• Two compelling novels that reveal long-hidden ties between parents and children…
• The essential book for everyone captivated by airplanes and flying…
• And “A Prairie Home Companion’s” radio tribute to motherhood…

Midwest Connections Picks for April and springtime are here!

Click on the title links below for more info about these books and audio CD box set.  Buy them from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

MBA booksellers — go to the web pages for these titles for promo materials, photos, marketing details, and lots more info.

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The perfect book club pick — now in paperback!

THE CRADLE
A Novel
Patrick Somerville

www.patricksomerville.com

Back Bay Books / Hachette
$13.99 Trade Paperback
ISBN:  9780316036115
Reading group guide available!

Elegant and astonishing, Patrick Somerville’s first novel tells the story of one man’s journey into the heart of marriage, parenthood, and what it means to be a family.

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This thrilling modern ghost story will keep you reading straight through to the surprising end!

THE TALE OF HALCYON CRANE
A Novel
Wendy Webb

Henry Holt / Macmillan
$14.00 Trade Paperback Original
ISBN:  978-0-8050-9140-3
Reading group guide available!
Also an Indie Next Pick for April 2010

A young woman travels alone to a remote island in the Great Lakes to uncover a past she never knew was hers….

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There are two reasons for flying. The first is just to get somewhere. The second has nothing to do with destination.

NEVER LAND:
ADVENTURES, WONDER AND ONE WORLD RECORD
IN A VERY SMALL PLANE
W. Scott Olsen

University of Nebraska Press
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8032-1750-8

A celebration of aviation that brings to bear the intellectual precision, emotional passion, exhilarating risk, and incalculable reward behind the human desire to fly.

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“A Prairie Home Companion” celebrates motherhood as only this show can: with equal parts laughter and love—and maybe just a little guilt.

MOTHERHOOD
A RADIO COLLECTION
Garrison Keillor
Performed by
Garrison Keillor and 
the ensemble cast of 
“A Prairie Home Companion”

HighBridge Company / Workman Publishing
www.highbridgeaudio.com
$24.95 , two audio CDs box set
ISBN: 978-1-61573-040-7

Collected from live radio broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion, these rib-tickling and heartwarming stories and songs celebrate the ups and downs of motherhood.

Our Spring 2010  Midwest Connections Picks for children offer great reading for all ages!

“My name is King.
I am a dog.
I am also a detective.”

THE BUDDY FILES
Books 1, 2 and 3 in the series
Dori Hillestad Butler

THE BUDDY FILES Book 1:
THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0910-4

THE BUDDY FILES Book 2:
THE CASE OF THE MIXED-UP MUTTS
ISBN 978-0-8075-0911-1

THE BUDDY FILES Book 3:
THE CASE OF THE MISSING FAMILY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0912-8

Albert Whitman & Company
www.albertwhitman.com
$14.99 each Hardcover
On sale March 2010
Children’s fiction/mysteries for ages 6-8

Kids will love this new series of early chapter book mysteries starring King, aka Buddy,  a smart, funny, tail-wagging hero! His efforts to understand and communicate with the humans in his life are both convincing and hilarious.

MBA booksellers — new MC Pick promo materials — a sign and a shelf-talker — are available now on the web page for THE BUDDY FILES.  Get these today to use in your stores!

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One cold morning in early spring, a plastic bag blows out of a landfill. Where do the wind and chance take it?

BAG IN THE WIND
Ted Kooser
Illustrated by Barry Root

Candlewick Press
www.candlewick.com
$17.99  Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3001-0
Children’s picture book
Printed on paper containing 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste

In his singular first children’s book, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, follows a plastic bag on its capricious journey from a landfill into a series of townspeople’s lives.  Beautiful illustrations by Barry Root evoke the gusty, damp days of early springtime.

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I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.” * 

IN A HEARTBEAT
Loretta Ellsworth

Walker & Company / Macmillan
$16.99 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2068-9
Young adult fiction

“IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth was an amazing book. It was given to me as a new unknown book that I could read and review, and I read it all in one sitting.  The story is told by Eagan and Amelia, two teenage girls connected by life and death.  The two different narratives make this story impossible to put down. I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL *

March blows in with two remarkable novels, a boot-stomping “folk-twang” CD, and children’s books of depth and humor.  Read and listen to these Midwest Connections Picks today!

Click on the book and CD titles below for more info. Buy them from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

The power of music, the exquisite torture of first love, and the many places we call home…

THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW
Peter Bognanni

Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Penguin Book Group (USA)
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-399-15609-0

This debut novel set in rural Iowa mixes the philosophy of Buckminster Fuller with punk rock in a hilarious and moving novel about misfit teenagers finding their place in a confusing world.

