Department of Book Reports 34: The Virtual Tradeshow!

We only had one day at the show this year, But we were able to find lots of great upcoming books to tell you about. For you outdoor types, Monster Spotter's Guide to North America will help you plan those special hunting trips, and Backcountry Betty will help you rough it in style. Garth Stein will be showing us how to Race in the Rain in his upcoming HarperCollins title. It was good to see a couple of my favorite Mystery girrlfriends, Yasmine Galenorn was signing Changeling, the latest in her Urban Fantasy series. And Jo Dereske signed copies of Miss Zukas' latest adventure, Catalogue of Death. We met Alice Wilson-Fried, who signed Outside Child, her New Orleans Mystery at Jackson Street Books on Friday. I loved this one and it's so nice when an author is so gracious and wonderful as her book! Dan snagged up a couple things he had been looking forward to, including The Arsonists Guide to Writer's Homes in New England, and he really wants the Annotated Godfather. We couldn't manage to stuff a copy of that under his sweater.

This year's BadCat will be What Pets Do While You're At Work. Too funny. Stephen Colbert's I am America (And So Can You!) promises to bring us much truthiness this fall.At the Feast of Authors dinner, we had 6 authors come to our table and tell us about their books. First up, John B. Schwartz, with his novel, The Commoner, the tale of the bride of Japan's 1959 emperor, and the life after one "crosses over" to behind the silk curtain of inscrutable Japanese Court. Interesting parallels here with what Diana's experience must have been.
I had to get a picture with Meg Tilly (that's her on the left), cause it's not very often I met up with a gal who also had to milk cows in her youth. Growing up in poverty on British Columbia farms informs her new YA novel: Porcupine.
Sebastion Faulks has the story of Engleby, a man who can't remember if he is responsible for the death of a woman and so continues on with his life. Twenty years later, things come crashing down around him.
Lauren Kessler had me in tears with her memoir, Dancing with Grace, Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's. Her mother died of Alzheimer's Disease, and she spent time working at an old age home to show us that even though so much of that person is gone, so much still remains and how to stay in the life of an Alzheimer's victim, without breaking your heart. This will become an important book as our parents and friends age.
Cai Emmons has written The Stylist, a novel set in the world of Hair Salons, and their inner workings. Since one of her characters is Trans-gendered, she has been asked to come speak at national Trans-gender conventions! I've just started this one and it's quite good.

It looks like it'll be a good Fall and Winter in the land of Independent Book Stores. These books and all of the Holiday Catalogue titles will be available at Jackson Street Books

We haven't seen much of democommie™™™™®© this week, but I'm sure he'll have a good excuse when he gets back here.