New Kids' Fiction

A family copes with having a parent away on a 100 day, 99 night military tour of duty through the eyes of the very loveable Esmerelda (Esme) Swishback McCarthur. Esme wants to be good while her dad is away. In fact, she feels like it's her duty to be good. But being good can be hard, especially if you have a little brother like Ike. By following Esme's story, as she awaits her father's return, readers will see how heroism can translate to every member of a family. Aside from the military families that this book serves, readers who wonder what it would be like if their mother, father, brother, or sister was sent away will relate to Esme's quiet strength and candor and will understand her worry about what could happen.
Travis and his sister, Corey, can't resist a good trick—so when they learn that their grandmother's sleepy Vermont inn has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little "haunting" of their own. Scaring the guests proves to be great fun, and before long, the inn is filled with tourists and ghost hunters eager for a glimpse of the supernatural.But Travis and Corey soon find out that they aren't the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Restless, spiteful spirits swarm the inn, while a dark and terrifying presence stalks the halls and the old oak grove on the inn's grounds. To lay the ghosts to rest, Travis and Corey must first discover the dark history of Fox Hill and the horrors visited on its inhabitants years earlier.
Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and “highstacking” around the rooftops in search of new mysteries to solve. In this first adventure, Barnaby is attacked one night by an enormous dog and soon finds himself swept up in a world of crooked doctors, poor and ill-advised patients, strange tonics, and very expensive furs. . . .




If you are one of Zoë’s friends, you know her “invisible rules” for school survival, from what to wear to which boy is the Most Vile. Ever since the day Zoë neutralized the playground bully, she has been the go-to gal for classmates and teachers alike. When a new girl comes to school with a “reputation,” Zoë decides to help her fit in. But who will save Zoë when her coaching backfires completely? Zoë Monday Costello is a whirlwind who will pick up fans on the first page of this uproarious story, carry them effortlessly to its satisfying conclusion, and leave them craving another wild ride.
Who is sending all those fortune cookies around the city? What sinister message is tucked inside? Why are the dreaded Scorpions working with the Yellow Jacket Hive? Fourth-grade ninjas Tiger Moth and his best buddy Kung Pow smell something crummy in the air, and it's not the jumbo hot chocolate from Starbugs!

Bonding With Books

Developing Early Reading Skills for Your Child (Birth to Pre-K)
Friday, October 3rd at 10am.
A workshop for parents of preschoolers, toddlers and infants.
Call 474-2044 to sign up: ask for Lisa.

It's never too early to introduce books to your child. Preschoolers, toddlers and even infants learn important skills when they are encouraged to explore language and books. Join us and learn new tips and ideas on how to introduce books and sounds to your young child.

Disocver how to:
Help your child develop an interest in books.
Choose books that match your child's development.
Build your child's vocabulary.
Prepare your child to learn to read.

This workshop is offered by the NH State Parent Information and Resource Center.

New Kids' Movies

Dora the Explorer, Blue, the Wonder Pets and many more of Nickoldeon's favorite animated characters come out to play in this autumn-themed release.









Mist is a farm puppy who desperately wants to be a "real" sheepdog. There are some difficult rams on the farm that she has to learn to manage and this ambitious dog just can't seem to get things right. A gentle story about learning, perseverance and goals.






Do you ever feel like every time you turn around, your life is being flipped upside down? Welcome to the world of Alice McKinley (Alyson Stoner of Camp Rock) who’s just moved to a new town with her dad Ben (Luke Perry) and brother Lester (Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical). In her imagination, Alice is cool, confident and popular, but in reality, she feels like she can’t do anything right. Can Alice survive the embarrassments of being ‘the new girl’, and the miseries of Mrs. Plotkin’s sixth grade class? Based on the best-selling books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

What a predicament! The Amazing Krudsky, whose carnival tricks are anything but, steals the light magic from Princess Fairy Willow and it’s up to Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to stop him or everyone will be turned into horrible Halloween monsters! Our heroes board the Grim Reaper Railroad bound for the fantastic world of Halloween Land to retrieve the powerful Goblin Septer from the Goblin King before Krudsky can. Along the way, the Mystery Inc. crew encounters the infamous Headless Horseman, the helpful Jack O’Lantern and a frisky broomstick that takes them on the ride of their afterlife.

new teen books

Thoughtful Pete, tough Pauly, twins Eric and Nicole, strange Raymond: As kids they were tight; now they've grown up--and apart. They agree to get together one last time, but, twisted by personal histories and fueled by pharmaceuticals, old jealousies surface. The party's soon over, and the group splinters off into the night. Into the noise and heat and chaos of the carnival. Days later, a girl goes missing. The prime suspect in her disappearance? One of their own, one of the old gang. Pete doesn't know what to believe: Could one of his childhood friends really be a cold-blooded killer?

