Archive for New Releases

Lerner Publishing Group recently has pulled one of their books, Angel Girl, from the shelves and canceled all reprints. The company also is offering full refunds for those who have purchased the book already.

Angel Girl is the story of a young man trapped in a concentration camp who comes into contact with a young girl that sneaks him food and provides him company. In the story the young man quickly falls in love with the girl and after being separated for years is later reunited with his savior by chance through a blind date in the United States. The two are then married.

The book was given the all familiar tag, “Based on a true story.”

However on December 27, Mr. Rosenblat (the subject of the story) and his agent released statements to the public announcing that certain parts and events in his own version of the story were made up. Rosenblat revealed that his accounts of time in the concentration camp were true, but the love story aspect was all false, including the reunion later on in life.

Laurie Friedman, the author of the book, said, “I, like many others, am disappointed and upset to now learn of Herman’s fabrications.”

Friedman had interviewed Mr. Rosenblat at an earlier time in order to prepare for writing the novel. “My goal in writing Angel Girl was to communicate that even in the darkest of times, no one should give up hope.”

Apparently now her stance has changed.

Adam Lerner, president of Lerner Publishing Group announced to the public, “We have been misled by the Rosenblats, who gave us and our author what we believed to be an authentic and moving account of their lives.”

Misled, indeed. Although being a writer myself, I don’t understand why the author would agree to having the novel removed from the shelves. The company only needs to remove the “Based on a true story” tag.

What do you think?

“We have to catch a plane to Florida in half an hour, but we wanted to see the most beautiful book in the world,” said Betty Katarain Rosado. Betty who is from Palm Beach Florida, waited for 20 minutes in the freezing cold weather of New York with her husband for a library to open.

The library was not just any library, however. It was the New York Public Library, and Betty and her husband were waiting to see a $126,000 book named Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano or Michelangelo: The Learned Hand. The book is an Italian language celebration of Michelangelo’s artistry work. It was donated to the library and was on display for the first official public viewing in the United States.

The entire work cost a total of 100,000 euros, which translates roughly to 126,864 in US dollars. It took a matter of months of custom and skilled handiwork to print, requiring most of all serious Renaissance skills. The entire masterpiece has 264 pages that are plastered with bas-relief adaptations of Michelangelo’s most extravagant works including the “Madonna of the Steps”. Only a total of 33 copies out of a later planned 99 (limited edition) have been made.

The book is certainly not the most expensive ever made or sold, but when compared to most books of that price range it should be noted that most others are adorned with very expensive and rare rubies or gems. This book has nothing so special, just a red velvet covering, which is crafted by the same Italian workshop that made curtains for the Metropolitan Opera. It also has pure cotton paper sheets, which were produced directly in Italy, that show the photographic plates and drawings of Michelangelo’s work in the Sistene Chapel.

One of my favorite murder mystery authors is Joanne Fluke, author of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries. Her novels are low in gore, as far as murder mysteries go. There usually is a single murder, and the main character, Hannah Swensen, is always the one trying to solve the mysteries, even if she’s being discouraged by the police.

The books do connect to each other. Although they aren’t impossible to follow when reading them out of order, I advise that you start from the beginning. The books aren’t simply murder mysteries; they involve a lot of character plots and flaws that keep it interesting without more violence or thrills. There are currently 10 novels in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries series:

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
• Strawberry Shortcake Murder
• Blueberry Muffin Murder
• Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
• Fudge Cupcake Murder
• Sugar Cookie Murder
• Peach Cobbler Murder
• Cherry Cheesecake Murder
• Key Lime Pie Murder
• Carrot Cake Murder

The first of these was published in 2000, and as you can infer, Fluke has been quite busy since then. These books have become easy, obvious birthday or Christmas gifts between my sister and me. I have found all of them charming and comical, yet suspenseful.

One unique factor of Fluke’s books is that they actually include recipes. Hannah owns a shop called The Cookie Jar, and when she’s not solving a mystery she’s baking some sort of treat. Any time she describes one of her mouth-watering delights, a recipe is included. I have tried a handful of the recipes, and I have found all of them to be absolutely delicious. I give two thumbs up to Joanne Fluke, the Hannah Swensen Mysteries, and all of the great recipes found within the novels.

This holiday season there’s another piece of Harry Potter literature leaving JK Rowling’s hands to go up on display on store shelves, but this time it is not about Harry. The Tales of the Beetle Bard will hit store shelves on December 4th, and will retail (standard edition) for around $12.99. The collection of short stories is being published by the Children’s High Level Group and also is being released in the UK.

The book will feature five short stories, some of which were mentioned as being wizard fairy tales in the original Harry Potter series. The stories are as follow: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock’s Hairy Heart, Babbitty, Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump and The Tale of the Three Brothers.

J.K. Rowling wrote and illustrated a beautiful copy, which was later sold for a charity auction at Sotheby’s to Amazon for a whopping total of $1.95 million; the proceeds were donated to The Children’s Voice (charity organization). It is also rumored that J.K. Rowling made 7 or 8 additional copies and gave them as gifts to several crucial members that helped publish the Harry Potter series.

In light of these aforementioned rare editions, Amazon will publish a selective few special edition copies that are modeled after the first few beautifully created books. The special edition hardcover’s will retail somewhere around $100 each.

For those who do not know, in the original Harry Potter series, the Tales of the Beetle Bard was a book given to Hermoine that was later mentioned in the final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book also mentioned that the collection of stories was a very well written group of wizarding fairy tales, much like the fairy tales we tell our children only ours are referred to as “muggle” (the term used for non-magical humans) fairy tales.

Thanks to J.K. Rowling’s very well mannered writing tones and excellent writing expertise we can be sure this new little add-on to the series will provide an even further out of world and brilliant reading experience for book lovers of all ages.

In Pakistan and Afghanistan, drinking a cup of tea with someone is more than a casual encounter. With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger. During the second cup of tea, you become a friend. After the third cup of tea, you join the family. As quoted in Three Cups of Tea, Haji Ali, the Korphe Village Chief in the Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan, said, “… for our family we are prepared to do anything -even die.” Written by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin,Three Cups of Tea is an uplifting story about one man’s remarkable perseverance that led to astonishing changes.

Mortensen’s attempt to climb K2 (the world’s second largest mountain) in memory of his sister fails. On his descent, he arrives in a village, Korphe. The welcome of the people of the village touches him so much that he decides to build a school for the village. This, of course, is not as easy as it sounds. School for women was forbidden in Pakistan under the rule of the Taliban. Today, the literacy rate among the adults is a shocking 50%. (Literacy is defined as being able to read at the elementary school level.) In the story of becoming a humanitarian from a mountaineer, Mortenson is described as “a real-life Indiana Jones”. In his quest to make a difference, his adventure encourages him to build not one school, but seventy-eight.

This book is wonderfully written. Consequently, it topped the New York Times’ bestsellers list and has been on the list since its release in January 2007. My mother recommended the book to me, and in turn, I recommend it to you, knowing that you will enjoy it and recommend it to others. It is a fabulous story that should be shared with everyone.

It is often that we come to the end of a book series and look back and say, “Wow! What happened? It used to be so good.” Oftentimes, as with media and books, about the third installment the only thing the writer or producers care about is the money and profit to be reaped…so the storyline and depth somewhat drops off. Lately, however, the existence of this problem has begun fading away. Finally it seems writers and producers have realized quality matters certainly much more than quantity.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final release in the magical series that JK Rowling brought it into fruition in 1997. Over the years the entire series has dealt with many underlying themes and meanings, which all seem to be rather collective in this final masterpiece.

The opening of the book finds Harry unable to return to Hogwarts due to the growing presence of evil at both the school and the nearby areas. Voldemort, the antagonist of the Harry Potter series, has been returned to power over the world of wizards and muggles (non-magical people). Harry is forced to discontinue his schooling early and search for a way to end this seemingly endless quest to destroy his malevolent arch rival. The particulars cannot be delved into without giving away much of the books entertaining plot, therefore I will go no further. The ending of the series, however, certainly does not disappoint like many other series that have come before. It fits perfectly into the quaint little world that is Harry Potter.

For those that have never read the Harry Potter series but have seen the movies, it is right to contest the books provide a much more vivid experience. The first book in the series was titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States; therefore novice readers should begin there and work their way through the entire series before starting the final chapter.

Overall the book does provide a very satisfying conclusion to the Harry Potter series, and JK Rowling has once again outdone herself.

Change Of Heart is the fifteenth and newest published novel from American author, Jodi Picoult. It is the story of Shay Bourne, a young man convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the town of Concord, New Hampshire. It also is the story of June Nealon, a young mother whose first husband died in a car accident, whose second husband and eldest daughter were killed by Shay Bourne and whose youngest daughter is suffering from a weak heart. Finally, it is the story of Michael Wright, the last juror to convict Shay Bourne and sentence him to his death who becomes the priest assigned to Shay Bourne as his spiritual advisor.

In this book, Jodi Picoult gives her readers her usual style of writing, which involves allowing her readers to think about the issues she presents in her books. And this time, she presents a discussion on how to justify killing a person by killing another person. When a person decides to make things right after having done something wrong, does it justify what he did? Or do his past actions weigh more than the good things he performs? Which weighs more: to be good morally or lawfully?

It’s not her best book, but her loyal readers will not be disappointed in Change of Heart. It may not be the best book to recommend to first time readers, especially since Picoult tended to underdevelop some of her main characters to stay true to the story. But it stays true to the spirit of her writing style.

Have you read Change of Heart? What did you think of it?

