Maximum Shelf: SHOTGUN LOVESONGS

Maximum Shelf: SHOTGUN LOVESONGS

Max Shelf Shotgun Lovesongs

"I had a desire to write about Wisconsin, about place, friendship, love." — Nickolas Butler

 

Shotgun Lovesongs jacketWe're enamored with SHOTGUN LOVESONGS, Nickolas Butler's debut novel about the relationship between four friends living in a small Midwest town. Other are too: it was selected by the ABA for the Spring 2014 Indies Introduce program and is this week's Maximum Shelf Awareness feature.

Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the small town of Little Wing, Wisconsin and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One stayed while others left to make good, with varying degrees of success. Seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them—both then and now—fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of love songs and rivalries. Now all four have returned to Little Wing in hopes of finding their place in the world. SHOTGUN LOVESONGS explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again and the kind of steely faith and love returning requires. 

"Butler's story of five 30-somethings seeking to make sense of how their future relates to their beginnings may focus on small town living, but it will resonate with anyone who ever struggled to reconcile dreams with financial security, true love with real life, and unwelcome changes with changes that never seem to come." — Shelf Awareness

See the full summary, review and interview with Nickolas Butler on Shelf-Awareness.com.

download review copy buttonGet whitelisted and download your e-galley on Edelweiss. Or listen to a clip of the audiobook.
Then meet Butler at PLA 2014 in Indianapolis!


Praise for SHOTGUN LOVESONGS:

"A debut novel that delves so deeply into the small-town heartland... [SHOTGUN LOVESONGS] will strike a responsive chord in any reader who has found his life reflected in a Bob Seger song." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review  

“The hearty Midwest, which thrums and beats through tiny Little Wing, Wisconsin—an Anytown, USA, if there ever was one—assumes the whole soul of Butler’s fetching debut… Readers can feel the winter cold on the other side of the neon sign and hear the peanut shells crunching underfoot.” — Booklist 

"Butler uses multiple narrators to tell the story of a group of friends, born and raised in Little Wing, Wis....  Their voices and their memories create a rich, overlapping narrative that is, at bottom, a love letter to the Midwest and its small, mostly forgotten towns." — Publishers Weekly 

"...this is a warm and absorbing depiction of male friendship. Lee and Hank's compassion toward Ronny is particularly touching, and Beth, the sole female narrator, is as nuanced and believable a character as her male counterparts. With the author's connection to indie musician Bon Iver and a movie deal already in the works, expect interest and demand."  — Library Journal

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For Your Consideration: March LibraryReads titles

For Your Consideration: March LibraryReads titles

Happy Monday to our dear librarian pals,

We’d like to remind y’all that the February 1 deadline to nominate March 2014 publications for the next LibraryReads list is just around the corner! 

Get thee to edelweiss! Download a DRC, read it, love it and nominate it! REPEAT!   

THE CAIRO AFFAIR by Olen Steinhauer

International politics are at play as an Egyptian agent, an American analyst, a CIA agent, and a bereaved wife all converge on Cairo to find out why a diplomat was assassinated. 

"THE CAIRO AFFAIR is an elegant, elaborate clockwork of mystery and deception that should draw readers in and keep them on tenterhooks as they try to figure out what is really making it all tick." Publishers Weekly, boxed signature review  

"It has become de rigeur to compare Steinhauer to le Carré, but it’s nearly time to pass the torch: for the next generation, it’s Steinhauer who will become the standard by which others are measured." — Booklist, starred review

DRC button - Cairo Affair

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler

Butler's debut novel about the relationship between four friends in a small Midwest town was selected by the ABA for the Spring 2014 Indies Introduce program.

"The hearty Midwest, which thrums and beats through tiny Little Wing, Wisconsin-an Anytown, USA, if there ever was one-assumes the whole soul of Butler's fetching debut. Readers can feel the winter cold on the other side of the neon sign and hear the peanut shells crunching underfoot." — Booklist 

DRC button - Shotgun Lovesongs

TEMPTING FATE by Jane Green

From the New York Times bestselling author of ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART comes a riveting new novel about the events leading up to one woman's affair—and its aftermath.

