Blue Books

Life of Pi

Product Review
Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion."

An award winner in Canada, Life of Pi, Yann Martel's second novel, should prove to be a breakout book in the U.S. At one point in his journey, Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fablelike Life of Pi is such a book. --Brad Thomas Parsons

From Publishers Weekly
A fabulous romp through an imagination by turns ecstatic, cunning, despairing and resilient, this novel is an impressive achievement "a story that will make you believe in God," as one character says. The peripatetic Pi (ne the much-taunted Piscine) Patel spends a beguiling boyhood in Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper. Growing up beside the wild beasts, Pi gathers an encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world. His curious mind also makes the leap from his native Hinduism to Christianity and Islam, all three of which he practices with joyous abandon. In his 16th year, Pi sets sail with his family and some of their menagerie to start a new life in Canada. Halfway to Midway Island, the ship sinks into the Pacific, leaving Pi stranded on a life raft with a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. After the beast dispatches the others, Pi is left to survive for 227 days with his large feline companion on the 26-foot-long raft, using all his knowledge, wits and faith to keep himself alive. The scenes flow together effortlessly, and the sharp observations of the young narrator keep the tale brisk and engaging. Martel's potentially unbelievable plot line soon demolishes the reader's defenses, cleverly set up by events of young Pi's life that almost naturally lead to his biggest ordeal. This richly patterned work, Martel's second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. In it, Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Little Blues Book

Product Review
Almost small enough to fit into a hip pocket, this is a kind of guidebook to the blues, featuring quotations from blues songs, mini-biographies of bluesmen and blueswomen, and illustrations by R. Crumb. The quotes (on topics ranging from "Getting the Blues" to "The Thrill is Gone") are little gems, pithy aphorisms like this one from Rabbit Brown: "I done seen better days, but I'm putting up with these." Author Brian Robertson, himself a musician, includes a bibliography and a list of Internet resources in this great little introduction to the blues and the men and women who made the music.

From Publishers Weekly
In his Little Blues Book, Texas musician Brian "King Bee" Robertson retells the legends, and recalls the lyrics, of Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Muddy Waters and other blues greats. Combining thumbnail sketches, quotations from various bluesmen and illustrations by R. Crumb, this primer sets out with unabashed nostalgia to win the blues a new generation of devotees.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Lord Foul's Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book 1)

Product Description
The first book in one of the most remarkable epic fantasies ever written, the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever.
He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because he dared not believe in the strange alternate world in which he suddenly found himself. Yet he was tempted to believe, to fight for the Land, to be the reincarnation of its greatest hero.
THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER
Book One: LORD FOUL'S BANE
Book Two: THE ILLEARTH WAR
Book Three: THE POWER THAT PRESERVES

Publisher Description
These books have never received the recognition they deserve. It's one of the most powerful and complex fantasy trilogies since Lord of the Rings, but Donaldson is not just another Tolkien wanabee. Each character-driven book introduces unexpected plots, sub-plots, and a host of magical beings so believably rendered you'd believe you might bump into them on your way to the bookstore.
                                                --Alex Klapwald, Director of Production

Love the One You're With (B-Boy Blues, Book 5)

From Publishers Weekly
Hardy continues his noteworthy B-Boy Blues series with this enjoyable if cursory fourth entry, again focusing on the resilient bonds of friendships, the durability of long-standing unions, and the theory and practice of monogamy. Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers has said good-bye for now to his long-time "beaufriend," Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford, to chase stardom in Hollywood with the expectation that when he returns, his relationship will still be intact. But between sexy, spicy phone calls from Raheim, Mitchell finds himself reveling in the attentions of a variety of other men, like police detective Rippington, whom he meets in a restaurant, and Skye, a frisky teenaged supermarket cashier. Mitchell tries to resist, but falls hard for hot-bodied jazz singer (and UPS man) Montgomery "Montee" Simms. Though Montee freely admits to having bisexual tendencies, Mitchell's crush persists and a fevered union ensues, with no regrets on either side. The light story line is generously studded with slangy vernacular and a host of barbed, campy one-liners, especially during the warm and wicked gay-friends-as-surrogate-family gatherings. A well-documented "soundtrack" (Hardy knows his music) and scenes with Pooquie's young son lend a soft glow to the story. But the playful plot is too often burdened with dogmatic points Hardy seems determined to drill into the heads of his readers. Opinions on subjects ranging from race relations and African-American politics to biased cops and society's view of bisexuality constantly pop up and rob the novel of its intended buoyancy. Comparisons to E. Lynn Harris are inevitable, though more for characterization and slick jacket art than for writing quality and readability.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Hardy offers the latest installment in his B-Boy Blues series of novels about gay black men in New York City. Pooquie Rivers, a model, is off to California to appear in his first feature film, leaving behind his boyfriend, Mitchell Crawford. Mitchell, formerly a journalist, is now a junior-high-school writing teacher. Pooquie and he are devoted to each other, but absence not only makes the heart grow fonder, it also provides an opportunity for straying. During Pooquie's two-weeks in L.A., Mitchell ably fends off all advances until he meets Montee Simms, a musician. It's not easy to say no to Montee, and Mitchell succumbs to the temptation. Does his infidelity ruin his relationship with Pooquie? No. From the experience, Mitchell learns even more about his love for the man of his dreams. An out-and-out romantic novel sure to please Hardy's steady readership. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Lush Life: A Novel

