National Donut Day (June 3)

National Donut Day - Friday, June 3, 2011

Yes, it is true - the first Friday in june is National Donut Day. In 2009, thousands of independent shops joined the national chains in this Sweet Celebration. So, stop by the donut shop and get your favorite sweet treat! !

What's your favorite donut??

History:
National Doughnut Day started in 1938^[1] as a fund raiser for the Chicago Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor the Salvation Army Volunteers of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers.

The original Salvation Army Doughnut was first served by Salvation Army in 1917. During WWI, Salvation Army "lassies" were sent to the front lines of Europe. These brave volunteers made home cooked foods, and provided a morale boost to the troops. Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside the of the metal helmet of an American soldier. The American infantrymen were commonly called doughboys. Salvation Army lassies were the only women outside of military personnel allowed to visit the front lines. Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance is considered the Salvation Army's "first doughnut girl".

Note: The word "Doughnut" is often shortened to "Donut. So, if you see the term National Donut Day, its the same day.

Quick Pick: The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

 

The Castaways
Elin Hilderbrand
ISBN 10: 1600246222
ISBN 13: 9781600246227

Hachette Audio
Read by Katie Hale

Unabridged 11CDs/13hrs

A Summer read that is good anytime of year! A copy of this audio book will take you away from whatever is bothering you and transport you to the beautiful shoreline – where you can live vicariously through an endearing cast of characters that will not soon be forgotten.

Description

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Author Cassandra Clare Discusses Her Audiobooks

Watch a short video of Cassandra Clare talk about the Clockwork Angel audiobook and narrator Jennifer Ehle

By: Cassandra Clare  • Narrated by: Jennifer Ehle










http://www.simonandschuster.com/

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Also available from

Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, David McCullough, returns with his latest addition to an impressive historical series…. The Greater Journey, Americans in Paris “is an enthralling, inspiring – and until now, untold –story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

  
 The Bride Collector
Ted Dekker
Read by John Glover
ISBN-13: 9781607881872
ISBN-10: 160788187X
Hachette Audiio
Hardcover, 448 Pages
ISBN: 1599951967
ISBN: 978-1599951966
Fiction/Suspense-Thriller/Mystery
Visit the author’s website

FBI Special Agent Brad Raines matches wits with a serial killer unlike any other in Ted Dekker’s The Bride Collector.
Determined to terrorize, murder and display seven beautiful brides He has no desire to maim or disfigure his victims… No…with this killer…perfection is the key. He manipulates the bodies leaving only the slightest trace of twisted presence.
To understand and hopefully stop the serial killer, terrorizing Denver, Agent Raines turns to the Center for Well-being and Intelligence. Within the walls of this psychiatric hospital we are introduced to several interesting, caring and highly intelligent characters. But it’s Paradise Founder, a shy, agoraphobic patient with a deep seated fear of men, that could help solve this case with the touch of her hand. Detective Raines is drawn to Paradise, like a moth to a flame.
The Bride Collector brews to a steady boil, with each action leading towards the inevitable confrontation between good and evil. Although the pace is slower than that of most psychological thrillers, the personality of this story is multi-tiered, in that most every thing veils a secondary meaning. What is perfection? How do you define crazy?

Happy Reading!
RJ

  

 

BURIED SECRETS trailer

Have you "met" Nick Heller?  Nick Heller is the charismatic, smooth talking, take no prisoners, lead character in Joseph Finder's new suspense-thriller series. Vanished, the first book in the series, kept readers on the edge of their seats and glued to the pages right up to the stunning, cliff hanger ending. Which left us anxiously awaiting the second book... Well the wait is almost over -

Buried Secrets will be in stores, June 21, 2011!! So if you haven't read Vanished, grab a copy and get hooked on the hottest new thriller series in years!

The Ghost Writer by Robert Harris

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING EWAN McGREGOR & PIERCE BROSNAN


The Ghost Writer
by Robert Harris

read by Roger Rees
Audio 5CD’s

ISBN: 0743583043
ISBN: 978-0743583043

Simon & Schuster Audio

Visit author, Robert Harris




CLICK HERE to Listen to an audio clip of The Ghost Writer



 

 Robert Harris’ latest novel, The Ghost Writer sounds like an insider’s account, with all the sordid, juicy stuff we all want to know but will not admit we want to know. Mixing some recent history with fictional characters, in a real world, easily recognizable setting and the result is an entertaining listening experience!
The retired, disgraced British Prime Minister tapped his trusted aide, Mike McAra to help him write his memoir. After the mysterious, untimely death of McAra, a new ghostwriter is hired to iron out the wrinkles, add a little more detail and put the finishing touches on. The ghost joins Lang and his entourage, which consisted of a small security detail, several secretaries, his assistant and many speculated mistress, and his wife, Ruth, on Martha’s Vineyard, where they have rented a mansion. Adam Lang has created this cocoon, surrounding himself with those who are necessary or wanted, eliminating everyone else, including the citizens who turned on him.