"A SCARLET LETTER for the 21st century." — Kirkus Reviews

DRC button - Tempting Fate

PRECIOUS THING by Colette McBeth

"Debut author McBeth’s GONE GIRL-style psychological thriller will be a widespread hit for fans of dark drama with questionable narrators, including S. J. Watson’s BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP (2011), Sabine Durrant’s UNDER YOUR SKIN (2013), and Karen Perry’s THE INNOCENT SLEEP (2013)." Booklist, starred review

DRC button - Precious Thing

I REMEMBER YOU by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

"In a departure from her series featuring lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir, Iceland’s queen of suspense combines modern crime detection with mysticism to chilling effect. Nordic mystery writers can raise goosebumps as few others can, and Sigurdardottir shows she’s one of the best."  Booklist, starred review

Let’s not forget the buzz that’s been building for this gem

DRC - I Remember You

THE HAVEN by Carol Lynch Williams

For the teens at The Haven, the world beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises is a dangerous unknown and always has been since the hospital was established in the year 2020. It was built to help control the Disease that claims limbs and lungs-and memories-but what if it's not the safe place it claims to be? Award-winning YA novelist Williams' new novel is "Deliciously enigmatic." — Kirkus Reviews

DRC - The Haven

PROVIDENCE RAG by Bruce DeSilva

“Edgar-winner DeSilva melds moral dilemmas with a suspenseful plot in his third novel featuring Providence, R.I.–based reporter Liam Mulligan, his best yet.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Go beyond the book and read this Publishers Weekly interview with DeSilva.

DRC - Providence Rag

 

For more March LibraryReads title suggestions, view our collection on Edelweiss. Happy reading and happy nominating!

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Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year 2014!

new years kittensHappy New Year! We hope your holidays were wonderful. We're rested, rejuvenated and ready for all that 2014 will bring!

Want to know what our New Year's Resolution is? It's for all the librarians we know to participate in LibraryReads!

Do you love to read? Do people often ask you what book they should read next? Are you a public librarian? If you answered yes to all of these, then my friend, you are ready for LibraryReads.

LibraryReads logoWhat is this magical LibraryReads thing we speak of? It's a monthly list of the Top Ten newly released must-read books, voted on by librarians like you! By harnessing the value of "library staff picks" into a single nation-wide discovery tool, you can help connect books to as many readers as possible.

If you're ready to start, nominations are now being accepted for books publishing in March 2013 (due February 1). Here are some titles we recommend:

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler
TEMPTING FATE by Jane Green
PRECIOUS THING by Colette McBeth
THE HAVEN by Carol Lynch Williams
THE CAIRO AFFAIR by Olen Steinhauer
DECODED by Mai Jia 
NOTORIOUS by Allison Brennan 
THE REVENANT OF THRAXTON HALL by Vaughn Entwistle
THE MIDNIGHT WITCH by Paula Brackston
THE OTHER HALF by Sarah Rayner 
ALWAYS UNIQUE by Nikki Turner 
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S DAUGHTER by Anne Clinard Barnhill 
CODE ZERO by Jonathan Maberry
I REMEMBER YOU by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
NOTES FROM THE INTERNET APOCALPYSE by Wayne Gladstone
PROVIDENCE RAG by Bruce DeSilva

To vote, you must be an Edelweiss user and registered as a public librarian. If so, then you’re all set! To recommend a title, find the book page while logged into Edelweiss and click on “Your Review.” You will see the check the “Submit to LibraryReads” box on the bottom right of that box; click on it when saving your review to nominate that title.

If you are already an Edelweiss user, and logged in, but don’t see the option to “Submit to LibraryReads” when you click on “Your Review,” you may be in an Edelweiss organization that is not classified as a public library. In this case, please email support@abovethetreeline.com for help.
If you are not an Edelweiss user, please register for Edelweiss using the Organization Type “Library – Public” to join the LibraryReads community. 

Read in any format you like–paper or digital–but please submit all your reviews electronically, via Edelweiss.

Speaking of Edelweiss, did you know you can get whitelisted* for access to Macmillan e-galleys? It's true! Here's how to get pre-approved:

1. Register for Edelweiss with your library-issued e-mail address.
2. Send Anne an email that includes the e-mail address you registered with, your full name, and your current library (subject: Edelweiss).
3. Wait for Anne to send you a confirmation message, then download to your heart's delight and nominate titles you love for LibraryReads

*Whitelisting is only available to librarians currently employed in the U.S. 

For more on Edelweiss, including reading recommendations, click here. Want to know even more about LibraryReads? Check out our FAQ for nomination deadlines, guidelines for writing reviews, details on how each list gets decided, and FREE marketing materials for your library. Happy reading and happy nominating!

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While Anne’s Away…

While Anne’s Away…

In addition to reading recommendations for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday -- here's a reminder on how to get pre-approved on Edelweiss for Macmillan e-galleys:

To get Whitelisted on Edelweiss*:

1. Register for Edelweiss with your library-issued e-mail address.
2. Send Anne an email that includes the e-mail address you registered with, your full name, and your current library (subject: Edelweiss).
3. Wait for Anne to send you a confirmation message, then download to your heart's delight and nominate titles you love for LibraryReads

*Whitelisting is only available to librarians currently employed in the U.S.

