Kim

Batman: Death by Design (Hardcover)

By Chip Kidd, Dave Taylor (Illustrator)

$24.99
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ISBN: 9781401234539

Published: DC Comics - June 5th, 2012

Just look at this book.  Well… go on!  Tell me it’s not the prettiest Batman you’ve ever seen.  It’s as if Christopher Nolan and Fritz Lang teamed up to make a silent movie in which the city of Gotham is a character, one whose guardians—its architects, city planners, and politicians—are at cross-purposes, plotting and scheming while their ward falls to ruins.  A perfect gift for your geeky graphic designer friends and Batman fans alike.

Kim

The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning (Paperback)

By Maggie Nelson

$16.95

ISBN: 9780393343144

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: W. W. Norton & Company - August 13th, 2012

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This
is one of the best works of criticism in recent memory.  Nelson
examines everything from Yoko Ono’s weird performance art to the
contemporary horror flick in a sweeping attempt to understand the nature
of cruelty in art and determine how moral beings might navigate a world
enriched and complicated by it.  Her voice is incendiary, sensitive,
and thoroughly unpretentious.  Though I was a fan way back at Jane: A Murder, The Art of Cruelty put Maggie Nelson on the map as a thinker to watch.Kim

The Polar Bear Scientists (Scientists in the Field) (Hardcover)

By Peter Lourie, Susan Ramer

$18.99
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ISBN: 9780547283050

Published: Clarion Books - January 10th, 2012

Future wildlife biologists will appreciate the wealth of information and amazing photos in this new picture book.  Part of a series called "Scientists in the Field," The Polar Bear Scientists follows a team of arctic field researchers as they set out to track and tag bears.  You'll learn about the helicopter mechanic, the student interns, and everyone whose work provides international policy makers with important data about the health of the arctic.Recommended for ages 7 and up.

Kim

Liar & Spy (Hardcover)

By Rebecca Stead

$15.99
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ISBN: 9780385737432

Published: Wendy Lamb Books - August 7th, 2012

When Georges meets Safer, the dog-walking, coffee-drinking, parrot-watching kid in his new apartment building, the two become fast friends.  Georges helps spy on the mysterious man upstairs.  Safer teaches Georges to make the perfect pan of scrambled eggs.  But the Spy Club is not without its secrets, and the boys will be forced to confront them eventually.  Touching, funny, and fiercely believable, Stead’s new novel won’t disappoint.

Kim

ABC ZooBorns! (Hardcover)

By Andrew Bleiman, Chris Eastland

$12.99
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ISBN: 9781442443716

Published: Beach Lane Books - July 24th, 2012

It doesn’t get much cuter than this ABC book!  Look forward to some unexpected characters (D is for Dhole, anyone?) and a back section full of fun facts.

Kim

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (Hardcover)

By William Joyce, William Joyce (Illustrator), Joe Bluhm (Illustrator)

$19.99

ISBN: 9781442457027

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers - June 19th, 2012

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When Mr. Lessmore’s home is upended, he wanders the wide world until “a happy bit of happenstance” sends him in the right direction.  A powerful celebration of books and storytelling, this adaptation of the Academy Award winning film is a great choice for children of all ages.  Even the youngest readers will delight in the gorgeous illustrations—they’re so detailed you can see dust motes floating in the sun beams of Lessmore’s library.

Kim

Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris (Hardcover)

By Christopher Kemp

$22.50
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ISBN: 9780226430362

Published: University of Chicago Press - May 15th, 2012

Ambergris, a biliary secretion of sperm whales, is one of the most expensive substances on earth.   And though it has been used as everything from a perfume fixative to a seasoning, we still know remarkably little about it.  Kemp's quirky little book bobs through an ocean of information about this fragrant flotsam, picking over New Zealand beaches, whaling histories, seventeenth century newspapers, perfumer's manuals, and the latest marine research in order to bring us the weird, wandering story of this strange commodity.

Kim

Coming of Age on Zoloft: How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down, and Changed Who We Are (Paperback)

By Katherine Sharpe

$14.99

ISBN: 9780062059734

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: Harper Perennial - June 5th, 2012

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Coming of Age on Zoloft is a gripping (and remarkably balanced) portrait of the antidepressant generation twenty years after Prozac, one that weaves interview, personal narrative, and cultural history more elegantly than any prior account of its kind.  Sharpe’s memoir brings to light the difficult questions of identity and agency that often accompany medication at an early age and explores the ways in which the biochemical model of mental illness affects us as individuals and as a culture.

Kim

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms (Paperback)

By Ethan Gilsdorf

$14.95

ISBN: 9781599219943

Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON

Published: Lyons Press - September 1st, 2010

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Even if you've never rolled a polyhedral die in your life, you're bound to enjoy Ethan Gilsdorf's journey from teenage dungeon master to geek scholar extraordinaire.  Written in the form of a quest, this book chronicles the author's travels through various fantasy subcultures, while attempting to answer some big questions: What makes fantasy appealing?  Is it escapism, and is that healthy?  Why would a self-respecting liberal feminist pine for the Middle Ages?  Whether donning a monk tunic for a live action role playing game or trying to pick up chicks at DragonCon, Gilsdorf turns out witty, insightful journalism that's a pleasure to read.  
Kim