We Recommend Beth Kephart's The Heart Is Not a Size

One of our favorite teen books this spring is The Heart Is Not a Size by National Book Award nominee Beth Kephart. We're so excited that it made the Kids' Indie Next List!

“Beth Kephart has written another must-read book for teens in this story of a group of teens who travel to a Mexican border town to work to help the residents there. She isn't afraid to tackle such big issues as parental pressure, anorexia, and death, and she does it all with compassion, honesty, and beautiful writing.”

Also out this month is the paperback version of House of Dance, another fabulous book by Beth.

“Rosie's Granddad has always lived across town but she has never really known him. Then she learns that he is dying. So Rosie spends the summer with him, learning about his life. Lost and feeling alone, Rosie starts to take dance lessons and begins to discover herself. Filled with beautiful descriptions, a little bit of love, and fun characters, this is the perfect summer book.”

For more great teen reads, be sure to check out our Teen Recommended display in our historic Ballroom on the 2nd floor.

Staff Recommendation: Still Alice

Alice has a PhD, is a Psychology Professor at Harvard, and has Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. As her carefully structured, productive life unravels around her, Alice is forced to come to terms with the loss of her identity. A rare look through the eyes of one suffering from this illness, Genova provides the valuable opportunity to explore the world of dementia.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Reviewed by: Mari

Staff Recommendation: Daily Coyote

Delicious and unapologetic, The Daily Coyote winds its way into your heart with lyrical phrasing, beautiful photos, enchanting anecdotes, and of course, baby animals! Shreve captures the essence of the wilds of Wyoming with refreshing honesty. You'll fall in love with Charlie the coyote's antics and Shreve's open approach to the unique demands of raising a wild creature.

Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton
Reviewed by: Laina

Staff Recommendation: The Monuments Men

WWII posed a greater threat to works of art and cultural heritage than any other conflict in history. Though millions died, only a few hundred people rallied to preserve, recover, and restore the huge number of pieces of European art that had fell victim to the war. This enterprising group came to be known as "the monuments men" and this is their fascinating story.

The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter
Reviewed by: Jen R.

Staff Recommendation: The Fourth Part of the World

1507 A.D.: a group of scholars in Eastern France studying the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci produce a map showing a new landmass in the West called “America.” 2003 A.D.: the Library of Congress pay $10 million for the only existing copy of this map. Lester provides a fascinating historical and cartographical look at this significant document.

The Fourth Part of the World by Tony Lester
Reviewed by: Jen R.

Staff Recommendation: Guardians of Being

This is a wonderful collaboration. Eckhart Tolle is good at making great wisdom simple. Patrick McDonnell, cartoonist of Mutts, is good at making simple wisdom whimsical. Starting with the cover, this book is as warm and profound as a dog and a cat sleeping together after a bonny day of exploration and play.

Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle and Patrick McDonnell
Reviewed by: Digs

Upcoming Event: John Thorndike

How would you respond to a parent's dwindling memory and ability to take care of themselves? Alzheimer's disease is a tragic reality of what can happen in our elder years and it affects over five million Americans. Author John Thorndike writes about his father's struggle with the disease, and his experiences of looking after him in his new book, The Last of His Mind.

When John's father becomes diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his only wish is to continue to reside in his Cape Cod home. Thorndike leaves his life in Ohio to return to his childhood home and take care of his father. At the end, when his father's heart stops beating, John's hand is on his chest, and a story of painful decline has become a portrait of deep family ties, care giving, and love. This memoir of dementia that strips his father of language, memory and self-awareness, is a bittersweet account of a son's final year with his father, and a candid portrait of an implacable disease.

Join John Thorndike as he recalls his experience, and signs copies of The Last of His Mind (Swallow Press, $24.95) on Monday, March 29, 2010, at 7:30pm at Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO, 80302.

Staff Recommendation: Zabelle

Zabelle Chahasbanian is an old lady on the verge of death when we first meet her. What follows is a look back at her life from her childhood during the Armenian genocide to her transatlantic voyage towards a husband she's never met. Little gems of folklore and a life's memorabilia make this a perfect read for bookclubs.

Zabelle by Nancy Kricorian
Reviewed by: Mandy

Staff Recommendation: Angel Time

Angels, assassins, gangsters, Dominican Friars, earls and Jews, all brought to life through rich, evocative prose. Transporting the reader from modern day America to medieval England and France, Rice's first installment of her Songs of the Seraphim series is a tale of faith, loss, persecution and redemption, blending fiction with snippets of historical reality.