Already whitelisted and ready to read? Great! Here are some of Anne’s favorite Spring 2014 titles:

If you were moved by Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A LONG WAY GONE, read his first novel, RADIANCE OF TOMORROW

If you loved “Fatal Attraction” and “Unfaithful,” read APPLE TREE YARD by Louise Doughty

If you dig heartfelt love stories with a dose of Southern charm, read LOST LAKE by Sarah Addison Allen (just have a tissue handy) 

If you’re a fan of Richard Yates’s A GOOD SCHOOL and other literary coming-of-age stories, read THE LAST ENCHANTMENTS by Charles Finch

If you have a need for speed when you read (think Robert Ludlum’s Bourne books), don’t miss RUNNER by Patrick Lee

If you don’t mind gory mysteries with a touch of dark history, check out WHERE MONSTERS DWELL by Jørgen Brekke

If you can’t get enough of Indiana Jones-like capers, read THE BLOOD OF ALEXANDER by Tom Wilde

If you like your mysteries inspired by real-life events, read PROVIDENCE RAG by Bruce DeSilva

If you enjoyed Irène Némirovsky’s SUITE FRANCAISE, check out another posthumously discovered masterwork: EXILES RETURN by Elisabeth de Waal

If you enjoy Elizabeth Strout, Sue Monk Kidd, and Jojo Moyes, read MIMI MALLOY, AT LAST! by Julia MacDonnell

If you’re a fan of Anita Shreve and Richard Russo, read THE HEADMASTER'S WIFE by Thomas Christopher Greene. Fun fact: it already has a starred pre-publication review from Library Journal

If you like stories about everlasting friendship, music, and going home again, read SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler

If you like unreliable narrators, read THE INNOCENT SLEEP by Karen Perry

If you loved Michael Faber’s THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE, read SEDITION by Katharine Grant

If you desperately need to know how the Tempest trilogy ends, read TIMESTORM by Julie Cross. It comes highly recommended by Stephanie Wilkes!

If you’re looking for THE next must-read for teens, check out THE HAVEN by librarian favorite, award-winning and critically acclaimed author, Carol Lynch Williams

Anne is now officially outta here and on the road! In the next few days you will find her assisting the academic marketing group at NCTE in Boston. If you’re there too - stop by booth #811-813 and give her a high-five and HUG. Then she'll be off cooking and crafting and hopefully sharing all of her creations with you! (She sees a lot of mug cakes in your future).

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2013 Tri-State Adult Book Buzz!

2013 Tri-State Adult Book Buzz!

Today is the Tri-State Book Buzz (12:30-5pm EST, #bookbuzznyc) where Anne will be telling you all about the super fabulous upcoming titles listed below!

JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS by Sebastian Faulks
Four pre-pub starred reviews! “In my humble opinion, Faulks has outdone Wodehouse.” — Publishers Weekly, starred & boxed review

AN OLD BETRAYAL by Charles Finch
The seventh book in Finch’s bestselling Victorian mystery series, starring his intelligent and charming sleuth extraordinaire Charles Lenox. 

ONCE UPON A LIE by Maggie Barbieri
In a dramatic departure from her Murder 101 series, Barbieri has written a riveting mystery about one burnt out mother's desperate determination to protect her family's future by facing down her past. 

THE ORPHAN CHOIR by Sophie Hannah
A standalone psychological suspense novel that is “Absolutely haunting, in every sense of the word.” — Booklist, starred review 

SNOWBLIND by Christopher Golden
Survivors of a blizzard twelve years ago are being haunted by the memories of those who died. Stephen King said, "Throw away all those old ‘it was a dark and stormy night’ novels; this one is the real deal.”

APPLE TREE YARD by Louise Doughty
A woman in the wrong place, at the wrong time with the wrong man—evocative of the psychological suspense and dangerous eroticism found in the blockbuster thrillers “Unfaithful” and “Fatal Attraction.” 

BAD WOLF by Nele Neuhaus
The next book in the internationally bestselling series that began with SNOW WHITE MUST DIE.

THE INNOCENT SLEEP by Karen Perry
A couple are restarting their lives five years after their son died in a tragic accident. But is the son really dead?

THE CAIRO AFFAIR by Olen Steinhauer
International politics are at play as an Egyptian agent, an American analyst, a CIA agent, and a bereaved wife all converge on Cairo to find out why a diplomat was assassinated.

