The Spanish Bow
by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Romano-Lax’s descriptions of Feliu’s passion for his music and his relationship with his instrument are so accurate it’s hard to believe the first time she picked up a cello was during the writing of this book. Feliu’s story is set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century Spain in all it’s political upheaval. Like many great artists, Feliu’s talent is sought after by people who want to use it for their own ends, while Feliu believes that he can remain completely free of influences and be a “pure” artist. This tragic and beautiful tale is rumored to be based on similar struggles in the life of famous cellist Pablo Casals and is one of the only books I’ve read as an adult that actually brought me to tears.
-Chris


Feeding the Whole Family
By Cynthia Lair

I have to admit, I’m pretty new to the “whole foods” way of life. But this comprehensive, easy-to-use cookbook explains in detail why what we put into our bodies is so important and how altering what we eat and how we eat it can affect so many different aspects of our lives: mood, sleep, weight, etc. While the title (and the cover!) suggests that you have to have kids in order to get the most use out of this book, Feeding the Whole Family is full of delicious recipes that are perfect for people of all ages. So if you’re looking for a “starter cookbook” for the organic lifestyle, this is the book for you!
-Maureen


Good In Bed
By Jennifer Weiner

Cannie Shapiro is mortified when she discovers her loser pot-head boyfriend, Bruce, has written an article about "loving a larger woman." While the book's pink cover and food and man obsessed protagonist may lead the reader to think of this as a fluff novel, "Good In Bed" addresses the deep and frustrating challenges woman face as they try to make their way in the world. "Certain Girls", Weiner's follow up to "Good In Bed," features an older and wiser but still very relatable Cannie, as well.
-Heather


The Elegant Universe
By Brian Greene

Ever wonder what E=MC2 really means? Want to know the nature of the Universe without the confusing mathematics? Follow Brian Greene as he tracks the scientific world's search for the "Theory of Everything." In plain and often amusing language, physicist Brian Greene explains the concepts underlying our understanding of the Universe. Colorful analogies and superb storytelling are the well-wielded tools of this scientist/author as he makes "the Mind of God" clear for every person.
-Benji


The Book of Bright Ideas
by Sandra Kring

A great summer read! Evelyn “Buttton” is an only child in a small town in Wisconsin the summer of 1961. Button’s life becomes exponentially more interesting when Winnalee and her older sister Freeda come to town. Winnalee is unpredictable and adventurous compared to shy and quiet Button, but the two become best friends. While the young girls document their fun in Winnalee’s “Book of Bright Ideas,” Freeda’s adventures become more public and more scandalous. When an unexpected visitor comes to town, the reasons why Winnalee and Freeda’s arrival are finally exposed and the other townspeople begin to question their own family relationships.
-Stephanie


The Long Emergency
by James Howard Kunstler

James Howard Kunstler describes a world of catastrophe in a not so distant future. As light sweet crude oil becomes harder too extract from the good earth, a series of unexpected consequences unfolds. Higher oil refining costs cause higher fertilizer prices which cause skyrocketing food prices. The problem isn’t just prices at the pump, and you will be surprised just what those problems are. My father read much of this book recently, and his reaction to it inspired me to make it my staff pick this month. If you care about what happens to your family in the next 10 years, you will want to read this book. If you have never heard of “peak oil,” you need to read this book.
-Jon


Solar Storms
By Linda Hogan

Named after the driving force behind the beauty of the Northern Lights, Solar Storms is the story of a young and troubled Native American girl’s homecoming. Under the guidance of aunt- and grandmother-mentors she gradually learns to make her place not just in the family, but in the mystery of the natural world itself. What I like best about this novel, though, is Hogan’s use of language. It’s a perfect read for people who admire the writer’s craft.
-Tom


Bonk
By Mary Roach

Mary Roach, in her enthusiastic, gawky style, writes about the storied and often secretive history of sex research. Not sold? Okay, here’s an excerpt!

“…Male pandas in general are bumbling lovers. ‘The male giant pandas do not know where to put it,’ a zoologist named Chen is quoted as saying in Inside China Today. ‘Sometimes they climb on the females’ heads and start pushing.’ Seeking to enlighten clueless male pandas, Wolong staff set about making an instructional video, which the media gleefully dubbed ‘panda porn.’ The BBC even referred to the footage as ‘explicit,’ though given the animals thick fur and diminutive penis – erect, about as big as a man’s thumb – it’s hard to imagine that the pandas were able to glean much detail from the tapes… The staff tersely reported ‘improvement.’”
-Emily


Arthur and George
by Julian Barnes

Set in Victorian times, this novel is based on a real-life encounter between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and solicitor George Edalji, defendant in a sensational trial. Already famous for his character Sherlock Holmes, Doyle conducts an investigation in the style of his ultimate creation. Did Edalji kill his neighbors’ horses, and send threatening, psychotic letters to his own family? You have a front seat to an exciting moment in history as Doyle uncovers clues the police never found, and closes in on the truth.
-Brian


Take the Cannoli
by Sarah Vowell

Take the Cannoli is a compact, one-stop tour of the American cultural landscape.  In personal essays dealing with everything from the Trail of Tears to high school music lessons, Vowell mixes insight and humor and autobiographical detail to
create a sweeping, yet very personal, overview of American-ness.  Anyone and everyone will enjoy this.
-Adam


In a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson opens up Australia in series of visits in this great travel narrative.  Here he discovers a wide range of things that could kill him – many more than those bears in A Walk in the Woods, as well as friendly people and great beauty. He’s a wonderful traveling companion and has really sharpened my desire to travel down under. 
-Judy

A Clockwork Orange
By Anthony Burgess
-Brandon


The Stand
by Stephen King

Over thirty years after its original publication (in a truncated form) Stephen King’s The Stand remains just as relevant, chilling and gripping as ever. Following a global super-flu pandemic (sound familiar?) that wipes out nearly 99% of the world’s population the stage is set for an epic battle between good and evil. If you’ve never read this masterwork of King’s early career, now’s your chance to dig in.
-Fred


Snow Crash
By Neal Stephenson

With SNOW CRASH, NY Times Bestselling author Neal Stephenson presents a breathtaking super-surrealistic thrill-ride for the internet gaming generation.

Ninja techno-geek Hiro Protagonist survives and prospers in a future USA that has broken up into lawless corporate city entities, service franchises (legal and criminal), and an intranet pseudo-world as real and lethal as downtown LA. Irresistable fun from page One!
-Kathy


Attack of the Theater People
By Marc Acito

This sequel (but it can stand alone) to “How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater” joins Edward Zanni and the gang following Edward’s first (and only) year at Julliard. He’s been kicked out for being “too jazz hands for Julliard” and he finds himself homeless and unemployed in New York City. Instead of facing defeat and returning home to New Jersey, Edward picks up a job as a paid-party-guest whose sole purpose is to be the life of the party, to get the teenagers to dance, and to schmooze the elderly and businessmen. Unfortunately, a devilishly handsome businessman charms Edward and he soon finds himself in the middle of an insider trading debacle. So Edward recruits his friends to pull off an elaborate scheme that only theatre kids are capable of.
-Joel

This week's hardcover bestsellers!

These books are 30% off all week for our Gives Back members, and 20% off for everyone else!

1.) The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe
2.) The Strain, by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro
3.) Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly
4.) Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
5.) Dead & Gone, by Charlaine Harris
6.) Finger Lickin' Fifteen, by Janet Evanovich
7.) Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk
8.) A Rogue of My Own, by Johanna Lindsey
9.) Doomsday Key, by James Rollins
10.)Roadside Crosses, by Jeffery Deaver

1.) Are You Kidding Me?, by Rocco Mediate
2.) Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
3.) What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World, by Tina Seelig
4.) What Would Keith Richards Do?, by Keith Richards
5.) Destiny Disrupted, by Tamin Ansary
6.) A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity, by Bill O'Reilly
7.) Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea, by Chelsea Handler
8.) Renegade: The Making of a President, by Richard Wolffe
9.) Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter
10.)The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

Come visit Joseph-Beth on the South Side and see what we have for YOU!

This Week's Hardcover Bestsellers!

These books are 30% off all week for our Gives Back members, and 20% off for everyone else!


Fiction
1.) The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe
2.) The Strain, by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro
3.) Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly
4.) Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
5.) Dead & Gone, by Charlaine Harris
6.) The Angel's Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
7.) Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk
8.) Relentless, by Dean Koontz
9.) Undead & Unwelcome, by MaryJanice Davidson
10.)Roadside Crosses, by Jeffery Deaver

Non Fiction

1.) Are You Kidding Me?, by Rocco Mediate
2.) Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
3.) What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World, by Tina Seelig
4.) What Would Keith Richards Do?, by Keith Richards
5.) Destiny Disrupted, by Tamin Ansary
6.) Columbine, by Dave Cullen
7.) Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea, by Chelsea Handler
8.) Renegade: The Making of a President, by Richard Wolffe
9.) Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter
10.)The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

Vamps: 1, Romance: 0

The Strain by Guillermo DelToro and Chuck Hogan

Guillermo DelToro is known in America as the director of the Hellboy franchise, The Orphanage and the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth. Chuck Hogan is the author of several thrillers including the Hammett-Award winning Prince of Theives. Together they've teamed up to write a well-paced and innovative vampire thriller called The Strain.

Imagine that vampires exist, but not in any way humans have conceived of them in the past. When they infect humans with a virus that mimics many of the behaviors of vampirism, only one man at the CDC is willing to recognize and fight the infection sweeping the globe, and the only person willing to help him is an honest-to-goodness vampire hunter straight out of a Dracula novel. These two men with a tiny team of fellow believers begins the fight to take back their homes, take down the true vampires and save humanity (or what's left of it).

This is the first book of a three part trilogy. If you love horror, but can't take another "I'm a human, he's a vampire but I love him anyway" type novel, rejoice! This book has horror, gore, explosions, doomed rock stars and a really excellent medical explaination for the whole "disease" that will keep you interested right up to the end. (Full disclosure: I love some of those vampire romances too)


As one of our bestsellers, this book is discounted 30% for our Gives Back Members and 20% for everyone else, but it won't be forever! Stop in and grab a copy today!

This week's top-selling hardcover books

These books are 30% off all week for our Gives Back members, and 20% off for everyone else.

Fiction titles:

1.) The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe
2.) The Strain, by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro
3.) Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly
4.) Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
5.) Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk
6.) Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich
7.) Brooklyn, by Tolm Coibin
8.) Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
9.) Dead & Gone, by Charlaine Harris
10.)Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley

Non-Fiction Titles:

1.) Renegade: The Making of a President, by Richard Wolffe
2.) The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
3.) What I Wish I Knew When I was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World, by Tina Seelig
4.) A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez
5.) Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter
6.) I'm Down: A Memoir, by Mishna Wolff
7.) Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, by Steve Harvey
8.) Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
9.) The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch
10.)Mommywood, by Tori Spelling

Children's and Young Adult's bestselling titles (select titles may be discounted)
This week's list includes our bestselling titles both inside the store and at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

1) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3) Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 1 by Jeff Kinney
4) The Charlie Harper Coloring Book by Charlie Harper
5) Gallop by Rufus Seder
6) Pickles To Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett
7) Love Your World by DK Press
8) Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
9) Coraline by Neil Gaimen
10) Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 2 by Jeff Kinney

The Next Step for Local Authors

So you've written a book and you're ready to publish, or you've published your book and now you want to sell it in stores, what next? Join us for our local author information night on Thursday, June 18th at 7pm and find out!

We have books to help you craft the perfect book and books to help you sell the book you've crafted ad our local buyer will be on hand to answer all your questions. Also joining us will be our kids manager to talk about what makes the best kids book and what doesn't sell so well. And on top of all that we are featuring a very special guest.

Paul Kelly (one of our favorite people here at Joseph-Beth) will be joining us from St. Lynn's Press, a small, independent publisher. Paul has been in publishing for over 30 years and held senior marketing positions in a number of publishing houses including Harper One in San Francisco. He's an engaging speaker with an open mind and tons of great ideas and he'll be able to talk to you about everything from format to content with plenty of insider tips in-between. We're thrilled to bring him in to talk to you and we hope you'll take advantage of this great opportunity.

No registration is needed, just show up at 7pm on the 18th. If you are planning to submit a book for the Local Submission Committee to review bring all your publisher information and an advance-reader copy to submit and we'll get you set up with the paperwork.

See you soon!

This week's top-selling hardcover books

Fiction Hardcovers (Discounted 30% for members and 20% for everyone else!)

1.) Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk
2.) The Strain, by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro
3.) Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich
4.) Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin
5.) Dead & Gone, by Charlaine Harris
6.) Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly
7.) Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, by Alexander McCall Smith
8.) Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
9.) Selected Works OF T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larsen
10.)Cemetery Dance, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Non-Fiction Hardcovers (Discounted 30% for members and 20% for everyone else!)

1.) Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, by Steve Harvey
2.) Renegade: The Making of a President, by Richard Wolffe
3.) Are You There, Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea, by Chelsea Handler
4.) Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America, by Charlotte Waisman
5.) Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
6.) The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch
7.) A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez
8.) The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
9.) What I Wish I Knew When I was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World
by Tina Seelig
10.) Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, by Tamim Ansary

Best-selling Young Adult and Children's Titles (select titles may be discounted)

1) Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
2) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
4) Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
5) Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
6) Just Mom and Me by Mercer Meyer
7) Wolverine: Awesome Powers by DK PRess
8)Curious George's Dinosaur Disco by Margarey and H.A.Rey
9) The 39 Clues Book 1 by Rick Riordan
10) Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak