The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs are Smarter Than You Think (9780525953197 $27.95) ~Brian Hare
Brian Hare, dog researcher, evolutionary anthropologist, and founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, and Vanessa Woods offer revolutionary new insights into dog intelligence and the interior lives of our smartest pets.
In the past decade, we have learned more about how dogs think than in the last century. Breakthroughs in cognitive science, pioneered by Brian Hare have proven dogs have a kind of genius for getting along with people that is unique in the animal kingdom.
Brian Hare’s stunning discovery is that when dogs domesticated themselves as early as 40,000 years ago they became far more like human infants than their wolf ancestors. Domestication gave dogs a whole new kind of social intelligence. This finding will change the way we think about dogs and dog training-indeed, the revolution has already begun.
Hare’s seminal research has led him to work with every kind of dog from the tiniest shelter puppy to the exotic New Guinea singing dog, from his own childhood dog, Oreo, to the most fashionable schnoodle. “The Genius of Dogs” is nothing less than the definitive dog book of our time by the researcher who started a revolution.
A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted
(9780770436391 $11.99) ~Will Bowen
Will Bowen developed the life-changing plan outlined in “A Complaint Free World” based on the simple idea that good things will happen for you in abundance if you can just leave your grumbling behind. In a sermon, Will passed out purple bracelets and offered his congregation a challenge: If you catch yourself complaining, take the bracelet off and move it to the other wrist. Just one year later, millions had joined in by going 21 days without complaining, criticizing, or gossiping. Through changing their words, they found they had changed their thoughts, resulting in healed relationships, relief from chronic pain, improved careers, and a higher level of happiness. It’s not easy reformatting your mental hard drive, but Bowen presents the steps that make it possible here, along with inspirational stories from those whose lives have been improved by it.
Temple of a Thousand Faces (9780451239174 $16) ~John Shors
In his international bestseller “Beneath a Marble Sky,” John Shors wrote about the ancient passion, beauty, and brilliance that inspired the building of the Taj Mahal. Now with “Temple of a Thousand Faces,” he brings to life the legendary temple of Angkor Wat, an unrivaled marvel of ornately carved towers and stone statues. There, in a story set nearly a thousand years ago, an empire is lost, a royal love is tested, and heroism is reborn.
When his land is taken by force, Prince Jayavar of the Khmer people narrowly escapes death at the hands of the conquering Cham king, Indravarman. Exiled from their homeland, he and his mystical wife Ajadevi set up a secret camp in the jungle with the intention of amassing an army bold enough to reclaim their kingdom and free their people. Meanwhile, Indravarman rules with an iron fist, pitting even his most trusted men against each other and quashing any hint of rebellion.
Moving from a poor fisherman’s family whose sons find the courage to take up arms against their oppressors, to a beautiful bride who becomes a prize of war, to an ambitious warrior whose allegiance is torn-“Temple of a Thousand Faces” is an unforgettable saga of love, betrayal, and survival at any cost.
Betty Goes Vegan (9781455509331 $26.99) ~Dan Shannon
BETTY GOES VEGAN is a comprehensive guide to creating delicious meals for today’s vegan family. This must-have cookbook features recipes inspired by “The Betty Crocker Cookbook,” as well as hundreds of original, never-before-seen recipes sure to please even meat-eaters. It also offers insight into why Betty Crocker has been an icon in American cooking for so long- and why she still represents a certain style of the modern super-woman nearly 100 years after we first met her. With new classics for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, including omelets, stews, casseroles, and brownies, BETTY GOES VEGAN is the essential handbook every vegan family needs.
The City of Devi (9780393088755 $26.95) ~Manil Suri
Mumbai has emptied under the threat of imminent nuclear annihilation; gangs of marauding Hindu and Muslim thugs rove the desolate streets; yet Sarita can think of only one thing: buying the last pomegranate that remains in perhaps the entire city. She is convinced that the fruit holds the key to reuniting her with her physicist husband, Karun, who has been mysteriously missing for more than a fortnight.
Searching for his own lover in the midst of this turmoil is Jaz-cocky, handsome, and glib. “The Jazter,” as he calls himself, is Muslim, but his true religion has steadfastly been sex with men. Dodging danger at every step, both he and Sarita are inexorably drawn to Devi ma, the patron goddess who has reputedly appeared in person to save her city. What they find will alter their lives more fundamentally than any apocalypse to come.
A wickedly comedic and fearlessly provocative portrayal of individuals balancing on the sharp edge of fate, The City of Devi brilliantly upends assumptions of politics, religion, and sex, and offers a terrifying yet exuberant glimpse of the end of the world.
Blood Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys: The Epic Story of Murder and Vengeance (9780762782253 $16.95) ~Lisa Alther
America’s most notorious family feud began in 1865 with the murder of a Union McCoy soldier by a Confederate Hatfield relative of “Devil Anse” Hatfield. More than a decade later, Ranel McCoy accused a Hatfield cousin of stealing one of his hogs, triggering years of violence and retribution, including a Romeo-and-Juliet interlude that eventually led to the death of one of McCoy’s daughters. In a drunken brawl, three of McCoy’s sons killed Devil Anse Hatfield’s younger brother. Exacting vigilante vengeance, a group of Hatfields tied them up and shot them dead. McCoy posses hijacked part of the Hatfield firing squad across state lines to stand trial, while those still free burned down Ranel McCoy’s cabin and shot two of his children in a botched attempt to suppress the posses. Legal wrangling ensued until the US Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky could try the captured West Virginian Hatfields. Seven went to prison, and one, mentally disabled, yelled, “The Hatfields made me do it!” as he was hanged. But the feud didn’t end there. Its legend continues to have an enormous impact on the popular imagination and the region.
With a charming voice, a wonderfully dry sense of humor, and an abiding gift for spinning a yarn, bestselling author Lisa Alther makes an impartial, comprehensive, and compelling investigation of what happened, masterfully setting the feud in its historical and cultural contexts, digging deep into the many causes and explanations of the fighting, and revealing surprising alliances and entanglements. Here is a fascinating new look at the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud.
The Kiss (9780316101912 $17.99) ~James Patterson
Whit and Wisty Allgood, a witch and wizard with extraordinary abilities, have defeated the ruthless dictator who long overshadowed their world. But for the first time in their lives, the powerful brother and sister find themselves at odds as Wisty is drawn to a mysterious and magical stranger named Heath.
Wisty has never felt as free as she does with Heath, especially when the two of them share and test their magic together. But when a merciless Wizard King from the mountains suddenly threatens war, Wisty must make an excruciating choice. Will she unite with Whit to fight the mounting dangers that could return their world to a tyrant’s domain? Or will she trust the beautiful boy who has captured her heart?
James Patterson’s epic dystopian saga continues as the witch and wizard who have inspired countless imaginations must rally together before the world they fought to save collapses.
No One Here Except All of Us (9781594486494 $16) ~Ramona Ausubel
In 1939, the residents of a tiny Romanian village are counting upon their isolation to protect them from the catastrophe sweeping Europe. When a mysterious stranger is washed up on the riverbank and the illusion of peace is shattered, the villagers are forced to acknowledge the precariousness of their situation. But even with danger imminent in every direction, the territory of imagination is limitless. At the suggestion of an eleven-year-old-girl and the stranger, the villagers decide, through sheer will, to reinvent the world. Destiny is unwritten. Time and history are forgotten. And for years, there is boundless hope. But as the young girl comes of age, as the real world continues to unfold alongside the imagined one, she will learn the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, and discover the power in shaping one’s own truths.