Angel Time by Anne Rice
Reviewed by: Mathew

Staff Recommendation: New Word Monkeys

A rollicking novel about two city slickers who inherit a rural house with disastrous consequences (they run over the town mascot—a wild boar—on their initial journey to the home) as they cling to their deteriorating marriage. Lily digs up her ancestor's missing maid and wards off the boar's crazy owner while Duncan works on a sexist ad campaign that mocks the Vietnam War.

New World Monkeys by Nancy Mauro
Reviewed by: Arsen

Staff Recommendation: True Confections

I love an unreliable narrator. The reader has to look for clues in the dialogue, in other characters' reactions and in subtle hints to divine the real story. Weber employs this device to create a brilliant satire on the candy industry. Alice of Zip's Candies tells her story in a rambling affidavit that exposes the racist origins of the company and her complicity in its many disasters.

True Confections by Katharine Weber
Reviewed by: Arsen

Staff Recommendation: Jpod

Reading like an ADD-friendly afternoon spent at the computer, JPod is as much a work of contemporary art as it is a novel. Simultaneously relevant and irreverent, it takes a satirical look at workplace unhappiness and all of the bizarre elements that comprise mainstream North American culture. Bonus points to Coupland for shamelessly writing himself in as a character.

Jpod by Douglas Coupland
Reviewed by: Hart

Staff Recommendation: Unseen Academicals

Pratchett's witty satire has struck the football field. The pretentious wizards of Unseen University are suddenly compelled to take up this violent sport, unaware of ulterior motives by the city's generally benevolent "tyrant." Add this to the university's mysterious new staff member, plus a dwarf maiden heartthrob, and you'll be laughing throughout this hilarious read.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Reviewed by: Mari

Staff Recommendation: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

It is difficult to imagine a situation involving more despair or requiring more guts than the one Aron Ralston found himself in when his arm became pinned by a boulder on a solo hike in Utah. His gripping account is a page-turner of the highest order, and you will never again dare describe yourself as tough after reading about his pocket-knife amputation.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
Reviewed by: Hart

Staff Recommendation: Book of Basketball

Finding a gift for your father-slash-teenage son is a horrific prospect, but let me help: buy him this book. Simmons is, well, the hottest thing in sports since Reebok Pumps. The Book of Basketball is fun to read, amazingly informative, and full of so much love for its subject matter that it’ll keep any finicky man quiet for days. BONUS gift idea: Nuggets tickets! You'll thank me later.

The Book of Basketball By Bill Simmons
Reviewed by: Peter

Upcoming Event: Mark Spragg & Laura Bell

Travel west, to feel the adventure, and experience the drama. Authors Mark Spragg and Laura Bell, natives of Wyoming, are familiar with the subject and tell dramatic stories in their new books Bone Fire and Claiming Ground. These acclaimed authors' newest books will both be released March 9, and are sure to give insight to the lives and times of Wyoming and the modern west.

Bone Fire, will capture your attention with its characters and their struggles in the seemingly idyllic town of Ishawooa, Wyoming. Follow the characters through their stories of harsh truths and difficult consolation combined with moments of hilarity, surprise, and beauty. This will be Spragg's highly anticipated fourth novel, written at the height of his career. Bone Fire builds upon his bestselling novel An Unfinished Life.

Follow Laura Bell as she travels west. Claiming Ground takes you on the journey of a young girl, looking for adventure, and starting her life after college. Bell writes about her career path of cattle rancher, turned forest ranger, outfitter, masseuse, wife and mother. Her story is a heart-wrenching ode to the rough beauty of the western landscape, pleasure of hard labor, and a life formed by nature. Claiming Ground will lead you through lessons of love, life, and happiness while capturing the adventure and excitement of Wyoming.

Join us on Tuesday, March 16, at 7:30pm, in our historic ballroom as we welcome these authors to tell their stories and sign copies of their newest books (Bone Fire, $25.95 and Claiming Ground, $24.95). Boulder Book Store is located at 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO, 80302.

Staff Recommendation: Ines of My Soul

This is one of history's greatest love stories, written by one of our generation's most capable storytellers. Allende unfolds the fierce romance of Ines Suarez and Pedro de Valdivia, a love that crossed a continent and the two lovers who founded the nation of Chile. Part history, part imagination, it is a completely engaging and heart-stopping novel.

Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende

Reviewed by: Lauren

Staff Recommendation: The Beauty Myth

On a list of books that changed my life, The Beauty Myth would top the charts. Wolf's feminist manifesto is this generation's Feminine Mystique, an incisive breakdown of the ways society prescribes and profits from female standards of beauty. Eating disorders, plastic surgery, and more: the truth behind the myth will leave you fuming. In the best possible way.

The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
Reviewed by: Lauren