Adam Lang’s smooth, charismatic demeanor catapulted him to the top of the political ticket, where he enjoyed high approval ratings. Then the world changed, as the war on terrorism branched off in an unpopular direction, taking with it Lang’s political popularity and casting a long, dark cloud over his legacy. Already being tried in the court of public opinion, the people unabashedly blame Lang for their suffering, as the UK has been the repeated target of terror attacks. And then it goes from bad to worse…Lang may be asked to stand before the International Criminal Court and answer to the charge of war crimes.

Robert Harris is as light with his pen as Fred Astaire was on his feet! Giving us a view of the inner sanctum is like pulling the curtain aside, revealing to the world there is no wizard…when all is said and done we are all human. And that’s what is at the heart of this story…people…living, breathing and flawed.

Narrator Roger Rees brings the characters to life, painting each with stunning audio detail, making them memorable and believable. The audio will keep you riveted, you are sure you have it figured out, only to be twisted in a new direction the very next chapter. You will laugh out loud and nod your head in agreement more than once. Even if you have read the book, the audio offers you a whole new experience!


Happy Reading,
RJ






 


Accustomed to aging rock-stars, the ghost is out of his element in the political arena, however, he will soon discover the two have more in common than he ever imagined! Ugliness and secrets abide here too…the difference…politicians “bury their stories.”






Author, Robert Harris allows us a bit of insight into his thoughts on the difference between good and bad books -

And what they have in common, these bad books, be they novels or memoirs, is this: they don't ring true. I'm not saying that a good book is true necessarily, just that it feels true for the time you're reading it.

- and he couldn’t be more right! The Ghost Writer definitely rings true, the characters are believable, displaying the kind of behavior we have come to expect from politicians. Of course, the actions aren’t always good and more often than not it is the mistakes, mess ups and out right corruption that catapult their memoirs to the top of the charts.
 
 

Additional covers:

 
Also by author Robert Harris, Conspirata -

National Bestseller

Publishers Weekly Bestseller

Description

On the eve of Marcus Cicero's inauguration as consul of Rome, the grisly death of a boy sends ripples of fear through a city already wracked by civil unrest, crime, and debauchery of every kind. For Cicero, the ill forebodings of this hideous murder only increase his frustrations and the dangers he already faces as Rome's leader: elected by the people but despised by the heads of the two rival camps, the patricians and populists.
Caught in a political shell game that leaves him forever putting out fires only to have them ignite elsewhere, Cicero plays both for the future of the republic and his very life. There is a plot to assassinate Cicero, abetted by a rising young star of the Roman senate named Gaius Julius Caesar -- and it will take all the embattled consul's wit, strength, and force of will to stop it and keep Rome from becoming a dictatorship.
Robert Harris once again weaves a compelling and historically accurate tale of intrigue told in the wise and compassionate voice of Cicero's slave and private secretary, Tiro. In the manner of I, Claudius, Harris vividly evokes ancient Rome and its politics for today's listeners, documenting a world not unlike our own -- where the impulse toward dominance competes with the risk of overreach, where high-minded ideals can be a liability, and where someone is always waiting in the wings for a chance to set the world on fire.
 
CLICK HERE to Listen to an Audio Clip:


  

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

 

  The Unnamed
Joshua Ferris
ISBN: 1600248772
ISBN: 9781600248771
Unabridged Audio, 8CDs

Read by Author, Joshua Ferris

Hardcover available,
Little, Brown & Company

Hachette Book Group

www.joshuaferris.com

 

 

The Unnamed takes us inside the world of Tim and Jane Farnsworth. Tim’s successful law practice allows them to enjoy exotic vacations, beautiful homes, and all the material things exclusive to those with money.  Married twenty years, parents of a rebellious teen daughter, Becka, the Farnsworth’s seem to have it all…But, they share a secret, Tim suffers from an affliction that has no name, no list of symptoms to refer too and no cure. This “illness” causes Tim to walk, uncontrollably for hours and hours, or even days on end, until he literally collapses from exhaustion. After sleep has refreshed Tim’s body and mind he calls his wife to pick him up. The long hours Jane is forced to wait for the phone call are excruciatingly painful and are taking a physical and emotional toll on her. When we join the story Tim is once again under the influence of this mysterious ailment that has visited them on two separate occasions in the past.

