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The quirkiest, heartwarmingest bookstore on the planet. FebruaryFebruary / March 2017 Books That Rocked Our Socks Off!
1312 E. Cary Street MAUREEN RECOMMENDS CARL RECOMMENDS Shockoe Slip Just Fly Away Rebirth Richmond, VA 23219 by Andrew McCarthy by Kamal Ravikant 804-788-1594 Former Brat-Packer Andrew McCarthy has penned a I judged a book by its cover on this one (I do that a lot actually... oops), but raw, beautiful coming-of-age story about a teenage ended up totally correct on my presumption. Ravikant’s portrait of a young info@ girl dealing with family secrets, first love, loss, and for- man’s journey after the loss of his estranged father is beautifully written, giveness. Fifteen-year-old Lucy leads a somewhat thought provoking, heartbreaking, triumphant, and redeeming. Amit uses his fountainbookstore.com “normal” life until she overhears a conversation travels on the Camino de Santiago in Spain to try to make some sense of his between her parents she doesn’t understand, leading inner turmoil, and meets a number of people who share their experiences and them to reveal a secret about Lucy’s family that shakes knowledge. It certainly helped me out; I should trust my instincts more often. Store Hours her foundation. Interrupting what could be her first Hachette $26. Monday-Saturday 10-6 romantic love, she leaves on her own to take a journey that starts as escape but leads to discovery. While we KATIE RECOMMENDS Sunday 12-5 may not be able to know everything about a person we love, Lucy learns forgiveness through loss, and the The Last Of August importance of keeping an open heart. Algonquin YR by Brittany Cavallaro $17.95. Ages 14+. Avail. 3/28 Dark, devious, and delightful! Teenage angst has never led to such fun as Extended hours for events Jamie Watson follows Charlotte Holmes down the rabbit hole once more in and by appointment KELLY RECOMMENDS this exciting sequel to A Study in Charlotte. International travel, art forgery, www.fountainbookstore.com minions, and the most awkward family gathering imaginable, this book is full Eveningland of adventure, mystery, and great Sherlockian deductions. Readers also get by Michael Knight more of the Moriarty family, and more insights into the history of the famous Knight is a writer as good and probably better than families—plus there’s romance, false identities, and poison. What more could any in American letters living today. These stories are a Sherlock Holmes fan ask for? Katharine Tegen $17.99. Ages 13+. Avail. 2/14 Find us on also as good as any written by past greats such as Fitzgerald, O’Connor, and Cheever. Social Media! All set in a contemporary Mobile Bay antic- Look Inside For ... ipating a massive hurricane, the characters Super Sci-Fi! Fabulous Fantasy! ...... 2 are buzzing with the possibility of loss. The Exciting New Fiction ...... 3 interior and exterior landscapes are master- Short Stories, Thrillers for Chilly Nights ...... 4 fully drawn, sometimes funny. The emotion- Hot New Picks in YA ...... 5 al accuracy in these stories is heartbreaking Tales for Tots ...... 6 and absolute. Knight is in the rare class of Kids, Tweens, and Teens ...... 7 writers who are able to put into words the New in Paperback ...... 8 feelings for which, until now, we have had Fascinating Lives, Clever Cooking ...... 9 no way to express. I have read these stories many times over and will read them again Understanding Our World ...... 10 many more. Grove Atlantic $25. Avail. 3/7 Fountain Favorites ...... 11 Fountain Events ...... 12 Howdy! Super Sci-Fi! How do you feel about sharing? I used to argue with a fellow book lover years Fabulous Fantasy! ago about this point. She insisted that reading was a solitary activity. She used books to escape and to learn and to dream. She still Universal Harvester feels no need to this day to share her reading experiences. We had by John Darnielle this discussion just when book clubs were becoming more popular From the author that gave us Wolf In White Van, (a gigan- and way before the internet and social media. She couldn’t under- tic seller at Fountain... pretty much the whole staff has stand the popularity of book clubs and preferred to share her books read it), comes a new strange tale of unsettling terror only with her cup of tea. set in the late 1990s. A clerk at a video store receives complaints from customers that their videos aren’t defec- I never got that. I have a compulsion to share the books I’m crazy tive, exactly, but have something added to them. Taking about. (That eventually led to buying a bookstore which is an the videos home, our protagonist discovers that they con- extremely expensive way to share, so be careful out there). It is so tain disturbing, sometimes violent images that seem to take place just outside of their small town. FSG $25. overwhelming at times that when I finish some books I run around Avail. 2/7 looking for someone to talk to about them and nearly lose my mind if I can’t find someone that has read the same book!! Thank God Amberlough for social media and my book loving friends. by Lara Elena Donnelly I finished a book recently and was so angry that no one else had Le Carré meets Cabaret in this debut spy thriller as a read it yet that I immediately shoved it at Maureen (our resident gay double-agent schemes to protect his smuggler lover speed reader) and said something articulate like: “Now! Read! during the rise of a fascist government coup. Covert Talk! Go!” That book was Behind Her Eyes (see the blurb on page agent Cyril DePaul thinks he’s good at keeping secrets, 4). I’m not the only one who feels that way, because the social media especially from Aristide Makricosta. They suit each other: Aristide turns a blind eye to Cyril’s clandestine hashtag is #WTFthatending. affairs, and Cyril keeps his lover’s moonlighting job as a I also feel that way about This Is How It Always Is (description on smuggler under wraps. A dazzling read! Tor $25.99. page 3). It’s a great book about things we need to talk about. Now. Avail. 