Larry Rodness has generously offered up his latest book to satisfy your literary addictions. Literophilia is giving away 1 copy (in ePub or PDF form) of Perverse! If you haven’t read my review on this book yet, you can check it out here. You can also check out our interview with Mr. Rodness here so that you can get better acquainted with him!

To enter, leave a comment telling us why you want to win. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail — otherwise, we won’t be able to notify you if you win! You can increase your chances of winning by earning extra entries. Do one (or more) of the following and post a comment to let us know. Just make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry or it won’t count.

Twitter this phrase: “Want a free copy of an awesome book? Literophilia is giving away Larry Rodness’s Perverse! http://is.gd/pSWy4T“. Then leave a comment here linking back to the tweet (the actual post, not just your Twitter page).

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Sign up to receive e-mail updates from Literophilia (using the link in the sidebar) and comment here with your e-mail to let me know that you’ve done so.

All entries must be submitted by June 31st, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. 1 winner will be chosen and notified via e-mail. This contest is open to all readers as per your local state/country’s laws.

Literophilia: What was your inspiration for Perverse?

Larry Rodness: It actually arose out of boredom. The kernel of the story came to me one day when I was browsing in an antique shop. I saw a sketch of a rural scene in winter. I asked myself, what would happen if I looked at the scene again and noticed footprints in the snow that were not there before. Then I asked myself, who would have made those footprints and what would she be doing there?

Literophilia: I’ve always been interested to understand how authors are able to speak through a character that can sometimes be quite the opposite of who the author is in reality. Was it difficult to write in the voice of a teenage girl?

Larry Rodness: Good question. This was an intentional choice. In my first novel, Today I Am A Man, the protagonist was a 13 year old boy (and also his 50 year old, older self). In my next novel I wanted to stretch myself as a writer and tell a story from a female perspective. It helped that I had a teenage daughter when I first began the venture so I listened to her speech patterns, and often eavesdropped on girls sitting in malls to help me get the ‘voice’ and female perspective. I was originally going to use a female pseudonym so that readers would more easily accept the story written by a woman, but I decided to put my name to everything I wrote and sink or swim by it.

Larry Rodness: Not just a Goth but a second-generation Goth. Since I was a child I had nightmares of vampires. Over the years I learned to fight my fears by writing about them and thus, purging them from my mind. I knew the story I wanted to write about was of a supernatural nature. The dichotomy of the Goth community always appealed to me in that they appear so fearsome and dark, yet I have found them to be a mild-mannered, fun-loving group of people. The juxtaposition for me was ideally suited to the way I wanted to attack my novel. Once I decided on having my protagonist as a Goth, I thought about the way I would approach the story in the context of a ‘perverse’ theme. Using a Goth protagonist would have been straight ahead, but I felt a more complex subject would be a second-generation Goth. The reason being is that Goths are seen as rebels of society and I was interested in exploring how the daughter of a rebel family would react to certain situations.

Larry Rodness: I have a number of ideas but my publisher and I are keeping an eye on sales (to be crass). If there is enough interest I will be launching a sequel. If not, I have a number of projects in the works.

Larry Rodness: When I was in Europe I heard about other legends of the undead and the myths that surrounded them. I did not want to write just another vampire story with the same old traditions so I took the essence of what I researched and married it to my imagination.

There are certain aspects of human nature we are not proud of yet tolerate – our collective darker desires and penchants for lying, thievery, gambling, and prostitution. Every once in a while a politician floats an idea to designate a sector of his or her city to accommodate these vices and thereby leave the rest of the city clean. Places like Amsterdam and Las Vegas have actually followed this model. I decided to employ this concept in my story and see what would happen. As humans we have to be ever-vigilant over our vices. If gone unchecked they might end up devouring us. In my story the sector becomes an organic entity unto itself and through the energy it receives it seeks to grow and threaten everything around it. The tendrils are a physical manifestation of how I see this happening. As well, I have written a number of screenplays and my writing always tends toward the cinematic.

Larry Rodness: I am working on two projects – one is a ghost story with a psychological twist, entitled October 32. The second is a more realistic tale entitled The Greatest Generation about four couples in their 50’s who are barely hanging on through the current economic upheaval. To save their version of the ‘American Dream’ they get involved in a pyramid scheme which tests their morals to the extreme.

Larry Rodness: John Irving, Edgar Allen Poe and Robert Ludlum come to mind. I was impressed by The Da Vinci Code, The Hunger Games, A Prayer For Owen Meany – all of which had original premises.

Larry Rodness: Of the two novels I have published to date, which they would like to read the sequel of?

So there you have it! We at Literophilia really enjoyed this interview, and we’re looking forward to reading more of Mr. Rodness’s work in the future. As for you, dear readers, you can look forward to winning a copy of Perverse for yourself. Or, if you can’t wait that long, the novel is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle form.

Happy reading!

Book: Perverse by Larry Rodness

Publisher: ITOH PRESS

Furnished by: The author himself

Publisher’s Description: “19 year old Emylene Stipe is a 2nd generation Goth who, like every teenage girl, is trying to find her place in the world. One night she comes upon an old painting in an antique store and is compelled to purchase it. When she brings it home an image of a young woman appears in the sketch and then magically materializes in her apartment. Emylene nick-names her ‘Poinsettia’ and they soon become fast friends. But Poinsettia has an ulterior motive for her sudden and strange intrusion into her host’s life which causes Emylene to question her whole belief system.”

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Review: Perverse is the story of Emylene Stipe, a local Goth Princess, who grows up under the influence of her Goth parents, Theo and Vandy. She spends her youth examining and reveling in death and “the black,” thinking that she’s got the world pretty well figured out. But when she comes upon a magical painting in an old antiques shop, her entire world changes. And it isn’t just changed for Emylene — it’s an upset for the entire city, and, eventually, the world.

Evil magic makes pulls Emylene into the painting, ultimately forcing her trade places with Mira, the young girl who had been trapped there prior to her. 16 months later, she is released back into her own world by the mysterious Croation, Laszlo. He is hellbent on his mission to find Mira, who is trapped in Other-Town, a place which sprung up in the city only after Emylene disappeared into the painting. Other-Town is run by vampyres which suck the blood and life-force out of anyone who is drawn there. And their numbers and powers are growing exponentially, day by day. He thinks that Emylene must hold the key to saving humanity. But how can a young, confused girl save anything?

This book was a very quick read for me. It was well-paced, the characters were interesting, and it was a somewhat fresh take on a subject (vampires) that has been given quite a bit of mileage lately. As a former Goth, I found that part of the story particularly interesting. It’s a subculture that is very well-known, but not often well understood. Rodness offers an interesting look inside the culture and its subscribers. He also plays with the rules of vampire myths a bit, giving them the power to feed on energy and desires as well as the traditional feeding method of blood. Mind control plays a big part here, as well.

Since it was such a quick read, I’m hoping that there’s a sequel coming for this. The book was definitely ended on a note which both gives you closure and leaves you wanting more — a great way to set up a series. Find out more about Larry Rodness on his website, LarryRodness.com.

Book: Dream Eyesby Jayne Ann Krentz

Publisher: Putnam Books

Furnished by: Putnam, via a Shelf Awareness giveaway

Publisher’s Description: The death of her friend and mentor, Evelyn Ballinger, brings psychic counselor Gwen Frazier back to the small town of Wilby, Oregon, and brings back memories she would rather forget. Two years earlier, a killer stalked the members of one of Ballinger’s research studies including Gwen. And though she survived while two others didn’t, Gwen knows that Ballinger’s death is related.

Sent by a friend to help Gwen, psychic investigator Judson Coppersmith arrives in Wilby barely in control of his own talent and his own life, haunted by urgent dreams. His attraction to Gwen is primal, but there are secrets he must keep to protect himself from surrendering to her completely, even as their investigation draws them into dreamscapes, into decades of deception, and into the paranormal fires of a desire too strong to resist…

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review: Dream Eyes is the story of Gwen Frazier and Judson Coppersmith — two talented people with psychic abilities, trying to fit in to an otherwise ordinary world. The two meet through shared friends and odd paranormal situations, but find that these more obvious things aren’t the most important thing that they have in common. Gwen is struggling to put together the slowly unraveling mystery of the recent death of friend and mentor Evelyn Ballinger. Judson is failing to deal with the haunting nightmares that won’t let him move on from one of the most traumatic events of his life. Both of them are alone and afraid not to be because of their own struggles with their powers. Dream Eyes is a story of murder, mystery and turning tragedy into triumph.

Dream Eyes is book number two in Jayne Ann Krentz’s Dark Legacy series. I didn’t get to read the first book in the series, but I didn’t find that to be a problem here. As with many books in the supernatural fiction genre, the author ties things from the previous book(s) together nicely with the present and adds enough conversation among characters or inner monologue to fill in the gaps for readers like myself who have come in to the series later on.

