongolian conqueror and his grandson.

The villain is a modern-day Mongol with dreams of restoring national power and pride. The heroes are Pitt, sidekick Al Giordino and Pitt's son and daughter, Dirk Jr. and Summer, all affiliated with Pitt's National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). The exploits of Pitt and company, particularly their narrow escapes, tend toward the larger-than-life, but these are nicely balanced by down-to-earth explanations of such phenomena as seiche waves and oil seeps. 750,000 first printing.(Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (November 28, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0399153691

Customer Review: 4.5/5

Stephen King to Discuss Comic Books

By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES

Published: December 20, 2006

Stephen King will be a guest of honor at the second annual New York Comic Con, which will be held Feb. 23-25 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Mr. King and Joe Quesada, the editor in chief of Marvel Entertainment, will take part in a panel discussion about a new comic-book series based on Mr. King’s novel “The Dark Tower.” The first part of this seven-issue series will go on sale on Feb. 7. Other guests of honor include Stan Lee, a co-creator of many of Marvel’s most popular characters; the director Kevin Smith; Brian K. Vaughan, the writer of the critically acclaimed graphic novel “Pride of Baghdad”; Paul Dini, a writer of “Detective Comics” and ABC’s “Lost”; and George Pérez, a celebrated superhero artist, whose new series, “The Brave and the Bold,” will go on sale on Feb. 21.

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Cell: A Novel by Stephen King

Amazon.com:
Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous. Cell, the king of horror's homage to zombie films (the book is dedicated in part to George A. Romero) is his goriest, most horrific novel in years, not to mention the most intensely paced. Casting aside his love of elaborate character and town histories and penchant for delayed gratification, King yanks readers off their feet within the first few pages; dragging them into the fray and offering no chance catch their breath until the very last page.

In Cell King taps into readers fears of technological warfare and terrorism. Mobile phones deliver the apocalypse to millions of unsuspecting humans by wiping their brains of any humanity, leaving only aggressive and destructive impulses behind. Those without cell phones, like illustrator Clayton Riddell and his small band of "normies," must fight for survival, and their journey to find Clayton's estranged wife and young son rockets the book toward resolution.

Fans that have followed King from the beginning will recognize and appreciate Cell as a departure--King's writing has not been so pure of heart and free of hang-ups in years (wrapping up his phenomenal Dark Tower series and receiving a medal from the National Book Foundation doesn't hurt either). "Retirement" clearly suits King, and lucky for us, having nothing left to prove frees him up to write frenzied, juiced-up horror-thrillers like Cell. Stay tuned for more from the hardest-working retiree in the business with Lisey's Story, coming in October 2006. --Daphne Durham

Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN: 0743292332

Customer Review: 3.5/5

My Review: 4/5
The story Cell starts out as any other ordinary day. But a signal or message is sent through cellphones everywhere that instantly cause the listener to become a raging lunatic. There are car accidents, fires and murder in the streets within minutes. Only the cellphone-less are left to contemplate what is happening and try to save themselves from the crazed. A group of these "normies" band together to try to escape the city. As the lunacy winds down they notice that those who were affected by the cell message are now more like zombies than lunatics, but still deadly dangerous. The main character, Riddle, sets out on a quest to reach his wife and son before the zombies or cellphones do and encounters unthinkable situations along the way.

Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of A Remarkable Friendship by Craig Hatkoff, Peter Greste

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 5 When the six-year-old contributor to this book saw the photograph documenting the extraordinary friendship between a baby hippo (Owen) and a 130-year-old giant tortoise (Mzee), she persuaded her father to help tell their story.

Originally an e-book, the hardcover version begins with images of the duo, whetting readers' appetite and providing reassurance as the potentially disturbing plot unfolds. After a scene depicting a pod of hippos near the Sabuki River in Kenya, the text describes the 600-pound baby's displacement and separation from the group during the 2004 tsunami. Children witness the challenging rescue and meet the knowledgeable staff at an animal sanctuary. From Owen's first approach for protection to Mzee's unexpected tolerance, the photographs, mostly by BBC photojournalist Greste, capture the pair eating, swimming, snuggling, and playing together. Their contentment and peace are palpable. Because it is sensitively structured, with careful choices about what is emphasized and illustrated, the situation does not overwhelm readers. The text and the back matter are brimming with information about the animals, their caregivers, and the locale.