2/14 And it’s just a terrific read. So real! I feel like I know this family per- sonally in real life. Beheld by Alex Flinn So back to the question: how do you feel about sharing? Who’s I love Alex Flinn’s books, especially the Kendra right? Me or my friend? (We are still friends, and she still doesn’t Chronicles, and this one did not disappoint. Kendra and talk about what she reads). the search for her true love is the main thread weaving through all of these stories, but we get The Salem Witch The answer is, of course, we’re both right. Trials, Rumpelstiltskin, East of the Sun and West of the Moon (with a little of Eros and Psyche thrown in) and This newsletter deadline unfortunately fell just as a different book The Ugly Duckling reboots as well. From Colonial loving friend has passed away. So I am writing this with a heavy America, to WWII England and modern day Miami, we heart. But I am also remembering the books she shared with me: follow Kendra as she does her best to help young people the ones she loved. She was not only my friend, but one of my sales with her magic. A must for fairy tale fans! Harper Teen. reps. So, you see, because of her, I found out about books I could Ages 13-17. $17.99. share with you. That’s an important job. She also talked me into putting books on our shelves that our quiet readers could discover Gilded Cage on their own. Because lord knows you hate it when I try to talk to by Vic James you when you’re browsing. “Gilded Cage [is] … a … red velvet drama frosted with icy glamor and sinister beauty. It’s set at Britain’s grandest Cheers, country estate, where a brother and sister have just begun working as servants for a powerful aristocratic family. … [It’s also] dark and smart and dystopic … in a modern- day England where aristocrats have magic and common- Kelly ers are doomed to serve them. Gilded Cage is upstairs- downstairs romance and political rebellion, bingeworthy N This issue is dedicated to the memory of Kristin Keith M drama and world-breaking revolution.” –Tricia Narwani, editorial director, Del Rey Books Del Ray $20. Avail. 2/14 2 Exciting New Fiction This is How it Always Is If You Are There by Laurie Frankel by Susan Sherman This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five broth- Set in the early 1900s, the novel follows young Lucia ers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also dreams of Rutkowski who escapes the Warsaw ghetto to work for two being a princess. When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to disorganized, poor married scientists. Lucia soon bonds with be a girl. Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude her eccentric employers, watching them rise to fame for their wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that work with radioactive materials as the great Marie and Pierre with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s Curie. Thanks to the Curies, Lucia meets Eusapia Palladino, secret… until it explodes. This is a novel about revelations, a world famous medium, and eventually leaves the Curies to transformations, and family. And how families with secrets travel with her. And ultimately, Lucia is placed in the don’t get to keep them forever. Flatiron $25.99. crosshairs of faith versus science. Counterpoint $26.
Transit The Evening Road by Rachel Cusk by Laird Hunt In the wake of her family’s collapse, a writer and her two Meet Ottie Lee Henshaw: quick of mind, she navigates a young sons move to London. In the city, she is made to stifling marriage, a lecherous boss, and on one day in 1930 consider questions of vulnerability and power, death and an odyssey across the countryside. Meet Calla Destry: renewal, in what becomes her struggle to reattach herself to, a young woman desperate to escape her town’s violence and and believe in, life. Filtered through its intelligent protago- to find the lover who has promised her a new life. On this nist, Transit sees Rachel Cusk delve deeper into the themes day, the countryside of Jim Crow-era Indiana is no place for first raised in her acclaimed novel, Outline, and reflect on either. Reminiscent of the works of Louise Erdrich and the value of suffering, the moral problems of personal Edward P. Jones, this is the story of two women on the move responsibility, and the mystery of change. Farrar, Straus, & through an America riven by fear and hatred. Little, Brown Giroux $26. $26. Avail. 2/7
Pachinko Selection Day by Min Jin Lee by Aravind Adiga Profoundly moving, Pachinko follows a Korean family Manjunath Kumar is fourteen and living in a slum in through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea Mumbai. He knows that he fears his domineering and crick- with Sunja, the daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose et-obsessed father, admires his talented sibling, Radha, and unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them. Betrayed by is fascinated by scientific facts and the world of CSI. But her wealthy lover, Sunja finds unexpected salvation when a there are many things, about himself and the world, that he young tubercular minister offers to marry her and bring her doesn’t know. When Manju meets Radha’s great rival, a to Japan to start a new life. So begins a sweeping saga of privileged and confident Muslim boy, everything in Manju’s exceptional people in exile from a homeland they never world begins to change, and he is faced by decisions that will knew and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Grand challenge his understanding of it, as well as his own self. Central $27. Avail. 2/7 Scribner $26.
