The June 2007 Book Sense Picks & Notables Preview

May 03, 2007

Here is the full listing of June Book Sense Picks, with booksellers' comments, as well as a preview of the month's Notables. Independent booksellers in the Book Sense program will be receiving their June Picks fliers in the May Red Box. (The flier includes jacket images, bibliographic information, and bookseller quotes.)

The May Book Sense Notables fliers and shelf-talkers are now available for download via BookWeb.org.

1. THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS: A Novel, by Anita Amirrezvani (Little, Brown, $23.99, 978-0316065764 / 0316065765) "It is a feat to bring off a serious, historically-set novel where the history doesn't overwhelm the human story, nor does the human tale simply use the history as furniture. This most impressive, captivating debut -- a novel of a young woman finding her way into life in 17th century Iran -- is one that does justice to both story and history." --Rick Simonson, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $25.95, 9781594489501 / 1594489505) "While offering a historical perspective on Afghanistan, Hosseini's new novel renders an incredible story, beautifully told. Readers will fully experience the humanity of this struggling country, right through the entirely satisfying ending." --Missie Olm, The Reader's Loft, Green Bay, WI

THE RELIGION: A Novel, by Tim Willocks (FSG, $26, 9780374248659 / 0374248656) "The Religion, set during the Turkish siege of Malta in 1565, is one of the best historical novels I have ever read. The characters are fascinating, and their lives so compelling that you are intertwined with them until the last page is finished." --Brian Delambre, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

LIFE'S A BEACH, by Claire Cook (Voice / Hyperion, $23.95, 9781401303242 / 1401303242) "This is a delightful, insightful look at life, love, growing up, and turning 50. Meet the Walsh family: Ginger -- still looking for herself at 41; Geri -- her BlackBerry obsessed sister who is turning 50; Dad -- the take-it-or-leave-it dump diver; and Mom -- a Kama Sutra T-shirt wearing parent. You will love them all." --Janet Bollum, The Muse Book Shop, DeLand, FL

FIVE SKIES: A Novel, by Ron Carlson (Viking, $23.95, 9780670038503 / 0670038504) "Set in Idaho, this is a simple story of three men, two older and one younger, who spend the summer building a stunt ramp beside a river canyon. The older men both have issues with recent deaths of a loved one, and the young man is drifting and unsure of what to do with a life that began with petty crimes. As the younger man discovers that he has value as the older men mentor him, a healing process begins. An exquisite novel." --Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM

LANDSMAN: A Novel, by Peter Charles Melman (Counterpoint, $24.95, 9781582433677 / 1582433674) "After being manipulated into committing a robbery that becomes a murder, Elias Abrams avoids retribution by enlisting in the Confederate Army. Elias' basic goodness and moral sense are resurrected through a newfound understanding of kinship. Landsman is both earthy and mythic, with themes of patricide, betrayal, and hope brought to satisfying and human resolution." --Julia Cowlishaw, Shaman Drum Bookshop, Ann Arbor, MI (BBC Audiobooks America, Unabridged Audio, $39.95 CD, 9781602832923 / 1602832927)

FALLING MAN: A Novel, by Don DeLillo (Scribner, $26, 9781416546023 / 1416546022) "Through the testimony of a 9 / 11 survivor and the deep impact of his return in the lives of his estranged wife and son, DeLillo succeeds in giving the reader a chance to revisit that tragedy from an emotionally renewed standpoint. This remarkable novel is a revelatory approach to the one seminal event that shaped this new century and is a stunning achievement." --Marie du Vaure, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, CA

DIVISADERO, by Michael Ondaatje (Delacorte, $25, 9780307266354 / 0307266354) "Ondaatje's spellbinding new novel revolves around three adopted siblings whose lives break apart and eventually reconnect years later. Their story parallels another unusual family unit, a reclusive writer and his gypsy neighbors searching for a peaceful life in post-war France. As usual, Ondaatje's storytelling is highly individual and utterly hypnotizing, as story leads into story, and the reader arrives at the end with a longing to turn to page one and begin again." --Rich Rennicks, Malaprop's Bookstore / Cafe, Asheville, NC

