Thursday, May 23 / 6 p.m. | Rob Kugler will sign A Dog Named Beautiful: A Marine, a Dog, and a Long Road Trip Home (Flatiron, $26.99). When U.S. Marine Rob Kugler returns from war he had given a year of his life in service to his country, and had also lost a brother in the fighting as well. Lost in grief, Rob finds solace and relief in the one thing that never fails to put a smile on his face: his chocolate lab Bella. Exceptionally friendly, and always with a smile on her face, Bella is the friend Rob needs, and they spend their days exploring nature and taking photos.
But then Bella develops a limp in her front leg. It's cancer, and the prognosis isn't good. Rob has a choice, either to let Bella go now, or amputate her cancer riddled leg, and see what the next few months would bring.
Instead of waiting at home for the cancer to spread, Rob and Bella pack their bags and hit the road. Life is short, but the road ahead is long and winding, and as they crisscross the country Rob and Bella meet remarkable, life-changing men and women who are quick to make friends with this incredible three-legged dog. A Dog Named Beautiful is a book full of inspiration, hope, love, tears, and laughs.
Wednesday, May 29 / 6 p.m. | Tari K. Robinson signing is cancelled.
Saturday, June 1 / 1 p.m. | Kris Waldherr will sign The Lost History of Dreams (Atria, $27.00). When famed Byronesque poet Hugh de Bonne is discovered dead, his cousin Robert Highstead, a historian turned post-mortem photographer, is charged with a simple task: transport Hugh's remains for burial in a chapel. This chapel, a stained glass folly set on the moors of Shropshire, was built by de Bonne sixteen years earlier to house the remains of his beloved wife and muse, Ada. Since then, the chapel has been locked and abandoned, a pilgrimage site for the rabid fans of de Bonne's last book, The Lost History of Dreams.
However, Ada's grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain: before he can lay Hugh to rest, Robert must record Isabelle's story of Ada and Hugh's ill-fated marriage over the course of five nights.
As the mystery of Ada and Hugh's relationship unfolds, so does the secret behind Robert's own marriage--including that of his fragile wife, Sida, who has not been the same since the tragic accident three years ago, and the origins of his own morbid profession that has him seeing things he shouldn't--things from beyond the grave.
Sunday, June 2 / 1:00 p.m. | Tim and Lisa Trudell will sign Unique Eats and Eateries of Omaha ($20.95). Omaha's food landscape has grown from the old steak and potato days. Once known as the place to find great steak, nowadays you're likely to find amazing vegetarian and fresh farm-to-table fare alongside the T-bones and ribeyes. Unique Eats and Eateries of Omaha pops open the top on a culinary scene that's definitely not just for grandparents anymore.
Explore the diverse dining options in Nebraska's largest city, with recommendations for some of the best in local and international cuisine. Learn the stories of the geniuses behind the food, like internationally renowned chefs who have returned to Omaha for a slice of "The Good Life." Try the burger at Block 16 dubbed the best in the world by Alton Brown. Tempt your taste buds at local gems like seasonally on point Dante, authentic Malara's, or the extremely popular Runza.
Whether it's Nebraska's first female James Beard nominee or a family that's run their restaurant for generations, the personal touch of the talented chefs of Omaha has made it a true foodie destination. Co-authors Tim and Lisa Trudell make their living exploring, writing about, and eating all things Omaha. With this mouthwatering guide, they'll take you on an exciting exploration of their hometown's culinary tableau.
Tuesday, June 4 / 6 p.m. | Omaha native Danielle Vega will sign The Haunted (Razorbill, $17.99). Clean slate. That's what Hendricks Becker-O'Malley's parents said when they moved their family to the tiny town of Drearfield, New York. Hendricks wants to lay low and forget her dark, traumatic past. Forget him. But things don't go as planned.