Product Description: It’s been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Now, struggling through the harsh winter aboveground, they find an unusual book. Torn up and missing most of its pages, it alludes to a mysterious device from before the Disaster, which they believe is still in Ember. Together, Lina and Doon must go back underground to retrieve what was lost and bring light to a dark world.In the fourth Book of Ember, bestselling author Jeanne DuPrau juxtaposes yet another action-packed adventure with powerful themes about hope, learning, and the search for truth.

Product Description:
Ryan and his friends don't think twice about stealing some money from a wishing well. After all, who's really going to miss a few tarnished coins?
The well witch does. And she demands payback: Now Ryan, Josh, and Chelle must serve her . . . and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well. Each takes on powers they didn't ask for and don't want. Ryan grows strange bumps—are they eyes?—between his knuckles; Chelle starts speaking the secrets of strangers, no matter how awful and bloody; and Josh can suddenly—inexplicably—grant even the darkest of wishes, the kind of wishes that should never come true. Darkly witty, wholly unexpected, and exquisitely sinister, Frances Hardinge's Well Witched is one well-cast tale that readers didn't know they were wishing for.

Product DescriptionWhen you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions

New Non fiction

Product Description
The U.S. economy is wrapping up twenty-five years of some of the strongest, smoothest growth in its history-a performance so sweet economists have given it a name: “the Great Moderation.” So why have so many of us, even those making hundreds of thousands of dollars, arrived at the new century with a gnawing sense that events are moving against our families and ourselves? The easy answer is that we’re suffering a case of needless anxiety. But the easy answer is wrong. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of Americans and new statistics he developed, Peter Gosselin traces a quarter-century shift of economic risk from the broad shoulders of business and government to the backs of working people. It is a shift that has shaken the pillars of most families’ lives-stable jobs, solid benefits, government protections. The change doesn’t mean one can’t prosper. But it does mean the benefits of growth come at greater peril and your financial fall will be steeper if you stumble. This threat to working Americans’ security-and what to do about it-is a pressing concern to economists, policy-makers, and everyone who works for a living.

Product Description: We all know about the Earth's environmental crisis, but there is someone who can truly make a difference: you. If you text your friends or chat with them online, download music to your iPod, or toss bottles and papers into recycling bins, you're already more eco-savvy than you think. It's just as easy to do even more to help save the earth, and Generation Green shows you how. This book: Lays out the inside scoop on the biggest issues affecting our planet, such as global warming and overflowing landfills
Offers dozens of tips on how to shop, dress, eat, and travel the green way Includes interviews with teens like you who are involved with fun, innovative green causes Shows that being environmentally conscious can be a natural part of your life -- and your generation's contribution to turning things around. It doesn't matter if you can't vote or drive. Your efforts -- big or small -- will contribute to saving the planet. It's time for all of us to take action. It's time to go green!

Product Description: Mystery and crime readers looking for great new reads, and librarians looking for fresh reading lists for patrons will love this new resource. Rather than listing titles according to formal genres and subgenres, it categorizes hundreds of popular crime fiction titles according to five broad features: character, setting, story, language and mood--and then into thematic lists as "Reading the Bones," "Dynamic Duos," "Love you to Death," and "Bright Lights, Dead Bodies." For each title, you'll find bibliographic information and a brief, punchy description, designed to spark reader interest and capture the appeal connection. Use these lists to advise readers; create thematic reading lists for library Web sites, flyers, and newsletters; and as checklists or reading plans for those who enjoy mystery fiction. Buy two copies--one for the reference or readers' advisory resource shelf and another to circulate!