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver, (HarperCollins, $26.95, 9780060852559 / 0060852550) "This account of Kingsolver's and her family's attempt to eat only locally grown food is incredibly thought-provoking, asking you to examine where your food really comes from and what it really costs in terms of environmental effects, transportation, and people's livelihoods. There are lots of suggested actions people can take, and the whole thing is hysterically funny." --Kate Reynolds, Colgate Bookstore, Hamilton, NY

SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE: A Novel, by Austin Grossman (Pantheon, $22.95, 9780375424861 / 0375424865) "This is a funny, sad, and wonderful book about superheroes and their evil genius counterparts. It seems that even super powers can't protect you from the insecurities and relationship problems that we un-super types experience. Clearly keeping the villains from taking over the world (yet again) calls for more than nifty outfits. Great fun." --Lisa Wright, Oblong Books and Music, Millerton, NY

LAND OF LINCOLN: Adventures in Abe's America, by Andrew Ferguson (Atlantic, $24, 9780871139672 / 0871139677) "With grace, insight, and great good humor, Ferguson travels the blue highways to discover the stories behind our fascination with the 16th president. During the course of the journey, readers come to know a Lincoln who was an icon, an enigma, an intimate, and an enemy. And it is a journey well worth taking, honest!" --Joe Drabyak, Chester County Book & Music Company, West Chester, PA

THE GRAVEDIGGER'S DAUGHTER, by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco, $26.95, 9780061236822 / 0061236829) "Oates' dramatic novel spans three generations of a family haunted by the effects of Nazi Germany. Through Rebecca's eyes (the daughter of the title), we see chilling domestic abuse but intrepid survival skills. Full of suspense, fear, anxiety, hope -- get ready for an emotional trip with a gifted author." --Bonnie Stone, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE, by Lee Child (Delacorte, $26, 9780385340557 / 0385340559) "Simply put, Jack Reacher, Lee Child's longtime protagonist, is the smartest, stealthiest, most suave good guy since James Bond. Life stops when a new Lee Child novel arrives; one could not pry it out of my hands!" --Andy Nettell, Arches Book Company, Moab, UT

WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT: A Novel, by Will Allison (Free Press, $23, 9781416541394 / 141654139X) "Will Allison has a deep and sympathetic feel for his characters, who come from a group of folks that aren't much represented in current fiction. I know some of these folks myself, and I think he's done a marvelous job of rendering them -- warts, passions, frustrations, and all." --Tom Campbell, The Regulator Bookshop, Durham, NC

FROM THE PALMER RAIDS TO THE PATRIOT ACT: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America, by Christoper M. Finan (Beacon, $25.95, 9780807044285 / 0807044288) "This is one of the most important -- and readable -- books written about the price of freedom in a democracy. Do we want to pay for our freedom and security with our free speech? Timely and urgent, this is an essential book for citizens, politicians, and government officials to read and embrace." --Alicia Greene, Olsson's Books & Records, Washington, DC

THE LAST CHINESE CHEF: A Novel, by Nicole Mones (Houghton, $24, 9780618619665 / 0618619666) "Mones tells the story of the cultural and historical aspects of Chinese cooking within a story about an American food writer, Maggie McElroy, who is desperately trying to figure out her own life. This is food and travel writing at its best." --Debbie Burton, The Rediscovered Bookshop, Boise, ID

THREE BAGS FULL: A Sheep Detective Story, by Leonie Swann (Flying Dolphin, $22.95, 9780385521116 / 0385521111) "When George Glenn's sheep find their shepherd dead in the pasture, they decide they must investigate his death. Led by Miss Maple, a particularly intelligent sheep, their quest for justice is surprising -- and thoroughly entertaining." --Carol Schneck, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, MI

