Northwest Michigan Bestsellers for the week ending 12/2/19
(LIST PRICE: $17.99) TOP HARDCOVER FICTION
This cozy, gently humorous, and irresistible holiday tale from Newbery Medalist and New York Times-bestselling author Lynne Rae Perkins features universal themes of friendship, community, empathy, and generosity. Wintercake is a great pick for story times during the winter season.
When Thomas misplaces the basket of dried fruit he needs to make his seasonal wintercake, friends old and new come together to save the day. Newbery Medalist and acclaimed picture book creator Lynne Rae Perkins weaves a delightful holiday tale full of surprises and gentle humor.
Wintercake is a book about holiday traditions and why they matter. It’s also a story about making mistakes and how mistakes can sometimes lead to wonderful things.
With colorful and detailed paintings depicting the winter forest and its animal inhabitants, this seasonal title is perfect for classroom and family sharing all year round.
(LIST PRICE: $23.96) TOP 3 HARDCOVER FICTION
As President of the United States, Jack Ryan has faced many challenges, but none have been as personal as this and never has he been this helpless in the face of evil in the latest entry in Tom Clancy's #1 New York Times bestselling series.
Father Pat West, S.J. was a buddy of the young Jack Ryan when they were both undergraduates at Boston College. Father West left a comfortable job in the philosophy department at Georgetown to work with the poor in Indonesia. Now he's been arrested and accused of blasphemy against Islam.
President Ryan is desperate to rescue his old friend, but he can't move officially against the Indonesians. Instead he relies on the Campus team to find out who is framing the priest.
There's one other twist to the story. President Ryan discovers a text on his private cell phone from the priest warning about a coming attack against America...
(LIST PRICE:$23.16) TOP 3 HARDCOVER FICTION
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
(LIST PRICE: $17.99) TOP 3 PAPERBACK FICTION
When twelve-year-old Sandy Johnson and her family spend their summer vacation on Mackinac Island, an island in Lake Huron, they discover that the woods hide a deep, dark secret.
(LIST PRICE: $17.95) TOP 3 PAPERBACK FICTIONThe great love of Blue Heron and Red Bear sustain an Ojibwe clan as it struggles to survive war, famine, and the coming of foreign explorers bearing deadly diseases.
The blood feud between two rival warriors over the love of Ashagi, a strong-willed woman of great beauty and greater determination threads through this story of one Ojibwe clan on the cusp of great change. A young woman from a peaceful village, Ashagi (Blue Heron) is abducted in a raid conducted by the Sioux, the ancestral enemies of her clan, and made a concubine of a fat, slovenly chief who already has two wives. When she is rescued by Misko (Red Bear), an Ojibwe youth, the two fall in love and a lifelong bond is formed. But Nika, Misko’s rival, demands that Misko surrender Ashagi to replace his brother who was killed during a raid involving the young warriors’ two clans. As Nika’s pride and obsession with Ashagi eats away at his sanity, greater danger for the whole Ojibwe way of life creeps ever closer.
Warfare, vengeance, supernatural monsters, and strange spirits all claw at the edges of this love triangle, but the power of the clan and the love of family and tradition helps sustain a culture on the verge of harrowing times. Beginning in 1588 and spanning twenty-five years, WINDIGO MOON encompasses warring tribes of the Upper Great Lakes, the onset of the Little Ice Age of the 1600s, the diseases introduced by foreign explorers, and, always and forever, the great love of Blue Heron and Red Bear.
Meticulously researched and beautifully written, WINDIGO MOON will appeal to fans of Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear, Jean Auel, Alexander Thom, Anna Lee Waldo, and other top authors of historical fiction.