New Fiction

From Publishers WeeklyBestseller Cook (Critical) stumbles in this formulaic thriller about the timely subject of medical tourism, the trend in which U.S. citizens seek to save costs on expensive surgery through treatment overseas. At the center of the drama is Jennifer Hernandez, a fourth-year medical student at UCLA, whose grandmother has died in a New Delhi hospital following hip replacement surgery. Suspicious about the circumstances, Hernandez immediately flies to India to investigate. There she not only discovers a number of similar deaths of U.S. citizens but also runs into the one-two punch of a desperate Indian medical industry struggling to block all publicity about the deaths and a huge American HMO that wants nothing more than the widest exposure of the apparent medical missteps in the Third World. Implausible plot twists, unconvincing villains, silly dialogue and a convenient, all-too-happy ending make this one of Cook's rare weak efforts. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description:When former Miami homicide detective Jane Bunker left her big city life for Green Haven, Maine, she thought she was also leaving behind the pollution, noise, and dead bodies. Well--as any New Englander will tell you --two out of three ain't bad. After solving a murder and surviving a couple of attempts on her life (recounted in the bestselling mystery Slipknot), Jane Bunker believes she's finally earned a respite from murder and intrigue. But if she thinks it's time for her to soak up the peace and quiet she's been seeking, she should think again. On her way back from a routine investigation into some smashed equipment, Jane takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of a Maine autumn--there's the sublime rainbow foliage of the highlands, the serene reflections of the setting sun on the bay's gentle waves, the elegant silhouette of a lobster boat on the bay. But her calm lasts only as long as it takes for Jane to make the chilling discovery that the vessel is in serious trouble with nobody aboard--and that its owner has vanished without a trace. And that's the least of the mysteries. A young mariner dead of a heroin overdose; the real agenda of a charismatic Indian leader; a missing bait iron and a corpse painted red--nothing is what it seems. Fisherman's Bend brings us Greenlaw's pitch-perfect ear for all things maritime. From the eccentric denizens of little Green Haven--Audrey, the punk rock waitress, the delightful Vickersons with their all-mussel cookbook--to the dark undercurrents that run beneath this seemingly idyllic coastal village, Greenlaw's flair for combining humor and Down East flavor with roller-coaster suspense makes this a mystery that will grab you hook, line, and sinker.

Product Description: Intrigue in the halls of power, blood in the streets— the master of suspense returns with a novel of dark passion and darker deeds.After almost two score books, Higgins knows how to fire up a thriller,” wrote Publishers Weekly about the author’s latest book, The Killing Ground. “It’s all pure Higgins: almost every shot hits square between the eyes, and all the characters are hard lads indeed.” But none of them harder than the heroes—and villains—of Rough Justice.Dispatched by the President to report on the state of still troubled Kosovo, his trusted agent Blake Johnson runs into a military man there named Harry Miller, who has the same task from the British Prime Minister. They band together just in time to stop a Russian officer from torching a mosque—or rather, Miller stops him, with a bullet to the forehead.This action will have considerable consequences, not only for Miller and Johnson and their associates, including Britain’s Sean Dillon, but for a great many people, all the way to the top of the governments of the United States, Britain, and Russia. Death begets death, and revenge leads only to revenge, and before the chain reaction of events is done—from Kosovo to London to Beirut to Ireland to Moscow—there will be plenty of both.Rich with all the ingredients that have made the author justly admired, Rough Justice is further proof that, in the words of the Associated Press, “When it comes to thriller writers, one name stands well above the crowd—Jack Higgins.”

Product Description: Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.

New Parent Educator Books

Unhealthy food is everywhere–colorfully packaged, cheap, and full of fat, calories, and sodium. It’s no wonder childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the last thirty years. Family nutrition expert Eileen Behan posits that good nutrition and good eating habits start on day one. The Baby Food Bible is based on the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, tells parents when to introduce these foods into a child's diet, and emphasizes the importance of setting healthy eating routines that center on family meals at the dining room table–the perfect time to build good habits. It also features an alphabetized index that explains how to buy, store,prepare, and serve more than 100 foods, with delicious recipes for every meal, wholesome snack ideas, and advice for eating out. There’s no better way to ensure your child will grow up to have a happy and healthy life!

Offering advice for teachers eager to develop better discipline in the classroom, this guide provides practical methods for eliminating disruptive behavior, encouraging productive work habits, and communicating with parents. Clear lessons and straightforward language reveal how to measure discipline in a classroom environment, as well as how to handle difficult situations, such as transition times, assemblies, lunchtime, and field trips. A separate chapter for school administrators explains how to support classroom teachers in creating discipline and how to evaluate those teachers.