Krentz, to me, is the personality of a writer personified. Her imagery is delicious — perfectly described scenes with just the right amount of detail. Enough to let you paint a perfect picture in your mind, but not so much that you get bored and put down your paint brush. However, the dialogue in her book is stilted. At times, it makes a light conversation between characters seem stiff and uncomfortable. Krentz is great at communicating with the mind, but not with the mouth.

This anomaly creates for a rather awkward ending. Krentz makes the final showdown between heroes and anti-heroes a boring and almost uncomfortable scene instead of the action-packed climax and denouement that it should be. Her final scenes are built on a foundation of dialogue and only peppered with imagery for decoration — a structure that works soundly in film and, especially with Krentz’s lack of conversational skills, falls flat in literature. Had she used more of her sound story-telling devices and illustrated a scene of struggle and triumph, this scene could have set hearts racing and created excitement for the next novel in the series.

Other than that downfall, the book flowed fairly smoothly. From small-town Wilby, Oregon to the underwater caves of the Carribbean to Gwen’s psychically created foggy dreamscapes, Krentz continued to paint beautiful scenes for exciting events. (There’s also a house cat in the book named Max. Any book that has a cat as a character gets bonus points.) This was also billed as a romance book (not my usual scene) but the romantic scenes were not what I expected — they were short and tasteful and not the focus of the book. So this book is great for people who wouldn’t normally expose them to the romance genre but enjoy supernatural fiction.

One of my favorite authors, Kim Harrison, did a live video chat on Livestream via the Goodreads community. If you’re not familiar with Ms. Harrison’s work, she’s mostly known in the dark urban fantasy community for her The Hollows series, starring badass witch Rachel Morgan. Recently, Harrison hit the road on tour for her newest addition to the series, Ever After, which is the eleventh installment to the series and was released on January 22nd (my own personal copy is still sitting in the cardboard box it was delivered on days after it released — I’m not allowed to touch it until I finish the latest book I’m reviewing for Literophilia!). As a fan of the series, I was thrilled to hear her answer some questions about my favorite characters and about what’s next for the series. As always, with Goodreads, she was asked about her own favorite authors. And, always interesting for me as a writer, she talked about some of her writing methods and gave her own advice for new authors everywhere.

After the jump, read more about the interview and where you can watch it yourself!

Hosted by Community Manager Patrick Brown, Goodreads Live is an ongoing series in which Goodreads interviews best-selling authors as well as taking questions from the Goodreads community.

Chloe’s own Kim Harrison collection

Kim Harrison on advice for new writers:

In a nutshell, I would say write like you’ve already got the contract. Which means intently and with purpose. Set a deadline for yourself. When you’re writing a rough draft: when you finish a chapter, don’t ever open it back up again. If you find you need to change something about that chapter, just write it in the margin and then continue on as if you’ve already made those changes. Otherwise, you will keep re-writing the same twenty pages all week!

If you’re writing and producing already, get yourself in a writer’s critique group where you can share and find other authors who could possibly open some doors for you. It’s important to learn how to share your work with other people, because that’s what you do when you get published: you share it, you edit it, you tailor it — it’s a business. After that, start going to writer conferences where editors and agents go to meet new talent. It’s much better to meet an editor. Shake their hand, [so that] they can see how enthusiastic you are. They’re more inclined to look at [your manuscript] than if it just lands on their desk in the slush pile.

When asked about her favorite authors, Harrison spoke of:
Jocelynn Drake (Dark Daysseries and Asylum Tales)
Vicki Pettersson (the Zodiacseries)
Richard Kadrey (the Sandman Slim series)
and Brom, for the novel The Child Thief

The last book in the Hollows series (number thirteen) is slated for some time in 2015 — so if you’re new to the series, you have plenty of time to catch up!

Click here to watch Kim’s interview on Livestream!

1. Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland & Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll:; You’ll recall that this book first made its appearance on my blog in my original Top 5 post of my all-time favorite books. And it’s obvious by my original description that this is absolutely a comfort book for me. Most of my comfort books associate heavily with my mother — all throughout my childhood she would put me to bed and sit and read to me (or with me, as I got older) books of mystery and adventure. This, for myself and many others, is the ultimate book of adventure, and it also touches on my literary obsession — after all, Alice’s trip to Wonderland begins with her falling asleep while reading. In a world filled with nonsensical characters and impossible events, a child can find comfort in the silliness of it all. As Alice says, “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” Yet, for the adults, it’s wonderful to read back through the text and find the underlying themes to this story, which make this book even more lovely.

2. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis:; The alternate book from my original Top 5 post also tops this list for the very reasons I first spoke of it. This book has been an absolute favorite of mine for my entire life. Like Alice’s Adventures…, it includes many elements which are purely fantastical, and yet evokes many themes which are close to the heart including family, friendship and the power of a pure heart and a strong tenacity for good over evil. The imagery in this book is some of the most comforting I’ve ever read, as well. Child or adult can easily picture themselves curled up in the wardrobe, surrounded by fur coats and hard wood. The sight of fresh fallen snow in the forest. The feeling of warm tea and pastries sliding down your throat on a cold winter’s day. While there are many difficulties for the Pevensie family to overcome in this novel, the overall message is that with the right tools and a friend or two, one can overcome almost anything in life.

3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl:; I was an avid Dahl fan as a child — I’m pretty sure that I’ve read every children’s book he’s ever written. And yet Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sticks out of the bunch as the very best. We meet Charlie Bucket as a poor young man, living in a tiny shack with his parents and four bed-ridden grandparents. The grandparents, though most of them play only a minor role, are some of the best characters in the book and a fantastic example of Dahl’s trademark characters, whom are often both whimsical and yet slightly grotesque. They make you giggle with surprised delight and bring a sense of warmth and brightness into Charlie’s otherwise miserable home life. This book’s theme is that dreams can come true, even for those in the worst circumstances — and Charlie’s dream just happens to be chocolate-covered and candy-coated wonder. Readers will delight in the magical imagery created by Dahl and the unique personalities of the characters you will never forget.

4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster:; A book that not only makes learning fun, but makes it magical. I was (and still am) a very curious individual — I’ve always craved knowledge, thirsted to learn something new. The Phantom Tollbooth, for my young mind, slipped learning grammar and mathematics into a story filled with quirky characters and a journey back home. The very best books in the world are ones that still take you on a journey to a land far, far away but quietly make you think the entire time. Following Milo and the Watchdog on their journey through the Kingdom of Wisdom, we see people literally eat their words, consume subtraction soup until they’re starving and create music that is beautiful to both eyes and ears. The Phantom Tollbooth reminds me of another book from my childhood that absolutely made an impression on me, as I both adored and abhorred it: Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy. However, Juster was able to do what Gaarder somewhat failed at: weaving a tale of learning and adventure, seamlessly, without removing you from one world in order to focus on the other.


5. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket:; These books weren’t around when I was a child, so I did first read them as an adult. However, I can imagine tiny-child-me being seriously delighted with this series and housing it on my book shelf next to my Roald Dahl collection. Like Dahl, Snicket creates characters which are completely odd and idiosyncratic, and therefore, perfect for children. A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the Baudelaire children — Violet, Klaus and Sunny — through their often unfortunate lives. A semi-gothic theme runs throughout the series as the siblings run into every odd and disastrous event that a wildly imaginative author could create. However, using their unique talents (Klaus, by the way, is a talented bookworm), the three children band together and find their way out of every situation as a family.

My boyfriend, though he’s not as avid a reader as I, was read to every night as a child like I was. It’s one of his fondest memories of growing up — gathered on the carpet every night with his brothers and sisters while his father read novels to them. He’s got quite a bit to say on the subject of comfort books as well, so here, in brief, is “Mr. Parker” ‘s Top 5:

1. Call of the Wild by Jack London:;
2. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls:;
3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle:;
4. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain:;
5. The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter:;

We got all warm and fuzzy just discussing the subject in the Parker household. Now it’s your turn, my little Literophiliacs — what are your favorite comfort books?

Book: I, Nemo
by J. Dharma Windham and Deanna Windham

Publisher: Self-published by J. Dharma and Deanna Windham

Furnished by: The authors themselves

Publisher’s Description: “What if the Nautilus and its famous captain wasn’t fiction?
Every legend has a beginning. Every man has a name. But none as dark and mysterious as the depths of the seas he stalked. The world in time would come to know him as Captain Nemo and his fabulous submarine the Nautilus. Here, for the first time, the tale is told in his own words of how he came to be: I, Nemo.”

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review: We all know Jules Verne’s version of Captain Nemo — whether you’ve read the book or seen the movie, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has always been the authority on Nemo and his adventures… until now.

I, Nemo is the story behind the story. Told in “his own” words through a series of water-logged journal entries is the tale of the man born to earth and to civilization as Jonathan de Chevalier Mason. A naval engineer for England’s royalty, Mason lives a noble life with his wife and two daughters. However, a slip of the tongue quickly teaches Mason that whilst his friends have been close, his enemies have been much closer.

