Acquired Books from BEA 2014 (Survey for Potential Giveaways)

Hi Everyone! Amber & Arianna back with all the inside BEA info!

We wanted to give you the chance to see all the great books we picked up this year at Book Expo America 2014. Below is a slideshow of all the books (there might be a couple missing). The list is Alphabetical and doesn't reflect favorites.

We'd love to hear from everyone, please take the survey below the slideshow and let us know which books YOU can't wait to read (we might take those answers and turn them into future giveaways on the site).

IF you DON'T see the slideshow below, please try a different browser without ad blocking (the slideshow doesn't show up with any adblocking software). 

For those of you who can't view the above slideshow, here is the list of books:

• 10:04: A Novel by Ben Lerner - Exp Pub: Sept 2nd
• The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Beside by Ben Tripp - Exp Pub: Oct. 14th
• Alistair Grimm's Odditorium by Gregory Funaro - Exp. Pub: Jan 6th
• The Amado Women by Des Zamorano - Exp Pub: July 1st
• The American Plate: A History of the United States in 100 Bites by Libby O'Connell -Exp Pub: Nov 1st
• The Angel of Losses: A Novel - Exp Pub: July 29th
• At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well by Amy Chaplin - Exp Pub: Oct 21st
• The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak - Exp Pub: Sept. 30th
• The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day - Exp Pub: July 8th
• Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes - Exp Pub: Sept. 6th
• The Button Man: A Hugo Marston Novel by Mark Pryor - Exp Pub: Sept. 2nd
• Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Final Year by Tavis Smiley - Exp Pub: Sept. 9th
• Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen - Exp Pub: Sept 9th
• Fives and Twenty-Fives by Michael Pitre - Exp Pub: Aug 26th
• The Furies: A Novel by Natalie Haynes - Exp Pub: Aug 26th
• Garlic, an Edible Biography: The History, Politics, and Mythology behind the World's Most Pungent Food by Robin Cherry - Exp Pub: Nov 11th
• Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff - Pub: May 27th
• Her by Harriet Lane - Exp Pub: June 12th
• Hold the Dark: A Novel by William Giraldi - Exp Pub: Sept 8th
• The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street: A Novel by Susan Jane Gilman - Exp Pub: June 10th
• The Ice Creamery Cookbook: Modern Frozen Treats & Sweet Embellishments by Shelly Kaldunski - Exp Pub: July 1st
• Jackaby by William Ritter - Exp Pub: Sept. 16th
• Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett - Exp Pub: Oct 12th

King Dork Approximately by Frank Portman - Exp Pub: Dec. 9th

Last Winter We Parted by Fuminori Nakamura - Exp Pub: Oct 21st

Let's Do Brunch: Sweet & Savory Dishes to Share with Friends by Brigit Binns - Exp Pub: Sept. 3rd

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens - Exp Pub: Oct 14th

Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf - Exp Pub: June 24th

Love Me Back: A Novel by Merritt Tierce - Exp Pub: Sept 16th

The Magician's Lie: A Novel by Greer Macallister - Exp Pub: Jan 13th

Man's Best Hero: True Stories of Great American Dogs by Ace Collins - Exp Pub: June 17th

Meatless All Day: Recipes for Inspired Vegetarian Meals by Dina Cheney - Exp Pub: March 4th

Mind Without a Home: A Memoir of Schizophrenia by Kristina Morgan - Exp Pub: Sept 3rd

Morte by Robert Repino - Exp Pub: Jan 20th

Murder at the Brightwell: A Mystery by Ashley Weaver - Exp Pub: Oct 14th

My Real Children by Jo Walton - Pub: May 20th

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond - Exp Pub: Sept 30th

The Palace of Illusions: Stories by Kim Addonizio - Exp Pub: Sept 9th

Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine by James L. Sutter - Exp Pub: April 30th

Poisoned: Chicago 1907, a Corrupt System, an Accused Killer, and the Crusade to Save Him by Steve Shukis - Exp Pub: Sept 17th

Rock Angel by Jeanne Bogino - Exp Pub: Sept 16th

Skink - No Surrender by Carl Hiassen - Exp Pub: Sept 23rd

Smart Machines: IBM's Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly III, Steve Hamm - Pub: Oct 15th, 2013

Station Eleven: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel - Exp Pub: Sept 9th

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis - Exp Pub: Oct 14th

A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York by Anjelica Huston - Exp Pub: Nov 19th

Straight White Male by John Niven - Exp Pub: Oct 7th

The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones - Exp Pub: July 4th

Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel by Herman Koch - Exp Pub: June 3rd

Sweetness #9 by Stephan Eirik Clark - Exp Pub: Aug 19th

A Tale of Light and Shadow by Jacob Gowans - Exp Pub Sept 9th 

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone: A Novel by Adele Griffin - Exp Pub: Aug 12th

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin - Exp Pub: Nov 4th 

We Love Each Other (Yonezu Board Book) - Pub: Nov 1st, 2013

Wild Connection: What Animal Courtship and Mating Tell Us about Human Relationships by Jennifer L. Verdolin - Exp Pub: June 3rd

Your Perfect Life: A Novel by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke - Exp Pub: June 10th

Zooburbia: Meditations on the Wild Animals Among Us by Tai Moses - Exp Pub: May 20th

We Were Liars

We Were Liars E. Lockhart 3.5/5	Published 2014 First Sentence "Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family."
Publisher's Description: A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE..
Dear Reader, The question is, does this live up to the hype? Kind of, yes. I think most people will truly enjoy this book. I enjoyed it, BUT I did predict the "elusive" ending halfway through. I'm okay with that sometimes though, as long as the rest of the book holds up. A book doesn't have to be ALL about the mysterious ending, sometimes if you figure it out, the journey is just a rewarding. I could see other people maybe re-reading this after the big reveal, to see how it all comes together. The book will be a success this year, that much we know, and rightfully so. Can I even go into what the book is about? A rich family, on an island... they get together every summer. One summer, the main character, Cadence ends up on the beach with a splitting headache and no memory of what happened. She doesn't get any clues from the people around her. One summer two years later, she goes back to the Island and tries to piece everything together herself. Lockhart does a wonderful job with each detail creating the bigger picture. I felt like I was Cadence, and I wanted to find out as badly as she did. I have a feeling many teens will relate to this book and just as many adults will grab it to get the mystery itch scratched. I would recommend it to both demographics, so go ahead and pick this one up from the local library and head to the beach because this is PERFECT for that. Happy Reading, AmberBug P.S. - The blurb above is wrong... whoever wrote it. The 4 main characters aren't friends, they're family (only one of them isn't related). Interesting.

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Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief Lawrence Wright 3/5	Published 2013 First Sentence "Scientology plays an outsize role in the cast of new religions that have risen in the twentieth century and survived into the twenty-first."
Publisher's Description: A clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration into the world of Scientology by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the now-classic study of al-Qaeda's 9/11 attack, the Looming Tower. Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with both current and former Scientologists--both famous and less well known--and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative skills to uncover for us the inner working sof the Church of Scientology: its origins in the imagination of science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard; its struggles to find acceptance as a legitimate (and legally acknowledged) religion; its vast, secret campaign to infiltrate the U.S. government; and its dramatic efforts to grow and prevail after the death of Hubbard. At the book's center, two men whom Wright brings vividly to life, showing how they have made Scientology what it is today: The darkly brilliant L. Ron Hubbard--whose restless, expansive mind invented a new religion tailor-made to prosper in the spiritually troubled post-World War II era. And his successor, David Miscavige--tough and driven, with the unenviable task of preserving the church in the face of ongoing scandals and continual legal assaults. We learn about Scientology's esoteric cosmology; about the auditing process that determines an inductee's state of being; about the Bridge to Total Freedom, through which members gain eternal life. We see the ways in which the church pursues celebrities, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, and how young idealists who joined the Sea Org, the church's clergy, whose members often enter as children, signing up with a billion-year contract and working with little pay in poor conditions. We meet men and women "disconnected" from friends and family by the church's policy of shunning critical voices. And we discover, through many firsthand stories, the violence that has long permeated the inner sanctum of the church. In Going Clear, Wright examines what fundamentally makes a religion a religion, and whether Scientology is, in fact, deserving of the constitutional protections achieved in its victory over the IRS. Employing all his exceptional journalistic skills of observations, understanding, and synthesis, and his ability to shape a story into a compelling narrative, Lawrence Wright has given us an evenhanded yet keenly incisive book that goes far beyond an immediate exposé and uncovers the very essence of what makes Scientology the institution it is.
Dear Reader, This was the perfect type of book to listen to in the car, which is the format I used. I normally like my audiobooks to be non-fiction, I find missing parts of a "story" can get me lost more than "facts" from a non-fiction book. I thought I was going to like this just as much if not more than a book I read awhile back called "Inside Scientology" by Janet Reitman, published in 2011. You can find my very brief review of that book on goodreads, here. The hype was all over the place when "Going Clear" was first published, it was hard to miss it. I was skeptical about reading yet another book about Scientology but caved in when I signed up with Audible again and it popped up on clearance. I do love a good controversial book about crazy people that exist, which is essentially what this book is. I think where this book succeeded was in the details, the Author also made sure we saw both sides and ALL the facts. I love and hate when this is done because when you've been over-bombarded by all the facts, sometimes things get boring and this book had quite a few of those moments. However, this didn't take away the creep factor, that wacky side of the religion that makes everyone laugh. I have to admit that given all the facts, some aspects of the religion started to make "a little" sense. The thought behind getting rid of these "bad" things that hold you back... this is a common idea that fits with many "self-help" ideas. Everyone wants to get rid of those bad vibes, bad emotions, bad memories that hold you back, and Scientology pulls you in with the lure of taking all the BAD away. Who wouldn't think twice about that, especially someone who isn't well informed about the evils of Scientology. Not many people see the whole picture, that the religion will try and suck you dry (of every penny you have), that they will record every confession and then use it against you when you try to leave. They will use every tactic imaginable to keep you, and you'll be so intertwined within the religion at that point (so finally invested as well) that it doesn't make sense to leave. How scary is that? I wish everyone could read this and understand the dangers Scientology brings forth to society. This is one powerful religion, mostly due to the wealth they've accumulated. Not even the IRS could touch them, awhile back Scientology was in a legal battle with the IRS and Scientology won (meaning they will forever be considered a religion (along with any new branch they decide to create regardless of religious base). How convenient, right? The book starts with the history of L. Ron Hubbard, flows into his life and how he discovered and created Scientology. The book ends with David Miscavige, Tom Cruise, John Travolta and all those other celebrities. It explains how the celebrities were coaxed with lavish surroundings, slaves from the Sea Org to cater to them and fantasy retreats for them to escape to. They don't see the side of Scientology that takes someone from the middle class and makes them destitute within a few years. The entire religious scam they have going on angers me and scares me, and this book just heightens all of that. I want people to be aware of this, so I'll recommend the heck out of this book even though I only gave it three stars. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Perfect

Perfect Rachel Joyce 4 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "In 1972, two seconds were added to time."
Publisher's Description: A spellbinding novel that will resonate with readers of Mark Haddon, Louise Erdrich, and John Irving, Perfect tells the story of a young boy who is thrown into the murky, difficult realities of the adult world with far-reaching consequences. Byron Hemmings wakes to a morning that looks like any other: his school uniform draped over his wooden desk chair, his sister arguing over the breakfast cereal, the click of his mother’s heels as she crosses the kitchen. But when the three of them leave home, driving into a dense summer fog, the morning takes an unmistakable turn. In one terrible moment, something happens, something completely unexpected and at odds with life as Byron understands it. While his mother seems not to have noticed, eleven-year-old Byron understands that from now on nothing can be the same. What happened and who is to blame? Over the days and weeks that follow, Byron’s perfect world is shattered. Unable to trust his parents, he confides in his best friend, James, and together they concoct a plan. . . . As she did in her debut, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce has imagined bewitching characters who find their ordinary lives unexpectedly thrown into chaos, who learn that there are times when children must become parents to their parents, and who discover that in confronting the hard truths about their pasts, they will forge unexpected relationships that have profound and surprising impacts. Brimming with love, forgiveness, and redemption, Perfect will cement Rachel Joyce’s reputation as one of fiction’s brightest talents.
Dear Reader, Boy, am I behind on my reviews!  Part of that I blame on BEA, but I can't really be mad at such an amazing experience (plus, how does one express anger at an experience?), so I'll just do my best to catch up quickly! This book took me AGES to get through, which does not mean it was terrible.  It just means that *I* am terrible - at reading ebooks!  It honestly took me forever because I would only rarely pick up my Kindle (in any form) to read a few pages before being called away to other obligations.  For some reason, I find it much easier to get caught up in a physical book, still! In any case, Rachel Joyce is a wonderful writer.  This story had me intrigued from the start, as it is something I myself would speculate on.  What WOULD happen if two seconds were added to the clock?  Would everything be thrown off, much like the effect of flapping butterfly wings?  That is what Joyce argues, and she splendidly details how these minute two seconds could diverge and be experienced by two people very differently indeed.  While time itself doesn't fall apart, we do see lives slowly begin to do so in response.  Byron Hemmings experiences an accident which is his mother's fault, but she is strangely unaware of the incident.  Despite this, Byron soon convinces Diana of the truth, and the two begin to develop an unlikely relationship with the family who was affected, a family who is poor and trashy in striking contrast to the wealthy and reserved Hemmingses.  Life begins to turn upside-down for Byron's family and their new "friends," Beverley and Jeanie.  The Guardian review put it so well: "Guilty, rich and lonely, Diana showers Beverley and daughter Jeanie with gifts, and hosts afternoons during which the two women paint each other's nails and exchange confidences.  But Beverley is envious and as their intimacy grows, so does the risk."  That really is the crux of the book, and through this creeping wariness, you begin to understand how the two alternating voices (that of young Byron and an older, mysterious man named "Jim") are related.   Jim is a troubled man who has lost most of himself to years of electroshock therapy in a mental institution.  He is a loner and full of quirks, but the reader watches as he begins to interact more with the outside world, and then open up to his new friends.  Once the connection between the two main characters is established, the reader may still be thrown for a loop by the ending of the book!  I was smugly certain I had it all figured out, but Joyce easily reminded me of why we shouldn't ever make assumptions. All in all, beautiful writing and a very interesting story.  I know that if I had been reading this as a book or audiobook, I would certainly have raced through it.  I look forward to reading other works by this author. Yours, Arianna P.S. Some notable favorite examples of the gorgeous imagery Joyce evokes: "...Beneath a clear sky that was upholstered with stars" and "A flock of gulls flew east, rising and falling, as if they might clean the sky with their wings."

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Interview with Michelle Knudsen on Armchair BEA

Special LIVE from BEA
Interview with Michelle Knudsen
who wrote "Evil Librarian"

Live from BEA - Recap of Thursday on Armchair

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Our first live Armchair post!

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