Here is a unique parenting book filled with coping strategies, activities, and ideas for successfully managing day-to-day life with preschoolers. Arranged chronologically over the course of a day, chapters address such topics as dressing and managing the morning rush; successful napping without struggles; managing sibling rivalry; bath time and bedtime. Special attention is given to helping preschoolers cope with transitions and changes in routines. Each chapter begins with an introduction that highlights common problems, discusses relevant developmental issues, and offers general suggestions to avoid troublesome moments. Detailed, individual activities with easy-to-follow instructions, rhymes, and games follow. Using the ideas in the book, parents can transform boring or aggravating at-home tasks into experiences that a child-and adult-may enjoy.
An information-packed, month-by-month guide to all the emotional, financial, and yes, even physical changes the father-to-be may experience during the course of his partner's pregnancy. Incorporating the wisdom of top experts in the field, from obstetricians and birth-class instructors to psychologists and sociologists, The Expectant Father is filled with sound advice and practical tips for men.

Helping your child through the toilet-training process may be one of your greatest challenges as a new parent. And when it comes to this important developmental stage, every child is unique. Some are “ready” earlier than others, and not all children respond to the same approach. This invaluable resource covers everything you need to know about the toilet-training process to make this important transition as easy and as positive as possible for both you and your child. This comprehensive guide answers parents’ most frequently asked questions and concerns, including: When to toilet train: finding the age that’s right for your child, How to choose and install a potty, Positive ways to handle the inevitable “accidents”, What to do when your child resists, Practical advice for common problems such as constipation, Toilet training children with special needs, Special tips for boys, girls, even twins, Coping with bedwetting and soiling and much more.

A comprehensive guide featuring practical solutions for surviving and succeeding as a single mother. Anderson inspires confidence, offering real world answers to real problems, from financial planning to coping with divorce.

New Kids' Picture Books

Benny is going out. He is tired of hanging around inside. Benny's little brother is going out, too. He's also sick of hanging around inside. “Stay away from the mudhole,” says Benny's mama. “Oink, oink,” says Benny. Then Benny and his little brother head straight for the mudhole.






Thea decides to plant some old bean seeds and watch them grow as her science project. And grow they do--into a giant beanstalk. Savvy young readers will recognize elements from the classic "Jack" fairy tale, such as a harp and golden egg, but the haughty grown-ups that Thea writes to for help do not. Thea receives letters and comical advice from a plethora of dim "experts," ranging from botanist to symphony conductor to zoologist.



What could go wrong with crayons, ice cream, and a toy box?









Meet Stinky Stubb, Dirty Dugg, Gorbert, and Melvina, the craftiest crew of monsters ever to build a house. With hard hats and heavy machinery, these feisty fellas dig, dump, hammer, nail, and—after a surprise lunch of Mama’s special monsteroni and cheese—they even squeeze in time for an afternoon snooze.
With backhoes, bulldozers, and mud mounds galore, here is a book that young construction enthusiasts will want to dig into over and over again.


Nobody told this older brother that having a new little brother would mean big changes, and he's FED UP! It's time to mail Harry to the moon so life can go back to the way it was before Harry: No more spit-up! No more grabbing! No more wailing in the night! But along the way, baby Harry might just help our hero see that being a big brother means more than just a big nuisance-it means adventure and friendship, too.




Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so when the boy's father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy studies its every detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a way that bread never could.

New Kids' Reference Books

Research indicates boys are interested in reading nonfiction materials. Offering citations for more than 1,100 books, Gotcha for Guys! deals specifically with books to pique the interest of middle grade boys. A series of booktalks are grouped within chapters with like titles such as: "Creepy-Crawly Creatures," "Disasters and Unsolved Mysteries," "Action and Innovation," and "All Things Gross." Complete booktalks are presented in a beginning section of chapters 1-9. A second section in each of these chapters contains short annotations and talks for other books of interest, and a third section offers lists of well-reviewed titles to consider for boys. The book is enhanced with book cover art and reproducible lists for teachers and librarians.

