New to the Shelves for May

It’s been a busy May, so we’ve been a bit behind on our “New to the Shelves” list! Here are some good ones that came out this month!

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough ($37.50) The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring–and until now, untold–story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work. Nearly all of these Americans, whatever their troubles learning French, their spells of homesickness, and their suffering in the raw cold winters by the Seine, spent many of the happiest days and nights of their lives in Paris. McCullough tells this sweeping, fascinating story with power and intimacy, bringing us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens’s phrase, longed “to soar into the blue.” The Greater Journey is itself a masterpiece.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson ($26.00; our price: $20.80) The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. Written by the bestselling author of Devil in the White City, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity.

Tabloid City by Pete Hamill ($26.99; our price: $21.59) In a stately West Village townhouse, a wealthy socialite and her secretary are murdered. In the 24 hours that follow, a flurry of activity circles around their shocking deaths: The head of one of the city’s last tabloids stops the presses. A cop investigates the killing. A reporter chases the story. A disgraced hedge fund manager flees the country. An Iraq War vet seeks revenge. And an angry young extremist plots a major catastrophe.

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones ($19.95; our price: $15.96) Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families: the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode when secrets are revealed and illusions shattered. As Jones explores the backstories of her rich yet flawed characters the father, the two mothers, the grandmother, and the uncle she also reveals the joy, as well as the destruction, they brought to one another ‘s lives.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt ($24.99; our price: $19.99) With The Sisters Brothers, Patrick DeWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable comic tour de force. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters-losers, cheaters, and ne’er-do-wells from all stripes of life-and told by a complex and compelling narrator, it is a violent, lustful odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s frontier that beautifully captures the humor, melancholy, and grit of the Old West and two brothers bound by blood, violence, and love.

New to Paperback

Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by Christine Watson ($15.95) Set in rural Nigeria, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away is the witty and beautifully written story of one family’s attempt to survive a new life they could never have imagined, struggling to find a deeper sense of identity along the way.

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall ($15.95) Golden Richards, husband to four wives, father to twenty-eight children, is having the mother of all midlife crises. His construction business is failing, his family has grown into an overpopulated mini-dukedom beset with insurrection and rivalry, and he is done in with grief: due to the accidental death of a daughter and the stillbirth of a son, he has come to doubt the capacity of his own heart.  Beautifully written, keenly observed, and ultimately redemptive, The Lonely Polygamist is an unforgettable story of an American family with its inevitable dysfunctionality, heartbreak, and comedy pushed to its outer limits.

The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum ($15.00) As a teenager, Karena Jorge had always taken care of her twin brother, Charles. Obsessed with severe weather, Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder, begins chasing storms. Refusing to take his medication, Charles soon involves them both in a terrifying tornado chase–with deadly consequences. Now, two decades later, Karena must find her long-estranged brother before he reveals the dark secret from their past or hurts himself or someone else.

The Writing Circle by Corinne Demas ($14.99) Demas delivers a tale of love, betrayal, and literature: the story of six members of an elite writing circle who share much more than their works-in-progress.

Howie Carr

Sunday,  May 15th from 5-7 PM, Howie Carr will be at Titcomb’s signing copies of his new book “Hitman”.  Books pre-purchased from Titcomb’s will get you a numbered signing line ticket. Jimmy and the people at Two Brothers Pizza (331 Cotuit Rd., Canterbury Plaza, Sandwich) are big  fans of Howie’s and have generously offered to provide pizza for the signing event! So bring your appetites!

Henry Winkler!

Titcomb’s is so happy to be able to welcome back Henry Winkler! He will be appearing at Sandwich High School on Saturday, May 21, at 7:oo PM to talk about his new memoir “I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River”, about family, fly-fishing, and featuring his own beautiful photographs of Montana and Idaho. Admission is only $2.00 at the door.  His books will be available for purchase at the event. He will be signing books purchased from Titcomb’s after he speaks.

In conjunction with Sandwich Reads Together.

Rick Riordan Event: Video

Thank you to Sandwich Community Television for posting the video of last Sunday’s Rick Riordan event so quickly!! It’s all here- the presentations by the kids, Rick Riordan’s talk, and the question and answer session. Enjoy!

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

We love the Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall! These wholesome stories of a quirky set of sisters and their familial and romantic adventures are great for girls ages 8 – 11 (and grown ups!). Both Vicky and Edye have read (and adored) the third book in the series, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, which just released yesterday. Edye said it best in her review of the book in our May newsletter:

“Well, Jeanne Birdsall has done it again. She has captured true sense of family with the four Penderwick sisters in this third book of the series. This time, the girls travel with their aunt to a Maine cottage for summer vacation. Of course, their ‘honorary brother,’ Jeffrey, joins the trip. As the days pass, the children share fun, heartbreak, and laughter as they continue coming of age. A treasure of a book. I laughed. I cried. This series is a modern classic in children’s literature.”

To read about Jeanne Birdsall’s inspiration for this book, check out Birdsall’s great post over at Random House’s blog.

Discussion on GROWING UP by Russell Baker

Sandwich Public Library will host a book discussion on Wednesday, May 11th at 7pm of Russel Baker’s memoir Growing Up as part of Sandwich Reads Together 2011 focus on memoir and personal storytelling. Mr. Baker graciously agreed to reflect on the writing of his memoir in a recorded interviewed with WCAI host Mindy Todd for Sandwich Reads Together. Jim Coogan, Sandwich author and Cape Cod Times columnist, will facilitate a discussion following the interview. Light refreshments will be served. Pre-register.

For more information on other memoirs that Sandwich Reads Together is focusing on, visit their website at http://sandwichreadstogether.org/.