Ahoy!

Lots of new books this week -
Hardcovers:

• The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler (part of Clive's "Oregon Files" series of adventure novels. This one involves the discovery of a wrecked WWII-era blimp in the jungle of Argentina.)
• Bone Fire by Mark Spragg (the new novel by the acclaimed author of An Unfinished Life. There are some amazingly mixed reviews on this one so far: Library Journal called it "a gleaming tale" in which "not one word is out of place...each and every character is well drawn and intensely believable" while PW saw more of "a dry and unsatisfying contemporary western" that "lacks narrative momentum and a sense of purpose."  Ouch. You be the judge.)
• A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks (a novel of intesecting lives in modern London by the author of Birdsong and Charlotte Gray)
• The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (the author's second novel featuring 11-year old sleuth, Flavia de Luce. Book 1, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, was a 2009 favorite of Janet & Vicki.)
• The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee (this new novel by the acclaimed author of Aloft is getting some great early reviews. Lee worked on The Surrendered for the better part of a decade, never able to finish due to the intense personal nature of the storyline - “I wouldn't be here if there hadn't been a war (in Korea). In a way, that's why I didn't want to write this book” he told PW. You can meet him at Warwick's on Thursday, March 18th at 7:30pm.)
• Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler (the new memoir by the comedienne & host of late night's "Chelsea Lately". Also an upcoming event at Warwick's - she'll be here on Saturday, May 8th at 3:00pm for a signing only. Stay tuned to warwicks.com for more info.)
• Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes (yet another upcoming Warwick's event - Ms. Mayes returns to the W on March 25th for this follow-up to her bestsellers, Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany. In 2005 we had around 200 people here for her event, so get in early, I say.)
• The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann (a collection of journalism pieces & essays by the author of last year's staff favorite, The Lost City of Z. I've read this already & while it's not nearly as compelling as a whole, as Lost City, it does have some fascinating pieces within. My favorite has to be "City of Water" which chronicles the lives of the men who've been toiling under the streets of New York for the last 30 years to complete the construction of City Tunnel #3 - the conduit for the 1.3 billion gallons of water used by the city's residents every day. Come by for Coffee with a Bookseller on Tuesday & I'll tell you more.)

Paperbacks:

• The Wild Things by Dave Eggers (the paperback is a faux-fur-free edition, unlike the awesome hardcover.)
• Don't Cry: Stories by Mary Gaitskill
• The Missing by Tim Gautreaux
• Woman with Birthmark by Hakan Nesser (the third in Nesser's "Van Veeteren" crime series that started with Borkmann's Point.)
• Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith (Part 10 of the "Number One Ladies Detective Agency" series.)

There's also a new set coming out this week of those beautiful Penguin hardback classics designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith: Emma, Treasure Island, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and The Odyssey.

Happenings:

• Coffee with a Bookseller, March Edition on Tuesday morning at 10am - featuring, yours truly.
• Gabrielle Burton, author of Impatient with Desire - a novel of Tamsen Donner of the ill-fated Donner Party - on Thursday the 11th at 7:30.