Betrayed, beaten down and banished, Mason finds himself imprisoned until he eventually finds his salvation in a French priest, Father Blondeau, and his band of monks from the order of St. Mary. Together they concoct a daring escape to an island in the South Pacific which holds the lost treasure of Napoleon Bonaparte and the key to Mason’s dream: to engineer the world’s first submarine, The Nautilus. And thus, born to sea and solitude we meet a brand new man, fueled by anger and a deep desire for revenge — our infamous Nemo (a name borrowed from Homer’s Odyssey meaning “No One.”)

As we travel beneath the water’s surface with the Captain and his crew, the authors paint a beautiful picture of the pure, untouched sea-life that becomes Nemo’s world. However, eventually, his desire for revenge eats away at his soul. And Nemo won’t stop until the waters run red with his enemies’ blood.

Though this isn’t the type of subject matter I’d normally choose to read, I was very glad that I did. The authors do a wonderful job of pulling the reader into Nemo’s world and keeping her there. With all the vivid imagery being used, it’s easy to picture Nemo wherever he is — slaving in a penal colony on a deserted island, acting the gentleman all over Europe or proudly calling out orders deep beneath the sea.

This story is relayed to us by a narrator of sorts, Dr. Jacob Ballion of The Pacific Oceanographic Institute, who was the one to discover the wreck of The Nautilus which contained Captain Nemo’s journal. While we all but forget about him during the storytelling (only interrupting here and there to make a note on the condition of the journal’s missing material or to add a bit of historical background), our story is cut off by an emergency in Ballion’s world just as it finishes its perceived climax. His ship, the transcriptions of Nemo’s journal and all evidence of The Nautilus is seized by the U.S. Navy and whisked thoroughly away — leaving us with a cliffhanger and a perfect setup for a sequel. I’ll be looking forward to finding out what happens next in Raise The Nautilus.

Welcome to another ARC Roundup! For those unfamiliar with our format, an “ARC” (sometimes known as an ARE) is an Advanced Reading Copy (or Edition, respectively). What does this all mean to you? FREE BOOKS! Read on to find out what’s available straight from the publishers this week.

And don’t forget to look for Literophilia’s Picks, which are the books we think look especially worth checking into — they’re highlighted in hot pink so you can’t possibly miss them.

• The Holy Bullet by Luis Miguel Rocha

“No bullet can kill if that is not His will.

– Sister Lucia in a letter to Karol Wojtyla, April, 1981

I am writing a book right now in which I will tell the whole truth. I have told fifty different stories so far, but they are all fake.

– Ali Agca, the Turk who shot Pope John Paul II

A woman journalist, a Portuguese Army veteran, a Muslim who sees the Holy Mary, a very unconventional priest who works under the direct guidance of the Supreme Pontiff, several agents from the most influential secret services in the world as well as many other characters from the four corners of the globe get involved in a quest for the truth, just to find out this isn’t always useful. It wasn’t to Pope John Paul II. Who was behind his assassination attempt? Come and meet him.” On Sale: 8.20.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“Ponderous prose weighs down Rocha’s sequel to 2008’s The Last Pope, which centered on a conspiracy to murder Pope John Paul I. This follow-up treads similar ground, but a plausible premise—that the truth behind the 1981 attempt on the life of John Paul II was never revealed—is undercut by a muddled story line and such winks to the reader as naming a British agent Simon Templar (the hero of a popular 1960s TV series starring Roger Moore) and one character telling another that the previous book (i.e., The Last Pope) is available “for sale in the bookstores.” Long-winded descriptive passages, like the opening set at an expensive restaurant in an unnamed city, dampen the tension in a novel alleging dark doings at the heart of the Vatican. Still, those with a limitless appetite for stories about evildoing involving the Catholic Church may be satisfied by The Holy Bullet.”

To request a copy: Fill out the form found here on the Penguin Group’s website.

• The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

“Meet Vish Puri, India’s most private investigator. Portly, persistent, and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swath through modern India’s swindlers, cheats, and murderers.

The Case of the Missing Servant takes place in hot and dusty Delhi, where call centers and malls are changing the ancient fabric of Indian life, Puri’s main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties and family priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering his maidservant, it takes all of Puri’s resources to investigate. How will he trace the fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than one billion? Who is taking potshots at him and his prize chili plants? And why is his widowed “Mummy-ji” attempting to play sleuth when everyone knows mummies are not detectives?

With his team of undercover operatives — Tubelight, Flush, and Facecream — Puri ingeniously combines modern techniques with principles of detection established in India more than two thousand years ago — long before “that Johnny-come-lately” Sherlock Holmes donned his deerstalker.” On Sale: 6.02.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“Vish Puri, the head of Delhi’s Most Private Investigators Ltd., tackles a rather prosaic domestic case in this first of a projected series, the fiction debut of British author Hall (Salaam Brick Lane). Ajay Kasliwal, a lawyer who has brought cases against corrupt government officials, retains Puri to find a maid, Mary, who has gone missing from his household. Rumor has it that Kasliwal killed Mary because he got her pregnant, and when Mary turns up dead, the authorities arrest Puri’s client. While the 51-year-old married detective, who could lose some weight and is affectionately called “Chubby,” has a certain quirky charm, the resolution of the mystery of Mary’s murder is less than satisfying. Hopefully, a future installment will go into what sounds like a more unusual matter, “the Case of the Missing Polo Elephant,” for which Puri won the fictional “Super Sleuth” award in 1999.”

To request a copy: Send an e-mail to Marketing@simonandschuster.com with the title of the book in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your name and mailing address!

• Persona Non Grata: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie
  

“The third novel in the acclaimed Gaius Petreius Ruso series by the New York Times bestselling Ruth Downie—this time set in ancient Gaul. At long last, Gaius Petreius Ruso and his companion, Tilla, are headed home—to Gaul. Having received a note consisting only of the words “COME HOME!” Ruso has (reluctantly, of course) pulled up stakes and brought Tilla to meet his family. But the reception there is not what Ruso has hoped for: no one will admit to sending for him, and his brother Lucius is hoping he’ll leave. With Tilla getting icy greetings from his relatives, Lucius’s brother-in-law mysteriously drowned at sea, and the whole Ruso family teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, it’s hard to imagine an unhappier reunion. That is, until Severus, the family’s chief creditor, winds up dead, and the real trouble begins… Engrossing, intricate, and—as always—wonderfully comic, Ruth Downie’s latest is a brilliant new installment in this irresistible series. This is everything we’ve come to expect from our charming, luckless hero.” On Sale: 7.07.09.

About the author:
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestseller Medicus and Terra Incognita. She is married with two sons and lives in Milton Keynes, England.

To request a copy: Send an e-mail to marketing@bloomsburyusa.com with the title of the book in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your name and mailing address!

• The Rapture by Liz Jensen
  

“An electrifying story of science, faith, love, and self-destruction in a world on the brink.

It is a June unlike any other before, with temperatures soaring to asphyxiating heights. All across the world, freak weather patterns—and the life-shattering catastrophes they entail—have become the norm. The twenty-first century has entered a new phase. But Gabrielle Fox’s main concern is a personal one: to rebuild her life after a devastating car accident that has left her disconnected from the world, a prisoner of her own guilt and grief. Determined to make a fresh start, and shake off memories of her wrecked past, she leaves London for a temporary posting as an art therapist at Oxsmith Adolescent Secure Psychiatric Hospital, home to one hundred of the most dangerous children in the country. Among them: the teenage killer Bethany Krall.

Despite two years of therapy, Bethany is in no way rehabilitated and remains militantly nonchalant about the bloody, brutal death she inflicted on her mother. Raised in evangelistic hellfire, the teenager is violent, caustic, unruly, and cruelly intuitive. She is also insistent that her electroshock treatments enable her to foresee natural disasters—a claim which Gabrielle interprets as a symptom of doomsday delusion. But as Gabrielle delves further into Bethany’s psyche, she begins to note alarming parallels between her patient’s paranoid disaster fantasies and actual incidents of geological and meteorological upheaval—coincidences her professionalism tells her to ignore but that her heart cannot. When a brilliant physicist enters the equation, the disruptive tension mounts—and the stakes multiply. Is the self-proclaimed Nostradamus of the psych ward the ultimate manipulator or a harbinger of global disaster on a scale never seen before? Where does science end and faith begin? And what can love mean in “interesting times”?

With gothic intensity, Liz Jensen’s The Rapture conjures the increasingly unnerving relationship between the traumatized therapist and her fascinating, deeply calculating patient. As Bethany’s warnings continue to prove accurate beyond fluke and she begins to offer scientifically precise hints of a final, world-altering cataclysm, Gabrielle is confronted with a series of devastating choices in a world in which belief has become as precious—and as murderous—as life itself.” On Sale: 8.11.09.

Advanced Praise for The Rapture:
“A first-class apocalyptic thriller of futuristic science, geophysics, and religion.  It’s clever, intelligent, and—most terrifying of all—plausible.”
—Kate Mosse, author of Labryinth and Sepulchre

To request a copy: Fill out this form on Doubleday’s website.