This touching story of the power of a surprising friendship to mitigate the experience of loss is full of heart and hope.

A worthy complement is Ann Morris and Heidi Larson's glimpse at a human family's loss and recovery in Tsunami: Helping Each Other (Millbrook, 2005). Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (February 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0439829739

Customer Review: 5/5

Editor Fired After Uproar Over Simpson

By EDWARD WYATT
Published: December 16, 2006

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 — Judith Regan, the firebrand editor who stirred up decade-old passions last month with her plan for a book and television interview with O. J. Simpson, was fired on Friday by HarperCollins, the publishing company that oversaw her book business.

HarperCollins announced the firing, “effective immediately,” in a two-sentence news release that was issued about 7 p.m. Eastern time. The announcement was made by Jane Friedman, president and chief executive of HarperCollins, who has long had a strained relationship with Ms. Regan.

Continue reading article at NYT.com

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

From Publishers Weekly:
Kinsey Millhone has kept her appeal by being distinctive and sympathetic without craving center stage. While some mysteries that provide the PI's shoe size or most despised food create a forced and intrusive intimacy, a master like Grafton makes the relationship relaxed and reassuring. Millhone's life is modest and familiar, though her love life, now featuring police detective Cheney Phillips, tends to be oddly remote.

This 19th entry (after 2004's R Is for Ricochet) adopts a new convention: Millhone's customary intelligent and occasionally self-deprecating first-person reportage is interrupted by vignettes from the days surrounding the Fourth of July, 34 years earlier, when a hot-blooded young woman named Violet Sullivan disappeared. Violet's daughter, Daisy, who was seven at the time, hires Millhone to discover her mother's true fate. Violet had toyed with every man in town at one time or another, so there's no shortage of scandalous secrets and possible suspects.

Constant revelations concerning several absorbing characters allow a terrific tension to build. However, the utterly illogical and oddly abrupt ending undermines what is otherwise one of the stronger offerings in this iconic series.

One million first printing; Literary Guild, BOMC and Mystery Guild main selection. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN: 0399152970

Customer Review: 3.5/5

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Callaway Rolls Out Extravagant Children's Titles

Eye-popping, oversized and collectible are a few of the words publisher Nicholas Callaway uses to describe his house's unusual new line. Callaway Classics, published by Callaway Arts & Entertainment in partnership with Penguin Books for Young Readers, feature a hefty trim size (13.5" x 17") and an equally hefty price tag: $85. Officially launched last week when the first two titles in the series arrived in stores—The Little Engine That Could, illustrated by Loren Long, and The Ugly Ducking, illustrated by Henri Galeron—the line is intended, according to Callaway, to feature "the world's most beautiful, and largest, children's books."

The limited edition series—only 10,000 copies of each book will be printed—is something Callaway thinks will fulfill "a new luxury niche in the children's book market." The books, which are packaged in individual boxes and feature a high-end paper known as Mohawk Superfine, will all be classic children's tales, with artwork by both new and original illustrators.

The next two announced titles, Winnie-the-Pooh and Treasure Island, will feature the art by those works' original illustrators: E.H. Shepard and N.C. Wyeth, respectively. While both books will appear in the oversized trim, Callaway said he doesn't envision the line being limited to that size, noting that it will "vary according to market demand."

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The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2007 by World Almanac Books

Book Description:
Since its debut in 1868, The World Almanac and Book of Facts has become the best-selling American reference book of all time, with more than 80 million copies in print. This essential household and workplace desk reference is “the most useful reference book known to modern man,” according to the L.A. Times. Renowned New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz calls it his “#1 reference work for facts.”

Completely updated, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2007 provides reliable, authoritative information on a wide range of topics from science and technology, to education and entertainment, to world history and sports. In its browseable, completely indexed format, this book helps you find essential facts that could take hours or days to hunt down online, if you could find them at all.

This year's special features include a new “World at a Glance” roundup of key facts; the annual favorite “Top Ten News Stories of the Year”; a historical and statistical rundown of “The Oil Price Rollercoaster”; and a window into the lives of our armed forces through “Blogs from Soldiers and Their Families: Voices of Service to America.” Plus, this year, for the first time ever, The World Almanac offers readers free bonus content online at www.worldalmanac.com, through a password provided with the book. World Almanac buyers can peruse classic World Almanac essays, facts and figures from past presidential elections, sports biographies, and cover art from The World Almanac‘s 139-year history.

Paperback: 1008 pages
Publisher: World Almanac (November 14, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0886879957

Customer Review: 4/5


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The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner, Quincy Troupe

From Publishers Weekly:
Gardner chronicles his long, painful, ultimately rewarding journey from inner-city Milwaukee to the pinnacle of Wall Street. Born in 1954, he grew up like too many young blacks: poor and fatherless, with a mother strong on children and church, yet soft on men. His violent, hateful stepfather refused to accept Gardner as a stepson and thwarted him at every turn. By his own account, Gardner was a good kid who got into trouble occasionally, but stayed on a steady, upward track. After a stint in the navy, he set his sights on a medical career, but a foray into sales led him to the stock and bond market. Gardner's own weakness was women, and when one of them left him with a son, it led to a period of homelessness on the San Francisco streets. Determination and resourcefulness brought father and son not merely to safety but to the top. Gardner is honest and thorough as he solidly depicts growing up black and male in late 20th-century urban America. His story isn't especially fresh, but his voice is likable, resulting in a quality African-American/business memoir deserving a wider audience than its niche-market elements might suggest. Photos. Ad/promo to coincide with the major motion picture starring Will Smith.(On sale May 23)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Amistad (May 23, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0060744863

Customer Review: 4.5/5

New & Used starting at $16.50

Drop Dead Gorgeous: A Novel by Linda Howard

From Publishers Weekly:
Although someone is trying to kill fitness salon owner and former cheerleader Blair Mallory yet again, she retains her winning comedic voice in Howard's follow up to 2005's To Die For. Southern belle Blair remains perfectly matched with police Lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth, who has given her one month to execute their wedding, or else he's taking them to Vegas. Things take a turn when a crazed driver nearly runs Blair down in the mall parking lot; it's not long before Blair starts receiving strange phone calls and spots a car tailing her, but the normally astute Wyatt doesn't put two and two together. Though the danger is real-and escalates violently-this is no heart-thumping suspense novel, but instead an old-fashioned clash of the sexes: Blair's high-maintenance style versus Wyatt's alpha male tendencies. Funny and sexy throughout, Howard's latest is marred only by Wyatt's shoddy policework, a convenient misstep that propels the plot but rings false. Regardless, fans of this couple will delight in their rematch, and Howard's recently revealed comedic talents are sure to secure her new readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (November 28, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0345486587

Customer Review: 3.5/5

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Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs

Amazon.com
There is a passage early in Augusten Burroughs's harrowing and highly entertaining memoir, Running with Scissors, that speaks volumes about the author. While going to the garbage dump with his father, young Augusten spots a chipped, glass-top coffee table that he longs to bring home. "I knew I could hide the chip by fanning a display of magazines on the surface, like in a doctor's office," he writes, "And it certainly wouldn't be dirty after I polished it with Windex for three hours." There were certainly numerous chips in the childhood Burroughs describes: an alcoholic father, an unstable mother who gives him up for adoption to her therapist, and an adolescence spent as part of the therapist's eccentric extended family, gobbling prescription meds and fooling around with both an old electroshock machine and a pedophile who lives in a shed out back. But just as he dreamed of doing with that old table, Burroughs employs a vigorous program of decoration and fervent polishing to a life that many would have simply thrown in a landfill. Despite her abandonment, he never gives up on his increasingly unbalanced mother. And rather than despair about his lot, he glamorizes it: planning a "beauty empire" and performing an a capella version of "You Light Up My Life" at a local mental ward. Burroughs's perspective achieves a crucial balance for a memoir: emotional but not self-involved, observant but not clinical, funny but not deliberately comic. And it's ultimately a feel-good story: as he steers through a challenging childhood, there's always a sense that Burroughs's survivor mentality will guide him through and that the coffee table will be salvaged after all. --John Moe


Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Picador; Reprint edition (September 5, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0312425414