When this undefined, unnamed illness presents itself, their lives are uprooted and thrown, as if a leaf, into the eye of a hurricane – never knowing where it will take them, how long it will last or if they will survive it! As the story progresses Tim is overtaken again and again; forced to roam aimlessly by the nameless disorder. Becka and Jane aren’t entirely certain they are dealing with an authentic physical ailment. And I must admit that I teetered back and forth, one minute believing it was a figment of Tim’s imagination and the next, being convinced it was an extremely rare condition. Author, Joshua Ferris uses symbols throughout the story, to bring the pain and emotional turmoil this family is suffering front and center.

The Unnamed is Ferris’ second novel and although he has avoided the sophomore slump it doesn’t quite reach the level of its predecessor. That said, the two novels are completely different and thus cannot be fairly compared. The Unnamed is part mystery, part domestic drama with neither being fully explored. Ferris does an excellent job narrating the audio version, (available from Hachette Book Group.)This is not the typical story where all questions are answered and everyone lives happily ever after. It is an unusual story that explores what it is to be human, how we love and to what extent we will go for those we care about.

Definitely worth a listen!

Happy reading,

RJ
Facebook | Twitter | FriendFeed |

 

 

 

Joshua Ferris's first novel,
Then We Came to the End, won the
Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, the
Barnes and Noble Discover Award,
and was a National Book Award finalist.

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JANUARY 2010 - BEST BOOKS of the MONTH

 

1.

Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe weren't always famous, but they always thought they would be. They found each other, adrift but determined, on the streets of New York City in the late '60s and made a pact to keep each other ...

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2.

Bloodroot
by Amy Greene
Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: Bloodroot is that rare sort of family saga that feels intimate instead of epic. Set in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, it’s told largely in tandem voices that keep watchful eyes on Myra Lamb. She is a child of the mountain, tied to ...

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3.

You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto
by Jaron Lanier

Avg. Customer Review

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: For the most part, Web 2.0--Internet technologies that encourage interactivity, customization, and participation--is hailed as an emerging Golden Age of information sharing and collaborative achievement, the strength of democratized wisdom. Jaron Lanier isn't buying it. In You Are Not a ... Read more

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4.

The Unnamed
by Joshua Ferris

Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: It's back. With those words Tim and Jane Farnsworth reenter a nightmare they know so intimately it needs no other description. "It" may not be found among an insurance company's diagnostic codes, but the Farnsworths, a couple made wealthy by Tim's ...

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5.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers: A Novel
by Thomas Mullen

Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: Set against the bleak backdrop of Depression-era America, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers is the story of Jason and Whit Fireson, a fictional pair of bank-robbing siblings, and their flirtation with immortality. Famous for daring heists and impossible ...

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6.

The Lock Artist: A Novel
by Steve Hamilton
Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: Mike Smith is a "boxman." He can open any safe, padlock, or locked door without a combination or a key--a talent that lands him in prison at the age of eighteen. He spends his time writing down the story of his ...

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7.

Mr. Shivers
by Robert Jackson Bennett
Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010: With his debut novel, Mr. Shivers, Southern writer Robert Jackson Bennett presents a pulpy, Great Depression horror story where a mysterious killer "trails death behind him." After his daughter is brutally murdered, a revenge-seeking Marcus Connelly leaves Memphis on a hunt ...

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8.

Bunny Days
by Tao Nyeu
Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

PreSchool-Grade 1—The bear from Nyeu's Wonder Bear (Dial, 2008) returns in three simple stories. In each tale, six white bunnies are lounging around when Mr. or Mrs. Goat comes by and disrupts them. Bear comes to the rescue and repairs the damage. Each story ends with, "Everyone is happy." ...

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9.

Eighth-Grade Superzero
by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Avg. Customer Review:

Hardcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2010 They don’t call it middle school for nothing. Reggie McKnight (aka "Pukey") is trying hard to stay under the radar after a really embarrassing start to the school year. But, he’s somehow been drawn into the middle of a ...

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