Full of information on everything from animals to inventions, cutting-edge technology for the environment, this handy, colorful resource is a must-have for 8- to 12-year-olds. The Time For Kids Almanac 2009 features more than 650 new photos of kids' favorite stars, athletes, leaders, and other newsmakers, not to mention pictures of people and places from all around the world (and spanning history!). Engaging articles from the award-winning Time for Kids magazine bring the facts to life while quizzes, games, puzzles, fun factoids and more make for an interactive read. The ultimate in edutainment, the thoroughly up-to-date facts, charts, statistics and maps will engage readers while boosting their brainpower.Every page offers kids a quick course on a subject of interest, whether they're curious about recent Grammy winners or Pulitzer prizes; the order of the presidents or the number of bones in their bodies; the real deal with global warming or the Middle East.

Books Kids Will Sit Still For 3 by librarian and children's literature troubadour Judy Freeman is here at last. The largest and most comprehensive book of its kind ever written, it's an indispensable treasure trove of 1,700 child-tested favorite read-aloud titles, published since 1995. Everything here--the text chapters (About Children's Books and Ways to Use Them), the Annotated Read-Aloud Lists for preschool through grade 6, the professional books bibliography, and the indexes--is 100% new! This is the definitive source for the best recent picture books, fiction, poetry, folklore, biography, and nonfiction books to share with children. The extensively annotated bibliography incorporates thousands of innovative and inspirational ideas for booktalking, book discussion, creative drama, storytelling, poetry, writing, library skills, and other literature-based teaching.
Today's children stand on the threshold of a new millennium that promises incredible scientific and technological advances. The need to understand basic scientific principles has never been greater and these principles are brought within the grasp of every child by The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. All the essential subject areas, from Space and Time, Materials and Technology, to Human Biology, are covered in this one-volume encyclopedia. Accurate, approachable, and an indispensable source of information for school projects,

New Kids' Nonfiction

Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the amazing world of crystals and gems. Superb color photographs of crystals, jewels and gemstones of every color, size and shape offer a unique "eyewitness" insight into their extraordinary beauty and variety. See a crystal growing, diamonds used to cut through a brick wall, a phantom crystal, gemstones formed in a volcano, and crystals of gold and silver. Learn how a quartz watch works, how to identify crystals, why crystals have been grown in space, how crystals are used healing, and why Napoleon had a diamond in his sword. Discover where to find crystals in your home, how synthetic crystals are made, which famous rubies are really spinels, which is your birthstone, and much, much more.
Can you imagine a shipwrecked sailor living on air and seaweed for eight days? Can you imagine a trail of yellow butterflies fluttering their wings to songs of love? Once, there was a little boy named Gabito who could. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is perhaps one of the most brilliant writers of our time. He is a tremendous figure, enomously talented, and unabashedly admired. This is his story, lovingly told, for children to enjoy. Using the imagery from his novels, Monica Brown traces the novelist's life in this creative nonfiction picture book from his childhood in Colombia to today. This is an inspring story about an inspring life, full of imagination and beauty.
We’ ve all heard them– the popular myths and urban legends. Is it true that a penny dropped from a skyscraper can really kill someone on the sidewalk below? Only two men would be inventive– and adventurous– enough to try to find out: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the MythBusters. In this book, you’ ll learn how they either " busted" or confirmed many of the myths on their TV show, often with spectacular results. Some of the urban legends examined include: Is there really such a thing as killer quicksand? Does a goldfish have memory? And can a toy car beat a real car in a gravity slope race? And could Archimedes have invented an ancient death ray? The book provides many fun and exciting demonstrations that are related but appropriate for kids to do on their own.
This full-color, volume explores a habitat, or biome, that is home to nearly one-half of the world's known plants and animals: the tropical rain forest. These forests can be found in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, in a belt that follows the equator across these continents. It explains what makes a rain forest a rain forest—besides the daily rain, of course. There must be a constant warm and humid climate, too. The lush jungle and rainbow-colored creatures that inhabit the rain forest biome are shown in beautiful nature photography throughout the pages. The book documents some of the great dangers rain forests today face, such as slash-and- burn farming and industrial-scale logging.

New Non-Fiction

Four Stars and a thumbs up from -verbafacio Library Thing memeber.


This is a very entertaining, quick read with a great concept. Hilary Carlip takes shopping lists she has found at stores in California and imagines personas for each unknown shopper. Then, with a lot of creative makeup and dressing, she transforms herself into each mystery shopper. The photos are fascinating, and the short introductions that go with each list will have you laughing out loud. A great book to peruse.