“I was totally blown away by this book.”
– Alice Meyer, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA

“Under the screaming rage of a Misfits or Ramones song, you can hear a heart beating, and that’s where Peter Bognanni gets to work — his wild and tender book reveals how much a  couple of scared boys can say to each other with a little hateful noise.”
– Rob Sheffield, author of Love Is a Mix Tape

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A brave and profoundly moving novel of faith and forgiveness

LAMB BRIGHT SAVIORS
Robert Vivian

A Bison Original/University of Nebraska Press
“Flyover Fictions Series”
$22.95 Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-8032-1380-7

The second volume in the Tall Grass Trilogy, following THE MOVER OF BONES

“Even when writing about violence, Vivian’s prose glows with an internal light that creates a continual sense of wonder. With its multiple voices and keen sense of place, Lamb Bright Saviors takes those qualities that so defined a writer such as Faulkner and makes them new for a changed world.”—Sue William Silverman, author of Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You

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Available March 16 -
The second album from our favorite author/ songwriter/ musician and his band!

TINY PILOT
Michael Perry and the Long Beds

Amble Down Records
www.ambledown.com
MSRP $11.99
UPC 8-97714-00205-1

Michael Perry and his band of Long Beds write songs that range from boot-stomping country to roughneck folk balladS. Like Perry’s Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award-winning books COOP and TRUCK, these songs are populated by characters drawn straight from rural and small-town America. Many have direct connections to COOP, TRUCK, and his other books POPULATION 485 and OFF MAIN STREET.  Check out Mike’s website:  www.sneezingcow.com

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One cold morning in early spring, a plastic bag blows out of a landfill. Where do the wind and chance take it?

BAG IN THE WIND
Ted Kooser
Illustrated by Barry Root

Candlewick Press
www.candlewick.com
$17.99  Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3001-0
Printed on paper containing 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste

In his singular first children’s book, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser, a former U.S. Poet Laureate, follows a plastic bag on its capricious journey from a landfill into a series of townspeople’s lives.

———————–

“My name is King.
I am a dog.
I am also a detective.”

THE BUDDY FILES
Books 1, 2 and 3 in the series
Dori Hillestad Butler

THE BUDDY FILES Book 1:
THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0910-4

THE BUDDY FILES Book 2:
THE CASE OF THE MIXED-UP MUTTS
ISBN 978-0-8075-0911-1

THE BUDDY FILES Book 3:
THE CASE OF THE MISSING FAMILY
ISBN 978-0-8075-0912-8

Albert Whitman & Company
www.albertwhitman.com
$14.99 each Hardcover
On sale March 2010
Children’s fiction/mysteries for ages 6-8

Kids will love this new series of early chapter book mysteries starring King, aka Buddy,  a smart, funny, tail-wagging hero!

NEW updates with
Spring and Summer 2010 Picks!

Updates as of 3/4/10

The title list files on this page are updated on a regular basis as we add more Midwest Connections Picks titles for 2010. Be sure to check back often to get the most up-to-date lists. If you have questions about these files or need help with this information, please contact us.

You can always get to the Midwest Connections Picks individual title pages for each book we’ve chosen  from 2006 through the present from any Midwest Connections related page or post.  Look to the right hand side of the web page for the Recent Picks list and click on Browse All Titles to get to the entire alphabetically arranged list of titles.

Individual web pages for all Midwest Connections Picks titles through February 2010 are available at this time. March 2010 Midwest Connections Picks web pages will be up soon.  Please check back again!

The following lists are updated as of the dates indicated below:

• 2010 Midwest Connections Picks Title List (PDF)    
  – NEW UPDATE 3/4/10
  – includes Spring and Summer 2010 titles confirmed to date
  – This list can be posted in your store and given to your store’s customers, too.
• Primary 2010 Midwest Connections Picks Title List (Excel file) – legal size page -  NEW UPDATE 3/4/10
  – includes Spring and Summer 2010 titles confirmed to date
  – You can use this Excel file for ordering and tracking inventory and sales, entering your own information into the spreadsheet as desired. This is NOT a list to give to your customers.
• Primary 2010 Midwest Connections Picks Title List (PDF) – legal size page — NEW UPDATE 3/4/10
  – includes Spring and Summer 2010 titles confirmed to date
  – This is a PDF of the Excel file above.  You can print it out and write information on a hard copy, but you won’t be able to enter details directly info the file.

We add three new novels to our Midwest Connections Picks starting in February.  All of these books deal in their own ways with matters of the HEART, which makes them perfect choices for this month!

MBA booksellers — here’s a banner to add to your store’s website to promote these three books.

A novel for women of a certain age who are hot and bothered by society’s double standards. Champagne happy hours mandatory. Cubs get in free.