Customer Review: 3.5/5


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Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006 by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. They say mother knows best, but in the case of this classic cooking volume, first published 75 years ago, the adage might be more accurately "mother—and grandmother—know best." For while some previous editions of Joy have embraced passing fads and shunned the earlier versions' old-school charm, this time, the editors (led by Irma's grandson and Marion's son, Ethan) have stayed true to the spirit of the original. Fond of its forebear's quirky phrases ("There is nothing simple about these uncomplicated-looking fungi" or "a pig resembles a saint, in that he is more honored after death than during his lifetime"), the new narrative of Joy is one of, well, joy. Its recipes will prompt readers to bound into the kitchen; their range and depth is such that there really is something for everyone. Enchiladas, sushi, bagel chips, smoked brisket and corn dogs make their first appearance, while ice cream, nut butters and beef fondue return after some time away. The use of "we" throughout the text will reassure those skeptical of, say, preparing game (a section that, incidentally, has been expanded), and the overall feeling of the kitchen as a place of empowerment and enrichment makes this an essential work for all cooks. (Oct. 31)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 1152 pages
Publisher: Scribner; anniversary edition (October 31, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0743246268

Customer Review: 5/5

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Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich by James J. Cramer, Cliff Mason

Book Description:

"Investing well isn't easy, but it is possible. My goal in life is to make it easier for you to make money."

Jim Cramer is the champion of the middle-class investor. Every night on Mad Money, he provides valuable information about stocks, steering investors away from danger zones and leading them to the investments that can turn a lackluster portfolio into a powerhouse of profit. In his new book, he shows investors how to take the advice on his TV program and put it into action.

Cramer walks investors through the key decisions they have to make: understanding their tolerance for risk and defining their goals, doing the essential homework on a stock, and knowing how to buy and sell stocks the right way -- the Cramer way. This is a true nuts-and-bolts guide to investing, from Cramer's detailed discussion of the sort of homework investors must do to his own guidelines for knowing when and how to sell stocks.

Mad Money is a hugely entertaining television program, but it also offers valuable information that can be the basis for a winning portfolio. Cramer shows how to turn the "Lightning Round" into a terrific tool for investing; it's stock-market strength training. He reveals how he can assess a stock in only seconds -- a valuable skill that every investor can acquire and put to good use. He explains what to look for in his CEO and CFO interviews, and how to use those conversations to make successful investment decisions. He reviews some of his best calls made on Mad Money, as well as some of his worst ones, to extract ten lessons from each that can profit every investor. And for the Mad Money junkies who just can't get enough, Cramer goes behind the scenes to explain everything from the reason behind his deliberate mispronunciations to his notorious chair abuse to the zany props and buttons that keep things humming.

From the first "Booyah" to the last roar of the bull, Mad Money is every investor's favorite television program, and Jim Cramer's Mad Money is the book that can turn a TV program into a top-notch stock portfolio.

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (December 5, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1416537902

Customer Review: 4/5

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Eragon / Eldest (Inheritance, Books 1 & 2) [BOX SET]

Book Description
In the #1 New York Times bestselling novels Eragon and Eldest, fifteen year-old Eragon discovers his destiny as a Dragon Rider. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and his dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. This beautiful boxed set includes books I and II in the Inheritance trilogy.

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 1232 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; Slipcase edition (August 23, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN: 0375836586

Customer Review: 4.5/5


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Clooney Buying John Grisham Book Rights

Thu Dec 07, 4:46 PM ET

George Clooney will produce a movie based on John Grisham's "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town."

"It's a project in development," Clooney's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said Thursday.

He declined to release details of the agreement, but said no decision had been made on whether Clooney, 45, might direct or appear in the film.

Smoke House Clooney's company with producing partner Grant Heslov bought the movie rights along with Warner Independent Pictures, Warner spokeswoman Laura Kim said Thursday.

"The script hasn't been written," she said.

Kim said she could not confirm a report Wednesday in Daily Variety that said Grisham would receive a seven-figure payment against a share of the movie's gross receipts.

"The Innocent Man" is a nonfiction work about Ron Williamson, who spent nine years on Oklahoma's death row after he was wrongfully convicted of the 1982 rape and murder of a cocktail waitress. Another man, Dennis Fritz, was sentenced to life in prison. Retesting of the semen and hair follicles used in the original case freed the men in 1999 and pointed to Glen D. Gore, who had testified against Williamson. Gore later was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Williamson drank heavily following his release from prison and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 2004 at age 51.

Source Link

The Talisman by Stephen King, Peter Straub

From the Inside Flap
On a brisk autumn day, a thirteen-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America–and into another realm.

One of the most influential and heralded works of fantasy ever written, The Talisman is an extraordinary novel of loyalty, awakening, terror, and mystery. Jack Sawyer, on a desperate quest to save his mother's life, must search for a prize across an epic landscape of innocents and monsters, of incredible dangers and even more incredible truths. The prize is essential, but the journey means even more. Let the quest
begin. . . .

Mass Market Paperback: 768 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 31, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN: 0345444884

Customer Review: 4.5/5

My Review: 5/5
As stated in the earlier post, I loved this book. After posting about the future TV movie, I decided to use this book as the book of the day. This is a story I would definetely re-read someday. I'm usually not someone who enjoys reading a book twice, but I am partial to Stephen King's stories! However, the follow-up book Black House was disappointing in comparison.


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Spielberg brings King's "Talisman" to TNT

Wed Dec 06, 3:07 AM ET

Following last year's limited series "Into the West," TNT is getting into business with Steven Spielberg again, this time to bring the Stephen King-Peter Straub novel "The Talisman" to the small screen.

The cable channel said Tuesday it has given the go-ahead to a six-hour limited-series adaptation of the novel, first published in 1984. "Talisman" centers on a boy who goes on a quest through this world and a parallel world known as the Territories, experiencing good and evil in each. His goal is to obtain a mysterious talisman that will save his dying mother's life as well as the life of her "twinner," Queen Elizabeth of the Territories.

The project, set to premiere in summer 2008, will be executive produced by Spielberg and his frequent partner Kathleen Kennedy along with Ehren Kruger ("The Ring"), who will adapt the novel.

Discussions about a second collaboration with Spielberg and his DreamWorks banner started after the 12-hour "West" aired in summer 2005, said Michael Wright, senior vp original programming at TNT and TBS.

DreamWorks previously had been developing "Talisman" as a feature film. Before that, the project was being developed as a miniseries at ABC.

TNT has adapted two other King books: The four-hour "Salem's Lot," one of 2004's top-rated cable movies, and "Nightmares & Dreamscapes," an eight-part anthology series that aired this summer.

Spielberg's other longform TV credits include HBO's "Band of Brothers" and Sci Fi Channel's "Taken."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Source Link



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I loved The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub!
The down side is like most books that are made into TV or movies, there's always the possibility for literary dissection. But in this case, I'm really excited about this project.

The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman

Book Description

Since his retirement from the Navajo Tribal Police, Joe Leaphorn has occasionally been enticed to return to work by former colleagues who seek his help when they need to solve a particularly puzzling crime. They ask because Leaphorn, aided by officers Jim Chee and Bernie Manuelito, always delivers.

But this time the problem is with an old case of Joe's—his "last case," unsolved, is one that continues to haunt him. And with Chee and Bernie just back from their honeymoon, Leaphorn is pretty much on his own.

The original case involved a priceless, one-of-a-kind Navajo rug supposedly destroyed in a fire. Suddenly, what looks like the same rug turns up in a magazine spread. And the man who brings the photo to Leaphorn's attention has gone missing. Leaphorn must pick up the threads of a crime he'd thought impossible to untangle. Not only has the passage of time obscured the details, but it also appears that there's a murderer still on the loose.

New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman is at the top of his form in this atmospheric and riveting novel set amid the rugged beauty of his beloved Southwest.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (November 21, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0060563451

Customer Review: 3/5

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Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Old fans and newcomers alike should delight in Hiaasen's 11th novel (after 2004's Skinny Dip), another hilarious Florida romp. The engaging and diverse screwball cast includes Boyd Shreave, a semicompetent telemarketer; Shreave's mistress and co-worker, Eugenie Fonda; Honey Santana, a mercurial gadfly who ends up on the other end of one of Shreave's pitches for Florida real estate; and Sammy Tigertail, half Seminole, who at novel's start must figure out what to do with the body of a tourist who dies of a heart attack on Sammy's airboat after being struck by a harmless water snake. When Santana cooks up an elaborate scheme to punish Shreave for nasty comments he made during his solicitation call, she ends up involving her 12-year-old son, Fry, and her ex-husband in a frantic chase that enmeshes Tigertail and the young co-ed Sammy accidentally has taken hostage. While the absurd plot may be less than compelling, Hiaasen's humorous touches and his all-too-human characters carry the book to its satisfying close. 600,000 first printing; author tour. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Knopf (November 14, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0307262995

Customer Review: 3.5/5
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The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

Book Description:
Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.

