Liquid Sunshine Reads

What we're reading while waiting for the sun to come out again!

Suzanne just read:

Yes, an older book but a favorite read of mine. Told first person by Quothe, a wizard/hero of his adventures/mis deeds. I enjoyed it so much it's hard to pick up another book. So looking forward to reading Wise Man's Fear (book 2).

Madison just read:

This is a great new series by Alyson Noel that is based around Native American folklore in the town of Enchantment, NM. People are disappearing and the environment is dying. Daire discovers her heritage and is fated to walk the path of a Seeker, a person who fights for the light to keep the dark at bay. Great, exciting reads with book three coming out later this spring!

Kathryn just read:

A chilling and remarkable story of survival. The main character, Grace Winter, is one of the few survivors when the ocean liner she and her new husband are traveling on explodes. She is faced with tough choices and is on trial for her life. A real page turner!

Emily just read:

This collection converted me from a novel only reader to a lover of the short story format. Some of the stories are only a few short pages long but pack as power a punch as a 300 page novel. Set primarily in and around the authors home town of Spokane, these stories are populated by losers, junkies and vagrants. Walter's down and out characters try, and often fail, to set things right and make sense of their broken lives and they will bring you along for the heartbreaking ride.

Pacific Northwest Book Awards 2013

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Assocation has selected their winners for the 2013 Pacific Northwest Book Awards! A volunteer committee of independent booksellers chose these six books from more than 250 titles published in 2012. We've read most of these books and have loved them. Here are the winners!

Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie - Always a favorite author here at LBB!

       

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Revised Fundementals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison -

A store bestseller in 2012 set here in Poulsbo, Washington

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Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - Kathryn's favorite hand sell. 

  

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On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths by Lucia Perillo

  

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Wild by Cheryl Strayed - Enjoyed by all who have read it!

 

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Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

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ALSO! Please remember to sign up for World Book Night 2013! You have until January 23rd to sign up at www.us.worldbooknight.org. Everyone who participated last year had a great time spreading the love of reading around our community and we hope you'll consider joining us this year! Also, when you visit the website, take a look at the scrolling pictures at the top of the main page...Participants from last years event at Liberty Bay Books are prominently featured right on the top as well as the boxes of books with name tags created by Madison at LBB! This is a national website, so its pretty cool to be the only store represented in the pictures. Hope to see you all at this fun, free event PLUS a free t-shirt when you participate!

LBB's Best-Loved Books of 2012

Liberty Bay Books

Bestsellers of 2012!

1.  The Hunger Games (Book 1) – Suzanne Collins

2.  Fifty Shades of Grey (Book 1) – E.L. James

3.  Catching Fire (Book 2) – Suzanne Collins

4.  Home Front – Kristin Hannah  **local author!!**

5.  I Could Pee On This – Francesco Marciuliano

6.  Mockingjay (Book 3) – Suzanne Collins

7.  Learning to Swim – Sara Henry

8.  Because of Katie – Karen Gerstenberger **local author!!**

9.  Cinder – Marissa Meyer **local author!!**

10.  The Dog Stars – Peter Heller

11.  Fifty Shades Darker (Book 2) – E.L. James

12.  Divergent – Veronica Roth

13.  Fifty Shades Freed (Book 3) – E.L. James

14.  Remember I Can’t Remember – E & H Anderson**local authors!!**

15.  The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

16.   Darth Vader & Son – Jeffrey Brown

17.   Where’d You Go, Bernadette – Maria Semple **local author!!**

18.  Plenty – Yotam Ottolenghi

19.  The Alchemyst (Book 1) – Michael Scott

20.  The Third Wheel (Book 7) Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney

Madison here, writing a post for Jordan because this one is about MY favorite Young Adult reads, so I figured I could probably write it myself instead of making Jordan do all the work. If you're looking for some great new reads for the Young (or Not-So-Young) Adults in your life here are my favorites of the year!

#1

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This book is the closet thing to the Hunger Games that I've read...but was still different enough to be equally as exciting. Another dystopian novel, where everything is highly controlled those who are in power. However in this series, people are separated into factions. Each faction represents a different trait (courage, loyalty, selflessness...) Once the children are old enough they can choose to remain with the same faction they were raised in, or pick a new one which would mean leaving their family behind. When Beatrice comes of age she is faced with a hard decision that ultimately alters her life and the lives of everyone else in the world she inhabits. 

Divergent is out in paperback now,  Insurgent (book two) is out in hardback and book three will be out next fall.

#2

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

A great spin on the idea of super heroes. Juliette has never been able to touch another person - her touch can kill. Even her parents have abandoned her. She doesn't know why or how she has this power and doesn't want to be the monster everyone sees her as...until she finds Adam who helps her see that her powers could be used for good.