4 3 2 1 Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Paul Auster by Kathleen Rooney On March 3, 1947, Archibald Isaac Ferguson is born. From She took 1930s New York by storm, becoming the highest that beginning, life takes four simultaneous and independ- paid advertising woman in the country. It was a job that, she ent fictional paths. Four identical Fergusons go on to lead says, both saved her life, and ruined it. Now it’s 1984 and four parallel and entirely different lives. Fortunes, athletic Lillian, 85 years old but just as sharp, is on her way to a party. skills, friendships, and intellectual passions contrast. Each On a walk through the city, she meets bartenders, clerks, Ferguson falls for Amy Schneiderman, yet each Amy and security guards, and criminals, reviewing a life of passion and Ferguson have a unique relationship. Meanwhile, readers heartbreak, and illuminating the ways New York has and has- take in each Ferguson’s pleasures and pains, as the plot of n’t changed. This is a love letter to city life in all its guts and each life unfolds. Henry Holt & Co. $32.50. grandeur, and a portrait of a remarkable woman. Martin’s $25.99
Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal 3 Thrilling Page Turners Behind Her Eyes History of Wolves by Sarah Pinborough by Emily Fridlund On a rare night out, single mom Louise meets a man in a Fourteen-year-old Linda lives with her parents in northern bar, and sparks fly. When Louise arrives at work on Minnesota, in a nearly abandoned commune. She is isolated Monday, she meets her new boss, David… the man from the at home and an outlander at school. And then a new family bar… who is very married and says the kiss was a mistake, moves in, and Linda begins babysitting their little boy. though he can’t keep his eyes off Louise. Later Louise Though she gains a new sense of belonging, she is also meets Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. drawn into secrets she doesn’t understand. And as she And she’s also David’s wife. Sarah Pinborough has written struggles to find a way out of her sequestered world, Linda a novel that takes the modern day love triangle and rein- confronts the life-and-death consequences of the things vents it in a way that will leave readers reeling. What an people do—and fail to do—for the people they love. ending! Flatiron $25.99. Atlantic Monthly $25. Little Deaths Take Back the Sky by Emma Flint by Greg Bear It’s 1965 in Queens, NY, and Ruth Malone—a single moth- The conclusion to an epic interstellar trilogy of war from er who works long hours as a cocktail waitress—wakes to master of science fiction, Greg Bear. Marooned beneath discover her two children are missing. When their bodies the crust of Saturn’s moon, Skyrine Michael Venn and his are found murdered, Ruth is suspected. Pete Wonicke is comrades face double danger from Earth and from the a reporter covering the murders. His interest develops into Antagonists. Haunted by their dead and by the archives of an obsession with Ruth, and he comes to believe there’s our ancestors, they must team up with their enemies and more to the woman whom prosecutors and the press have journey beyond Pluto to the fabled Planet X. It’s here that painted as a promiscuous femme fatale. Did Ruth kill her Master Sergeant Venn will finally understand his destiny own children, or is there something more sinister at play? and the destiny of every intelligent being in the solar system. Hachette $26. Orbit $26. All Our Wrong Todays Rather Be the Devil by Elan Mastai by Ian Rankin The future that people in the 1950s imagined is Tom As he settles into an uneasy retirement, Rebus has given up Barren’s reality. In his 2016, humanity thrives in a techno- his favorite vices. There’s just one habit he can’t shake: he utopian paradise of flying cars and moon bases, where punk can’t let go of an unsolved case. But when Rebus reexam- rock never existed, because it wasn’t necessary. In a time- ines the long-ago murder of a woman at a luxurious hotel— travel mishap, Tom becomes stranded in our “real world” on the same night a famous rock star and his entourage 2016, which seems to him like a dystopian wasteland. But were also staying there—the past comes roaring back to life when he discovers wonderfully unexpected versions of his with a vengeance. A twisted tale of power, corruption, and family, career, and soul mate, Tom must decide: should he rivalries in the heart of Edinburgh, Rather Be the Devil fix history, or forge a new life in our messy reality? Dutton showcases Rankin and Rebus at their unstoppable best. $26. Avail. 2/7 Little, Brown $27. Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner Eight years ago, Sharlah May Nash’s older brother Telly beat their drunken father to death with a baseball bat in A book must be the axe order to save both of their lives. Now thirteen, Sharlah has moved on and is about to be adopted by retired FBI profiler for the frozen sea within Pierce Quincy and his partner, Rainie Conner. But a rash of murders lead Quincy and Rainie to suspect that Telly is us. That is my belief. killing again. Though he once saved her life, Sharlah won- ders: is her brother a hero or a killer? And how much will it cost her new family before they learn the final, shattering – Franz Kafka truth? Dutton $27.
4 Hot New Picks in YA Windwitch History is All You Left Me by Susan Dennard by Adam Silvera On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in an a “witchery,” a magical skill. This follow-up to NYT best- accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had selling Truthwitch continues the tale of Merik—cunning moved away and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never privateer, prince, and windwitch, whom the world believes doubted Theo would come back to him one day. To make died at sea. But Merik lives, and is determined to prove things worse, the only person who truly understands his his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral of obsessive the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured compulsions and destructive choices continues. If Griffin is demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed. Tor to rebuild his future, he must confront his heartbreaking Teen $18.99. history. Soho Teen $18.99. How to Break a Boy Wintersong by Laurie Devore by S. Jae-Jones Olivia Clayton is a master of tearing others down to stay on All her life, tales of the Goblin King have enraptured Liesl’s top. She and her best friend, Adrienne, rule their small mind and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen town… until Olivia suffers a family tragedy and catches and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesl feels her child- Adrienne sleeping with her boyfriend. Olivia decides to hood dreams are slipping. But when her sister is taken by make a change, but not before taking down Adrienne one the Goblin King, Liesl journeys to the Underground to save last time. Olivia convinces Whit Du Rant to be her tutor her. Drawn to the strange world and the mysterious man and fake boyfriend. But it starts to feel real, and Whit gets who rules it, she faces an impossible decision. Liesl must caught up in Olivia and Adrienne’s war. Olivia won’t go discover who she truly is before time runs out and her fate down without a fight—not if it means losing Whit. Or is sealed. Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin’s Griffin what’s left of herself. Imprint $17.99. $18.99. Avail. 2/7 The Edge of Everything Carve the Mark by Jeff Giles by Veronica Roth It’s been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, Fans of Star Wars and Divergent will revel in internationally who’s reeling from her father’s death and her neighbors’ bestselling author Veronica Roth’s stunning new science- disappearance. Then on a terrifying, blizzardy night, she fiction fantasy series. On a planet where violence and and her brother are attacked in the woods—and rescued vengeance rule, where some are favored by fate, everyone by a bounty hunter they call X. X is from a hell called the develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe’s evil attacker. He future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos is forbidden from revealing himself, but he casts aside the and Cyra don’t; theirs make them vulnerable to others’ con- rules for Zoe. And as they learn more about their colliding trol. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their and reset the balance of power in this world? Katherine future. Bloomsbury $18.99. Tegan $22.99.
City of Saints and Thieves Wires and Nerve by Natalie C. Anderson by Marisa Meyer After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother In her first graphic novel, Marissa Meyer extends the world arrived in Kenya seeking a new life. Her mother found of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed work as a maid for the prominent Greyhill family. But Tina story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was built from crime, gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the and her mother is found dead in Greyhill’s study. After peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko hunts down the four years, Tina finally gets her chance for revenge, and leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard finds her own life at stake. But uncovering the incredible who forces her to question everything she knows about love, truth about who killed her mother—and why—keeps her loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder holding on in this nail-biting thriller. GP Putnam’s Sons and the rest of the Rampion crew! Feiwel & Friends $21.99. BYR $18.99.
Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal 5 Tales for Tots
Dormouse Dreams Heart to Heart by Karma Wilson by Lois Ehlert As Dormouse dreams his way through winter, he From beloved artist Lois Ehlert comes a clever and imagines going on adventures with his best dormouse funny valentine celebrating love and friendship. friend. Whimsical illustrations feature other animals Readers of all ages will go bananas for this pun-filled entertaining themselves with dart games, cross-coun- and sweet story filled with rebuses and love. Alphabet try skiing, and more while Dormouse hibernates. letters and bold, graphic images of fruits and vegeta- Readers can also follow the friend’s journey to bles come together in this playful book that is perfect Dormouse’s house, where she wakes him up for some for sharing. “While there is the occasional groaner tucked real life pleasures, including daydreaming. This is the in here and there (“We could [celery]brate”), only the surliest readers won’t perfect bedtime book to snuggle up with when spring crack a smile as they turn the pages.”–Publishers Weekly. Beach Lane Books isn’t coming fast enough. Disney-Hyperion $16.99. $9.99. Ages 3-6. Ages 2-5. Avail. 2/7 Ballet Cat This & That What’s Your Favorite Favorite? by Mem Fox by Bob Shea This & That reunites bestselling picture book author Mem Fox with illustrator Judy Horacek, following Ballet Cat and her cousin Goat are preparing a show their most recent collaboration on Good Night, Sleep for Grandma. Each is trying to outdo the other— Tight. In this delightful tale, two mice set off on a sto- Ballet Cat with an elaborate dance routine (of rytelling adventure that takes them through cavernous course), and Goat with his amazing (amazingly lame, caves, atop crazy giraffes, and over palace walls until that is) magic tricks. Neither act goes off quite as they return safely home to the comfort of their beds. A planned, but it doesn’t matter… because Grandma sweet, rhyming story, This & That is perfect for helping falls asleep during the performance! Oh well, at children develop their sequencing skills! Scholastic least Ballet Cat and Goat learn how to cooperate. $17.99. Ages 2-5. (But Ballet Cat cooperates better!) Disney- Hyperion $9.99. Ages 4-8. Avail. 2/7 Spunky Little Monkey Egg by Bill Martin, Jr. “Sleepy little monkey won’t get out of bed. Mama by Kevin Henkes called the Doctor and the Doctor said: ‘Apple Juice, This masterful picture book introduces young chil- Orange Juice, Gooseberry Pies—Monkey needs some dren to four eggs. One is blue, one is pink, one is exercise!’” Sleepy little monkeys everywhere will yellow, and one is green. Three of the eggs hatch, stomp, shake, and cheer—while chanting this rhyth- revealing baby birds who fly away. But the green mic, energetic dance song based on a popular play- egg does not hatch. Why not? When the three birds ground game. As they move their heads, hands, hips, return to investigate, they’re in for a big surprise! and feet, everyone will be bursting with clapping ener- With a compelling mix of comic-like panels, word- gy… and ready to start a new day! Filled with humor, less pages and spreads, and a short text featuring word repetition, surprise, and high energy, and Bill Martin Jr.’s trademark rhythm. suspense, Egg is an ideal book for emergent readers, as well as for sharing in a Scholastic $17.99. Ages 3-5. group. Greenwillow $17.99. Ages 4-8. Hug It Out! Bad Kitty Takes the Test by Louis Thomas by Nick Bruel Mom has had enough of Woody and Annie’s incessant Based on her previous bad behavior, the Society of Cat fighting. When her pleas for sharing and apologizing Aptitude has determined that Kitty is not only a bad are ignored, she demands they “hug it out.” At first, kitty but a bad cat. In order to redeem her feline status, the warring siblings are confused. Hugging? But after Kitty must take an aptitude test to determine if she a long afternoon of forced embraces, the brother and deserves to be a cat. If she fails, she will no longer be sister decide to call a truce to avoid yet another icky able to be a cat. With the help of Chatty Kitty, who is hug. However, it doesn’t take long for them to miss the instructor at Cat School, and Uncle Murray, who that newfound closeness. And soon they’re looking for thinks he’s just there to renew his driver’s license, Kitty learns all about being something to fight about so they can hug it out once a cat and a little about herself. Roaring Brook $13.99. Ages 7-10. 6 more! Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR $16.99. Ages 3-6. Kids, Tweens, and Teens Stef Soto, Taco Queen Love and First Sight by Jennifer Torres by Josh Sundquist Estefania “Stef” Soto is itching to shake off Tia Perla, her Blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter gets an opportunity for family’s taco truck. She wants nothing more than for Papi an experimental surgery that could give him eyesight for to get a normal job. Then maybe everyone at school will the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult stop seeing her as the Taco Queen. But when her family’s than Will imagined. It turns out that Cecily, the girl he’s livelihood is threatened, and it looks like her wish will had a crush on, doesn’t meet traditional definitions of come true, Stef surprises everyone (including herself) by beauty—in fact, everything he’d heard about her appear- becoming the truck’s unlikely champion. In this fun and ance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get heartfelt novel, Stef will discover what matters and the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks embrace an identity that even includes old Tia Perla. like? No, not really. But why does Will feel so betrayed? Little, Brown BYR $16.99. Ages 8-11. Little, Brown BYR $17.99. Ages 13-17. Short A List of Cages by Holly Goldberg Sloan by Robin Roe Julia is very short for her age, but by the end of the sum- For his senior year elective, Adam Blake is serving as an mer run of The Wizard of Oz, she’ll realize how big she is aide to the school psychologist. When the doctor asks him inside. When the director of Oz casts her as a Munchkin, to track down a troubled freshman, Adam discovers that she becomes friendly with wise Olive, one of the adults the boy is Julian—his former foster brother. At first, Julian with dwarfism who’s sharing a Munchkin role, and with seems like the boy Adam once knew. He’s still kind heart- Mrs. Chang, her artistic neighbor. Julia’s sense of self as ed and writes stories. But soon, Adam realizes Julian is an artist grows, and her director has more big plans for keeping secrets, like where he hides during the day, and her! Bubbling over with humor and tenderness, this is a what’s going on inside his house. Adam wants to help, but story of self-discovery and of the role models who change his involvement could cost both boys their lives. Disney- us. Dial $16.99. Ages 8-12. Hyperion $17.99. Ages 14-17. Dragon Captives Wayfarer by Lisa McMann by Alexandra Bracken In this new sequel series to The Unwanteds, identical twins In this stunning conclusion to the Passenger series, Etta Fifer and Thisbe have amazing yet uncontrollable magical Spencer doesn’t discover she’s a traveler until the day she abilities. They’re naturally more gifted than even their emerged both miles and years from her home. Now, Etta brother, Alex, the head mage of Artime, who finds them is stranded, cut off from the eighteenth century privateer reckless. Seeking his good opinion, the twins leave to help she loves and her natural time. When Etta stumbles into Hux, a dragon whose siblings have been enslaved by the the heart of the Thorns, the renegade travelers who stole evil Revinir, ruler of the dragon land. But will their the astrolabe, she vows to destroy the astrolabe once and untrained abilities be enough to save the dragons and for all. Instead, she’s blindsided by a bombshell revelation themselves when they come face-to-face with the Revinir? from their leader, Henry Hemlock: he is her father. Aladdin $17.99. Ages 8-12. Avail. 2/7 Disney-Hyperion $17.99. Ages 14-17. The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner Girl Rising and Other Stories by Tanya Lee Stone by Terry Pratchet Worldwide, over 62 million girls are not in school. Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls’ education, created a The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner is the second fabulously funny film chronicling the stories of nine girls in the developing short-story collection from the late acclaimed storyteller world and exploring how education can break the cycle Terry Pratchett. A follow-up to Dragons at Crumbling of poverty. Now, Tanya Lee Stone illuminates the facts Castle, this second batch of storytelling gems features sto- behind the film, examining barriers to education and the ries written when Sir Terry was just seventeen years old community benefits of removing these barriers. Girl and working as a junior reporter. In these pages, new Rising will inspire readers of all ages to support this Pratchett fans will find wonder, mayhem, sorcery, and growing movement and help change the world. Wendy delight and loyal readers will recognize the seeds of ideas Lamb $22.99. Ages 14+. Avail. 2/14 that went on to influence his most beloved tales later in life. Harper Collins $18.99. Ages 9-12.
Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal 7 New in Paperback Hidden Figures Thomas Jefferson and the by Margot Lee Shetterly Tripoli Pirates Now a major motion picture! Before John Glenn or Neil by Brian Kilmeade Armstrong, a group of female mathematicians known as When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, human computers ran the calculations that would launch America was in debt, with its economy and dignity under rockets and astronauts into space. Among them was a attack. Pirates from North Africa’s Barbary Coast routine- group of African American women, some of the brightest ly captured American merchant ships and held the sailors minds of their generation. Even as they were segregated for ransom far beyond the country’s means. Jefferson sent from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all- troops to blockade Tripoli, beginning America’s journey black West Computing group helped fuel some of toward superpower status. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli America’s greatest achievements in space. William Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History Morrow & Co. $15.99. recaptures this war with real-life drama of intrigue and bravery. Sentinel $17. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman The Fireman When fussy, socially awkward Britt-Marie walks out on her by Joe Hill cheating husband, she finds work as the caretaker of a NYT bestselling author Joe Hill delivers a chilling novel soon-to-be demolished recreation center. Britt-Marie finds about a pandemic of spontaneous combustion and a band herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow cit- of heroes who battle to save civilization, led by one enig- izens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, and matic man known as the Fireman. Harper Grayson has layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible contracted the virus, but she is determined to survive long task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer enough to deliver her unborn baby. Her community in team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt- chaos, she discovers the Fireman, an afflicted madman Marie find a place where she belongs? Washington Square who controls the fire within himself, using it as a shield to $16. Avail. 