THE SHADOW CATCHER: A Novel, by Marianne Wiggins (Simon & Schuster, $25, 9780743265201 / 0743265203) "Marianne Wiggins' latest novel is a fictionalized account of photographer Edward S. Curtis, full of both beautiful and lyrical writing about love and loss and art and wonderful accounts of the road trips of the character 'Marianne Wiggins,' accounts which complete the story in a unique and impassioned manner. A literary delight." --Kathleen Dixon, Islandtime Books & More, Washington Island, WI

AUSTENLAND: A Novel, by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, $19.95, 9781596912854 / 1596912855) "Darcy-obsessed Jane Hayes is fantasizing her life away when her great aunt Carolyn tries to snap her out of it by sending her on a three-week visit to a Jane Austen fantasy camp. Tantalizing, funny, absolutely satisfying, and surprising to the last page, this delicious confection will be devoured by die-hard Austen fans." --Linda Hillegass, Lee Booksellers, Lincoln, NE

WARM SPRINGS: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven, by Susan Richards Shreve (Houghton, $24, 9780618658534 / 061865853X) "This new memoir is an immediately engaging story of the years Shreve spent at Warm Springs, the treatment center for polio set up by FDR. The book is fascinating on many levels: the history it covers of both our nation and our delivery of health care, and the heartbreaking coming-of-age story set in a facility for children, often suffering unimaginable pain, separated from their families. A lovely book, tender and funny." --Leslie Reiner, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL

Fiction

ICE MOON, by Jan Costin Wagner (Harcourt, $25, 9780151012695 / 0151012695)
THE LAST NOVEL, by David Markson (Shoemaker & Hoard, $15 paper, 9781593761431 / 1593761430)
THE LOST CONSTITUTION, by William Martin (Forge, $24.95, 9780765315380 / 0765315386)
MALE OF THE SPECIES: Stories, by Alex Mindt (Delphinium, $22.95, 9781883285289 / 1883285283)
ON CHESIL BEACH, by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $22, 9780385522403 / 0385522401)
THE PRICE OF SILENCE, by Camilla Trinchieri (Soho, $22, 9781569474587 / 1569474583)
QUANTICO, by Greg Bear (Perseus Books Group/Vanguard, $24.95, 9781593154455 / 1593154453)
STORMY WEATHER, by Paulette Jiles (Morrow, $24.95, 9780060537326 / 0060537329)
THE WITCH OF PORTOBELLO, by Paulo Coelho (HarperCollins, $24.95, 9780061338809 / 006133880X)

Nonfiction

A BUFFALO IN THE HOUSE: The True Story About a Man, an Animal, and the American West, by R. D. Rosen (New Press, $24.95, 9781595581655 / 1595581650)
THE CANON: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, by Natalie Angier (Houghton, $27, 9780618242955 / 0618242953)
CRASHING THROUGH: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See, by Robert Kurson (Random House, $25.95, 9781400063352 / 1400063353)
DANCING WITH ROSE: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's, by Lauren Kessler (Viking, $24.95, 9780670038596 / 0670038598)
GHOST HUNTERS: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death, by Deborah Blum (Penguin, $15, 9780143038955 / 0143038958)
MISS AMERICAN PIE: A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing Up in the 1970s, by Margaret Sartor (Bloomsbury, $11.95 paper, 9781596912014 / 1596912014)

Mystery / Suspense

BLOOD THIRSTY, by Marshall Karp (MacAdam/Cage, $26, 9781596922099 / 1596922095)
A FATAL GRACE: A Three Pines Mystery, by Louise Penny (St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95, 9780312352561 / 0312352565)
FREE FIRE, by C.J. Box (Putnam, $24.95, 9780399154270 / 0399154272)
IN THE WOODS, by Tana French (Viking, $24.95, 9780670038602 / 0670038601)
WHITEWASH, by Alex Kava (Mira, $24.95, 9780778324409 / 0778324400)

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