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A lot of amazing authors contribute to Powell's Blog, and not all of them get the attention they deserve. Here's a look back at some of the most thought-provoking author posts to appear on Powells.com this year — along with four interviews that you really shouldn't miss. The World of Publishing: 1991 vs. 2014 by [...]

Saint Paul, August 2014 Dear Professor Fitger, I've been asked to say a few words about you for Powells.com. Having dreamed you up with a ball-point pen in a composition notebook (drafting on the right-hand page, and making edits and corrections on the left [see figure 1]), I should be well equipped to describe you, [...]

HUCK’S FINGER IS SO MUCH BETTER. Yes, I’m shouting, because HURRAY.

Whew.

Our attempt to bust the world record for Most Appointments in a Single Summer continues on track: so far this week: dentist (me), audiologist (WB), orthodontist (WB), haircut (me). Two more eye doctor appts next week but at least they’re at the same time. After that things should slow down a little, if by “slow down” you mean “continue at breakneck speed only in a different lane.” Because HOLY CATS IT’S ONLY TWO WEEKS TO COMIC-CON.

HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE??

My list of things to get done before Comic-Con is ten miles long. Oh, July, you rapscallion, you. Every year you attempt to break me. Last year I went to Colorado and back TWICE in the three weeks before SDCC and I STILL found time to paint my toenails before the con. You think 4,000 medical/dental appointments are going to best me?

(July chortles, rubs hands together gleefully, whispers Just wait until you see what I’ve got in store for you next week, Wiley.)

ANYHOO. (She says, whistling past the graveyard.) How’s your week been? Read any good books? I gulped down Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members, an epistolary novel about an overworked writing professor in a deteriorating English Department at a second-tier college. Nothing cures a beleaguered feeling like reading about someone who’s even more so. This was excellent waiting-room entertainment. The story unfolds entirely through the prof’s letters, most of which are letters of recommendation for students and colleagues, and all of which reveal a great deal more about the letter-writer than the typical LOR. Having a number of friends in English departments similarly strapped and stripped of funds, I enjoyed the book’s pointed, funny, occasionally poignant skewering of the current state of academia and was engaged by Prof. Fitger’s crusty, dogged, oversharing, impertinent personality.

By Mary Van Akin of Random House Children’s Books
Published: June 29, 2012

Two long-awaited conclusions to bestselling series!

RAPTURE

By Lauren Kate

The long-awaited, astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series is here! To stop Lucifer from erasing the past Luce and Daniel must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this–live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her–and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters. In the fight for Luce, who will win?

Random House Children’s Books | 978-0-385-73918-4 | June 12, 2012 | $17.99 | Ages 12-17 | 464 pages

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THE ENCHANTRESS

By Michael Scott

The sixth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series.  This internationally known series introduces readers to legendary historical and mythological figures—weaving history, myth, folklore, and magic together seamlessly. The twins of prophecy have been split. Nicholas Flamel is near death. John Dee has the swords of power. And Danu Talis has yet to fall. The future of the human race lies in the balance–how will the legend end?

Delacortes Press | 978-0-385-73535-3 | May 22, 2012 | $18.99 | Ages 12 and up | 528 pages

Check out The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series on Facebook!

Read the book that everyone is buzzing about!

WONDER

By R.J. Palacio

An emotional and beautiful novel about being the new kid.  August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school–until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances? R.J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is ac