2/7 protect the hunted… and as a weapon to avenge the wronged. William Morrow $18.99. The Bertie Project by Alexander McCall Smith Mr. Splitfoot Our beloved cast of characters are back in this latest by Samantha Hunt installment of McCall Smith’s charming series. Bertie’s Ruth and Nat are orphans, packed into a house full of mother, Irene, returns from the Middle East to discover abandoned children run by a religious fanatic. To entertain that her son has been exposed to the worst of evils: televi- their siblings, they channel the dead. Decades later, Ruth’s sion shows, ice cream parlors, and even unsanctioned art. niece, Cora, finds herself accidentally pregnant. After Her wrath descends on Bertie’s long-suffering father, years of absence, Aunt Ruth appears, mute and full of Stuart. But Stuart has found a reason to spend more time intention. She is on a mysterious mission, leading Cora on outside of the house and has a new spring in his step. an odyssey across the entire state of New York on foot. What does this mean for the residents of 44 Scotland Where is Ruth taking them? Where has she been? And Street? Anchor $15. Avail. 2/7 who—or what—has she hidden in the woods at the end of the road? Mariner $14.95. Arrival by Ted Chiang Offering the dual delights of the strange and the familiar, Arrival presents characters who must confront sudden I want people to come change. In “Story of Your Life,” which provides the basis away from my book with for the film Arrival, alien lifeforms appear on Earth. When a linguist is brought in, her new knowledge of their nonlin- questions. Questions about ear language allows her to see future events. In each story of this incredible collection, Ted Chiang examines what it virtue and goodness. means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and Not answers. wonder. Previously published as Stories of Your Life and Others. Vintage $16. – Veronica Roth 8 Understanding Our World The Undoing Project 50 States, 5,000 Ideas by Michael Lewis by Joe Yogerst Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and In 50 States, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What Amos Tversky wrote a series of studies undoing our assump- to See, What to Do, the travel experts at National tions about the decision-making process. Their work created Geographic showcase the best travel experiences in every behavioral economics, revolutionized Big Data studies, state, from the obvious to the unexpected. Sites include advanced evidence-based medicine, and led to a new national parks, beaches, hotels, Civil War battlefields, approach to government regulation. The Undoing Project: A dude ranches, out-of-the-way museums, and more. Each Friendship That Changed Our Minds is about one of the great- entry provides detailed travel information as well as est partnerships in the history of science, one that may have fascinating facts about each state that will help fuel your permanently changed mankind’s view of its own mind. wanderlust and ensure the best vacation possible. Norton $28.95. National Geographic $24.95. Avail. 2/7
Reality Is Not What It Seems From Bacteria to Bach and Back by Carlo Rovelli by Daniel Dennett What are time and space made of? Where does matter come How did we come to have minds that can create, imagine, from? And what exactly is reality? Theoretical physicist and explain? For centuries, this question has intrigued Carlo Rovelli has spent his life exploring these questions. In psychologists, physicists, poets, and philosophers. In Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity, From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds, he explains how our image of the world has changed over the Daniel Dennett builds on ideas from computer science last few dozen centuries. Using accessible prose, Rovelli and biology to show how a comprehending mind could takes us on a journey from classical physics to his own work have arisen from natural selection. Part philosophical in quantum gravity. His evocative explanations invite us to whodunit, part bold scientific conjecture, this landmark imagine a new world yet to be discovered. Riverhead $26. work enlarges themes that have sustained Dennett’s leg- endary career. Norton $28.95. Avail. 2/7 The Case Against Sugar Food, Health, and Happiness by Gary Taubes by Oprah Winfrey From the best-selling author of Why We Get Fat comes a Oprah Winfrey will be the first to tell you, she has had a groundbreaking expose that makes the convincing case that complicated relationship with food. It’s been both a sugar is the tobacco of the new millennium: backed by pow- source of delight and comfort for her, but also the cause erful lobbies, entrenched in our lives, and making us very of an ongoing struggle with her weight. In Food, Health, sick. With his command of science and straight talk, Gary and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and Taubes delves into Americans’ history with sugar and a Better Life, Oprah shares the recipes that have allowed explains what research has shown about our addiction to eating to finally be joyful for her. With dishes created and sweets, providing the perspective necessary to make prepared alongside her favorite chefs and paired with informed decisions about sugar as individuals and as a socie- personal essays and memories from Oprah herself. ty. Knopf $26.95. Flatiron $35. If Our Bodies Could Talk The Lost City of the Monkey God by James Hamblin by Douglas Preston In 2014, James Hamblin launched a series of videos called “If In 2012, author Doug Preston joined a team of scientists Our Bodies Could Talk.” With it, the doctor-turned-journal- on a quest to uncover a lost city in the Honduran interior. ist established himself as a seriously entertaining authority in Using mapping technology, the team revealed not just an the field of health. Now, in If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide undiscovered city but an enigmatic, lost civilization. to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body, Hamblin Venturing into the wilderness to confirm the discovery, humorously explores the human stories behind health— they contracted a horrifying, sometimes lethal and incur- questions that never seem to go away and which tend to be able disease. Suspenseful and shocking, The Lost City of oversimplified by marketing and media. He covers topics the Monkey God is the true, eyewitness account of one of such as sleep, aging, diet, and more. Doubleday $26.95. the great discoveries of the twenty-first century. Grand Central $28.
Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal 9 Business Sense Fascinating Lives The Unbanking of America How to Murder Your Life by Lisa Servon by Cat Marnell The Unbanking of America: How the New Middle Class At twenty-six, Cat Marnell was an associate beauty editor Survives exposes the ways in which banks have abandoned at Lucky, one of the top fashion magazines in America. lower- and middle-class consumers in favor of the But she hid a secret life of addiction, bulimia, and insom- wealthy. Servon delivers provocative dispatches from nia. From the Conde Nast building to seedy nightclubs, inside a range of banking alternatives from predatory to doctors offices to mental hospitals, Marnell shows what it responsible as new players rush in to do what banks once is like to live in the wild, chaotic, often sinister world of a did. And she delivers hopeful portraits of the entrepre- young female addict who can’t say no. Combining light- neurs who are designing systems to transform how non- ning-rod subject matter and bold literary aspirations, How wealthy Americans can gain the access and agency to to Murder Your Life: a Memoir is mesmerizing and revela- their own money. Houghton Mifflin $27. tory. Simon & Schuster $26.99. The Great Equalizer My Life, My Love, My Legacy by David Smick by Coretta Scott King In response to experts who say America’s best economic Born in 1927 in the Deep South, Coretta Scott felt called and political days are behind us, David Smick argues that to a special purpose. A graduate student of the New economies are more than statistical measurements of England Conservatory of Music, she married Martin supply and demand, economic output, and rates of Luther King Jr., and events thrust her into history return. They are people—their hopes, fears, dreams, and throughout which she was a strategic partner and more. expectations. The Great Equalizer: How Main Street After her husband’s death, she founded The King Center, Capitalism Can Create an Economy for Everyone is a call championed for women’s, workers, and gay rights and was for a set of new paradigms that inspire and empower a voice for nonviolence, freedom, and human dignity. average American people to reimagine and reboot their Coretta’s is a love story, family saga, and extraordinary economy. Public Affairs $27.99. memoir. Henry Holt & Co. $30. Spark Elizabeth Bishop by Angie Morgan by Megan Marshall Leadership isn’t about a job title—it’s about action. In Since her death in 1979, Elizabeth Bishop has become one this book, entrepreneurs, business consultants, and mili- of America’s most revered poets. And though she lived tary Veterans show how anyone can become an extraor- out of public view, she has never been understood so fully. dinary leader by embracing seven behaviors. These are Megan Marshall uses newly discovered letters to reveal the Sparks: the doers, thinkers, and innovators who are insights about Bishop’s childhood and later relationships. catalysts for personal and organizational change. Spark: By alternating the narrative of biography with passages of How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success is a memoir, Marshall offers an original glimpse of the ways direct and highly prescriptive work for any individual poetry and biography, subject and biographer are who has the potential to become a real spark in their entwined in Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast. organization. Houghton Mifflin $27. Houghton Mifflin $30. Avail. 2/7 Hit Makers by Derek Thompson Nothing goes viral. If you think a movie, song, or app came out of nowhere to become successful, you’re miss- ing the real story. Shattering the myths of hit-making, The world spins. Thompson shows quality is insufficient for success. It may be a new world, but there are some enduring truths We stumble on. to what audiences and consumers want. Hit Makers: The It is enough. Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction is a tour through the last century of pop culture blockbusters and the most valuable currency of the twenty-first century: – Colum McCann people’s attention. Penguin $28. Avail. 2/7
10 FOUNTAIN FAVORITES KELLY RECOMMENDS KATIE RECOMMENDS Where Do They Go? Caraval by Julia Alvarez by Stephanie Garber illus. by Sabra Field Magical and thrilling! Scarlett has wanted to go to This is the grief book we’ve been looking Caraval her whole life, but little can prepare her for what for a long time. It’s not religion specific, awaits her and her sister when they finally get their tick- but allows for several religious and non- ets. Romance, beauty, tricks AND treats, sisterly affec- religious interpretations. It is soothing. It tion, and danger is yours for the reading, if you dare! is comforting. It is a good gift for the newly Definitely one of my favorites this year. Flatiron $18.99. bereaved adult or a good book to read to a child who has lost someone dear. It has lots of people of different colors in different backgrounds. I love this book. KATIE RECOMMENDS Ages 4+. Triangle Square $16.95. Anatomy of Innocence: KATIE RECOMMENDS Testimonies of the You Can’t Touch My Hair: Wrongfully Convicted And Other Things I Still edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie Klinger I spent much of my childhood believing that our justice Have to Explain system was overwhelmingly fair and transparent. Probably by Phoebe Robinson like many of the jurors that served on the cases of these Funny, witty, insightful, and a well-timed conversation innocent men and women, I thought that for them to even about things we need to be discussing. It helps that Phoebe make it to trial meant that the cops and prosecutors must Robinson is charming, hilarious, and as much of a pop cul- believe they had the right person. My eyes have been opened over the years, ture obsessed nerd as most people buying her book, but thanks in part to The Innocence Project, and even wider still with this book. Top she’s also smart and observant and willing to talk about the authors like Lee Child and Sara Paretsky team up with 14 exonerees to tell their subject of race that our society often doesn’t want to face. I mostly listened to the stories—the shock, anger, depression, and ultimately the hope that helped them audiobook version (which I’m strongly recommending), and I literally laughed so persevere. I cannot recommend this book enough! Liveright $26.95. Avail. 