Hitting Our Shelves This Week May 8, 2012

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State of Wonder (9780062049810 $15.99) ~ Ann Patchett

As Dr. Marina Singh embarks upon an uncertain odyssey into the insect-infested Amazon, she will be forced to surrender herself to the lush but forbidding world that awaits within the jungle. Charged with finding her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson, a researcher who has disappeared while working on a valuable new drug, she will have to confront her own memories of tragedy and sacrifice as she journeys into the unforgiving heart of darkness. Stirring and luminous, “State of Wonder” is a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss beneath the rain forest’s jeweled canopy.

I Am A Pole (And So Can You!) (9781455523429 $15.99) ~ Stephen Colbert

“The perfect gift to give a child or grandchild for their high school or college graduation. Also Father’s Day. Also, other times.”
- Stephen Colbert

In One Person (9781451664126 $28) ~ John Irving

A compelling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love-tormented, funny, and affecting-and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a “sexual suspect,” a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 in his landmark novel of “terminal cases,” The World According to Garp.

City of Lost Souls (9781442416864 $19.99) ~ Cassandra Clare

The “New York Times” bestselling Mortal Instruments continues-and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon. Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More (9780312563554 $24.99) ~ Augusten Burroughs

In “How to End Your Life,” Burroughs, recalling his own teenage experience, distinguishes between suicide and ending life. After his brush with suicide, he realizes that he really didn’t want to kill himself; what he really wanted was to end his life, which he accomplishes simply by changing his name and walking out the door and starting a new life. As always, Burroughs is smart and energetically forthright about living and loving.

A Dog’s Journey (9780765330536 $24.99) ~ W. Bruce Cameron

After searching for his purpose through several eventful lives, Buddy is sure that he has found and fulfilled it. Yet as he watches curious baby Clarity get into dangerous mischief, he is certain that this little girl is very much in need of a dog of her own. When Buddy is reborn, he realizes that he has a new destiny. He’s overjoyed when he is adopted by Clarity, now a vibrant but troubled teenager. When they are suddenly separated, Buddy despairs-who will take care of his girl? A charming and heartwarming story of hope, love, and unending devotion, “A Dog’s Journey” asks the question: Do we really take care of our pets, or do they take care of us? More than just another endearing dog tale, “A Dog’s Journey” is the moving story of unwavering loyalty and a love that crosses all barriers.

Home (9780307594167 $24) ~ Toni Morrison

Ultimately, the latest from the Novel Prize-winning novelist has something more subtle and shattering to offer than such social polemics. As the novel progresses, it becomes less specifically about the troubled soldier and as much about the sister he left behind in Georgia, who was married and deserted young, and who has fallen into the employ of a doctor whose mysterious experiments threaten her life.

Grilling Vegan Style: 125 Fired-Up Recipes to Turn Every Bite Into a Backyard BBQ (9780738215723 $20) ~ John Schlimm
Nothing says summer more than a feast hot off the barbecue. “Grilling Vegan Style” serves up backyard cooking and entertaining like never before. Running the gamut from plant-based appetizers, salads, sides, kabobs, and burgers to main dishes, desserts, and, of course, cocktails, John Schlimm also demonstrates the art of grilling faux meats, with key info on everything you need for proper heat and the best taste. With color photographs throughout, this cookbook ensures that the magic of a summer barbecue or a night around the campfire can ignite your taste buds all year long.
Service: A Navy Seal at War (9780316185363 $27.99) ~ Marcus Luttrell
In Service, we follow Marcus Luttrell to Iraq, where he returns to the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Al Anbar Province. There, in six months of high-intensity urban combat, he would be part of what has been called the greatest victory in the history of U.S. Special Operations forces. We also return to Afghanistan and Operation Redwing, where Luttrell offers powerful new details about his miraculous rescue. Throughout, he reflects on what it really means to take on a higher calling, about the men he’s seen lose their lives for their country, and the legacy of those who came and bled before.
A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute to the warrior brotherhood, to the belief that nobody goes it alone, and no one will be left behind.
Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age (9781451657340 $15) ~ James Steyer

In this essential book, Steyer-a frequent commentator on national TV and radio- offers an engaging blend of straightforward advice and anecdotes that address what he calls RAP, the major pitfalls relating to kids’ use of media and technology: relationship issues, attention/addiction problems, and the lack of privacy. Instead of shielding children completely from online images and messages, Steyer’s practical approach gives parents essential tools to help filter content, preserve good relationships with their children, and make common sense, value-driven judgments for kids of all ages.

Not just about Facebook, this comprehensive, no-nonsense guide to the online world, media, and mobile devices belongs in the hands of all parents and educators raising kids in today’s digital age.