Life on the Front Lines: April Showers of Events

Hi Readers,

We have an extraordinary slate of events this April. Giada deLaurentiis appeared at the Riverside and captivated the crowd. Kris Radish had us in tears we were laughing so hard, see the synopsis of that event below. Jane O'Connor leads a Fancy Nancy party tomorrow, on the 17th. Teacher Appreciation Night when all educators receive 20% off and lots of free books and swag is on the 19th. Rachel Maddow promotes her new book, Drift, at the Riverside on the 21st. Adriana Trigiani keynotes a bookclub evening on the 24th. Katie Workman talks food with recipes from her Mom 100 cookbook prepared by Schully's on the 26th. Russ Feingold will speak to a packed house on the 28th. Whew, I'm exhilirated and exhausted at the same time already. As always, check out our website or give the store a call, 262.241.6220, for more details.

Kris Radish was a hoot and a half and had the crowd laughing from the moment she opened her mouth to speak. She was back in town to promote her new book, Tuesday Night Miracles and was not too happy with how cold it was compared to her current home state of Florida. Radish co-owns a wine bar in downtown St. Petersburg and said, "what would make more sense than a writer to open a bar?!" She emphatically explained that her books are not chick lit, they're books for "broads who have been there." In response to a question if when she's writing her characters ever surprise her, she said, "if you give your character reign, they go wherever the hell you want." Tuesday Night Miracles is about the lives of 4 women who got caught expressing their anger and now have to suffer the consequences. As Radish said, "we've all done things in anger and obviously we haven't been caught, or we wouldn't be here (at the event)."

Hunger Games!

Matt and I attended the midnight Hunger Games premier to hand out coupons for the store. (Disclosure: I'm also a huge fan of the series and would have gone to the midnight showing regardless). I was impressed by how many screaming young women were in attendance and dressed as Katniss. I counted 3 sets of bows and arrows and 2 Peetas. How neat to have a strong female protagonist as a role model in the cinema for young women for a change!

I hope to see you at an event this month.

Happy Reading,

Hannah

Reading by Booklight

Hi everyone and happy spring!!  I feel like I can officially call it spring not just because of the holiday weekend but because our birdfeeders are half empty and my tulips have bite marks out of them.  Somehow all of this sunshine has also given me more energy to read and read and finish some more books.  I have three more titles that I am so excited to see finally released either in trade paperback or in hardcover.  All of these titles also happen to remind me of spring for reasons you'll soon see.  Enjoy!

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Victoria Jones has lived in foster homes her entire life, and when she meets Elizabeth she is afraid that she will be like the rest of her foster parents, cruel and abusive.    When Elizabeth begins teaching Victoria about flowers, she begins to trust someone for the first time in her life.  Through Elizabeth she learns the Victorian language of flowers and immediately immerses herself in learning all of the flowers’ meanings.  When the unthinkable happens and Victoria must depend on her knowledge of flowers in order to support herself, she begins to truly learn what love and family is.

Bride's House by Sandra Dallas

This is the story of one house, the Bride's House, in a small Colorado mining town during the late 1800's.  It starts out as the home for a very new and young bride named Nealie who lands in it under different circumstances than she originally thought she would.  Nealie has always dreamed of living in the Bride's House and having the fairy tale life she associated with it.  The house then follows the next generation of women in the household and continues onto the third generation as well.  In a way I think the house almost is a character in itself with the important role it plays in each generation's lives and how there have been so many secrets kept and told to the walls over the years.  One of the most interesting things that I learned while reading this book is that it is actually based on the house that Sandra Dallas lives in.  This is a great novel for anyone who loves history, family stories or even architecture.  The author does an excellent job painting a portrait of a small mining town and the many changes it sees over the years as well as what the house sees.\

Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Now this doesn't exactly sound like something I would describe as a usual "spring read" but what makes this a good read right now is how funny and light it is.  The Spellman mystery series has quickly become one of my favorites for entertaining reading.  The Spellman detective agency is made up of essentially the Spellman family with an ex-convict ( found innocent) named Demetrius.  Imagine not only living with your family but also seeing them every single day at work, add in a very feisty grandmother who is just moving in and you have a whole lot of craziness.  Each novel is told through "files" and "documents" pertaining to each member of the family as well as their clients.  In this mystery the brother, David, has changed from a clean cut business man to a disheveled and stressed stay-at-home- dad and refuses to give up a secret that is driving his sister, Izzy, very crazy.  To Izzy it seems like everyone in the family is keeping secrets from each other and she is determined to figure them all out. 

