Monday Morning Book Buzz

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Welcome to the Monday Morning Book Buzz. Every week we take a look at some notable new books being released in the coming days.

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This week’s releases are listed by category: Young Adult Fiction, Graphic Novels, General Fiction and Nonfiction. On-sale dates are indicated in parentheses.

Notable New Releases for the week of December 12th:

Young Adult Fiction

  • The Crazy Things Girls Do for Love by Dyan Sheldon (12/13/2011) — Fashion-crazy Sicilee is a poster child for over-consumption. Her archrival, Maya, wears arty vintage clothes but hasn’t a clue what’s in the food she eats. So when drop-dead gorgeous new student Cody Lightfoot sets out to spread his eco-ways—and spur the Environmental Club toward an all-out Earth Day bash—Sicilee and Maya have their work cut out to attract his attention. “Despite the breezy tone, the story ends up with a hint of depth and an emphasis on going green. Plenty of witty merriment for all high-school social sets.” — Kirkus Reviews

Graphic Novels

  • The Betrayal Knows My Name, Volume 2 by Hotaru Odagiri (12/13/2011) — Welcomed into the arms of the Giou clan and the Zweilt, Yuki reaches out to his comrades even as he is drawn into their war with the darkness.
  • DC Comics: The New 52 by Various (12/13/2011) — Hitting stores just in time for the holiday season, this 1,216-page compilation includes all 52 debut issues of DC’s September relaunch of the “world’s greatest superheroes”.
  • K-on! Volume 4 by Kakifly (12/13/2011) — It’s been almost a year since the girls of the pop-music club started jamming together, but the start of the new year is no time to look back on their journey-it’s time to recruit new members!
  • Kobato., Vol. 5 by Clamp (12/13/2011) — As the seeds of love begin to bloom in her heart, Kobato’s attentions are diverted from giving solace to strangers and filling up her magic bottle in order to finally earn her mysterious wish.
  • Maximum Ride Manga, Volume 5 by James Patterson (12/13/2011) — The time has come for Max and her winged “Flock” to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of “Re-evolution,” a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race…and to terminate the rest.
  • Shark Wars #2: The Battle of Riptide by E. J. Altbacker (12/13/2011) — Ever since Gray, Barkley, and their friends defeated Goblin, an infamous great white, at Tuna Run, life in the Big Blue has become murkier than ever for this young shiver of sharks.
  • Spice and Wolf, Volume 5 by Isuna Hasekura (12/13/2011) — The life of a traveling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine-that is, until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart.
  • Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command by Haden Blackman and Rick Leonardi (12/13/2011) — Still haunted by the death of Anakin Skywalker’s beloved Padme in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader is tasked with a mission to locate a lost Imperial expeditionary force-led by the son of Vader”s rising nemesis, Moff Tarkin.
  • xxxHolic, Volume 18 by Clamp (12/13/2011) — Watanuki’s vow to the witch Yûko, who has disappeared, leaves him in charge of the shop where wishes must be granted to those who meet the price.

General Fiction

  • Diablo III: Book of Cain by Blizzard Entertainment (12/13/2011) — Designed as an “in-world” artifact from the Diablo universe, Diablo III: Book of Cain includes Cain’s revealing meditations, as well as dozens of sketches and color artworks depicting the angelic and demonic beings who wage constant war with one another.
  • The Leopard by Jo Nesbo (12/13/2011) — Harry Hole is back and this time he’s back from very, very far away in another gripping installment in this acclaimed series by the internationally #1 bestselling crime writer in Norway. Two women are found murdered in Oslo, and Kaja Solness from homicide is sent to Hong Kong to track down the man who is the department’s only specialist on serial killings.
  • Locked On by Tom Clancy (12/13/2011) — Although his father had been reluctant to become a field operative, Jack Ryan Jr. wants nothing more. Privately training with a seasoned Special Forces drill instructor, he’s honing his skills to transition his work within The Campus from intelligence analysis to hunting down and eliminating terrorists wherever he can—even as Jack Ryan Sr. campaigns for re-election as President of the United States.
  • Rise of Empire (The Riyria Revelations, Volume 2) by Michael J. Sullivan (12/14/2011) — The adventure continues as Royce and Hadrian aid the struggling kingdom of Melengar as it alone stands in defiance against the newly formed empire. War approaches and a desperate gamble behind enemy lines is their only chance at forming an alliance with the Nationalists to the south.

Nonfiction

  • Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design by Rayna Gillman (12/16/2011) — In this follow-up to Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth, Rayna shares her “can’t make a mistake” approach to designing quilts. Learn how to how to trust your instincts so you can work more intuitively, and develop a new appreciation for the therapy of sewing without a plan.
  • The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government by Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer (12/13/2011) — American democracy is informed by the 18th century’s most cutting edge thinking on society, economics, and government. We’ve learned some things in the intervening 230 years about self interest, social behaviors, and how the world works. Now, authors Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer argue that some fundamental assumptions about citizenship, society, economics, and government need updating.
  • Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time by Georgia Pellegrini (12/13/2011) — What happens when a classically-trained New York chef and fearless omnivore heads out of the city and into the wild to track down the ingredients for her meals? From honoring that first turkey to realizing that the only way we truly know where our meat comes from is if we hunt it ourselves, Pellegrini embarks on a wild ride into the real world of local, organic, and sustainable food.
  • The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need: Twenty-First Century Edition by Joanna Martine Woolfolk (12/16/2011) — This updated edition still includes detailed information about how to cast your own chart the old-fashioned way and, more importantly, how to interpret it once you’re finished. And the included CD allows the reader to cast his or her chart in just a few minutes by inputing the date, time, and place of birth into the computer, producing a personalized astrological chart.
  • Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between a Marine and His Military Working Dog by Mike Dowling (12/13/2011) — Deployed to Iraq’s infamous Triangle of Death in 2004, Sergeant Mike Dowling and his military working dog Rex were part of the first Marine Corps military K9 teams sent to the front lines of combat since Vietnam. It was Rex’s job to sniff out weapons caches, suicide bombers, and IEDs, the devastating explosives that wreaked havoc on troops and civilians alike. It was Mike’s job to lead Rex into the heart of danger time and time again, always trusting Rex to bring them both back alive.
  • Time Travel and Warp Drives: A Scientific Guide to Shortcuts through Time and Space by Allen Everett (12/15/2011) — Sci-fi makes it look so easy. Receive a distress call from Alpha Centauri? No problem: punch the warp drive and you’re there in minutes. Facing a catastrophe that can’t be averted? Just pop back in the timestream and stop it before it starts. But for those of us not lucky enough to live in a science-fictional universe, are these ideas merely flights of fancy—or could it really be possible to travel through time or take shortcuts between stars?

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