(LIST PRICE:$16.99) TOP 3 PAPERBACK FICTION
Winner of the Northern California Book AwardLonglisted for the Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates PrizeA New York Times Editors' ChoiceA Washington Post Notable BookA San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the YearAn NPR Best Book of the Year
National Bestseller"The Winter Soldier brims with improbable narrative pleasures...These pages crackle with excitement... A spectacular success." --Anthony Marra, New York Times Book Review"A dream of a novel... Part mystery, part war story, part romance." --Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot SeeVienna, 1914. Lucius is a twenty-two-year-old medical student when World War I explodes across Europe. Enraptured by romantic tales of battlefield surgery, he enlists, expecting a position at a well-organized field hospital. But when he arrives, at a commandeered church tucked away high in a remote valley of the Carpathian Mountains, he finds a freezing outpost ravaged by typhus. The other doctors have fled, and only a single, mysterious nurse named Sister Margarete remains.But Lucius has never lifted a surgeon's scalpel. And as the war rages across the winter landscape, he finds himself falling in love with the woman from whom he must learn a brutal, makeshift medicine. Then one day, an unconscious soldier is brought in from the snow, his uniform stuffed with strange drawings. He seems beyond rescue, until Lucius makes a fateful decision that will change the lives of doctor, patient, and nurse forever.From the gilded ballrooms of Imperial Vienna to the frozen forests of the Eastern Front; from hardscrabble operating rooms to battlefields thundering with Cossack cavalry, The Winter Soldier is the story of war and medicine, of family, of finding love in the sweeping tides of history, and finally, of the mistakes we make, and the precious opportunities to atone.
(LIST PRICE: $19.99) TOP 3 HARDCOVER NONFICTION
"Mitch Albom has done it again with this moving memoir of love and loss. You can’t help but fall for Chika. A page-turner that will no doubt become a classic.” --Mary Karr, author of The Liars’ Club and The Art of Memoir
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tuesdays With Morrie comes Mitch Albom’s most personal story to date: an intimate and heartwarming memoir about what it means to be a family and the young Haitian orphan whose short life would forever change his heart.
Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince.
With no children of their own, the forty-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. Chika’s arrival makes a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delights the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says, “No one in Haiti can help you with.”
Mitch and Janine bring Chika to Detroit, hopeful that American medical care can soon return her to her homeland. Instead, Chika becomes a permanent part of their household, and their lives, as they embark on a two-year, around-the-world journey to find a cure. As Chika’s boundless optimism and humor teach Mitch the joys of caring for a child, he learns that a relationship built on love, no matter what blows it takes, can never be lost.
Told in hindsight, and through illuminating conversations with Chika herself, this is Albom at his most poignant and vulnerable. Finding Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed—a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made.
(LIST PRICE $23.99) TOP 3 HARDCOVER NONFICTION
#1 New York Times bestseller
The #1 New York Times bestselling author and Food Network favorite The Pioneer Woman cooks up exciting new favorites from her life on the ranch in this glorious full-color cookbook that showcases home cooking at its most delicious (and most fun!).
Welcome to Ree’s new frontier! So much has happened on Drummond Ranch over the last couple of years: The kids are growing up, another left for college, Ree’s schedule is crazier than ever…and through it all, her cooking has evolved. While she and her family still love all the hearty comfort foods they’re accustomed to, Ree’s been cooking up some incredible new dishes that reflect the flavors, colors, and texture she’s craving these days.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier features 112 brand new step-by-step recipes that bring fresh, exciting elements into your everyday meals. From super-scrumptious breakfasts, to satisfying soups and sandwiches, to deliciously doable suppers and sides—and, of course, a collection of irresistible sweets you’ll want to make immediately!—these pages will deliver a big list of fabulous new dishes for you to add to your repertoire.
A wife of a cowboy, mother of growing kids, and a businesswoman with a packed work schedule, Ree knows exactly what it means to juggle life’s numerous demands simultaneously. The recipes in this book use everything from a skillet to a Dutch oven to an Instant Pot, so you’ll have a mix of options to suit your own timeframe. And to reflect her own occasional adventures in carb cutting, Ree shares dozens of luscious lower-carb options for those days you want to eat a little lighter without sacrificing flavor. In The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier you can explore an amazing and eclectic mix of traditional and new, including:
• Portobello Bun Burgers (revolutionary)
• Instant Pot Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal (tastes just like fall!)
• Lasagna Soup (so family friendly)
• Fried Tomato Sandwich (with pesto mayo and whole basil leaves)
• Parmesan Crisps (an irresistible low-carb snack)
• Zucchini Caprese Sliders (a pretty and tasty low-carb delight)
• Blueberry Ricotta Crostini (gorgeous party food!)
• Teriyaki Shrimp and Pineapple Parcels (the new way to stir fry)
• Mean Green Mac and Cheese (mac & cheese + veggies = score!)
• Ranch Pork Chop Supper (kids will love to make it)
• Cauliflower Fried Rice (a guilt-free version of your favorite takeout dish)
• Ice Cream Bonbons (smaller bites, to satisfy quick cravings)
• 11-Carton Cake (uses a carton of yogurt, then the carton measures everything else!)
• Caramel Apple Quesadillas (beyond belief)Filled with endless variations, ingredient discussions, and equipment suggestions sprinkled among sensational recipes that offer a mix of refined and down-home, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier offers a whole new world of “scrumptious” for you to explore!
(LIST PRICE:$29.99`) TOP 3 HARDCOVER NONFICTION
From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, an entertaining and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who have long fascinated him.
Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries—reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. His quest to right that wrong inspired Mobituaries, his #1 hit podcast. Now with Mobituaries, the book, he has gone much further, with all new essays on artists, entertainers, sports stars, political pioneers, founding fathers, and more. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter...until now.
Take Herbert Hoover: before he was president, he was the “Great Humanitarian,” the man who saved tens of millions from starvation. But after less than a year in the White House, the stock market crashed, and all the good he had done seemed to be forgotten. Then there’s Marlene Dietrich, well remembered as a screen goddess, less remembered as a great patriot. Alongside American servicemen on the front lines during World War II, she risked her life to help defeat the Nazis of her native Germany. And what about Billy Carter and history’s unruly presidential brothers? Were they ne’er-do-well liabilities…or secret weapons? Plus, Mobits for dead sports teams, dead countries, the dearly departed station wagon, and dragons. Yes, dragons.
Rocca is an expert researcher and storyteller. He draws on these skills here. With his dogged reporting and trademark wit, Rocca brings these men and women back to life like no one else can. Mobituaries is an insightful and unconventional account of the people who made life worth living for the rest of us, one that asks us to think about who gets remembered, and why.
(LIST PRICE: $20.95) TOP 3 PAPERBACK NONFICTION
How did a sparsely populated landmass surrounded by Great Lakes and completely separated from the rest of the state become the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? At the end of each winter what do Yoopers -those hardy souls who call the UP home -measure with a 30-foot tall thermometer? And should you put ketchup or gravy on a pasty? You ll find the answers to these questions and many more in Secret Upper Peninsula: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. You may know that the UP inspired Longfellow s The Song of Hiawatha, but what about works by Ernest Hemingway and Da Yoopers? Find out where a popular Chicago cartoonist summered in a cottage shaped like a giant pickle barrel, and where a ghost town comes alive once a year for a gathering of the descendants of copper mining families. Discover why believers say the mysterious Paulding Light is the lantern of a railroad man who perished on the tracks, or where to find the world s longest porch and one of the least-visited National Parks. Local author Kath Usitalo takes you deep into the densely forested peninsula that might seem like one big, isolated secret to an outsider. Delve into this insider s guide to learn about the fascinating quirks and curiosities of the land of Gitche Gumee.
(LIST PRICE $24.95) TOP 3 PAPERBACK NONFICTION
Waterfalls of Michigan - Book 4 is the definitive guidebook to the waterfalls in the western end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This book includes the waterfalls in Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties as well as Porcupine Mountains State Park. Detailed county maps and area maps are presented for easy driving and hiking access. Professional photos make this guidebook a coffee table quality book that also gives you specific information about how to go see these special places for yourself! This is Book 4 of 4. Books 1 through 3 contain the rest of the waterfalls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!
(LIST PRICE $14.95) TOP 3 PAPERBACK NONFICTION
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Why President Trump has left us with no choice but to remove him from office, as explained by celebrated Supreme Court lawyer and former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal.
No one is above the law. This belief is as American as freedom of speech and turkey on Thanksgiving—held sacred by Democrats and Republicans alike. But as celebrated Supreme Court lawyer and former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal argues in Impeach, if President Trump is not held accountable for repeatedly asking foreign powers to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, this could very well mark the end of our democracy. To quote President George Washington’s Farewell Address: “Foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” Impeachment should always be our last resort, explains Katyal, but our founders, our principles, and our Constitution leave us with no choice but to impeach President Trump—before it’s too late.