Brisingr (try saying that three times fast), certainly does sound like some form of gibberish a two year old would mutter. The word, however, is the title of Christopher Paolini’s new masterpiece and third novel in the Inheritance cycle. The word Brisingr means “fire” in the ancient Elven language from the world of Alagaesia. Brisingr was first planned to be the final novel in a trilogy, but Paolini decided the book would end up much too large.

The series began with Eragon, and was followed by Eldest, no more than a year later.

The story follows a young man named Eragon who lives in a world known as Alagaesia. In the first novel Eragon discovers a small dragon egg in the woods, which later hatches and a dragon is born. Eragon raises the little dragon, soon bonds with it, and decides to name it Saphira. When the dragon finally grows, Eragon realizes he can ride it through the endless sky.

About that time a great man named Brom reveals to Eragon that there was a time when dragon riders thrived about the land, but they were thwarted by an evil sorcerer named Galbatorix. Galbatorix wanted to claim every dragon in existence for his own use, so he slaughtered all the dragon riders and stole the eggs. His rule remains a dark shadow over the land still, and Brom also reveals that the sorcerer will soon chase after Eragon and his dragon in an attempt to slay them. Brom tells them of a resistant force known as the Varden, who fight against Galbatorix, and insists they travel to their stronghold immediately.

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, start on a journey towards the Varden and a plan to overthrow Galbatorix.

There was a movie released based on the first novel named Eragon, but it did not do the book justice. It should be taken into consideration that if you saw the movie you would be best suited to read the novel. It will grasp hold and keep you interested the entire duration of both novels; which in this day and age is tough to come by in a series.

Brisingr is set to be released in September and is applauded widely by a large, and growing, number of fans. Having read both books in the series, I personally can’t wait to begin reading the new novel and see what happens to Eragon and Saphira next. Until the release date, however, I have been reading the excerpt posted on the official site to keep my quench satisfied; so far it seems to be amazing.

Uglies is the first book in the trilogy written by Scott Westerfeld that also includes Pretties and Specials. I must say, what got me to read this book was its cover. (I guess judging a book by its cover also has benefits.) The cover depicts half of the face of a young teen. The word UGLIES is written boldly in the center. I thought to myself, this girl does not look ugly, do they think she is? What I was asking myself is in fact a key point in these stories.

The main character in Uglies is Tally. In this futuristic world, at the age of 16 everyone undergoes a surgery that transforms them from being uglies to pretties. All of the children in New Pretty Town become supermodel-like, with big eyes, fat lips, and a perfect weight. Tally and her friend Shay are almost 16, waiting to become pretties. Shay, however, doesn’t trust the process that makes everyone “pretty”. For one, she thinks some of the uglies, like Tally, are pretty without the operation. Secondly, being a pretty doesn’t seem as great as it used to be. Something about the way the pretties act just doesn’t seem right. The day before Shay’s surgery is scheduled to occur, Shay disappears. Tally might have the only clue that could help her find her friend, but does she want to be found?

To find out what happens, you’ll have to read the book. It is truly a thrill, with great action sequences in a fast-paced book. After Uglies comes Pretties, then Specials. Book 4 of the trilogy (yes, book 4) was recently released; it is called Extras. All four books have been New York Times bestsellers, and Extras even made it to the #1 spot. I’ve read the first three, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the Extras. I’m positive that the book won’t leave my hands until I’ve read every last word.

Recently released was Breaking Dawn, the fourth and last book on the gripping love story of Edward, a vampire, and Bella, a mortal. It all started with Twilight, the first book of the series, released in 2005. Isabella “Bella” Swan is the new girl in the town of Forks, Washington, coming from Phoenix, Arizona, to live with her father. She is quickly befriended by students in her new school and becomes the object of affection of a lot of her male schoolmates. Except for Edward.

Edward Cullen sat beside her in biology class and becomes repulsed at the sight of her and tried to stay as far away from her as possible. This confuses Bella as she has done nothing to explain his behavior. Bella soon finds out that Edward is a vampire, a vampire in love with her. Their story becomes the ultimate story of forbidden love between a vampire and a mortal.

In the next book in the series, New Moon, Edward goes into hiding to protect Bella from other vampires. He believes that this will keep her safe, not knowing that an old family friend that Bella spent a lot of time with is actually a werewolf. Problems arise when Edward’s sister gets a vision that Bella is dead. Fearing the worst, Edward seeks the help of a band of peace-keeping vampires who tell him to kill Bella because of everything she knows.

In the third book, Eclipse, Bella realizes she is in love with both Edward, the vampire, and Jacob, the werewolf. How will she decide? Who will she choose?

And in the concluding book, Breaking Dawn, Bella must decide once and for all, if she will continue to live life as a mortal or part of the undead world.

This vampire love story series has captivated the attention of the world and has spawned a movie to be released worldwide this December 2008.

Have you read these books by Stephanie Meyer? Is it a love story to rival all love stories? Do you think the love of Bella and Edward should endure? Who should Bella choose?