ROOTS, 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION by Alex Haley The typical summer avalanche of "beach books" and trash reads are busting out in the market again this year. Why not check through a few of the recommended reading books we've compiled below for adults & children. We've chosen a few titles that stand out from a variety of publishers large and small. We will be adding to this list for the next few weeks, so please check back. Stop by or order from us directly online by following the book links. ENJOY THE SUMMER!
ROOTS, 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION by Alex Haley
Slavery. Racial politics. The history of generations. Rediscover ROOTS, the book that first sparked a national dialogue on American history 30 years ago, and learn about the history and legacy of Alex Haley's seminal work.
One of the most important books and television series ever to appear, Roots galvanized the nation, and created an extraordinary political, racial, social and cultural dialogue that hadn't been seen since the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The book sold over 1,000,000 copies in the first year, and the miniseries was watched by an astonishing 130,000,000 people. Roots opened up the minds of Americans of all colors and faiths to one of the darkest and most painful parts of America's past.
Roots also fostered a remarkable dialogue about not just the past, but the then present day 1970's and how America had fared since the days of slavery.
Roots: The 30th Anniversary Edition will remind the generation that originally read it (and watched the miniseries) that there are issues that still need to be discussed, and to introduce to a new and younger generation, a book that will help them understand, perhaps for the first time, the drama and reality of what took place during the time period. Includes a new introduction by Michael Eric Dyson.
I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER by Larry Doyle is a Hip and hysterically funny first novel and teen coming-of-age story.
Denis Cooverman didn't want to give a typical graduation speech, cherishing memories and embracing challenges and crap. So, instead, he stood up in front of his 512 class-mates and their 3,000 relatives and said some-thing really important:
"I love you, Beth Cooper."
It would have been such a sweet, romantic moment. Except that:
Beth, the head cheerleader, has only the vaguest idea who Denis is.
And Denis, the captain of the debate team, is so far out of her league he is barely even the same species.
And then there's Kevin, Beth's remarkably large boyfriend, in town on furlough from the United States Army.
Complications ensue.
Denis comes of age overnight in this exhilar-ating, endearing novel that reminds us why we can't wait to escape high school but can never leave it behind.
"Overly rapid pacing, unlikely turns of events and quirky, funny dialogue reveal Doyle's TV roots (he has written for The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-head). (PW review).
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THE SALON by Nick Bertozzi 
In 1907 Paris, when someone starts tearing the heads off avant-garde painters, Gertrude Stein and her brother, Leo, realize that they might be next on the killer's list. Enlisting the help of their closest friends and colleagues, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Erik Satie, Alice B. Toklas, and Guillaume Apollinaire, they set out to put a stop to the ghastly murders. Filled with danger, art history, and daring escapes, this is a wildly ingenious murder-mystery ride through the origins of modern art. Color.
"Bertozzi's long-awaited graphic novel has a brilliant, daffy premise executed with wit and flair." -Publishers Weekly. "Fun, very smooth, charming and goes down as easy as absinthe."-Gary Panter. "Ambitious and fun. Bertozzi's artwork is gorgeous." -Chester Brown.
Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life The modern renaissance of comics has produced a library of substantial works, whose subjects are as varied and sophisticated as the best films and literature. Here is an accessible, entertaining, extensively illustrated guide to the diversity of contemporary graphic novels. With striking graphics and explanatory extracts from a wide range of work, the book examines the specific language of the comics medium; the history and pioneers of the form; recent masterpieces from Art Spiegelman's Maus to Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan; the impact of Japanese manga and European albums translated into English; how artists have overcome prejudices towards the genre; and the ambitious range of themes and issues artists are addressing. Big, color, softbound. 192 pages, paperback.
SIMPSONS: TREEHOUSE OF HORROR: HOODOO VOODOO BROUHAHA
Matt Groening, the toastmaster of trick-or-treat, whips up a witches' brouhaha of crazed clown cars, possessed cereal boxes, haunted hospitals, afterlife-binding cocktail napkin I.O.U.s, ring-driven fellowships, neighborly vampires, and costumed comic book guys in this comic collection. Add a revenge-filled bottle of Amontillado, and a rippingly good yarn from merry and bloody olde England, and you have a pleasingly putrid and asphyxiatingly amusing tome of tonsil-tickling terror and Halloween howl-arity with The Simpsons. 128 pps, full color.
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Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar are two of the most ridiculously talented comics authors to come from France. Prolific, inventive and versatile beyond common sense, the two shared a Paris studio from 1995 to 1999, and stories grew there like ragweed.
Sardine in Outerspace (for ages 12 and up), is a new hilarious and smart graphic novel by Guibert and Sfar that will have you laughing off-the-walls on every page. 
Taking turns writing scripts and drawing pictures, Joann and Emmanuel have collaborated on a number of prize-winning graphic novels, such as The Professor's Daughter, the Black Olives series, and now Sardine in Outer Space.
Working solo, Sfar is the author of the popular Little Vampire and Vampire Loves series, as well as the best-selling The Rabbi's Cat. As for Guibert, his many works for readers young and old include Alan's War, an extraordinary biography of his late friend Alan Cope, an American WWII veteran.
The stories can get a bit wild and out-of-control and irreverent, but like The Simpsons, there are multiple levels of cultural understanding going on and its a great rollicking graphic novel (actually graphic short stories) for ages 12 and up -- and why should kids have all the fun? --- adults will love it too. Sardines in Outer Space is sort of a "toned down Monty Python" filled with zany Pirate adventures. There are two earlier volumes and you can look forward to a new one in late fall 2007.
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 | Sardine in Outerspace 4 » Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar are two of the most ridiculously talented comics authors to come from France. Prolific, inventive and versatile beyond common sense, the two shared a Paris studio from 1995 to 1999, and stories grew there like ragweed. Taking turns writing scripts and drawing pictures, Joann and Emmanuel have collaborated on a number of prize-winning graphic novels, such as The Professor's Daughter, the Black Olives series, and now Sardine in Outer Space. | ||
nt a better job? But as the seasons shift, each as beautiful as the last, Takeboki knows the pleasures of nature and of humbly doing a job well. He is happy.
“Meade’s beautiful collage illustrations of the earthly garden and glorious afterlife . . . will help kids get closer to the text’s religious and philosophical themes.” --Booklist
Flotsom » A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam -- anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share... and to keep. In each of his amazing picture books, David Wiesner has revealed the magical possibilities of some ordinary thing or happening -- a frog on a lily pad, a trip to the Empire State Building, a well-known nursery tale.
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| “Ms. Worth brilliantly employs all aspects of the poet’s craft.” – The New York Times Book Review Breathtakingly rich cut-paper illustrations by Steve Jenkins provide a perfect counterpoint to Worth’s spare style, and together poetry and picture bring every animal vividly to life. "This stunning collection will encourage readers to become careful observers, and to make the world of nature their own."--Starred, Publishers Weekly "Vivid imagery and an expert command of sound and meter distinguish this collection of poems about animals.”--Starred, Booklist |
BOOK BEAT READING GROUP MEETS Wed., June 27th, 7 PM at GAYLES CHOCOLATES, on Washington street in downtown Royal Oak. We will be reading and discussing the book SPRING TORRENTS, by Ivan Turgenev, a simple love story that that offers some insight into Turgenev's personal life.
The book can be ordered from us online at: SPRING TORRENTS
ability in West Africa -- seems fueled by something wondrous. In the sun-warmed streets of working class Yopougon, aka Yop City, holidays are around the corner, the open-air bars and discos are starting to fill up... and at night, an empty table in the market square under the stars is all the privacy young lovers can hope for, and what happens there is soon everybody's business. Aya tells the story of the studious and clear-sighted 19-year old Aya, her easy-going friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It's a breezy and wryly funny account of the desire for joy and freedom, and of the simple pleasures and private troubles of everyday life in Yop City, drawn with warm colors and an energetic, playful line. An unpretentious and gently humorous story of an Africa we rarely see -- spirited, hopeful and resilient. Hardcover, ages 16+, color.