Shatter Me is out in paperback, with a mini novela eBook called Destroy Me out now, and Book 2 

Unravel Me out on February 5th! Pre-order now and receive 25% off!

#3

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Stepping away from the post-apocalyptic/dystopian type books, Revolution is a fabulous historical fiction. Andi, in the modern day, finds the diary of Alexandrine, a girl who lived during the French Revolution. Andi sees herself in the words written by Alexandrine and finds herself transported back in time. Jennifer Donnelly always does such a fabulous job with historical fiction. LOVED this book and even learned some things about the French Revolution! Out in paperback now, no book 2.

#4

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

A group of boys lives in a place called "The Glade" with no recollection on how they came to be in "the box" that dropped them there or their lives before. Everyday a group of the boys runs into the maze that is just beyond the Glade trying to find a way out, but there are dangerous things in the maze and they must make it back before sunset or the doors will close and they'll be stuck in the Maze all night with all the monsters that come alive at night. Thomas wakes up in the box with no memory of how he got there with a note telling the other Gladers that he will be the last person to arrive. Time is running out and one day everything stops, the "sun" never rises and the doors to the maze remain open, letting in the monsters of the maze with a message that one Glader will be killed each night until none remain. Thomas and the other Gladers must work together to save themselves. This is a great read for all ages, but I think it would be great for reluctant readers, namely middle school/high school boys. 

The Maze Runner (book one) and The Scorch Trials (book two) are both out in paperback. The Death Cure (book three) is out in hardback along with The Kill Order (the first book in the Prequel series).

Stay tuned next week for more of my favorite YA reads! 

West Sound Reads welcomes Elizabeth George

Pacific Northwest author Elizabeth George is coming to Kitsap County to talk about her new Teen novel, The Edge of Nowhere. This event is a West Sound Reads event in partnership with the Kitsap Regional Library and all IndieBound Bookstores here in Kitsap County. Please join us October 17th at 6:30pm at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, 100 Ravine Lane. This is a FREE community event.

The Dog Stars

Yea, yea, yea -- it's been an age since somebody wrote an honest to god book review on this fine page, but I'm happy to say that

1. I'm back
2. I've got a book to talk about
3. It's one of finest books I've read all summer
4. It's called The Dog Stars and it's by Peter Heller (Knopf, $19.96, hardcover)

Before we get started, I want you to sit back for a minute. Take cold sip, a deep breath. Now recall as much as you can about Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Post apocalyptic. Violent. Lonely. Take another breath. Now recall Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It. Montana. Fishing. Family. One more second. Seeing it? Poet-pilot-fisherman fighting post-apocalyptic wanderers (yea, a tongue twister)...love...hurt...wide open country...

Yea. You're there. You've stepped right into it. Peter Heller's newest novel. Written with a naturalist's eye, a fisherman's soul, and social perspective of a taoist hermit, Heller's work takes us back to the poetry of the countryside while reminding us of that dark fate that looms every time a pig or a bird catches the flu and sends it our way.  The prose is spare, poignant--and often hilarious--yet Heller not gloss over the darkness of post-apocalyptic life in any way. In fact, the book's attention to detail is stunning.

The story is this: A pilot (Hig) lives with a heavily armed survivalist in rural Colorado. A blood-sickness has ravaged the human population leaving few survivors. Hig and his partner live off of their land, eating what they grow, shoot, and catch. Hig flies his small plane daily, assessing their plot's perimeter and any activity in the surrounding areas.  Plot ensues...

And you won't want to miss it!

Attention Kristin Hannah Fans!

Happy Independence Week from Liberty Bay Books!

This is your opportunity to help Kristin Hannah with one of her favorite organizations;  The Wounded Warrior Project.   If you've had the chance to read Kristin's latest New York Times Bestseller, Home Front, it is abundantly clear what an impact our service men and women have made upon her. 

From Home Front - 
"This book is dedicated to the brave men and women of the American armed services and their families, who sacrifice so much to protect and preserve our way of life"


If you haven't read it, I would suggest buying a box of Kleenex and getting your copy from us this holiday week - we even have autographed copies available! 

A little about The Wounded Warrior Project:
 Their Mission - To honor and empower wounded warriors.
Their Vision - To foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history.

The Wounded Warrior Project Organization achieves these goals through a wide variety of unique FREE programs.  They provide assistance with health, wellness and even employment service to help our wounded veterans and their families adjust to a new successful life after their much-appreciated service and sacrifice to our country.  

Just take a look at their site, www.woundedwarriorproject.org , I find their work to be a testament to what our country is all about, and absolutely amazing to see what this group has accomplished! 

Here's how YOU can help:  

Ms. Hannah has generously offered five of her most popular early bestselling novels for a silent auction to support this incredibly meaningful group. All proceeds will go directly to The Wounded Warrior Project.

