From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at booksense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book Sense Picks:
Hardcover
The Ghost at the Table by Suzanne Berne (Algonquin, $23.95, 1565123344). "Buried family history and years of dysfunction and unhappiness are what await Cynthia when she arrives home for a family Thanksgiving, as she and her sister try to unravel the mysterious circumstances of their mother's death, along with reconciling with their absent father. Don't overlook this novelist--she's an Orange Prize winner and a fantastic storyteller."--Sherri Gallentine, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, Calif.
Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses by Stacy Mitchell (Beacon, $25.95, 0807035009). "This definitive study of the consequences of uncontrolled big box development opens our eyes to the myriad ways big box stores affect our lives: creating low-paying jobs, decimating downtowns, degrading our environment, fueling suburban sprawl, and diminishing community life. Mitchell shows us the true cost of the 'bargains' that many still think they are getting, and she also shares stories of communities that have found ways to counter the big box stores and build healthy, sustainable local economies."--Steve Bercu, Book People, Austin, Tex.
Paperback
An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the Business of Books by Wendy Werris (Carroll & Graf, $15.95, 078671817X). "Highlights of Wendy Werris' bookselling career: running into Hunter S. Thompson in her office, a wild car ride with Fran Lebowitz, dinner with special guest George Harrison, and stalking Kurt Vonnegut in New York City. Read this fast-paced and engaging memoir and get a glimpse of how books have shaped all of our histories."--Jessilyn Krebs, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, Mich.
For Children
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (Dial, $17.99, 0803731531). "Meet Alyss Heart, the young princess who has to find her way back to Wonderland to fight her evil Aunt Redd for her rightful place as Queen of Hearts. Beddor has reinvented all of the well-known Alice in Wonderland characters and places and has created a Wonderland where an epic battle between good and evil rages."--Laura Lucy, White Birch Books, North Conway, N.H.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]
Hardcover
The Ghost at the Table by Suzanne Berne (Algonquin, $23.95, 1565123344). "Buried family history and years of dysfunction and unhappiness are what await Cynthia when she arrives home for a family Thanksgiving, as she and her sister try to unravel the mysterious circumstances of their mother's death, along with reconciling with their absent father. Don't overlook this novelist--she's an Orange Prize winner and a fantastic storyteller."--Sherri Gallentine, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, Calif.
Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses by Stacy Mitchell (Beacon, $25.95, 0807035009). "This definitive study of the consequences of uncontrolled big box development opens our eyes to the myriad ways big box stores affect our lives: creating low-paying jobs, decimating downtowns, degrading our environment, fueling suburban sprawl, and diminishing community life. Mitchell shows us the true cost of the 'bargains' that many still think they are getting, and she also shares stories of communities that have found ways to counter the big box stores and build healthy, sustainable local economies."--Steve Bercu, Book People, Austin, Tex.
Paperback
An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the Business of Books by Wendy Werris (Carroll & Graf, $15.95, 078671817X). "Highlights of Wendy Werris' bookselling career: running into Hunter S. Thompson in her office, a wild car ride with Fran Lebowitz, dinner with special guest George Harrison, and stalking Kurt Vonnegut in New York City. Read this fast-paced and engaging memoir and get a glimpse of how books have shaped all of our histories."--Jessilyn Krebs, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, Mich.
For Children
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (Dial, $17.99, 0803731531). "Meet Alyss Heart, the young princess who has to find her way back to Wonderland to fight her evil Aunt Redd for her rightful place as Queen of Hearts. Beddor has reinvented all of the well-known Alice in Wonderland characters and places and has created a Wonderland where an epic battle between good and evil rages."--Laura Lucy, White Birch Books, North Conway, N.H.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]