Product Review
Amazon Significant Seven, March 2008: No one has a better ear and eye for the American city than Richard Price, and in Lush Life, his first novel in five years, he leaves the fictional environs of Dempsy, New Jersey, where Clockers, Freedomland, and Samaritan were set, for a few crowded blocks of Manhattan's Lower East Side. There's a crime at the heart of the story, but you don't read Price for plot. Instead, you listen as he peels apart layers of class and history through the way his characters talk to each other: hipster bartenders who tell people they're really writers, homeboys from housing projects named after the Jewish immigrants who have long left the neighborhood, and cops, cops, cops, circling the streets looking for a collar, disappearing into their cases as their own lives go to ruin. --Tom Nissley

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Master of the Bronx and Jersey projects, Price (Clockers) turns his unrelenting eye on Manhattan's Lower East Side in this manic crescendo of a novel that explores the repercussions of a seemingly random shooting. When bartender Ike Marcus is shot to death after barhopping with friends, NYPD Det. Matty Clark and his team first focus on restaurant manager and struggling writer Eric Cash, who claims the group was accosted by would-be muggers, despite eyewitnesses saying otherwise. As Matty grills Eric on the still-hazy details of the shooting, Price steps back and follows the lives of the alleged shooters—teenagers Tristan Acevedo and Little Dap Williams, who live in a nearby housing project—as well as Ike's grieving father, Billy, who hounds the police even as leads dwindle. As the intersecting narratives hurtle toward a climax that's both expected and shocking, Price peels back the layers of his characters and the neighborhood until all is laid bare. With its perfect dialogue and attention to the smallest detail, Price's latest reminds readers why he's one of the masters of American urban crime fiction. Author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maniac Magee (Newbery Medal Book)

Product Review
Maniac Magee is a folk story about a boy, a very excitable boy. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say. It's also the story of how this boy, Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, confronts racism in a small town, tries to find a home where there is none and attempts to soothe tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town. Presented as a folk tale, it's the stuff of storytelling. "The history of a kid," says Jerry Spinelli, "is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball." And for this kid, four parts of fun. Maniac Magee won the 1991 Newbery Medal.

From Publishers Weekly
In this modern-day tall tale, Spinelli ( Dump Days ; Jason and Marceline ) presents a humorous yet poignant look at the issue of race relations, a rare topic for a work aimed at middle readers. Orphaned as an infant, Jerry Magee is reared by his feuding aunt and uncle until he runs away at age eight. He finds his way to Two Mills, Pa., where the legend of "Maniac" Magee begins after he scores major upsets against Brian Denehy, the star high school football player, and Little League tough guy, John McNab. In racially divided Two Mills, the Beales, a black family, take Maniac in, but despite his local fame, community pressure forces him out and he returns to living at the zoo. Park groundskeeper Grayson next cares for the boy, but the old man dies and Maniac moves into the squalid home of the McNabs, who are convinced a race war is imminent. After a showdown with his nemesis, Mars Bar, Maniac bridges the gap between the two sides of town and finally finds a home. Full of snappy street-talk cadences, this off-the-wall yarn will give readers of all colors plenty of food for thought. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Maria (Florida Trilogy, Book 1) (The Florida Trilogy)

Publishers Weekly
Eugenia Price is a name spoken with affection by millions of readers

Chattanooga Times
Newcomers to Ms. Price's work should soon join her legions of faithful readers.

Meet Wild Boars (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards))