• South of Broad by Pat Conroy
  

“Against the sumptuous backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina, South of Broad gathers a unique cast of sinners and saints. Leopold Bloom King, our narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at the local high school. His mother, an ex-nun, is the high school principal and a well-known Joyce scholar. After Leo’s older brother commits suicide at the age of thirteen, the family struggles with the shattering effects of his death, and Leo, lonely and isolated, searches for something to sustain him. Eventually, he finds his answer when he becomes part of a tightly knit group of high school seniors that includes friends Sheba and Trevor Poe, glamorous twins with an alcoholic mother and a prison-escapee father; hardscrabble mountain runaways Niles and Starla Whitehead; socialite Molly Huger and her boyfriend, Chadworth Rutledge X; and an ever-widening circle whose liaisons will ripple across two decades-from 1960s counterculture through the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

The ties among them endure for years, surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, and Charleston’s dark legacy of racism and class divisions. But the final test of friendship that brings them to San Francisco is something no one is prepared for South of Broad is Pat Conroy at his finest; a long-awaited work from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds.” On Sale: 8.11.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“Charleston, S.C., gossip columnist Leopold Bloom King narrates a paean to his hometown and friends in Conroy’s first novel in 14 years. In the late ’60s and after his brother commits suicide, then 18-year-old Leo befriends a cross-section of the city’s inhabitants: scions of Charleston aristocracy; Appalachian orphans; a black football coach’s son; and an astonishingly beautiful pair of twins, Sheba and Trevor Poe, who are evading their psychotic father. The story alternates between 1969, the glorious year Leo’s coterie stormed Charleston’s social, sexual and racial barricades, and 1989, when Sheba, now a movie star, enlists them to find her missing gay brother in AIDS-ravaged San Francisco. Too often the not-so-witty repartee and the narrator’s awed voice (he is very fond of superlatives) overwhelm the stories surrounding the group’s love affairs and their struggles to protect one another from dangerous pasts. Some characters are tragically lost to the riptides of love and obsession, while others emerge from the frothy waters of sentimentality and nostalgia as exhausted as most readers are likely to be. Fans of Conroy’s florid prose and earnest melodramas are in for a treat.”

To request a copy: Fill out the form here on Doubleday’s website.

• The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
  

“From the moment Louisa first catches sight of the strange man who occupies a forbidden room on the thirty-third floor, she is determined to befriend him. Unbeknownst to Louisa, he is Nikola Tesla—inventor of AC electricity and wireless communication—and he is living out his last days at the Hotel New Yorker.Winning his attention through a shared love of pigeons, she eventually uncovers the story of Tesla’s life as a Serbian immigrant and a visionary genius: as a boy he built engines powered by June bugs, as a man he dreamed of pulling electricity from the sky.The mystery deepens when Louisa reunites with an enigmatic former classmate and faces the loss of her father as he attempts to travel to the past to meet up with his beloved late wife. Before the week is out, Louisa must come to terms with her own understanding of love, death, and the power of invention.

The Invention of Everything Else immerses the reader in a magical mid-twentieth-century New York City thrumming with energy, wonder, and possibility.”

From Publishers Weekly:
“In Hunt’s (The Seas) overstuffed and uneven novel set in New York, circa 1943, an aging Nikola Tesla lives at the Hotel New Yorker and cares for (and chats with) pigeons while planning what could be his boldest invention yet. He forges an unlikely friendship with Louisa Dewell, a 24-year-old chambermaid at the hotel who also keeps a pigeon coop. The book alternates between Niko’s reminisces of turn-of-the century Manhattan and Louisa’s current domestic dramas; Niko revisits old grievances concerning the usurpation or dismissal of his many inventions, and Louisa gets ensnared in her zany father’s mission to travel back in time and reconnect with his dead wife via a time machine built by his lifelong friend Azor Carter. Assisting in the scheme is Louisa’s mysterious beau, Arthur Vaughn, who may or may not be from the future. Although many events are drawn from Tesla’s life, he and his peers, including Thomas Edison and John Muir, are cartoonish. Likewise, the city backdrop is drenched in rosy nostalgia (even Hell’s Kitchen is a quaint neighborhood). Each individual plot thread has potential, but the cumulative effect is dulled by an unwieldy structure.”

To request a copy: Fill out the form found on this page of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s website, after pressing the button labeled “Request a Copy.” They ran out of books this morning. Fortunately, if you’re still interested, you can read a copy of the book online here.

• The Book of William by Paul Collins
  

“The first popular narrative history of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the world’s most obsessively pursued book. One book above all others has transfixed connoisseurs for four centuries—a book sold for shillings in the streets of London, whisked to Manhattan for millions, and stored deep within the vaults of Tokyo. The book: William Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623. Paul Collins, lover of odd books and author of the national bestseller Sixpence House, takes up the strange quest for this white whale of precious books. Broken down into five acts, each tied to a different location and century, The Book of William’s travelogue follows the trail of the Folio’s curious rise: a dizzying Sotheby’s auction on a pristine copy preserved since the seventeenth century, the Fleet Street machinations of the eighteenth century, the nineteenth century quests for lost Folios, obsessive acquisitions by twentieth century oilmen, and the high-tech hoards of twenty-first century Japan. Finally, Collins speculates on Shakespeare’s cross-cultural future as Asian buyers enter their Folios into the electronic ether, and recounts the book’s remarkable journey as it is found in attics, gets lost in oceans and fires, is bought and sold, and ultimately becomes immortal.” On Sale: 7.7.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“Undoubtedly, the Bard himself would be amused to learn all about the fate of the book compiled after his death by fellow actors and colleagues John Heminge and Henry Condell. It was, a collector said recently, “the most important secular work of all time.” Collins (Sixpence House), an English professor and NPR regular, is passionate, knowledgeable and sassy in bringing this story to glorious life. Collins divides his work into five acts, leading his reader on a whirlwind trip through the Four Folios eventually printed, into feuds between Alexander Pope and Lewis Theobald and to the opportunistic reach of a financially desperate Dr. Johnson. Over the next 200 years, there are the stories of Henry Clay Folger as well as an ingenious collating machine and related technologies for today’s textual scholars. Collins’s remarkable voyage through time and across the globe leads to Japan, where the most obsessive collectors of “Sheikusupia” reside. This is for anyone with an interest in how Shakespeare has come down to us, the nature of the book business, the art of editing and the evolution of copyright law. A 20-page “Further Readings” section is by itself a sheer delight.”

To request a copy: Send an e-mail to marketing@bloomsburyusa.com with the title of the book in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your name and mailing address!

So what do we think of this week’s selections? What are you looking forward to reading this week? I’m bouncing back in forth between the first Lord of the Rings book and a book recently sent to me by author Sam Moffie called No Mad. The plot involves the main character taking a road trip across the Northeast, including parts of Pennsylvania. I’ll be making a road trip through Pa. myself next week, so it seems oddly appropriate! As always, make sure to keep those physical symptoms of Literophilia at ease while I’m away — read 2 chapters and leave me a comment in the morning.

Literophilia: What inspired you to write about murder?

Kevin Krohn: I think the first thing that inspired me is the fact that I am a fan of murder mysteries, both books and movies.  There needs to be a point in the story where your protagonist faces adversity or a dilemma, and using murder as that device is exciting because of all the different ways a story can unfold from that point. Different characters can react differently, and the chain reaction a jarring event like murder can create makes it something that will continue to be a major part of television, movies, and literature.

That’s my generic answer… the real reason is that my dad took me to the drive-in to see Robocop when I was 10 years-old in 1987.  I don’t think he realized it was going to be so graphically violent.  I was definitely too young, and it definitely warped my brain a little.

L: What (or who?) was your inspiration for Nyne’s character?

KK: I wanted to put a person who, for the most part, lived a fairly normal life into circumstances usually reserved for stereotypical characters. A character protecting their family in such a physical sense is usually a strong male.  I was interested in the idea of not only making the main character a female, but a regular college-age girl dealing with the same issues most teenage/twenty-somethings face.  I watch a lot of old kung-fu movies, and the female assassins are always the coolest… never fails.

KK: It has to be Nyne.  She was the character I came up with before I really knew where I wanted the story to go, so it really starts and ends with her.  She is someone I would think would be fun to hang out with in real life.

KK: Eric is back in Volume II.  He plays a bigger part in Volume II, although I can’t remember if he is still around come the end of it….

KK: Volume II picks up right where Volume I left off.  Nyne is determined to get answers, and many of the loose ends from Volume I are explained.  There are some new characters introduced to the story as well.

KK: It is hard to give up on some of the things you spent a long time writing. There is a big chunk of Volume II that I had to remove.  It didn’t fit with the tone of Volume I and was a little too dark. It is hard to part with 20-30 pages of writing that you worked so hard on. It also can get a little tough if you are writing and questioning what people will think of it before the finished product.