I hope you all have something good to read, if not try these :)  Enjoy your reading as well as our nicer weather.

Happy reading,

Morgan

Life on the Front Lines: Staff Memoirs

Hello readers,

This week, we start a new series, the juicy tell-all memoirs of the Next Chapter Bookshop staff members. You get to see the cover and read the dust jacket of the (only imagined) sure to be bestsellers by our always interesting staff.

As a child, Liz Corrao dreamt of becoming a flight attendant so that she could travel the world and have crazy adventures. Instead she flew her way into the world of books and now every day of bookselling is a wild ride. Liz has built her life around her love for her husband, her Brewers, her cats and her books. She met her funeral director husband, Joe, at his sister's BBQ, they talked baseball and it was love. She takes pride that when she and Joe married, in 1994, she turned him into a "total cat daddy".

Pick up this delightful tale of finding joy in the small things and you'll read about how Diet Coke, Law and Order, and suspenseful fiction have added to the richness of Liz's life. And don't forget the Brewers! Liz and Joe proudly display Robin Yount's bobble head (in a curio, to protect Yount from being bobbled by the cats). Hisses and Purrs: My Life as a Crazy Cat Girl will inspire you to take a trip to the Humane Society and immediately adopt an adorable pet.

**Look soon for the novelization of the account written by Lesley Kagen where Rebecca Bloomwood Brandon (of Shopaholic fame) plays Liz.

"This is the purr-fect book for you!"-- Liz Corrao

"I couldn't put it down. Who knew Liz had such exploits in her youth!" --Hannah Johnson-Breimeier

Reading by Booklight

Hello fellow readers!!  I'm back again, finally, and have a few books to talk about that I'm pretty excited to see out in paperback.  I can't wait to start talking about spring books as well but I'm afraid of jumping the gun on mother nature even though she's been pretty nice lately.  Ok so this is what I've been excited for...

faith by Jennifer Haigh
I think this is going to be a very important discussion book for book clubs.  The list of topics to talk about in this book is endless in my mind.  Haigh has always done an excellent job writing about relatable characters in interesting situations with faith being no exception.  Faith is about a priest, well loved and respected in his community that is accused of the unthinkable.  This story is told from any and every perspective making it all that much harder to put it down.  Art, the priest, has always been very dedicated to his life as a priest so when others begin treating him differently due to the accusations he is heartbroken.  What I really enjoyed about faith is the fact that you don't know the answers to many of the questions you have until the very end.  I think all good books should be this way but that's just me.  If anyone reads faith come talk to me about it, I love discussing this book!

5 Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Piper is your regular everyday teenager who is involved with school, gets along well with her siblings and has plenty of responsibilities except that she's deaf.  When Piper gets upset with her younger brother one day for ignoring her hand signing she blows up at his friends saying that their band sucks.  This argument ends in her becoming the new manager of the band, even though she can't really hear their music.  This adventure ends up being one huge learning experience for not just her but her family and bandmates as well.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and how much there was to talk about with the YA book club.  5 Flavors wasn't just the usual teen read that we've done, there was a lot about family dynamics as well as team dynamics in it.  The end of it was definitely full of surprises and I was happy to be able to pass my copy along to another bookseller knowing she would enjoy it as much as I did.

Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
This story starts out at a farm house in the middle of a field with a older woman and two young strangers that have arrived on her doorstep.  To Martha Zimmer these two young strangers seem to be together even though one can't speak and the other doesn't seem to understand everything in general.  What worries Martha is that the young girl seems to be very pregnant and with no place to go so she quickly brings them in out of the rain only to have a baby girl born in her attic that night.  When police arrive soon thereafter looking for two escapees from the Pennsylvania State School for the Incurable and Feeble Minded the reality of the situation sets in and Martha immediately tries her hardest to keep these young people safe.  When the young couple is brought out to the car to go back to the State school the young man takes off through the fields still hoping for freedom.  This leaves the widow with a very hungry and new baby to care for with no knowledge about the parents other than their brief meeting.  This just begins the journey they all take to keep this baby girl safe and in a good home.  I really enjoyed this book and would compare it to a mix of the Help and Memory Keepers Daughter.  There is a lot to discuss with this novel and it's perfect even for a gift as well.  This is a novel I would refer to as the rare sleeper novel, I don't find many of them a year but this is definitely a sleeper in my mind because of the impact it made on me so quickly.

I hope this gives you all a few more titles to add to your already growing piles of good books to read.  Let me know your thoughts and opinions on these if you get around to it.  Happy early spring and lets hope it sticks around!
~ Morgan

Life on the Front Lines: Movie Roundup #2

Hi Readers,

On February 3rd, I wrote about movies that originated with books. There's more movies due out based on books; I would be remiss if I didn't mention a few. At the bottom of the post, I've got 2 books you should read.

Movie Roundup

Matt, our in-house comic book guru, is already planning to see the Avengers (originally a Marvel comics series) when it hits the big screen. What could be better than superheroes working together?

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is a classic reminder that we should all be stewards of the earth. I can't tell if the movie will encourage us to do the same. It will be cool to see truffula trees swaying in the animated breeze.

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln not only wore a tall hat, but was also a vampire hunter? Based on the book by Seth Grahame-Smith, the movie will shed light on a heretofore unknown piece of history.

John Carter is an old school sci fi tale by Edgar Rice Burroughs that's been turned into a very expensive film with a ton of fancy effects.

Look for mentions of The Hobbit and Life of Pi later in the year. Both are wonderful books and their movies are due out in December.

Books!

Nick Harkaway is my favorite author. His second book, Angelmaker, is due out March 20th. It has a GORGEOUS shiny cover and is an excellent read. It's smart, thrilling, and British. Really, what more could you want? My review for it made it into the Indie Next list for April!! Come into the store in April to pick up your Indie Next flyer and I'll gush your ear off until you buy the book.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg will force you to take a deep look at your habits and those of your work place and explain how they've been formed. Read this to learn how to change bad habits and start better new habits and the neuroscience behind it all.

Happy Reading,

Hannah

Life on the Front Lines: If the Staff Gets Behind It

Hi Readers,

We're almost through February, usually the blah-est month of the year. What better way to procrastinate on shovelling your car out, when it actually snows, than to read a great book?!

If you shop at our store frequently, you'll notice there's usually books that multiple staff members have read and recommend. We enjoy raving to each other about what we're reading and then passing on the advance copy when we finish. Recently I read the advance copy of Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes because Joyce knew I would love it and the advance copy for the much anticipated memoir, Wild , by Cheryl Strayed because Matt couldn't stop talking about it. As soon as those two books are released, expect to see them on our staff pick shelves.

Right now the most popular book is the Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker. Close seconds are The Fault in our Stars by John Green and Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff. Leading up to and during the holidays the big staff favorites were the Art of Fielding by Racine native, Chad Harbach, Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, the former two are still holding their own on the adult IndieBound bestseller list. Open City by Teju Cole is now out in paperback and holds beloved spots on multiple staff pick shelves. Usually, when the staff gets behind a book, it rockets to our in-store bestseller list and we can sleep a bit better knowing that our customers are reading excellent books.

Lauren Fox (middle) with Lanora (l) and Lesley Kagen (r) promoted her new book, Friends Like Us , on February 14th. New York Times bestselling auther Lesley Kagen introduced Lauren saying, "Lauren has an amazing ability to represent relationships and her dialogue is fantastic." Lanora, the owner of Next Chapter, interviewed Lauren ala Inside the Actor's Studio, which led to a more winding, but definitely entertaining evening. Lauren answered the questions asked of her with her typical wry, self-deprecating sense of humor. When Lanora mentioned all of the positive reviews Friends Like Us has received from the blogosphere, Lauren quipped, "my husband goes by many aliases." She said she is "interested in things that are both funny and sad." She's not fond of the term 'chick lit.' She said she's been burned by it, "my books are not light and frothy." She draws inspiration from "things that are interesting, that I gnaw on." All in all it was an enjoyable event with the cookies flying off the refreshment table and laughter abounding.