Amazon Product Description
At the start of this brilliantly unconventional family memoir, David Gilmour is an unemployed movie critic trying to convince his fifteen-year-old son Jesse to do his homework. When he realizes Jesse is beginning to view learning as a loathsome chore, he offers his son an unconventional deal: Jesse could drop out of school, not work, not pay rent - but he must watch three movies a week of his father's choosing.Week by week, side by side, father and son watched everything from True Romance to Rosemary's Baby to Showgirls, and films by Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Brian DePalma, Billy Wilder, among others. The movies got them talking about Jesse's life and his own romantic dramas, with mercurial girlfriends, heart-wrenching breakups, and the kind of obsessive yearning usually seen only in movies. Through their film club, father and son discussed girls, music, work, drugs, money, love, and friendship - and their own lives changed in surprising ways.

Ever wonder how to retrieve a sunken golf cart from a snake-infested lake? Or which club in your bag is best suited for combat against a horde of rats? If these and other sporting questions are gnawing at you, The Downhill Lie, Carl Hiaasen’s hilarious confessional about returning to the fairways after a thirty-two-year absence, is definitely the book for you.Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl wisely quit golfing in 1973, when “Richard Nixon was hunkered down like a meth-crazed badger in the White House, Hank Aaron was one dinger shy of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and The Who had just released Quadrophenia.” But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years—and memories of shanked 7-irons—faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son—and also as a grandfather.“What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.”And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately—and foolishly—agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.”Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem—culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament—will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who has written an extraordinary book for the ordinary hacker.

The actress recalls the challenges of maintaining a healthy self-image while coping with the stress of celebrity, her twenty-year marriage to rock star Eddie Van Halen, her battle with depression and weight, motherhood, and her determination to take control of her own life.

New Mysteries

Dr Jonathan Ransom, world-class mountaineer and surgeon for Doctors Without Borders, is climbing in the Swiss Alps with his beautiful wife, Emma, when a blizzard sets in. In their efforts to escape the storm, Emma is killed when she falls into a hidden crevasse.Twenty-four hours later, Jonathan receives an envelope addressed to his wife containing two baggage-claim tickets. Puzzled, he journeys to a remote railway station only to find himself in a life-and-death struggle for his wife's possessions. In the aftermath of the assault, he discovers that his attackers - one dead, the other mortally wounded - were, in fact Swiss police officers. More frightening still is evidence of an extraordinary act of betrayal that leaves Jonathan stunned.Suddenly the subject of an international manhunt and the target of a master assassin, Jonathan is forced on the run. His only chance for survival lies in uncovering the devastating truth behind the secrets his wife kept from him and in stopping the terrifying conspiracy that threatens to bring the world to the brink of annihilation. Step by step, he is drawn deeper into a world of spies, high-tech weaponry, and global terrorism - a world where no one is who they appear to be and where the ends always justify the means.

Amazon Product description

General Patrick McLanahan's new Aerospace Battle Force has grown into a full-fledged task force based on the Armstrong Space Station. Providing almost instant access to space and every corner of the globe using the Black Stallion spaceplanes, the ABF's powerful network of satellites and unmanned aircraft controlled from space can not only attack any target anywhere on the planet within hours but can even invade any computer network as easily as making a phone call.
But the program has its critics and doomsayers, including Russia, the United Nations, and the American press. Wealthy, Western-educated, and sophisticated Russian president Leonid Zevitin uses a combination of top-secret anti-spacecraft weaponry, fearmongering, and new U.S. president Joseph Gardner's own egotism in an effective plan to eliminate all support for the space program. Gardner and his allies in Congress and the Pentagon will stop at nothing—even destroying one of their own—to get what they want.
Yet McLanahan and his forces refuse to allow the Russian aggression to stand. McLanahan ignores directives from the White House and Pentagon to stand down and orders the ABF to attack secret Russian bases in Iran.
President Gardner orders McLanahan's immediate arrest. But before authorities can throw him in jail, they have to figure out how to retrieve him from the space base orbiting the earth. Currently in control of the Aerospace Battle Force from Armstrong Space Station, McLanahan closely watches Russia's movement of weaponry while defending himself against the President's attempts to discredit him. In a race against time, McLanahan must outmaneuver his own countrymen, defeat the Russians, and expose the truth . . . or die trying.