KK: I probably would have been a lot better off had I had a specific routine. I wrote pieces of it sporadically, and that is when I ran into trouble with having parts of Volume II that I couldn’t use. The storyline was fairly easy because I already had the entire story in my head; I just had to find a way to get it out articulately and get the characters to their final destinations in an entertaining way for the reader.

KK: I noticed you had Invisible Monsters in your Top 5.  Chuck Palahniuk is my favorite author.  He is probably the only author that I would buy his book without hearing what the story is about. My favorite book is Where the Sidewalk Ends [by Shel Silverstein].

KK: With Volume II due out June 30th, I always like to hear what people think will happen after Volume I. It is fun to hear people that have such different expectations of where the story is going. Some people have threatened me if I allow anything bad to happen to Nyne or Eric, so… we shall see.

Banned Books Bracelet; $20|Fight Club Soap; $6 | Jane Eyre Bag; $45 |
Librarian Action Figure; $10 | Peter Pan Bookends; $40 | Edgar Allen Poe Shoes; $45 |
Pride & Prejudice Mug; $14 | The One Ring; $25 | Twilight Bookends; $35

Literophilia is proud to announce that we’re hosting our very first giveaway. If this goes well, I’m strongly considering seeking out the means to do more of them in the future. So tell all your friends and enter away!

Kevin Krohn has generously offered up his latest book to satisfy your literary addictions. Literophilia is giving away 5 copies of Severed Ties (Volume 1)! If you haven’t read my review on this book yet, you can check it out here. We’ll also be posting an interview with the author later on in the week so you can get better acquainted with him.

To enter, leave a comment telling us why you want to win. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail — otherwise, we won’t be able to notify you if you win! You can increase your chances of winning by earning extra entries. Do one (or more) of the following and post a comment to let us know. Just make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry or it won’t count.

Twitter this phrase: “Want a free copy of an awesome book? Literophilia is giving away 5 copies of *Severed Ties (Volume 1)* by Kevin Krohn! http://is.gd/LD6w“. Then leave a comment here linking back to the tweet (the actual post, not just your Twitter page).

Mention this giveaway on your blog and link back to us. Then leave a comment here linking to the post.

Sign up to receive e-mail updates from Literophilia (using the link in the sidebar) and comment here with your e-mail to let me know that you’ve done so.

All entries must be submitted by June 10th, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST. 5 winners will be chosen at random and notified via e-mail. This contest is open to all readers as per your local state/country’s laws.

Book: Severed Ties (Volume I) by Kevin Krohn

Publisher: Spiralbound Publishing

Furnished by: The author himself!

Publisher’s Description: “Severed Ties tells the story of Nyne Harper, a college freshman living with her widowed father. At the tender age of two, she lost her mother tragically in a house fire, believed to have been retaliation against her father for blowing the whistle on a large corporate cover-up. The two have been on the run since, trying to piece together some semblance of a normal life while constantly looking over their shoulders. Now an adult, Nyne is ready to quench her thirst for revenge and protect the only family she has left. The question will be, is she prepared for what her life is about to become? A hip, non-stop thrill-ride, Severed Ties is a story of family, friendship, and revenge.”

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Review: Severed Ties is a series by new author Kevin Krohn that follows Nyne Harper; a cute girl who’s just trying to deal with her overprotective dad, boys and college. As if growing up isn’t hard enough on its own, Nyne’s life has a bit of a twist to it: her father, Lesane, is so overprotective because the Harpers are on the run from a dark past that includes murder, mayhem and mystery.

When she was just two years old, Nyne’s mother was murdered in connection with her father’s work at Rytax Pharmecuticals — a corrupt company that will do anything to cover their secrets. From then on, Nyne spent her entire adolescence training to become a stealth killer. And at the age of 20, she decided that it was time to stop running and put her training to the test. The Harpers moved back to their original home in Portland, Oregon to begin a killing spree that would take out an entire family as revenge for what had been done to their own family.

But that’s not the end of the craziness. As Nyne takes out the Stanfield family one by one, things begin to change. Nyne starts to find that her life may not be quite what she thought it was. That, perhaps, these murders aren’t justified; that an eye for an eye doesn’t always make things equal; that maybe the word “family” could have a completely different meaning to her. Her dark past becomes even darker, and suddenly Nyne isn’t sure who she is anymore — or if she’ll ever get the chance to find out.

Severed Ties is a thrill ride for sure, and I’m ecstatic that it’s a series so that we’ll be able get to know Nyne better in the future. She’s a fantastic character — and honestly, even though my life is quite different than hers, I was able to connect. I love that Krohn lets her attempt to live a normal life filled with mundane college lectures and cute, nerdy boys that provide first dates and first kisses. Somehow, to me, it makes all her mood swings and reactions to killing make a little more sense.

Ready to read it? As always, you can click the link at the top of the page to pick it up from Amazon.com. However, if you’re like me and your wallet is a little empty these days, keep checking back to Literophilia: we’ll soon be hosting a giveaway of Volume I!

Volume 2 of the series will be released on June 30th. Until then, you can visit Kevin’s MySpace for more details.

I’ve never much been one to play favorites with anyone or anything — my tastes are pretty varied, so it’s hard for me to just pick one thing and have it represent everything I like. But recently, it struck me: As a loud and proud Literophiliac, shouldn’t I have some sort of favorites list when it comes to books?

I sat down and really thought about it, and I decided to take a cue from one of Nick Hornby‘s more well-known characters, Rob Gordon. So here we are: my desert island, all-time top 5 favorite books. For now.

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1. The Shining by Stephen King:; Everyone is familiar with the movie: Kubrik directed, Nichloson starred — does it get any better? In my opinion, YES, it most certainly does. I admit; I ruined the movie for myself. I watched it immediately after finishing the book, and the inconsistencies just destroyed it for me. But the book… oh, the book. I’m not Stephen King’s biggest fan, but this is definitely one of the best-written books I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning. The imagery is astounding: you can easily get wrapped up and picture yourself there at The Outlook Hotel, surrounded by nothing but snow and silence for miles and miles in every direction. You feel yourself roaming the halls with Jack — seeing what he sees, feeling what he feels: the terror, the insanity, the rage. It’s like going to the best haunted house ever without leaving the comfort of your own bed. Can it get much better than that? If you haven’t read this book, or even if you haven’t read it lately, definitely pick up a copy: because after all, All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy.

2. 1984 by George Orwell:; I first read 1984 over the summer of 2006 with my boyfriend and best friend. We had all decided that we wanted to read the same books over the summer so we could, for once, have someone to discuss books with. We went through some fantastic works over those scorching hot months: Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, my boyfriend even tackled a Dostoevsky or two. But absolutely nothing compared to Orwell’s haunting tale of Big Brother. Our shared and never-ending enthusiasm for the book eventually got some of our friends curious, and by the end of the summer we’d lent our copies out to at least half a dozen others — many of whom insist that they “don’t normally read.” To me, getting one of those people to read you love a book is like getting extra sprinkles on your ice cream cone.

3. The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide (which contains all 5 novels in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series) by Douglas Adams:; OK.. so you might call this cheating, since it’s 5 books in 1. That’s how I read it, though, so it counts to me! I first read this book when I was in middle school. My mom had this big, shiny, leather-bound copy, and I carried it around with me for weeks. Like most people who have read The Guide, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the insanely quirky characters. Douglas Adams was simply a geek genius. Since middle school, I’ve reread the book once or twice, but it’s always been a part of my life somehow: every computer I’ve ever owned has been named Trillian, for one of the characters in the book; “DON’T PANIC” has definitely become one of my mantras; I’m proud to know that the ultimate answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is indeed 42; and you may find me quietly carrying around a towel on May 25th of every year, which is National Towel Day. I’ve also seen the movie (meh) and the old TV show which was broadcast on BBC (so awful and kitsch that it’s actually wonderful), but nothing can ever compare to the books. If you’re going to read just one book from my Top 5, this is it.

4. Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland & Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll:; I had to take my own picture of this book, as I’ve never been able to find a picture of this specific cover on the Internet. This is the oldest book in my collection — at least, it’s the one I’ve owned the longest. On the first page where it says, “This book belongs to,” my name and the phone number of the first house I ever lived in are scrawled in very young handwriting. The title page says that it was printed in London by the Chancellor Press in 1987, when I would have been 2 years old. That alone should tell you how much I love this book — it has survived being packed up and moved 9 times, and it continues to travel with me wherever I go. Alice’s adventures have always been a huge inspiration to me, and I’ll never get tired of reading this book (especially with the gorgeous color illustration pages tucked inside my print).

5. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk:; Number five, with a bullet (and quite appropriately so), welcome. Chuck Palahniuk has been a favorite author  of mine for quite a while. His books just absolutely grab me like nothing else has ever been able to. Even the books that he’s written that I would say I hate; I still, somehow, kind of love them. Invisible Monsters, however, is a book that I  truly love. The main characters are of the usual caliber you can expect from Palahniuk: tragic, despicable, warped — enthralling. Then, pepper in a disfiguring accident or two; some vapid, vanity-obsessed models; a transsexual grifter and his gaggle of Fairy God Gays; makeup; pills; a final shoot-out inside a mansion that is rapidly burning to the ground… and, of course, Palahniuk’s other trademark: the Shyamalan-esque twist ending that leaves you floored. I don’t think I could really ask for much more from a book. And if that’s really not enough, scene queens Panic! At The Disco made a disgustingly catchy song about the book called “Time To Dance.”

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…And one runner-up, because I couldn’t leave this one out:

Alternate: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis:; Another book from my childhood that has stayed with me (although, I’m not sure my actual physical copy has — it may or may not be buried somewhere at my mother’s house across the state). I first read the entire series when I was very young and learning to read at night with my mother. I can remember vividly that the day I learned to tie my shoes, my imaginary friend Lucy was there — named for the youngest daughter in the Pevensie family (creepy, huh?). But the first book in the series (technically the second, if you’re going in chronological order) seemed to stay with me the most, as it was re-read far more than the others. I couldn’t really tell you why, but I think I just liked the kids in the book as kids. And while I’m not completely thrilled with Hollywood’s interpretation of the series, it’s nice to see the stories being offered up to a new generation.

Now it’s your turn, my little Literophiliacs — what are your Top 5? Who are your favorite authors? What are your guilty pleasures? Let me know in the comments!

Book: The Man’s Book: The Essential Guide for the Modern Man by Thomas Fink

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Furnished by: ARC from Hachette Book Group

On Sale Date: May 6, 2009

Publisher’s Description: “Being modern and manly in today’s world isn’t always easy.

Do you know how to tie a bow-tie, mix a martini, or make a potato gun?

Do you know when to get married and how to break up, or the difference between a bock beer and a bitter?

Do you know which urinal to choose or how to start a fire with a Coke can?

The answers to every man’s burning questions are within these pages, from the morning wet shave to the whiskey night-cap, from hunting deer with a .30-06 to wooing women like 007. At a time when the sexes are muddled and masculinity is marginalized, The Man’s Book unabashedly celebrates maleness. Organized by subject in a man-logical way, it’s the go-to guide for anyone with a Y chromosome.”

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Review: So I admit, I originally picked up this book on a lark — the publisher’s description makes the book sound like it’s filled with pick-up lines, bar jokes and how to burp the alphabet. I was intrigued at this rare look into the male psyche and figured that, if nothing else, it’d be amusing.

What the publisher’s description doesn’t tell you is that Thomas Fink, the author of The Man’s Book, is a theoretical physicist at the Curie Institute/CNRS and the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences, and he wrote this book in his spare time (although, amusingly enough, Fink took his own author photo to be displayed on the back of the book, and it’s a total MySpace picture… and it looks like it was taken in an airplane bathroom mirror). Check out the author’s website and you’ll get an idea of the tone and style of Fink’s writing.

Instead of cheesy pick-up lines, I found an entire 13-page chapter devoted to women, including sections on to chivalry (apparently it’s not dead), first date etiquette and marriage. Instead of bar jokes, I found a very sophisticated section on drinking that explained nearly every type of wine, beer, spirit or liqueur and its application with or without food. And instead of teaching the reader how to burp the alphabet, Fink has included an entire section on urinal etiquette and, to make sure the rules hit home, a 67-question quiz on where to stand at the urinal to ensure optimal privacy.

Some of my favorite sections include: “Underwear,” where the eternal question of boxers versus briefs is looked at scientifically to find out whom the ultimate victor shall be; a section explaining how to properly brew coffee, which includes a chart showing the caffeine content of popular beverages (did you know that Coca-Cola has the least caffeine content of the major pop brands, including its no-calorie counterpart, Diet Coke?); a page full of men’s superlatives (including Best Advice: “Never apologize,” and Best Beer: Westvleteren 12); and even a list of the 50 most essential books for men.

Overall, this book was just really cool. I learned a lot — not necessarily about men, but just random little facts. And I love learning random things. What really struck me about the book, though, was how sincere and sound most of the advice was. It kind of struck me as a book you’d give to a young man who is just coming of age and will need to know these things growing up (Bar Mitzvah gift, anyone?), or to a boy who’s going to college. But really, it’s just a fun book for any man (or woman) to read. Maybe you’ll pick up some new trivia to show off next time you’re at the bar, who knows?

Those visiting Literophilia from another country may be wondering why I’m writing about this book now, since it isn’t new. But it’s new to us Yankees! Expanded, revised and retypeset, this is the first time that The Man’s Book will be available in America. According to the author himself, “New features include 16 more sections, 35 more figures and numerically indexed sections and subsections.”

Welcome to another ARC Roundup! It’s a little late this time, but there are a ton of books available, so it all balances out. For those unfamiliar with our weekly roundup, an “ARC” (sometimes known as an ARE) is an Advanced Reading Copy (or Edition, respectively). What does this all mean to you? FREE BOOKS! Read on to find out what’s available straight from the publisher this week.

And don’t forget to check out Literophilia’s Picks — they’re highlighted in hot pink so you can’t possibly miss them.

• The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha
  

“Irene and Nate Stanley are living a quiet and contented life with their two children, Bliss and Shep, on their family farm in southern Illinois when Nate suddenly announces he’s been offered a job as a deputy sheriff in Oregon. Irene fights her husband. She does not want to uproot her family and has deep misgivings about the move. Nevertheless, the family leaves, and they are just settling into their life in Oregon’s high desert when the unthinkable happens. Fifteen-year-old Shep is shot and killed during an apparent robbery in their home. The murderer, a young mechanic with a history of assault, robbery, and drug-related offenses, is caught and sentenced to death. Shep’s murder sends the Stanley family into a tailspin, with each member attempting to cope with the tragedy in his or her own way.

Dramatic, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting, The Crying Tree is an unforgettable story of love and redemption, the unbreakable bonds of family, and the transformative power of forgiveness.” On Sale: 7.07.09.

From the author:
“The Crying Tree was drawn from my experience as a reporter covering two executions, as well as subsequent interviews with Sister Helen Prejean (author of Dead Man Walking), exonerated death row inmates, as well as victims that have learned to forgive the unforgivable.”

To request a copy: Fill out the form found here on the Broadway Books website.

• The Last Ember by Daniel Levin
  

“Jonathan Marcus was a promising young archeologist studying at the American Academy in Rome when a terrible accident during an illegal excavation resulted in a friend’s death and Jonathan’s expulsion from the academy. Jonathan abandoned archaeology for the law, developing a reputation as a skillful advocate for some of the art world’s less scrupulous antiquities dealers.

When his firm sends Jonathan to Rome to discredit the testimony of a prominent U.N. antiquities official, he’s stunned to discover that the expert is Dr. Emili Travia, a friend and fellow student at the academy who was also at the excavation. This chance reunion prompts Jonathan, against his better judgment, to help Emili as she searches for the fabled Tabernacle Menorah, a priceless historical artifact seized by Roman invaders in the first century A.D. and brought to Rome where it disappeared.

By turns a riveting page-turner and a compelling character study, set in the high-stakes arenas of art, politics, and terrorism, The Last Ember is a provocative and fast-paced glimpse into history, religion, and international law.” On Sale: 8.06.09.

From Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club:
“In his fast-paced, erudite, and original debut, Daniel Levin reveals a vivid world where archaeological, legal, and religious secrets swirl together into a thrilling nexus. Its rich texture and global cast of characters ignite genuine suspense and intrigue. Readers will savor this novel and await more blockbuster Daniel Levin adventures.”

To request a copy: Fill out the form found here on the Penguin Group’s website.

• The Wet Nurse’s Tale by Erica Eisdorfer
  

“Bright and clever with a sharp-tongued, adventurous heroine who offers a candid and often funny look at the business of nursing babies in Victorian England, this is a debut novel that will have everyone talking.

Susan Rose isn’t the average protagonist: she’s scheming, promiscuous, plump, and she is also smart, funny, tender, and entirely lovable. Like many lower-class women of Victorian England, she was born into a world that offered very few opportunities for the poor and unlovely. But Susan is the kind of plucky heroine who seeks her fortune, and finds it… with some help from, well, her breasts. Susan, you see, is a professional wet nurse; she breast-feeds the children of wealthy women who can’t or won’t nurse their own babies.

But when her own child is sold by her father and sent to a London lady who had recently lost a baby, Susan manages to convince his new foster mother, Mrs. Norbert, to hire her as a wet nurse. Once reunited with her son, Susan discovers the Norbert home to be a much more sinister place than she’d ever expected. Dark and full of secrets, its master is in India, and the first baby who died there did so under very mysterious circumstances. Susan embarks on a terrifying journey to rescue her son before he meets the same fate.” On Sale: 8.06.09.