In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.

The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.

Hardcover: 216 pages
Publisher: Beyond Words (November 28, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1582701709

Customer Review: 5/5
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Merry Christmas, Curious George! by H.A. and Margret Rey, Cathy Hapka, Mary O'Keefe Young

From School Library Journal:
PreSchool-Grade 1–Curious George goes Christmas tree shopping with the man in the yellow hat, and climbs into a tree that gets delivered to a children's hospital. Although lost, the little monkey makes the best of the situation by decorating the boughs with such items as gauze, X-rays, and crutches and by changing the name tags on all the presents. All ends well as the young patients are entertained and the man with the yellow hat arrives to collect his companion. The text is stilted, and both the plot and illustrations owe a great deal to Margret and H. A. Rey's Curious George Goes to the Hospital (Houghton, 1966). Still, the illustrations capture the look, if not the flavor and charm, of the originals, and so this book will likely be popular with young Curious George fans.–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (October 9, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0618692371

No Rating Available
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YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet Oz

From Publishers Weekly
Anti-aging guru Roizen and celebrated heart surgeon Oz combine their popular approaches to patient-centered care in this assessment of how much, or more to the point, how little, readers know about their bodies. After taking the quizzes in the book, readers may feel shocked by their ignorance of basic anatomy and the processes required to maintain physical and mental functioning. Each chapter focuses on a body part or system (heart, brain, digestive, reproductive, etc.) and discusses diseases associated with it; genetic and lifestyle influences on its aging process; and foods, supplements and habits that can prevent or reverse related illnesses. The book has an entertaining feel: friendly elves guide readers through illustrations of the body and cartoons feature alien creatures that enter the body and cause illness. The humor is irreverent (e.g., muscle cells surrounding dead heart tissue "start fighting with each other, like Jerry Springer's guests, instead of supporting each other, like Oprah's" [incidentally, the authors will appear on Oprah in May to promote the book]). Despite a 10-day, 30-recipe food plan and a less-is-more exercise regime, however, readers may have trouble using the information to create a lifestyle that will fulfill the authors' promise of weight loss, disease prevention and longevity. Even the recipes target one specific area of the body and weaken the overall conceptual framework. This lighthearted book will be most useful to those who like their health lessons served with a side of humor. (May 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Collins (May 3, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN: 0060765313

Customer Review: 4.5/5
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I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

Review From Booklist:

The actor, caterer, film star, comic, and sister of David Sedaris charms, seduces, entertains, instructs, amuses, and just plain invites readers into her somewhat eclectic life. Readers will revel in the more than 100 recipes with menus for dozens of occasions (or not), from blind date at home to table for one (an evening alone, that is, with steak and salad). Her recipes, by the way, are no rivals to the Culinary Institute of America; for instance, the directions for "carrot coins" call for slicing carrots so they look like coins and sauteing with butter, salt, and pepper. Readers can choose from any number of easy items to craft--a Greek dress, a calf stretcher, or a mini-pantyhose plant hanger. Among the various tips shared: "One possible origin of the term 'monkey dish' [is] originally a dish made from a monkey's skull." But everyone can simply enjoy her wisdom-filled one-liners, with at least one appearing on every page. (About entertaining the elderly, she says, "Keep them engaged or it's the express train to nappy-land.") This is hardly a Reader's Digest compendium, but David Letterman would be pleased with it. Media tours and promotions alone should drive demand. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Warner Books (October 16, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0446578843

Customer Review: 4.5/5
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For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Book Description:

This is the story of Charley, a child of divorce who is always forced to choose between his mother and his father. He grows into a man and starts a family of his own. But one fateful weekend, he leaves his mother to secretly be with his fatherand she dies while he is gone. This haunts him for years. It unravels his own young family. It leads him to depression and drunkenness. One night, he decides to take his life. But somewhere between this world and the next, he encounters his mother again, in their hometown, and gets to spend one last day with her the day he missed and always wished he'd had. He asks the questions many of us yearn to ask, the questions we never ask while our parents are alive. By the end of this magical day, Charley discovers how little he really knew about his mother, the secret of how her love saved their family, and how deeply he wants the second chance to save his own.

Hardcover: 197 pages
Publisher: Hyperion (September 26, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1401303277

Customer Review: 4/5
This sounds like a great book. I'm going to have to add it to my reading list.
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The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham

Editorial Review from Amazon.com:
John Grisham tackles nonfiction for the first time with The Innocent Man, a true tale about murder and injustice in a small town (that reads like one of his own bestselling novels). The Innocent Man chronicles the story of Ron Williamson, how he was arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit, how his case was (mis)handled and how an innocent man was sent to death row. Grisham's first work of nonfiction is shocking, disturbing, and enthralling--a must read for fiction and nonfiction fans.

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (October 10, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0385517238

Customer Review: 3.5/5
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A Mini Book Meme

I came across this meme somewhere out in blogland. I don't know where it originated but thought it would be interesting to see the different answers that it might generate.

Total number of books owned:
Last book bought:
Last book read:
Five books that mean a lot to you:

The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13) by Lemony Snicket

Book Description

Dear Reader,

You are presumably looking at the back of this book, or the end of the end. The end of the end is the best place to begin the end, because if you read the end from the beginning of the beginning of the end to the end of the end of the end, you will arrive at the end of the end of your rope.

This book is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous twelve volumes, you probably can't stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents.

It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last I am finished. You likely have some other occupation, so if I were you I would drop this book at once, so the end does not finish you.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Reading level: All Ages
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (October 13, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0064410161

My Review: While I haven't read this book yet, I did read several of the beginning books (and saw the movie) and I loved them! I would love to read the whole series at some point in the near future.
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The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama

From Publishers Weekly
Ilinois's Democratic senator illuminates the constraints of mainstream politics all too well in this sonorous manifesto. Obama (Dreams from My Father) castigates divisive partisanship (especially the Republican brand) and calls for a centrist politics based on broad American values. His own cautious liberalism is a model: he's skeptical of big government and of Republican tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization; he's prochoice, but respectful of prolifers; supportive of religion, but not of imposing it. The policy result is a tepid Clintonism, featuring tax credits for the poor, a host of small-bore programs to address everything from worker retraining to teen pregnancy, and a health-care program that resembles Clinton's Hillary-care proposals. On Iraq, he floats a phased but open-ended troop withdrawal. His triangulated positions can seem conflicted: he supports free trade, while deploring its effects on American workers (he opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement), in the end hoping halfheartedly that more support for education, science and renewable energy will see the economy through the dilemmas of globalization. Obama writes insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the media and legislative horse-trading. Alas, his muddled, uninspiring proposals bear the stamp of those compromises. (Oct. 17)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Crown (October 17, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0307237699

Customer Review: 4/5
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Buy your copy today!

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

From Publishers Weekly
Hot on the heels of True Believer and sequel At First Sight, Sparks returns with the story of ne'er-do-well-turned-army-enlistee John Tyree, 23, and well-to-do University of North Carolina special education major Savannah Lynn Curtis. John, who narrates, has been raised by a socially backward single postal-worker dad obsessed with coin collecting (he has Asperger's syndrome). John bypasses college for the overseas infantry; Savannah spends her college summers volunteering. When they meet, he's on leave, and she's working with Habitat for Humanity (he rescues her sinking purse at the beach). John has a history of one-night stands; Savannah's a virgin. He's an on-and-off drinker; she's a teetotaler. Attraction and values conflict the rest of the summer, but the deal does not close. Savannah longs for John to come home; her friend Tim longs to have a relationship with her. On the brink of John and Savannah's finally getting together, 9/11 happens, and John re-ups. Savannah's letters come less and less frequently, and before you know it, he receives the expected "Dear John" letter. Sparks's novel brims with longing. (Oct. 30)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Warner Books (October 30, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0446528056

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