3/28 much while listening to this book in my car at a gas station pump, that when I got out of my car to fuel up, the man at the pump next to mine asked if I was okay KELLY RECOMMENDS (maybe he thought I was hysterically crying?). No, sir, I’m not okay, I’m better than that—I’m a lot happier and a little bit more self aware now because of You Can’t A Meatloaf in Every Oven Touch My Hair. Plume $16. by Frank Bruni and Jennifer Steinhauer I devoured this charming cookbook/conversation in MAUREEN RECOMMENDS two sittings. The writing is light and delightful. The recipes are varied and inspiring. A Meatloaf in Every The Shimmering Road Oven: Two Chatty Cooks, One Iconic Dish and Dozens by Hester Young sof Recipes: From Mom’s to Mario Batali’s is based on Hester Young does it again with another page-turner decades of emails, texts, and phone calls exchanged by about dreams that might actually come true. We continue the authors on their obsession and includes the meat- with Charlie Cates, who dreams the she and her unborn loaves of the famous like Bobby Flay, to the completely daughter are killed. Charlie crosses the country to deal unknown but nevertheless amazing. There are even some vegetarian options, but with a family crisis and work towards keeping the night- if you are thinking of giving this to a vegetarian, there is something seriously mares from coming true. Penguin $26. Avail. 2/14 wrong with you. Grand Central $24. Avail. 2/7
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. — Charles Dickens —
Starred Reviews: Booklist Indie Next Kirkus Library Journal Publishers Weekly School Library Journal 11 FountainFountain BookstoreBookstore 13121312 E.E. CaryCary StreetStreet •• ShockoeShockoe SlipSlip Richmond,Richmond, VAVA 2321923219 804-788-1594804-788-1594 •• info@[email protected] FOUNTAIN EVENTS Friday, Feb. 10 Saturday, March 4, 1-4 pm Thursday, March 23 7-10 pm Celebrating 30 Years 6:30 pm Murder at the of Sisters In Crime Phillip Lewis Library Event Location: 1901 Starling Dr. The Barrowfields Location: 6701 Deer Run Drive Tuckahoe Public Library, This is the hottest debut of the Henrico spring, but we still managed to snag a date with Lewis on Clover Hill Library, Midlothian the tour. Come see why we’re so excited!!! NYT bestselling Please join Sisters in Crime Central Virginia for • Ticket Required • author Matthew Thomas says, “The Barrowfields knows Mysterypalooza, a celebration of SinC’s 30th anniversary You’re the detective in this interactive mystery night. Clover that the worst hauntings happen not in old houses but in and all things mystery at Tuckahoe Library in Henrico. Our Hill Library and Sisters in Crime Virginia bring you an troubled minds. The psychological landscape is craggy in guest panel includes Mary Burton, LynDee Walker, Mollie exclusive murder mystery theater evening! Enjoy wine, beer this vivid update on Southern Gothic steeped in gorgeous Cox Bryan, Mary Behre, Tracey Livesay, and Ellery and heavy hors d’oeuvres while you take on the role of vernacular and full of characters ready to walk off the Adams. After the panel discussion, there will be a celebra- detective. Check alibis, search for clues, and see if you can page. Lewis goes down to the depths and back up in this tion and an author show case, featuring over 15 local mys- solve the case. Following the mystery, stay for a panel dis- powerfully hopeful book, and the reader is helpless in his tery, thriller, and suspense authors. cussion and book signing with mystery authors! Tickets go hands.” Hogarth $26. Avail. 3/7 on sale Tuesday, Jan. 3, for the Friends of the Library and Tuesday, Jan. 10 from the general public. Tickets cost $35 Tuesday, March 21 each or two for $60. Snow date: February 24. 6:30 pm William Geroux FEATURE EVENT Sunday, Feb. 12, 2 pm Friday, March 24 The Mathews Men 6:30 pm Mary Ann Marlowe A favorite book here at Some Kind of Magic Fountain, we are delighted to host William Geroux on his John Scalzi When not writing, Mary Ann paperback tour for The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and The Collapsing takes karate with her kids (she the War Against Hitler’s U-Boats! William Geroux wrote for has a second degree black belt) and works by day as a com- the Richmond Times-Dispatch for twenty-five years. His Empire puter programmer/DBA. She spent ten years as a universi- writing has appeared in The New York Times, The We welcome back one of our favorite blockbuster ty-level French professor, and her resume includes stints as Associated Press, and various regional magazines. He also authors: JOHN SCALZI! We love this guy. Yes. We an au pair in Calais, a hotel intern in Paris, a German has worked for Maersk, the largest container-shipping are very excited. WE ARE STUPID EXCITED!! tutor, a college radio disc jockey, and a webmaster for sev- company in the world. Penguin $17. Avail. 3/21 ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Due to Scalzi’s popu- eral online musician fandoms. She has lived in twelve larity, we are giving preference to our customers. The states and three countries and loves to travel. She now lives event is free for anyone to attend, but purchase of at in central Virginia where she is hard at work on her second FEATURE EVENT least one of Scalzi’s books from Fountain is required novel. Kensington $15. Wednesday, to get your books signed. You are free to bring other books by the author, and all will be available to buy at March 22 the store, but you must make a purchase to get in the Saturday, Feb. 25 6:30 pm signing line. Thank you for your support of this phe- 9 am to 1 pm nomenal author and our Fountain events program- Michael Knight ming. Your purchases make it possible! Tor $25.99. Read Across Eveningland: Stories Avail. 3/21 America We welcome back one of my all-time favorite authors, Location: Southern Virginia High Education the extraordinary Michael Knight. If you only attend Innovation Center one Fountain author event this year, please consider this one. Long considered a master of the form and Be sure to check in at 820 Bruce Street, South Boston an essential voice in American fiction, Michael Come listen to Virginia authors read their favorite Dr. Knight’s stories have been lauded by writers such www.fountainbookstore.com Seuss story and an excerpt from their own books. Book Barry Hannah and Elizabeth Gilbert. Now, with to keep up to date signings will follow each reading. Fountain Bookstore will Eveningland he returns to the form that launched his be selling the authors’ books at the event. There will be Dr. career, delivering an arresting collection of inter- on our super awesome Seuss themed refreshments. Children can also get a chance linked stories set among the right kind of Mobile to read to a certified therapy dog throughout the day. family in the years preceding a devastating hurricane. store events! More details to come!! Atlantic Monthly Press $25. Avail. 3/7
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