About the author:
Erica Eisdorfer was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, and graduated from Duke University. She was the book reviewer for WUNC, an NPR affiliate, for eight years. Eisdorfer has managed the Bull’s Head Bookshop, the trade bookstore on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for twenty years. Her novel, The Wet Nurse’s Tale, was nominated one of the top 10 finalists in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2008.

To request a copy: Fill out the form found here on the Penguin Group’s website.

• Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie
  

“Sweeping in scope and mesmerizing in its evocation of time and place, Burnt Shadows is an epic narrative of disasters elided and confronted, loyalties offered and repaid, and loves rewarded and betrayed.

August 9, 1945, Nagasaki. Hiroko Tanaka steps out onto her veranda, taking in the view of the terraced slopes leading up to the sky. Wrapped in a kimono with three black cranes swooping across the back, she is twenty-one, in love with the man she is to marry, Konrad Weiss. In a split second, the world turns white. In the next, it explodes with the sound of fire and the horror of realization.

In search of new beginnings, Hiroko travels to Delhi two years later. There she walks into the lives of Konrad’s half-sister and her family. As the years unravel, new homes replace those left behind and old wars are seamlessly usurped by new conflicts. But the shadows of history – personal, political – are cast over their entwined worlds as they are transported from Pakistan to New York, and in the novel’s astonishing climax, to Afghanistan in the immediate wake of 9/11. The ties that have bound them together over decades and generations are tested to the extreme, with unforeseeable consequences.” On Sale: May 2009.

From Publishers Weekly:
“Shamsie takes readers on a tour de force in this examination of the impact of war, following a trajectory from the devastation of Nagasaki in WWII through the conflict-ridden formation of Pakistan in the late 1940s to post-9/11 Manhattan and war-torn Afghanistan. Konrad Weiss, living in Nagasaki in the summer of 1945, hires a local woman, Hiroko Tanaka, to help him write a book about the city. The romance that blossoms is cut short when the atom bomb falls, killing Konrad, and after a while, Hiroko, feeling she can no longer stay in her country, travels to India to find Konrad’s sister, Ilse, the wife of a British lawyer enjoying the privileges of the British raj’s final days. From there, Shamsie brilliantly interweaves the lives of an array of characters as she brings the story forward to the 1980s, then to the beginning of the 21st century, exploring the clashes between loyalty to family, homeland and cause. Shamsie’s unsparing look at how individuals respond when war affects their world makes for an intriguing, heartrending tale of human connection.”

To request a copy: Send an e-mail including your name and mailing address to marketing@picadorusa.com. Don’t forget to include the title of the book in your subject line!

BONUS! Follow Kamila Shamsie on her US book tour by following her new Twitter account!

• Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
  

“After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris. and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called ‘secondary creation,’ the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.

Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of  bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.” On Sale: 6.09.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“Epic fantasy heavyweight Sanderson (the Mistborn series) pens a powerful stand-alone tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue and dangerous magic. To keep a treaty made long ago, the king of Idris must send his daughter to marry Susebron, the God King of Hallandren. Loath to part with his eldest daughter, Vivenna, King Dedelin instead sends his youngest daughter, tomboyish 17-year-old Siri, who struggles to make sense of the schemers and spies in Susebron’s court. Hoping to rescue her sister, Vivenna joins a group of Idrian operatives with questionable motives. As Vivenna comes to terms with her magical abilities, resurrected hero Lightsong questions the role of the undead Returned Gods, who command Hallandren’s mighty army of zombie soldiers. Sanderson melds complex, believable characters, a marvelous world and thoughtful, ironic humor into an extraordinary and highly entertaining story.”

To request a copy: Fill out this form on Tor and Forge’s website to be entered to win a copy of the book, or read it online here at the author’s website!

• The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
  

“A very different kind of fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale.

What if you were to meet the number-one person on your laminated list—you know, that list you joke about with your significant other about which five celebrities you’d be allowed to run off with if ever given the chance? And of course since it’ll never happen it doesn’t matter…

Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months pregnant with her fourth child when she meets celebrity heartthrob Felix Callahan. Twelve hours, one elevator ride, and one alcohol-free dinner later, something has happened…though nothing has happened. It isn’t sexual. It isn’t even quite love. But a month later Felix shows up in Salt Lake City to visit and before they know what’s hit them, Felix and Becky are best friends. Really. Becky’s husband is pretty cool about it. Her children roll their eyes. Her neighbors gossip endlessly. But Felix and Becky have something special… something unusual, something completely impossible to sustain. Or is it? A magical story, The Actor and the Housewife explores what could happen when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything.” On Sale: 6.09.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“This successful sophomore turn at chick lit (after Austenland) from YA and graphic novelist Hale sets up a platonic relationship between a dashing movie star and a Mormon housewife. While in Los Angeles to ink a deal for a script she’s written, pregnant Becky Jack holds her own against her big screen crush, Felix Callahan, known the world over for charming his way through romantic comedies. Witty banter draws them together, and though they debate what their fascination with one another could mean, an improbable friendship is born. Their alliance weathers the occasional break, Felix’s disinterest in children and his indifference toward Becky’s Mormon faith; spousal jealousy and the chasm separating their lifestyles also throw an occasional curveball. Hale keeps the prose crackling with humor and has a sure hand in creating nuanced, believable characters, so when otherwise unlikely plot turns creep up—Becky getting cast opposite Felix—they’re, well, likely enough. Though Becky just wants to keep her best friend and her normal life, readers will hope she gets nothing less than a fairy tale ending.”

To request a copy: Send an e-mail to marketing@bloomburyusa.com with your name and mailing address — and be sure to include the title of the book in your subject line!

• Rules of Vengeance by Christopher Reich
  

“A riveting sequel to the New York Times bestseller Rules of Deception that confirms Christopher Reich as the master of the espionage thriller.

Months after foiling an attack on a commercial jetliner, Doctors Without Borders physician Jonathan Ransom is working under an assumed name in a remote corner of Africa while his wife, Emma, desperate to escape the wrath of Division, the secret American intelligence agency she betrayed, has vanished into the netherworld of international espionage. Both look forward to sharing a stolen weekend in London—until an ambush on a convoy of limousines turns their romantic rendezvous into a terrorist bloodbath.

Rules of Vengeance follows the aftermath, as Emma disappears and Jonathan is apprehended by the police and threatened with life imprisonment unless he helps secure his wife’s capture. Faced with an impossible decision, Jonathan makes a daring escape. On the run, he realizes that his only option is to become a spy himself in order to track down Emma and discover the true nature of the conspiracy she appears to be masterminding. In the process, Jonathan begins to realize that all along he’s been a pawn in a high-stakes game of international intrigue and one-upsmanship far beyond his imagining.” On Sale: 8.04.09.

From Publishers Weekly:
“The un-put-downable sixth spy novel from bestseller Reich (The Patriots Club, which won an International Thrillers Award in 2006) shows he’s the equal of such masters of suspense as Ken Follett and Frederick Forsyth. The twisting story line revolves around Jonathan Ransom, a 37-year-old surgeon for Doctors Without Borders, whose wife is killed while mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. As Ransom struggles to come to grips with this tragedy, he receives two mysterious baggage claim tickets addressed in her name. Ransom tracks the luggage to a remote train station, where two Swiss police officers attack him shortly after he picks up the baggage. Once safely away, he examines the contents only to realize that his wife was an undercover agent involved in ‘the blackest of black ops’—a plot that includes unmanned airborne vehicles, secret uranium enrichment facilities in Iran and the destruction of Israel. This first-class adrenaline fest will leave readers guessing until the last page.”

To request a copy: Fill out this form on DoubleDay’s website.
BONUS!: Check out the author’s website here!

So what do you guys think? What are you looking forward to reading this week? I’m right in the middle of an ARC that I received last week called The Man’s Book: The Essential Guide for the Modern Man. I requested it thinking that it’d just be an amusing time-waster, but it’s actually turning out to be a really intelligent, informative read (go figure; it’s actually written by a theoretical physicist)! My review will be posted later on this week. Until then, help keep the physical symptoms of Literophilia at bay — read 2 chapters and leave me a comment in the morning.

Book: The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers by Angie Fox

Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co. Inc.

Furnished by: ARC from the publishers

On Sale Date: April 28, 2009

Publisher’s Description: “Seriously. Why does a new hair dryer have a twelve-page how-to manual, but when it comes to ancient demon-fighting hocus-pocus, my biker witch granny gives me just half a dozen switch stars and a rah-rah speech? Oh, and a talking terrier, but that’s another story. It’s not like my job as a preschool teacher prepared me for this kind of thing.

So I’ve decided to write my own manual, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, because no one tells me anything. Dimitri, my ‘protector,’ may be one stud of a shape-shifting griffin, but he always thinks he can handle everything by himself. Only he’s no match for the soul-stealing succubi taking over Las Vegas. If I can’t figure out how to save him—and Sin City—there’ll be hell to pay.”