THE COUGAR CLUB
A Novel
Susan McBride

Avon A / HarperCollins Publishers
$13.99 Trade Paperback Original
ISBN: 978-0-06-1777126-2
On sale January 26, 2010
Women’s contemporary fiction set in St. Louis

“Susan McBride knows women and she knows cougars. This is more than evident in her newest book, THE COUGAR CLUB. McBride brings her humor and skill to women’s fiction in this book that reunites three 40-something friends in their hometown and shines a spotlight on their love lives — with younger men. The relationships between the women are a highlight, and as a bonus, McBride takes the reader on a wild ride through St Louis and some of its quirky customs. When I finished, I wanted to know when the sequel would be ready!”
– Vicki Erwin, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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“I’d bet big money that this novel is about to become one of your favorite books…”
– Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

WEEPING UNDERWATER LOOKS
A LOT LIKE LAUGHTER
Michael J. White

G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Penguin Book Group (USA)
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-339-15590-1
On sale February 4, 2010

This debut novel set in Des Moines is a smart, darkly funny coming-of-age tale of growing up and going under.

Read author Michael J. White’s comments on the creation of WEEPING UNDERWATER and sample this chapter from the book!

“I’d bet big money that this novel is about to become one of your favorite books. It’s a blood-red first-love story, a raw dealing of tragedy and its aftermath, and a wild spin throughthe lust- and grief-addled mind of one of the most honest and deliriously inventive narrators I’ve ever read….  WEEPING UNDERWATER will leave you hoarse from laughing, weak in the knees, possibly craving Iowa State Fair pickles, and helplessly in love.” 
– Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL

IN A HEARTBEAT
Loretta Ellsworth

Walker & Company / Macmillan
$16.99 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2068-9
On sale February 2010
Young Adult Fiction set in Milwaukee and Minneapolis

“IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth was an amazing book. It was given to me as a new unknown book that I could read and review, and I read it all in one sitting.  The story is told by Eagan and Amelia, two teenage girls connected by life and death.  The two different narratives make this story impossible to put down. I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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Midwest Connections Picks Now in Paperback!

A RELIABLE WIFE
A Novel
Robert Goolrick
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Workman Publishing
ISBN: 9781565129771
$14.95 Trade Paperback

THE ROSE VARIATIONS
Marisha Chamberlain
Soho Press
distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution
ISBN:  978-1-56947-618-5
$14.00 Trade Paperback

IRREPLACEABLE
Stephen Lovely
Voice / Hyperion
distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 978-1-4013-4121-3
$14.99 Trade Paperback

Buy all of these books from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

Paz & Associates has a NEW personalized newsletter for MBA bookstores!

Contact them today to sign up for this great new newsletter designed to help you attract new customers to your store.
Midwest Connections Picks books are included, too!

All the details and contact info you need are on a new web page we’ve set up for this newsletter. 

Paz will be happy to send you a sample copy of the February-March issue to review, too.  It includes the Midwest Connections Picks titles HAPPY, OUT OF THE NORTHWOODS, and THE COUGAR CLUB!

•  Getting Started Flyer (PDF)
•  2010 Publisher Co-op At-A-Glance (PDF)
   $$$$ — Take a look at all the co-op that’s available to you… and from whom. There’s about $10,000 that will be available to ANY bookstore in 2010!  This doesn’t even include your pool co-op, just the exempt newsletter funds.
•  Video – Newsletter Marketing for Indie Booksellers
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68_eyU0Knfk
   http://pazbookbiz.com/Bookstore-Training-Consulting-Services/Customer-Newsletter.aspx

Be sure to go to the web page for this newsletter to get complete information!

Winter is here — time to grab a good book and a hot drink and READ! Here are two books sure to capture your interest…

An emotion-charged, wrenching — and unexpectedly humorous — self-portrait of  one young man’s survival in body and in spirit

HAPPY
A MEMOIR
Alex Lemon

Scribner / Simon & Schuster
$25.00 Hardcover
ISBN 9781416550235

“ With the urgency and rhythm of a street poet, Alex “Happy” Lemon chronicles a life of illness, addiction, recovery and redemption in his memoir called, simply, HAPPY. I will gladly recommend this gripping and tragic book to any parent— especially mothers—of a child in peril AND to the children who take them down a road for which they are unprepared.  Yes, this is the story of an addict and his recovery. Yes, this is the story of triumphing over a rare and dangerous illness. Yes, this is the story of a difficult parent’s redemption. But in Alex Lemon’s hands, this seemingly familiar tale will yield a surprised and happy reader.”
—Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Café, Wichita, Kansas

Watch Alex Lemon’s video: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv2HypmfOqI

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

The fascinating history of  Upper Midwest logging and the American tall tale hero Paul Bunyan!

OUT OF THE NORTHWOODS
The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan
Michael Edmonds

Wisconsin Historical Society Press
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-87020-437-1
Upper Midwest regional history; American folklore

“Rooted in the ingenuity of the pioneer spirit, this book presents an unvarnished look at the culture of the late nineteenth century lumber industry, how it shaped our region, the country, and created the legend of Paul Bunyan.  Using the words of  lumberjacks and old camp pictures, Edmonds traces the ambiguous roots of Paul Bunyan while giving us a clearer picture of lumber camp life.  In addition, the book contains over 100 legends of Paul Bunyan and a fantastic list of references for further research!”
– Angie Grafstrom, Inspiration Hollow, Roseau, MN

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

Buy these books from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores