Staff Recommendation: The Child Thief

A far cry from the Peter Pan we've all come to know, the devilish orphan in Brom's captivating tale is as deadly as he is clever. Beset with a dying world and a thirst for vengeance, this "child thief" seeks runaways, victims, and those without hope...but even they can only guess at his true intentions.

The Child Thief by Brom

Reviewed by: Mari

Staff Recommendation: Await Your Reply

How would it feel to be a 'ghost'? What would it be like to start over, to change lives on a whim? Dan Chaon cleverly weaves together the strands of four stories whose narratives gradually, subtly begin to form the pattern of a larger whole. Await Your Reply is a masterful meditation on identity, a literary page-turner perfect for your book group.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

Reviewed by: Scott

Boulder Book Store Launches BBS TV

We've got a blog, a Twitter, a Facebook, and it's about time we have a YouTube Channel! You can now subscribe to BBS TV for a virtual store tour, personal book recommendations, and more to come.

While the bosses were out on vacation, I, the intern, played…with a video camera. For one whole week I had full access to tiptoe around the store and be a creeper in the name of marketing. Now, as I am not a professional director or filmmaker, the experience was pure delight. There I am, walking down the hallway to the kid's section when a child and mother skip right in front of me and head exactly down-line of where I was filming. I'm a little embarrassed to tell you how thrilled I was. The store tour features shots of all three of our ink-filled floors for those unlucky viewers who have yet to visit our store.

Our channel also includes our "TalkBooks!" series featuring our very own Head Buyer, Arsen, and Children's Book Buyer, Liesl. The short filming process for these videos was a rather interesting study of the power of YouTube. Here I had with me two people who I watched for the last several months answer phones with gusto, run up and down one-too-many flights of stairs with arms full of books, and be general office studs. Now that they were put face-to-lens with the prospect of being on YouTube, they turned into wiggling, excited, noodles of nerves.

Now that you know a bit about how our videos were created, I invite you to see for yourself the coolness that is our brand new YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/BoulderBooks. Enjoy!

Staff Recommendation: Labor Day

This is one of those rare perfect novels that I fell in love with and devoured in one day. Like 13-year-old Henry and his mother, who are trapped by sadness, loneliness and betrayal until their run-in with an escaped convict becomes their source of affirmation, I recognize that romance, friendship and real positive change might happen in the most unlikely of situations.

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Reviewed by: Alyssa

Staff Recommendation: Sacred Hearts

While this novel set in Renaissance Italy has echoes of Romeo and Juliet, it is more than a classic tale of forbidden love. What begins as the tragic fate of a young noblewoman sold into a convent and separated from her love becomes a story of complex friendship, rebellion, creativity, and redemption against the repressive political, religious and social forces.

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
Reviewed by: Alyssa

Staff Recommendation: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

This is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable books I have ever read. The story, set during WWII, follows two cousins—one an escape artist who leaves his family in Prague to escape to America, the other a New York native who helps to channel his cousin's feelings of helplessness through the creation of a comic book hero named The Escapist. I can't recommend this enough.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Reviewed by Stephanie W.

Staff Recommendation : Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing

Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing is a remarkable first collection of stories. Lydia Peelle's wit and charm shine through her well-crafted stories as she explores everything from encountering a turtle on a city bus, to the long stretch at the end of winter. She is a magnificent storyteller, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing by Lydia Peelle
Reviewed by Stephanie W.