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Review: After posting about this book in last week’s ARC Roundup, I thought it sounded interesting enough to put in my first ARC request since December. As it turns out, that was a great idea because I really enjoyed this book. (Also, big ups to Dorchester Publications for quick turnaround — this book landed in my mailbox only a week after I put in my request, which is probably the fastest I’ve ever gotten an ARC!)

The follow-up to Angie Fox’s first book in the demon slayer series, The Accidental Demon Slayer, The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers is narrated by the accidental demon slayer herself, Lizzie Brown. As an ex-preschool teacher, Lizzie is a complete outsider to the world of rule-breaking (so much so, she claims, that she’s never even received a speeding ticket). But on her 30th birthday, she suddenly became part of a supernatural world that was previously unknown to her and includes a biker gang of witches, shape-shifting griffins, grouchy fairies, gargoyles, succubi and a whole hell of a lot more. To make matters worse, she’s not only expected to be a part of this world — she’s expected to take on the role of the extremely rare demon slayer, saving the world from things you haven’t even seen in your worst nightmares.

In this book we get to know the magical world right along with Lizzie and her loyal Jack Russell terrier, Pirate (whom she is now able to hear “speak,” which I adore). As loyal readers of Literophilia found out in one of my previous posts (Chloe Parker’s Library), I have a sweet spot for the supernatural thriller/romance genre. This series will definitely find a home next to my Laurell K. Hamilton books. It satisfies my craving for a quick, exciting read (I flew through the book in two days) and allows the reader to get to know tons of unique, interesting creatures while still throwing in a bit of romance along the way (the quick, fiery, passionate kind — not the kind that makes you gag from its sappiness). I also like that, similar to Hamiton’s vampire hunter, Anita Blake, Lizzie has to deal with learning about herself along the way. While it’s wonderful to lose oneself in a good supernatural thriller, I think that when the author gives her characters a wealth of human flaws, it gives the book that little something extra to make her reader truly connect with the story.

| “Smart Women” Journal; $15 | “Banned Books” Necklace; $16 | Kindle 2 Cover; $42 |
| Bookmark Dictionary; $36 | Shakespeare Book Bag; $35 | Bookmark Notepad; $3.50 |
| Harry Potter Lamp; $58 | Mad Hatter Bag; $18 | Nancy Drew Stationary; $10 |

And don’t forget to check out Literophilia’s Picks — they’re highlighted in hot pink so you can’t possibly miss them.

• An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
  

“The bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses brilliantly charts how foods have transformed human culture through the ages. Throughout history, food has acted as a catalyst of social change, political organization, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict, and economic expansion. An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changes — caused, enabled, or influenced by food — has helped to shape and transform societies around the world.” On Sale: 5.12.09.

From the Library Journal:
“Standage’s previous book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses, theorized that the titular six drinks were reflections of the eras in which they were created. In this new work, he instead shows how one of humanity’s most vital needs (hunger) didn’t simply reflect but served as the driving force behind transformative and key events in history. Dividing the vast subject into six general sections (such as food’s role in the development of societies and social hierarchies, its impact on population and industrialization, and its uses as a weapon both on the battlefield and off), Standage illustrates each section with historical examples and observations.”

To request a copy: E-mail marketing@bloomsburyusa.com with the title of the book in your subject.

BONUS!: Read about the book straight from the source on the author’s blog, TomStandage.com (also housed here on WordPress)! He’s posted about the book a couple of times now (like this entry) and he’s posted some professional reviews of the book here.

Double Bonus!: Follow Tom on Twitter!

• Valeria’s Last Stand by Marc Fitten

“Marc Fitten, the editor of the Chattahoochee Review, makes his debut as a novelist with Valeria’s Last Stand. Publishers Weekly says ‘Life in an isolated Hungarian village is turned upside down by an unusual love affair in Fitten’s promising debut. In the small hamlet of Zivatar, 68-year-old Valeria is known by all as a cantankerous woman, quick to criticize everything from the produce at the market to the mayor’s lofty ambitions to lure foreign investors to the town. But a chance encounter one day with the elderly local potter-a man Valeria has known for years but never noticed-changes everything.’” On Sale: 4.28.09.

From the Library Journal:
“In this warmly amusing first novel, true love overtakes a grumpy old woman in Hungary, and her remote village is thrown into an uproar. Feared harridan Valeria falls for the local potter, a hapless widower content to make plates for his local customers. The potter has been seeing the woman who runs the bar where all the local men hang out, and she soon becomes jealous of Valeria… Throughout, the other villagers and bar patrons form a kind of Greek chorus. In the end, true love will conquer all, even though it might be injured a little by a broken beer bottle. Enjoyable and poignant, this work is recommended.”

To request a copy: E-mail marketing@bloomsburyusa.com with the title of the book in your subject.

• Strength In What Remains by Tracy Kidder

“From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains comes the extraordinary true story of a young man and his will to survive. In this remarkable book, New York Times bestselling author Tracy Kidder once again delivers the masterful story of a hero for these modern times.

Deo grew up in the mountains of Burundi, and survived a civil war and genocide before seeking a new life in America. In New York City he lived homeless in Central Park before finding his way to Columbia University. But Deo’s story really begins with his will to turn his life into something truly remarkable; he returns to his native country to help people there, as well as people in the United States.

An extraordinary writer, Kidder has the remarkable ability to show us what it means to be fully human, and to tell the unadorned story of a life based on hope. Riveting and inspiring, this may be his most magnificent work to date. Strength in What Remains is a testament to the power of will and friendship, and of the endurance of the soul.” On sale 8.25.09.

To request a copy: Fill out this form on Random House’s website.

• The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers by Angie Fox

“Seriously. Why does a new hair dryer have a twelve-page how-to manual, but when it comes to ancient demon-fighting hocus-pocus, my biker witch granny gives me just half a dozen switch stars and a rah-rah speech? Oh, and a talking terrier, but that’s another story. It’s not like my job as a preschool teacher prepared me for this kind of thing.

So I’ve decided to write my own manual, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, because no one tells me anything. Dimitri, my ‘protector,’ may be one stud of a shape-shifting griffin, but he always thinks he can handle everything by himself. Only he’s no match for the soul-stealing succubi taking over Las Vegas. If I can’t figure out how to save him — and Sin City — there’ll be hell to pay.” On sale 4.28.09.

To request a copy: Send an e-mail to egalloway@dorchesterpub.com with the title of the book as your subject and your mailing address in the body.

BONUS!: Check out Angie’s blog (another one housed here at wordpress.com) for more info on the book, giveaways and more! She’s also on Twitter, but she seems kind of quiet.

Chloe’s Personal Library

One of the many ‘symptoms’ of Literophilia is an over-abundance of books. Being the child of a Literophiliac, I know this symptom very well — nearly every room in my mom’s house holds a bookshelf that is literally packed to the brim with books.

Since I’m only 23 and I move to a different apartment nearly every year, I haven’t been able to get my collection looking how I’d like. Recently, I bought a couple of bookcases ($20 at Ikea!) and I’ve been happily staring at my beautifully organized bookcase for the past week or so.

Come take a look with me!

I’ve only really been able to ‘collect’ my books properly for the past 4 years, so my collection isn’t very big yet. It’s a nice size, though, finally. I like the fact that I have room to display my more visually-focused books now, too, since books filled with photographs are kind of useless being shoved among a pile of other books.

As you can tell, I’ve got quite an affinity for three certain types of books: the horror genre – especially vampire books – to which I have two shelves dedicated; teenage runaway stories; and books about drug culture.

I’ve been into vampires my entire life and have been reading books dedicated to the subject even when I was still getting most of my material from the YA section. The teenage runaways have been a newer interest of mine, though I’m not sure why. And the books about drug culture are, again, something I’ve been into most of my life. I never really understood why these stories intreigue me so much, but I especially like the ones that are either true stories, or based on true stories. I think that it has something to do with the people who use drugs — there’s no real ‘type’ of person or life story/event that makes someone turn to drugs. When they do, however, the story is always different, interesting and ultimately an incredibly good learning experience.

Beyond those genres, however, my taste in reading material is very broad. I have some YA/kids books in my library still, chick-lit, non-fiction, historical accounts, classics, biographies, essays by comedians — you name it, I’ve probably got at least one book for you. I’ve even got a copy of the Koran and the Bhagavad Gita (while I had to read these for a college course, I decided to keep them and add them to my library since I find studying religions very interesting sometimes).

So, Literophiliacs – now that you’ve seen my library, how about yours? Share the affliction in the comments!

What are your favorite types of books to read? Favorite characters? Favorite genres? Or just show me a picture or two of your library!

Yours,
“Chloe Parker”

Check out last week’s post, too!

| Wreck This Journal; $10 | Wonderland necklace; $28 | Book of Monsters Plush; $15 |
| Betty Boop Bookends; $28 | Damask Book Cover; $12 | Nancy Drew Handbook; $17 |
| Big Skull Bookends; $21 | How to Make Books; $17 | Twilight “Be Safe” Necklace; $20 |