From Publishers WeeklyMartin compresses the wild and crazy end of the millennium and finds in this piercing novel a sardonic morality tale. Lacey Yeager is an ambitious young art dealer who uses everything at her disposal to advance in the world of the high-end art trade in New York City. After cutting her teeth at Sotheby's, she manipulates her way up through Barton Talley's gallery of "Very Expensive Paintings," sleeping with patrons, and dodging and indulging in questionable deals, possible felonies, and general skeeviness until she opens her own gallery in Chelsea. Narrated by Lacey's journalist friend, Daniel Franks, whose droll voice is a remarkable stand-in for Martin's own, the world is ordered and knowable, blindly barreling onward until 9/11. And while Lacey and the art she peddles survive, the wealth and prestige garnered by greed do not. Martin (an art collector himself) is an astute miniaturist as he exposes the sound and fury of the rarified Manhattan art world. If Shopgirl was about the absence of purpose, this book is about the absence of a moral compass, not just in the life of an adventuress but for an entire era. (Nov.) (c) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromThis thoroughly engaging primer on the art world is unusual on a number of levels. Although the lead characters are unlikable, the novel is hard to put down, offers an enlightening explication of how the market for art is created, and includes photos and absorbing detail on many of the artworks under discussion. The narrator, Daniel Franks, is an arts journalist who relates the story of avaricious, amoral Lacey Yeager, who is willing to do almost anything to move ahead in the art world. After landing an entry-level job at Sotheby’s, where her stint cataloging dusty works in the basement helps develop her eye for good art, Lacey moves on to working in a gallery, where she makes many important connections among collectors and dealers before opening her own gallery in Chelsea. Along the way, she sleeps with artists, collectors, and, finally, an FBI agent who investigates malfeasance in the art world. This page-turner is likely to make readers feel like they have been given a backstage pass to an elite world few are privileged to observe. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The best-selling author draws on his experience as a renowned art collector for this clever, convincingly detailed depiction of NYC’s art scene. --Joanne Wilkinson Views: 62
From the author of Forrest Gump and A Storm in Flanders comes a riveting chronicle of America's most critical hour. On December 6, 1941, an unexpected attack on American territory pulled an unprepared country into a terrifying new brand of warfare. Novelist and popular historian Winston Groom vividly re-creates the story of America's first year in World War II. To the generation of Americans who lived through it, the Second World War was the defining event of the twentieth century, and the defining events of that war were played out in the year 1942.This account covers the Allies' relentless defeats as the Axis overran most of Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. But midyear the tide began to turn. America finally went on the offensive in the Pacific, and in the west the British defeated Rommel's panzer divisions at El Alamein while the U.S. Army began to push the Germans out of North Africa. By the year's end, the smell of victory was in the air.... Views: 62
"How often do you begin reading a book that makes you—immediately, urgently, desperately—want to read more books?" (Booklist). Nick Hornby has managed to write just such a book in this hilarious, insightful, and infectious volume. Ten Years in the Tub chronicles Hornby's journey through a decade's worth of books, as related in his wildly popular Believer column Stuff I've Been Reading."Ten Years in the Tub is a one-way ticket into the mind of one of the most beloved contemporary writers on his favorite pastime, but it's also a meditation on what Celine Dion can teach us about ourselves, a warning about how John Updike can ruin our sex lives, and a recommendation for the way Body Shop Vanilla Shower Gel can add excitement to our days. This "decade-long addiction for many... makes standing in line at the bank a blessed interval for snorting another page." (the New York Times Book Review) Views: 62
An omnibus of novels Roots that go deep…men who stand tall…and real women who have what it takes to love and be loved by them. Jodi Thomas, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, teams up with Linda Broday, Phyliss Miranda, and DeWanna Pace to bring you four of the best Texas romances ever… Give Me A Texan Hank Harris wasn't even looking for a woman when he ended up with a wife. Their hasty marriage is for appearances only: a capable, intelligent woman like Aggie is exactly who he needs as a business partner-if only she weren't so damn beautiful, spirited-and in his bed… Payton McCord thought he was one tough cowboy until Amanda Lemmons made him mind his manners. And a woman of her caliber is worth the trouble she causes… Newspaperman Quinten Corbett wasn't expecting his new apprentice to be female. Boston-born Kaira Renaulde is far too refined for a rough-and-tumble frontier town-and far too pretty for his peace of mind… Briar Duncan knows he needs someone to help him raise his headstrong little daughter. But Mina McCoy is more than he bargained for-much more! The woman has the face of an angel and a very definite mind of her own… Views: 62
Mira Chambers has an infallible talent for
solving mysteries ... but using it always gets her into worse
trouble.Having spent half her life in asylums, Mira discovers a sense of
self-worth, finally, in helping victims of crime. When the matron who helped
Mira to regain her independence is abducted, she attempts to save her with the
help of ex-army lieutenant, Adam Lockman. But Freddie Leopard, a dangerous
sociopath, tries to destroy Lockman′s reputation... and Mira.Cut off and
alone for the first time in her life, Mira is swept into a world of
international conspiracies and betrayals, where her dream of achieving a normal
life is constantly thwarted by the far darker desires of her
enemies.Layers of secrets unravel as her world falls apart - until the
ultimate sacrifice presents a chance to save her friend and revisit her lost
love in the ′echoes of yesterday.′ Views: 62
The seventeen original stories in Defy the Dark, an eerie, mind-bending YA anthology, could only take place in darkness. Open the pages and discover: A creepy guy who stares too long. The secrets of the core of the earth. Dreams of other people's lives. A girl who goes mad in the darkness. Monsters in Bavaria. A generational spaceship where night doesn't exist. And other mysteries and oddities. The contributors to the enthralling collection are: Sarah Rees Brennan, Tessa Gratton, Rachel Hawkins, Christine Johnson, Valerie Kemp, Malinda Lo, Myra McEntire, Saundra Mitchell, Sarah Ockler, Jackson Pearce, Aprilynne Pike, Dia Reeves, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan, Jon Skovron, Courtney Summers, and Kate Espy, winner of the Defy the Dark new author contest. Views: 62
Iraq, 2004. Lawlessness is spreading throughout the country and looters have plundered the museums and historical sites. Mina Osman, a young American archaeologist of Iraqi descent, is fighting to preserve the country's antiquities. When she stumbles upon an ancient cuneiform tablet, it proves to be of unimaginable significance — its cryptic language holds a secret that will play a part in a series of earth-shattering events. Aided by ex-US Army Major Jack Hillcliff, Mina travels across the world to unlock the secrets of the 13th Tablet but at each step she is pursued by deadly enemies who will stop at nothing to obtain the tablet and its power for themselves. * * * Alex Mitchell is an honorary associated researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford University. Alex is currently working on two sequels to The 13th Tablet . http://youtu.be/Y-Qcl2mqsa8 — a book trailer. Views: 62
26-year-old Claire Reilly is on top of her game as one of the youngest celebrity reporters and editors in the business. At Mod magazine, she is a consummate professional, interviewing dreamy Hollywood hunks and staying on top of every story. Unfortunately, her live-in boyfriend seems intent on setting the worlds record for celibacy, yet she finds herself penning articles like Ten Reasons You Should Have a One-Night Stand. When Claire lands the plum assignment of interviewing Cole Brannon, Hollywoods #1 hottie, she knows better than to mix business with pleasure, but the next morning, she finds herself in Coles bed....without her clothes. After the tabloids pick up the story, Claires life is turned upside down. In struggling to regain her reputation, shell learn a great deal about herself....and that you shouldnt always believe everything you read. Views: 62