Hendricks learns from new friends at school that Steele House--the fixer upper her parents are so excited about--is notorious in town. Local legend says it's haunted. But Hendricks isn't sure if it's the demons of her past haunting her ...or of the present. Voices whisper in her ear as she lays in bed. Doors lock on their own. And, then, one night, things take a violent turn. With help from the mysterious boy next door, Hendricks makes it her mission to take down the ghosts . . . if they don't take her first.
Friday, June 7 / 6 p.m. | Mary Pipher will sign Reviving Ophelia 25th Anniversary Edition: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (Riverhead, $17.00).
When Reviving Ophelia was published in 1994, it shone a much-needed spotlight on the problems faced by adolescent girls. The book became iconic and helped to reframe the national conversation about what author Mary Pipher called "a girl-poisoning culture" surrounding adolescents. Today the adolescent girls and the parents, teachers, and counselors who care about them find themselves confronting many of the same challenges Pipher wrote about originally as well as new ones specific to today.
Girls still struggle with misogyny, sexism, and issues of identity and self-esteem. But they're also more isolated than ever before: They don't talk face-to-face to the people around them, including their peers, as they used to: They're texting or on social media for hours at a time. And while girls today are less likely to be in trouble for their drinking or sexual behavior, they have a greater chance of becoming depressed, anxious, or suicidal.
In this updated Reviving Ophelia, Pipher and her daughter, Sara Pipher Gilliam, have incorporated these new issues for a 21st-century readership. In addition to examining the impact that social media has on adolescent girls' lives today, Pipher and Gilliam explore the rising and empowering importance of student activism in girls' lives, the wider acceptance of diverse communities among young people, and the growing disparities between urban and rural, rich and poor, and how they can affect young girls' sense of self-worth. This new edition of Reviving Ophelia builds on the relevance of the original as it provides key insights into the challenges and opportunities facing adolescent girls today.
Saturday, June 8 / 1 p.m. | Jennifer Klepper will sign Unbroken Threads ($15.99). Jessica Donnelly's life is beginning to unravel. When the attorney turned stay-at-home mom tentatively volunteers to represent Amina Hamid, a woman seeking asylum, Jessica must learn an unfamiliar area of the law. Soon, rising opposition to Muslim immigration and unexpected prejudices put her relationships on shaky ground. Amina fled Syria with little more than memories that now fight against the images splashed on the news. Seeking a secure future and freedom from guilt and grief, she must learn to trust others amidst the reality of fear and hate. To find stability, Jessica and Amina will both need to harness their own strengths, which may lie in connections that transcend generations, cultures, and continents
Saturday, June 15 / 1 p.m. | Sally Walker will sign two books:
Desert Time ($14.99). In 1857 naïve Matilda Beaumont marries a braggart always involved in questionable activities. He abandons her in St. Louis and heads for nefarious anonymity in the New Mexico Territory. The pregnant Tildy stubbornly decides to find him and joins freighters headed to Santa Fe. Attorney and gentleman Nat Carruthers rescues Tildy from a near-drowning on her wedding day only to be haunted by the young woman's spirit. Though distancing himself, he keeps track of the Beaumont fortunes, including their departure for Santa Fe. Tildy strives for dignity through Ike's degrading lifestyle, his abandonment, her determined trek west, and Nat's reappearance in her life.
Learn Screenwriting: From Start to Adaptation to Pro Advice ($14.99). Learn Screenwriting evolves cinematic creativity through Introducing characterization, planning plot, crisp dialogue and vivid narrative while writing a feature screenplay. Adaptation hones prose for visuals, inherent dramatic personality, story focus, and collaboration.
Sunday, June 16 / 6 p.m. | David Sedaris will sign Calypso (Back Bay, $17.99). When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself.
With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny--it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future.
This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumor joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet.
Calypso will be released for sale in paperback on Tuesday, June 4. On Monday, May 13, we will begin preselling Calypso in paperback for pickup at The Bookworm on June 4 or later. Click here for how to obtain advance line numbers and seating passes, and the rules that will apply to David's signing. David's signings are always great fun. We hope to see you on June 16 for a memorable event.