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this silly cautionary tale, Rosoff presents the catastrophic results of friendships with wild boars that are "dirty and smelly, bad-tempered and rude." Horace will "cut the strings off your puppets" and "make fun of your feet," Morris shares his fleas, Boris leaves a smelly trail of destruction, and Doris is "uglier than an Ugli fruit." Like cunning children without manners, these creatures lack the ability to say "excuse me" or "please"; they break toys, stomp on treats, soak in the toilet, and devour treasures. It's clear they can not be trusted. The wily quartet appears dressed for play in cartoon displays of their unmannered excesses. Large, gouache illustrations follow the snort, stomp, and smell of the boars viewed either from a safe vantage point or eyeball to eyeball. The artist's attention to detail underscores the tiniest hairs and the grimiest clothes, down to the minute bow on Doris's head. The animals' eyes reveal their true deceitful nature in encounters with trusting children. An entertaining choice for independent reading or group sharing.-Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 2. Rosoff, winner of the 2005 Michael L. Printz Award for her YA novel How I Live Now (see The Booklist Interview, p.1289), does a 180 in this picture book about dirty, stinky, mean boars. Yet there is a thread between the two books. Both are bitingly funny and deeply satisfying--each on its own level, of course. Morris, Boris, Horace, and Doris don't like others, and don't want others to like them. Consequently, being polite to Boris results in a tusk in the butt. If you try to help Horace with his mittens, he'll make a nasty smell and snort with laughter. Doris may be the worst case, though--the stinkiest, ugliest, bossiest boar of all. If the boars say they'll be nice when they visit your home, don't believe them. They'll do everything from soaking in your toilet to cutting the string off your puppets. Doris will eat your stuffed animals. So, everyone agrees that there is no such thing as a nice wild boar, but--as the final picture shows--you may run into one that is sweet ("though chances are that you won't"), and then you will be amazed. Blackall's roll-on-the-ground-in-laughter illustrations are incisively rendered in ink and gouache. There's not a bad habit, predilection, or odor that isn't described or drawn, and the boars' sly reactions to the havoc they cause are priceless. Let's hope for more from this disgustingly delightful group. Wild, they may be. Bores, they are not. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Metadebates on Science: The Blue Book of `Einstein Meets Magritte' (Einstein Meets...

Product Description
How do scientists approach science? Scientists, sociologists and philosophers were asked to write on this intriguing problem and to display their results at the International Congress `Einstein Meets Magritte'. The outcome of their effort can be found in this rather unique book, presenting all kinds of different views on science. Quantum mechanics is a discipline which deserves and receives special attention in this book, mainly because it is fascinating and, hence, appeals to the general public. This book not only contains articles on the introductory level, it also provides new insights and bold, even provocative proposals. That way, the reader gets acquainted with `science in the making', sitting in the front row. The contributions have been written for a broad interdisciplinary audience of scholars and students.

Millions (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards))

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8–When fourth-grader Damian finds a bag full of cash by the train tracks, he and his brother try to spend it fast. The bills are all pounds, and England is just a few weeks away from converting to the euro, so anything they don't use will, in their minds, soon be worthless. This happy predicament sets up some excellent comic situations, including rampant inflation at the school yard and some suspiciously materialistic Mormons. But a lot more is going on than money-related antics. Damian, obsessed with the lives of the saints and a bit muddled about the real world, narrates with endearing naïveté and unintended deadpan humor. Fifth-grader Anthony has an endless supply of schemes, contrasting with his brother's more charitable sensibilities. Though their mother's recent death is not described until later, the boys' sense of loss permeates the story, and their instant fortune subtly leads them to a point where they can finally face their grief. Damian's encyclopedic knowledge of saints is hilarious at times, but also reveals his touching need for faith and reassurance. Supporting characters, including their dad and a shrewd female fund-raiser, have distinct personalities. The imagined 1998 monetary changeover may be confusing to American kids, who might assume the event really occurred, but readers should grasp the resulting need to act with dispatch. There's plenty of excitement as the deadline approaches and the brothers' secret becomes known, but the humor, the strong family story, and Damian's narrative voice make this satisfying novel succeed on several levels.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
The patron saint of audiobooks must surely have been watching over this production. It's got colorful, carefully crafted characters, a cinematic story--a British youth, obsessed with saints, finds a cash bonanza--and a dazzling read by Simon Jones. Boyce's story operates as a clever mystery, a parable about greed, a lesson in recovery from loss, and an example, like HUCKLEBERRY FINN, of a book about children that works for all ages. Narrator Jones's strongest gift isn't his array of British accents (which he does effortlessly) or his timing (which is impeccable); it is his empathy--an uncanny ability to put the listener inside the mind of a spiritually conflicted child. If you're wondering what separates the good from the great in audiobook narration--check out this Golden Voice. R.W.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Modern Book Collecting

Product Review
This guide describes everything you need to know about collecting recently published literature. Robert Wilson indicates how to identify known and emerging authors worth collecting; how to find those first editions, with a list of the various labeling styles of well-known commercial and small presses; how to spot a fake; and how to sell your collection to an institution. The appendices alone are a valuable resource for collectors, with lists covering such information as book auction firms, clubs for book collectors, and Wilson's picks for the 50 most important American books since World War II.

From Publishers Weekly
Wilson's guide combines discussions of the basics of book collecting with helpful appendices.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson Series, Book 1)

Kim Harrison, author of Every Which Way Is Dead
Moon Called is an excellent read with plenty of twists and turns Thoroughly satisfying, it left me wanting more.

Product Review
Moon Called is an excellent read with plenty of twists and turns Thoroughly satisfying, it left me wanting more. (Kim Harrison, author of Every Which Way Is Dead) A new novel by Patricia Briggs guarantees a good reading time. (Crescent Blues)