DESTROYER ANGEL by Nevada Barr
In the next book in the Anna Pigeon series, Anna must rescue her four friends from armed thugs while on a camping trip with no access to the outside world and limited resources.

RUNNER by Patrick Lee
An explosive new thriller series starring retired special forces operative Sam Dryden. Library Journal called it “a high-tech thriller that’s hard to put down.”

NOTORIOUS by Allison Brennan
Brennan launches a new series starring investigative reporter Max Revere, a tough-as-nails lady with with her own TV show and a knack for solving cold cases. 

DOING HARM by Kelly Parsons
In this highly anticipated debut thriller from board-certified urologist Parsons, a doctor is about to get his dream job at a Boston hospital when he learns his patient’s mysterious death was caused by a sociopath he knows. 

WHERE MONSTERS DWELL by Jørgen Brekke
Two gruesome murders take place half a world apart in Virginia and Norway and are somehow connected to The Book of John—a journal bound in human skin written by a sixteenth century serial murderer from Norway. 

PRECIOUS THING by Colette McBeth
Rachel and Clara are two best friends who drift apart—until Rachel's job as a crime reporter leads her back to Clara, who turns out to be the missing person at the police press conference Rachel is covering.

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler
An outstanding debut selected by the ABA for the Spring 2014 Indies Introduce program. Set in a small Midwest town, this deeply moving novel explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again. 

RADIANCE OF TOMORROW by Ishmael Beah
An uplifting and heartbreaking first work of fiction from the author of A LONG WAY GONE.

THE HEADMASTER’S WIFE by Thomas Christopher Greene
Inspired by a personal loss, this is a beautifully written, haunting and deeply affecting portrait of one couple at their best and worst. 

LOST LAKE by Sarah Addison Allen
Newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin have come to the Lost Lake Cottages in Suley, Georgia to find closure and peace and also find second chances and happiness. Have your hanky handy.


Can't make it to NYC? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Here's
the handout that went in everyone's gift bags. To those of you attending, see you soon!

 

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Monday Fun Day – Hot Debuts & Book Fashion

Monday Fun Day – Hot Debuts & Book Fashion

Hello friends! Did you have a nice weekend? We did. We're rested and ready to share more awesome news with you this week, starting with the Spring 2014 Indies Introduce program.

The Indies Introduce list consists of titles from 10 Adult and 10 Children's debut authors, all chosen by booksellers as the best in new talent for the upcoming season, and two terrific Macmillan titles made the cut:

THE WIVES OF LOS ALAMOS by TaraShea Nesbit
Bold and emotionally charged, THE WIVES OF LOS ALAMOS is told in the collective voices of the wives of the men who created the atom bomb. Mostly in their mid-twenties and hailing from around the country, the women arrived in New Mexico ready for adventure. What they found was anything but—they lived in barely finished houses in a rugged military town encircled by barbed wire. Though they were strangers, they joined together adapting to a landscape as fierce as it was absorbing, forging friendships and creating families and a true community all amidst intense secrecy and chaos of the war. Think THE GIRLS OF ATOMIC CITY meets THE ASTRONAUT WIVES' CLUB, only fiction.

“In this fascinating and artful debut, TaraShea Nesbit gives voice to the women closest to one of gravest and most telling moments in our collective history: the development and testing of the nuclear bomb at Los Alamos. Tender and mundane details of marriage and domesticity quietly collide with the covert and solemn work at hand. With chilling implications and charged, sure-footed prose, this is a novel—and writer—of consequence.” — Paula McLain, author of THE PARIS WIFE


SHOTGUN LOVESONGS
by Nickolas Butler
Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the small town of Little Wing, Wisconsin and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One stayed while others left to make good, with varying degrees of success. Seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them—both then and now—fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of love songs and rivalries. Now all four have returned to Little Wing in hopes of finding their place in the world. SHOTGUN LOVESONGS explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again and the kind of steely faith and love returning requires.

"This debut, told in the alternating voices of four lifelong friends, could do for Wisconsin farm towns what THE LAST PICTURE SHOW did for Texas football towns. Living with the main characters under the microscope that is small-town life, we experience their heartbreaks, successes, failures, loves, and losses. This novel is crafted with heart-wrenching sorrow and joy, displaying the pain and beauty possible when relationships carry from childhood into adulthood." —  Kelly Estep, Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville KY

Before we get into 2014, don’t forget that tomorrow is the deadline to submit your LibraryReads nominations for November titles! We offer our suggestions here.  

BONUS FUN: Check out this cool library dress we found! 
Library Dress  [...]

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