On February 27th, Jennifer Chiaverini showed off two beautiful quilts that she designed. She's on tour promoting her second historical fiction novel, Sonoma Rose. She shared some of the details of her upcoming novel, due on October 16th, the Giving Quilt. Right now what she knows about the plot is that it takes place during a special free week of winter quilt camp and all of the quilts made will be donated to Project Linus. She said that, "she does all of the research for her books herself. She enjoys the happy accidents of learning about something new that she wasn't anticipating." My favorite story she told is that her sons enjoy helping put the stamps on the postcards she sends out. Her youngest sometimes ends up wrapping part of the stamp around the side of the postcard. So if you receive a postcard from her with a wrapped around stamp, you know she had help with that one. We have autographed first editions and the collectible pins selling quickly. If you still want one, be sure to order it from our website or call it in.

Coming soon, the dust jacket summaries from the not yet written memoirs of your Next Chapter Bookshop booksellers. Guaranteed to entertain.

Happy Reading!

Hannah

Life on the Front Lines: "I just don't have the time!"

Hi Readers,
This post is a hodgepodge of anecdotes, new paperback releases, and a few not-to-be-missed picture books.  My next post may be more cohesive.

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway (my favorite author) hits the shelves on March 20th.  Watch the trailer for it here.  And that is all I will say about it for now (a feat of remarkable self-control).

Anecdotes
My favorite story of the month comes from an interaction I had with an 8 year old.  When he comes into the store, he beelines for the Geronimo Stilton (mouse detective!) books with the hope that there's one he doesn't own.  One time his mom stopped by for suggestions of other series he might enjoy.  I handed her the first book in the Rangers Apprentice series knowing he had devoured all of the Percy Jackson books.  Last time he visited, I asked if he had started it.  When he said no, I asked him why.  He said, "I just don't have the time."  !!!!!!  He's too devoted to Gernoimo Stilton to stray; he'd rather re-read books from that series than start a new one.  I admire him for knowing what he wants to read and sticking to it.

Another favorite is when book club members see the book they're supposed to read next and quickly decide to skip the meeting instead of having to read said book.  This most often happens when another member slips a fat history book, a hardcover with a distant paperback release date, or a novel with a bad cover into the rotation.

New Paperback Releases
I have been looking forward to the paperback release of two books that I think were far too underappreciated when they came out in hardcover.  Please, read them and be impressed.

In the Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier, suddenly, pain causes light to shoot from bodies.  Physical suffering is visible to everyone.  Different folks deal with this sudden change with a range of emotions.  And yet, somehow, life carries on, days pass and it becomes a non-phenomenon.  Brockmeier's ability to describe the twists and turns of humanity left me impressed.  He's one of those authors who suprises with the truth of this sentences.  In paperback on February 21st.

The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb will be a good book club book.  There's plenty to discuss.  Cultures change a lot with regime change.  Pho, a delicious Vietnamese noodle soup, brings different generations together in Hanoi.  I started loving the stubborness of the characters and ended up loving them for their tenacity and care for each other.  Have your own staycation while you read this.

Picture Books
And now... some picture books.  What better way to beat the winter blues than to read a charming story out loud to yourself, your kids, or your significant lover?!

Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson is full of timeless illustrations.  Otto lives in a book.  When his book is abandoned in an empty house, he's forced to go out into the world to find a new home.  Turn the pages to see where he ends up and how he gets there.  Otto the Book Bear is worth reading and re-reading.

You put the words to the illustrations-only story in The Tree House by Marije and Ronald Tolman.  Whenever I read this book about two bears who find a treehouse in the middle of the ocean, I'm filled with a sense of wonder and my imagination wakes up.

Until next time may winter bring you more time for reading,
Hannah