CATCHING LIFE BY THE THROAT by Josephine Hart

Every few years volumes of collected poetry are published, ranging from the analytically comparative (Camille Paglia’s Break Blow Burn), to the simple these-are-my-favorites type that literary celebrities edit (Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems and Good Poems for Hard Times) . This collection is ambitiously subtitled “How to Read a Poem and Why”, and for that some of the English language’s finest and unique poets have been chosen, enhanced with a CD of actors reading the selected poets’ works. Born of her British Library poetry readings, Hart lets the poems speak for themselves, and that is certainly enough for her subtitled purpose. She doesn’t over analyze either the poet or their work, and the result is a fun journey for the lover, the returner to or the first time reader of poetry.
MORE...

The Everything Kids' Baseball Book: The All-Time Greats, Legendary Teams, Today's Superstars-- And Tips on Playing Like a Pro
by Greg Jacobs

Who was the only major league ball player ever to hit 2 grand slams and drive in eight runs in one inning? Can you name the only two players in baseball history who have played all ten positions? What major leaguer has played in the most World Series games? Find out the answers to these questions in the newly revised 5th edition of this popular book! Chock-a-block full of fun facts, words to know (i.e., walk off home run), statistics, records, word puzzles and more. There’s something for every baseball fan in The Everything Kids’ Baseball Book! MORE...

THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex

“This isn’t a Christmas story. It’s a Smekday story.” Gratuity Tucci is given an assignment to write an essay on the True Meaning of Smekday. What is Smekday, you ask? Well, that’s the day a race of aliens called the Boov invaded and colonized the Earth and relocated everyone in the United States to Florida (because everyone moves to Florida eventually anyway, right?). What follows is Gratuity’s personal account of her mother’s Christmas Eve abduction and her adventures with a friendly Boov named J.Lo to get her back. Filled with short comics, drawings and “photographs”, The True Meaning of Smekday is a great books for the older kids that adults will enjoy as well! MORE...

HOW TO RIG AN ELECTION: CONFESSIONS OF A REPUBLICAN OPERATIVE by Allen Raymond

Confessions of An Economic Hitman, Alan Greenspan’s book, Eric Clapton’s book - there is no dearth of confessions out there in twenty-four dollar hardback form. But How to Rig an Election: Confessions of an Republican Operative is no self pitying exercise about a good guy in a bad situation, thus the confession becomes more of an explanation in how politics today work. If you have been wondering exactly how Republicans have been winning elections, Raymond provides an answer. An operative in the Karl Rove Republican Party, Raymond unabashedly slanders democratic candidates, masterminds a mid-superbowl robo-call only to democrats, and engineers donations so that persons donate far beyond the legal limit. As a new generation of democratic and republican leadership preach once again that Politics is a Noble Profession, this book is a timely reminder that there are plenty of Allen Raymond’s still running around on both sides of the aisle. Politics is still Politics. This is an quick read, with such incredulous stories about supremely outlandish political stunts that it quickly becomes a page-turner. I highly recommend it! MORE...

THE ANATOMIST by Bill Hayes

A combination of biographical information, historical records, drawings, and personal experience, The Anatomist is fascinating. Author Bill Hayes recounts his own experience with dissection in between chapters about Henry Gray, and the history of anatomy to present day. Gray’s original illustrations complement Hayes’ passages detailing the intricacy of the body’s systems. Though it may leave you a little squeamish, The Anatomist elicits the same reaction as the Discovery Channel - it’s too interesting to turn away. MORE...