New Fiction

Amazon product description

Annabelle has finally made peace with the loss of her beloved husband. Until she finds out he wasn’t alone when he died…Since a plane crash killed her husband two years ago, Annabelle Murphy has found solace in raising her two children. Just when she thinks the grief is behind her, she receives the news that the wreckage of the small plane has been discovered—and that her husband did not die alone. He was with another woman. Suddenly, Annabelle is forced to question everything she once held true.Sophie Parker knows the woman who was on that plane. A dolphin researcher who has lived a quiet life, Sophie has never let anyone get too close. But when Annabelle shows up on Sophie’s doorstep full of painful questions, both women must confront their intertwining pasts—and find the courage to face the truth.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club selection House of Sand and Fog—a new big-hearted, painful, page-turning novel.One early September night in Florida, a stripper brings her daughter to work. April's usual babysitter is in the hospital, so she decides it's best to have her three-year-old daughter close by, watching children's videos in the office, while she works.Except that April works at the Puma Club for Men. And tonight she has an unusual client, a foreigner both remote and too personal, and free with his money. Lots of it, all cash. His name is Bassam. Meanwhile, another man, AJ, has been thrown out of the club for holding hands with his favorite stripper, and he's drunk and angry and lonely.From these explosive elements comes a relentless, raw, searing, passionate, page-turning narrative, a big-hearted and painful novel about sex and parenthood and honor and masculinity. Set in the seamy underside of American life at the moment before the world changed, it juxtaposes lust for domination with hunger for connection, sexual violence with family love. It seizes the reader by the throat with the same psychological tension, depth, and realism that characterized Andre Dubus's #1 bestseller, House of Sand and Fog—and an even greater sense of the dark and anguished places in the human heart

Kids' New Fiction

All her life, Addy's heard stories about the McMahon family curse. Her mom says the stories are just jokes, but Addy isn't so sure. In fact, she's got evidence. Like the fact that her archenemy saw Addy shopping for a training bra with her mom. Or that Jonathan, her mom's g-ross boyfriend, is moving into the guest room.
If only Addy could escape into the cartoon world of her journal, or hang out with her best friend, Jackie. The only problem is—and this is probably because of the curse—Jackie is now Addy's ex-best friend since one particular comic from her journal was somehow shown to the entire school. If only Addy could prove to Jackie that it wasn't her fault. It had to be that curse. Didn't it?
Mexico is a long way from Kalamazoo--and not just in terms of miles. Almost-thirteen-year-old Hayley Flynn is spending six months with her eccentric grandmother in the rural mountain town of San Cristobal. Her father recently deserted the family and Hayley's mom needs time to, as she puts it, "work things through." Down in Mexico, everyone calls Hayley by her new, more glamorous chosen name, Margarita and she makes new friends like Lili. Hayley and Lili even win parts as extras in a Hollywood movie being filmed in the town. But poverty and unemployment send Lili's father and other men from the village to Michigan as migrant workers so they can send money back home to their anxious families. Meanwhile Hayley is on the lookout for la fantasma (the ghost) that is said to haunt her grandma's house.
Zack, his dad and new stepmother have just moved back to his father’s hometown, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over . . . and Zack is directly in his sights.


Ten-year-old Julia Gillian knows everything about her quirky neighbors, her Minneapolis neighborhood, even the inscrutable "claw machine" in the back of the corner hardware store. The one thing Julia Gillian doesn't know is how the book she's reading is going to end. It doesn't seem as if it's going to have a happy ending, and that scares her. But Julia learns a little something about fear: sometimes you just have to work through it. And though bad things do happen sometimes, having good friends and family around you makes life a bit less scary - and much more fun.

Ida May and her new best friend, Stacey Merriweather, are two peas in a pod. And when they discover a magical mermaid night-light that seems to grant wishes, they start a secret club—just the two of them. But before long, Ida suspects that Stacey is using the mermaid to tell some big lies . . . and to cause some big trouble at home. How will Ida set the record straight while still keeping her new best friend?



Fran is the best at everything, even if she does cheat and push a little. And who cares if none of the other kids want to play with her? Her unruly puppy Hercules is more fun, anyway. When the school play is announced, Fran knows she'll make a better princess than anyone else. But Fran's teacher tells her she'd better improve her behavior if she wants to play the lead. To make matters worse, her parents threaten to get rid of Hercules unless he shapes up. Will Fran be able to keep her puppy and the leading role? Acting like a real princess is going to be hard, but it just might bring surprising results.