Not only are these five books from her own personal library; they are also rare first editions, in pristine condition, currently out of print (with these gorgeous covers!), and all have Kristin Hannah's original signature.  Note - these are being auctioned as a set of five.

When Lighting Strikes - October 1994

Once in Every Life - December 1992

The Enchantment - June 1992 

If You Believe - December 1993

Waiting for the Moon - September 1995

Let the bidding begin!  Either come on in to the store, or e-mail Suzanne at libertybaybooks@embarqmail.com with the 
following information:

Bid:

Full Name:

E-Mail:

Phone Number:

The auction will be open through July 15th, the winner will be announced July 16th on the Liberty Bay Books Blog, and will be notified by e-mail.  We will also keep everyone updated on our Facebook Page. 

Classics anyone?

With all the Nordic hoopla of Viking Fest now under your belt, you're probably thinking: let's lay off the lutefisk for a few days and just take it easy: a nice beach chair, some pita chips, and the smell of recently ignited charcoal. Digesting all that lutefisk takes time, right?

Well yes. You're right. But right now's also a great time to catch up with (and dig through) that dusty pile of books you've had sitting under your bedside table since Perot was on the ballot. That's right: The Classics. And here are two of our favorites!

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (Vintage, 288 pgs, $11.20) -- You don't know the South (and by contrast, The North) until you've met the fiction of Bill Faulkner. Funny, harrowing, and always soulful, anything written by the great Southern artist stands out as fantastic, but As I Lay Dying distinguishes itself as one of his absolute best. A lively (and darkly hilarious) account of the Bundren family as they journey across Mississippi to bury their mother and wife, it's a book that's more than worth the trouble of learning the idiosyncrasies of  Faulkner's world and writing. A true favorite. 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Penguin, 392 pgs, $8.80) -- One of the greatest (and not to mention, best loved) British novels of all time, you'll find it difficult to be anything by enthralled by this oft-revisited favorite. Unbelievably witty, wonderfully romantic, and entertaining without pause, Pride and Prejudice is not only eminently readable but downright devourable. Suzanne's favorite! ALSO: Join the Teen bookclub in reading Pride and Prejudice in August; including an outdoor viewing of the movie on the first Sunday in August.


LASTLY: We'd also like to give a big thank you to all of those customers buying ebooks from us! As always, come in on Friday mornings for help setting up the IndieReader App. Thank You!

1Q84

So I've finally gotten around to reading 1Q84, Haruki Murakami's latest tome, and I've got to say: it's everything I thought it was going to be and more. Think of taking a trip to the dentist after one has ingested a handful of hallucinogens and you're on your way.

Bizarre. Right?

As a 'novel,' the whole thing is pretty straightforward -- on the face of anyway. Man meets girl, falls in love with girl (who loves him, too), world tears them apart, and somehow or another finds a way to get them back together. There are no gimmicks in plotting, narration, etc., and not one psychedelic passage stands out. Restraint is paramount. Which brings me to how excitingly weird the book is. Think of a filthy joke told dead-pan by a zen master, and you're on top of the thing. The love story, as simple as it is, takes place in the midst of two realities -- one has two moons, is laden with inch-tall Little People (these mystical beings, who may or may not control this alternate reality), and the other is the world which we know. Like a tea bag in a hot cup of water, the dream only intensifies with the passing of time, though thanks to Murakami's (and his translators') gift concise, plain language this is a dream which we feel to be our own. DO NOT miss this book if you've got the time.

News

So I saw Hunger Games last week, and was outrageously impressed with both Jennifer Lawrence and the general caste of the movie. Excellently adapted if I may say. The tone was pitch perfect, the action, neither too gory nor too childish, and whoever chose Woody Harrelson to play Haymitch Abernathy did a brilliant thing. If you haven't seen it, check it out -- even if you've never heard of District 12 or had a nightmare involving tracker jackers.

Nashville's Parnassus Books

In other news, author Ann Patchett has found her writer's pen stirring the cultural pot more than ever before. Recently nominated for PERSON OF THE YEAR by Time Magazine, Patchett has dazzled with literary triumphs like Bel Canto and Run but now steps into the spotlight for her business acumen. Having 'put her money where her mouth is,' Patchett, along with publishing veteran Karen Hayes, has actually opened an independent bookstore in her hometown of Nashville, TN. Answering the obvious question, But Why?, in a recent appearance on the Colbert Report, Patchett states that physical bookstore's are soooo important: [because of] "Smart People...we have so many smart people working in our store. You come in, you tell us what you just read, what you liked, I'll tell you what you should read next." She follows with, "If you never, ever talk to people and you meet all of your needs on the Internet, you wake up one day and you're the unabomber."

No matter what you're thoughts are, we think it's a great conversation to have on a national level. But don't be shy! Vote! Or write your thoughts here.