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November 22, 2011

Our first featured title is A CHRISTMAS BLIZZARD by Garrison Keillor.

Snow is falling all across the Midwest as James Sparrow, a country-bumpkin-turned-energy-drink-tycoon, and his wife awaken in their sky-rise apartment overlooking Chicago. Even down with the stomach bug, Mrs. Sparrow yearns to see The Nutcracker while James yearns only to escape the faux-cheer, the bitter cold, the whole Christmas season. An urgent phone call from his hometown of Looseleaf, North Dakota, sends James into the midst of his lunatic relatives and a historic blizzard. As he hunkers weather the storm, the electricity goes out and James is visited by a parade of figures who deliver him an epiphany worthy of the season, just in time to receive Mrs. Sparrow's wonderful Christmas gift.

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Interview: Avi Arad, author of The Innocent

Nov 22, 2011

Hollywood producer Avi Arad discusses his new book, the manga thrill ride The Innocent, a wild ride incorporating vengeance and the afterlife.

Interview: Jim Butcher, author of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files: Fool Moon Part 1

Nov 22, 2011

Bestselling prose author Jim Butcher talks about the ongoing success of the graphic-novel adaptations of his Dresden Files series, starring Chicago’s favorite wizard police consultant.

Interview: Charles Vess, author of Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess

Nov 22, 2011

After more than 30 years in the business, artist Charles Vess has worked on some of the biggest characters around. His early work decorated Heavy Metal magazine; in the mid-’80s, he worked on Spider-Man; and later, he went on to collaborate with Neil Gaiman on The Books of Magic and Sandman. That was just the beginning of his work with Gaiman, which also includes Stardust and Blueberry Girl. Now, Dark Horse has just released Vess’s intense retrospective Drawing Down the Moon, a 200-page look back at his decades in the business. We talked to Charles about what it’s like to revisit his body of work at this point in his career.

November/December 2011

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for November/December's contest. One lucky reader won a copy of WITCH & WIZARD: THE FIRE by James Patterson and Jill Dembowski, and THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.

Do you prefer watching an author video or reading an online interview?

November 21, 2011, 407 voters

Editorial Content for Crossed

Book

Since the conclusion of Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy, readers of dystopian YA fiction have been looking for something --- anything --- to fill the void. There are plenty of other dystopian novels out there, to be sure, some even with as compelling and complicated a heroine. Read More

Teaser

 

Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky, only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues behind. During her quest, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander change the game once again. 

Promo

Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky, only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues behind. During her quest, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander change the game once again. 

About the Book

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky --- taken by the Society to his certain death --- only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander --- who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart --- change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Editorial Content for Beautiful Days

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah A. Wood

Two midwestern girls from Ohio, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur came to New York with stars in their eyes. After a month in the city, their lives have changed dramatically. Cordelia discovers she is the daughter of Darius Grey, a notorious bootlegger. She is left running her father’s business concerns after his death at the hands of Thom Hale, the man she thought she loved. All she can think of now is the success of her new speakeasy and revenge against the Hales. Read More

Teaser

 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes the second book in an epic series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

Promo

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes the second book in an epic series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

About the Book

For the bright young things of 1929, the beautiful days seem endless, filled with romance and heartbreak, adventure and intrigue, friendship and rivalry.

After a month in New York, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are small-town girls no longer. Letty will at last chase her Broadway dreams --- no matter the cost. Cordelia, still reeling from the death of her father at the hands of the man she thought she loved, is set to honor Darius Grey's legacy and take her revenge. Promised to Cordelia's half brother, Charlie Grey, Astrid is caught up in a world of dazzling jewels and glittering nights --- and the sparkle is blinding.

A bitter rivalry will ensnare them all in a dangerous feud played out in the speakeasies of Manhattan and the great lawns of Long Island, and for Astrid, Cordelia, and Letty, the stakes could be deadly.