February 28, 2012

New Title Tuesday

It's time for another New Title Tuesday! I have included a few children's books (even though they do not have a strict release date) just in case you are looking for a great new children's or teen read for your upcoming spring break.

 May the Road Rise Up to Meet You
by Peter Troy

Victims
by Jonathan Kellerman



by Jodi Picoult

Partials
by Dan Wells 


Torn
by Amanda Hocking


Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story
by Martin Springett



February 21, 2012

New Title Tuesday

 There are quite a few fantastic books being released this week, including the five listed below. We have heard a lot of advanced praise for King Peggy, the memoir from Peggielene Bartels who is the first female King of Otuham, a fishing village in Ghana. She was recently interviewed on NPR where she described how she splits her time between her village in Ghana and her American life in Washington D.C.






February 19, 2012

The First Sentence Test

     I love to do the First Sentence Test. There isn't strict criteria for what passes the test (and truth be told it's more of an opening test than strictly the first sentence) but you know almost as soon as you start reading whether or not it's a winner.
     The best first sentence I've come across in ages is courtesy of Patrick Ness' latest, A Monster Calls: "The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do." What? Are you kidding me?!? I defy anyone to read that and think "eh, not interested."
The monster by Jim Kay
 Ness' novel is about thirteen-year-old Conor who's life is turned upside down by his mother's battle with cancer. Then, to make matters worse, a monster starts visiting him, making demands Conor refuses to meet. It is one of the most fantastically imagined, harrowing stories I've ever read. Ness has a way with words that made me a compulsive re-reader: I reread sentences, then whole pages. When I finally read the last word I went back and started the book all over again. For a quick preview check out the nifty trailer which brings Jim Kay's haunting illustrations to life.
    All this is not to say that an unimpressive opening means you should stop reading. A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L'Engle's mega bestselling title, opens with what has become the classic example of what not to say: "It was a dark and stormy night." It's so trite (and yet so perfect!) that it was even mocked by everyone's favorite catz.
     Another instance is "Oh glorious, most glorious glorious! And yet again glorious!" This opening doesn't scream "READ ME!" but I would have been remiss in not continuing There Is No Dog, the newest novel by Meg Rosoff. Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if God was a teenage boy? No need. Rosoff has not only thought about it but written an uproarious and surprisingly poignant story about Bob, the confused, hormone-driven All Mighty. His long-suffering assistant, Mr. B., patiently answers prayers while Bob lusts after a mortal zoo keeper and ignores his pet Eck. And that's only the beginning. So read past all the "glorious glorious!"; you won't regret it.
      History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason is getting some nice attention, such as today's write up in the Seattle Times. I've been hearing about Mason's book for awhile but it didn't really appeal to me until I read the opening: "The adventures of adolescence had taught Piet Barol that he was extremely attractive to most women and to many men." I'm just going to say it: I like pretty men. And I suspect I will like the coming of age adventures of this pretty man who charms and seduces his way through life. And let's be honest: any time a reviewer throws out the words "Downton Abbey" these days there are a lot of us who will hop on whatever train they're advertising regardless of where it's going.
     If anything, the First Sentence Test is a fun way to engage with almost each and every book that passes through my hands. I don't have time to read everything, nor do I wish to. However, sometimes I will read something I never expected to because the first sentence is just that good. Let me leave you with one more: "The circus arrives without warning." Go. Read.
-Sarah v.M.

February 14, 2012

New Title Tuesday

Happy Valentine's Day! 

New Title Tuesday

The Detour by Andromeda Romano-Lax. 
“A gently haunting work of subtle and surprising wisdom.”—Booklist
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt is a 2011 Staff Favorite at Eagle Harbor Books. Janis recommends this book: "Fueled by alcohol and mixed with eccentric and rambunctious personalities, it is a delightful tale, and a must-read to the end."

All There Is by Dave Isay.  This book is perfect for your Valentine's Day sweetie. This touching collection includes an array of love & marriage stories collected through the oral history project, StoryCorps.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo has received spectacular reviews from the New York Times, the Seattle Times, & USA Today.

February 06, 2012

New Title Tuesday

It is, by far, the most fun to receive & sell books on a Tuesday. This is the day when publishers release new hardcover and paperback titles. It is also the day when I get to see which new books I want to snatch up and hide away in my cubbie. This week we have some awesome new titles hitting our shelves, including the most recent suspense novel by Seattle author Matt Ruff (who will be visiting our store on February 19th!).





(for anyone obsessed with The Hunger Games -- ridiculously funny!)

February 05, 2012

Three Cheers for Johnny!

Jonathan with his PNBA Award
     An author blogging from Colorado last week wrote, in reference to one of our wonderful Island authors, “Of course, now she lives on Bainbridge Island, with all the other writers in America who don’t live in Brooklyn …” And she’s right – we have an embarrassment of riches here – New York Times bestsellers, romance writers, memoirists, novelists, and non-fiction authors whose names are recognized nationally.
     We are particularly proud at Eagle Harbor Books when one of our own is singled out for praise. On Tuesday night we got to honor Bainbridge Island author Jonathan Evison, author of All About Lulu  and West of Here. Johnny had been named a winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award 2012 for West of Here. And we got to present him with one of the niftiest plaques we’ve ever seen.
     Anyone who has read Evison’s books knows how much he deserved this. Anyone who knows his story – the years of toil before his first book was published – knows how sweet this must be. If you’ve been one of the lucky ones who have met Evison at our bookstore, at a book group meeting, or at the bar at Hitchcock, you know what a delight it was for us to be a part of this celebration.
     And what a treat it was for those who came to celebrate with us:  Evison read from one of his upcoming novels, The Dreamlife of Huntington Sales. Where else do you get to sit and listen to an author spin his stories before they are even published? Congratulations, Jonathan!

February 02, 2012

West Sound Reads Event with Marissa Meyer!

Tacoma author Marissa Meyer has been making a name for herself among young adult authors these days. Her debut novel, Cinder, made the New York Times Children's Best Sellers list two weeks ago. It is the first in the four part Lunar Chronicles series. Publisher's Weekly describes Cinder as a "Cinderella story set in a futuristic New Beijing, where humans and androids coexist in a society ravaged by plague. The heroine, a teenage cyborg, is shunned by many, but has a unique talent: her computer brain interface makes her a crackerjack mechanic, which comes in handy when the prince needs his android fixed before the royal ball."

On Wednesday, February 8th at 2:30 p.m. Marissa Meyer will be at the Kitsap Regional Library Poulsbo Branch to read & sign copies of Cinder. If you are interested in this event, please be sure to check out the Facebook event information listed here!