Preorder Special: The Charming Quirks of Others

Synopsis:
In this latest and most felicitous addition to the Isabel Dalhousie series, our inquisitive heroine comes to see that there are very few of us who are not flawed . . . herself included.

Isabel has been asked for her help in a rather tricky situation: A successor is being sought for the headmaster at a local boys’ school. The board has three final candidates but has received an anonymous letter alleging that one of them has a very serious skeleton in the closet. Could Isabel discreetly look into it? And so she does. What she discovers about all the candidates is surprising, but what she discovers about herself and about Jamie, the father of her young son, turns out to be equally revealing.

Isabel’s investigation will have her exploring issues of ambition, as well as of charity, forgiveness, and humility, as she moves nearer and nearer to some of the most hidden precincts of the heart.

Here is Isabel Dalhousie at her beguiling best: intelligent, insightful, and with a unique understanding of the quirks of human nature.

Preorder Special: Luka & the Fire of Life

From Publishers Weekly:

Rushdie unleashes his imagination on an alterante world informed by the surreal logic of video games, but the author's entertaining wordplay and lighter-than-air fantasies don't amount to more than a clever pastiche. A sequel of sorts to to Haroun and the Sea of Stories, this outing finds Haroun's younger brother, Luka, on a mission to save his father, guided, ironically, by Nobodaddy, a holograph-like copy of his father intent on claiming the old man's life. Along the way, they're joined by a collection of creatures, including a dog named Bear, a bear named Dog, hybrid bird-elephant beasts, and a princess with a flying carpet. As with video games, Luka stores up extra lives, proceeds to the next level after beating big baddies, and uses his wits to overcome bottomless chasms and trash-dropping otters. Rushdie makes good use of Nobodaddy, and his world occasionally brims with allegory (the colony of rats called the "Respectorate of I" brings the Tea Party to mind)...

Preorder Special: Harry Potter: A Pop Up Book

From the Publisher:

This collectible Harry Potter pop-up book, based on the creative development of the films, features exquisite original artwork by Andrew Williamson, concept artist for all eight movies. With dynamic pop-ups animating memorable moments and locations--like the Triwizard Tournament, Diagon Alley, and Hogwarts Castle--Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book offers a 3-D glimpse into and amazing world, as seen the films. This deluxe book will delight Harry Potter fans with dynamic pop-up ingenuity, insights from the creative team who turned JK Rowling's stories into movie magic, fascinating facts about the magical universe seen in the movies, and Harry Potter memories and memorabilia packed into every page.

Preorder Special: First Family: Abigail and John Adams

Publishers Weekly:

Pulitzer Prize winning historian Ellis (Founding Brothers) gives "the premier husband-wife team in all American history" starring roles in an engrossing romance. His Abigail has an acute intellect, but is not quite a protofeminist heroine: her ambitions are limited to being a mother and helpmeet, and in the iconic correspondence she often strikes the traditional pose of a neglected wife who sacrifices her happiness by giving up her husband to the call of duty. The author's more piquant portrait of John depicts an insecure, mercurial, neurotic man stabilized by Abigail's love and advice. Ellis's implicit argument--that the John/Abigail partnership lies at the foundation of the Adams family's public acheivements--is a bit over-played, and not always to the advantage of the partnership: "Her judgment was a victim of her love for John...," Ellis writes of Abigail's support for the Alien and Sedition Acts, the ugliest blot on John's presidency, all of which explains little and excuses less. Still, Ellis's supple prose and keen psychological insight give a vivid sense of the human drama behind history's upheavals.

Preorder Special: You Had Me at Woof

From Publishers Weekly:
Klam (Please Excuse My Daughter) recounts the touching, often hilarious tales of life with Boston terriers. She adopts her first pet, Otto, after a "substantial" little dog "came slow-motion scampering through the high grass and wild daisies of sleep." With Otto, the then single Klam learned about compromise and sacrifice. Married and pregnant, the author adopts a little "doglet," Beatrice, and distracted by the newborn, forgets to have the puppy spayed--resulting in a series of hilarious misadventures worth the price of the book. She continues to rescue, foster, and adopt dogs--spirited Hank, adored Moses, chubby Sherlock--each with his or her own special needs, idiosyncrasies, and "teachable moments" in trusting one's instincts, achieving balance, helping others, finding contentment, loving fiercely, and letting go. This gem of a book is a gift to dog lovers everywhere.