R.J. Julia Booksellers


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Fri, 5/16 4 PM		Jerry Spinelli - Kids Smiles to Go

Wed, 5/21 7 PM		Carl Hiaasen - Golf The Downhill Lie

Tue, 5/27 7 PM		Robert H. Patton Patriot Pirates

STORE INFORMATION

RJ Julia Booksellers
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
203.245.3959
800.74.READS
books@rjjulia.com

Mon-Sat: 9am – 9pm
Sun 10am – 6pm

Directions

RJ CAFÉ

Serving Lunch, Dinner, Homemade Pastries, Coffee and Tea
Mon-Sat: 9am - 9pm
Sun: 10am - 6pm

Managed by La Rosticceria, Carry Out Caterers

The RJ Café is proud to display unique art exhibits from the ALVA Gallery in New London, CT

NEWS FROM RJ JULIA

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Faith Middleton Show

Our History

R.J. JULIA AWARDS


	Thank you for voting us # 1.

THE FAITH MIDDLETON SHOW ON WNPR

Faith Middleton

The Book Show
WNPR-Connecticut Public Radio
90.5 FM Hartford/New Haven
89.1 FM Norwich/New London
88.5 FM Stamford/Greenwich
91.3 FM Southampton
99.5 FM Storrs

"My book buddies, Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, Dr. Rose Quiello, lecturer in English at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, and enthusiastic reader Sally Gessner join me in the studio every two weeks. Occasionally Lee Jacobus, author and former professor at the University of Connecticut, drops in as well.

We tell you about the books we've enjoyed recently, and listeners are invited to tell us about your favorite books on line. E-mail us at faithwnpr@aol.com. Tell us in a couple of sentences about an all-time favorite book, or a recent great read, and why you love it. Adults and children are welcome! We'll read your letters over the air."

- Faith Middleton

RECENT BOOKS

Show Date: July 21, 2006
(Originally aired on June 9, 2006)

ROXANNE'S PICKS:

I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother
by Allison Pearson

Are you disappointed, or intimidated, by all 'how to be a good mother' books? Try this funny novel and hilarious send-up! One of the most amusing, enjoyable fiction books I've read in a while.

Clueless George Goes to War
by Pat Bagley

A updated take-off on the Curious George children books, this is a picturebook for the politically inclined.

Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen

This is the #1 Book Sense book for June and is a story that you just sink in to. Narrated by Jacob, now in his 90's and in a nursing home, he reminisces about being a vet in the circus during the Depression. Gruen is a great storyteller and this, while sometimes being a little 'pat', totally immerses you.

The College Humor Guide to College: Selling Kidneys for Beer Money, Sleeping with Your Professors, Majoring in Communications, and Other Really Good Ideas
by Amir Blumenfeld, Jeff Rubin, and Sarah Schneider

My Hero: Extraordinary People on the Heroes Who Inspire Them
compiled by The My Hero Project

Gifts for grads! The first is definitely not for those who believe in serious graduation gifts. It is an amusing and very, very irreverent look at the total college experience, from taking SATs on.
You could pair it up with the second book, My Hero. This is a wonderful collection of essays by well-known people writing about who were their heroes. It reminds you that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and gain that status for a variety different reasons.

Stumbling on Happiness
by Daniel Gilbert

I just started this book, but it sounds utterly fascinating. The notion is that we think that we know what makes us happy, since we are the only species that has the power to imagine the future, but does it really work that way? I'll report back when I finish it.

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ROSE'S PICKS:

Recipes for a Perfect Marriage
by Morag Prunty

A great title and a wonderful summer read. A novel (with some recipes) about Tressa who inherits her grandmother's journal and recipe book, and begins to compare her marriage with that of her grandparents.

Night
by Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel (Translator)

The chilling account of the horrors of Auschwitz told through the eyes of the 12-year old narrator. When I first read it, it had been published as a novel, but this new publication, translated by his widow, is issued as non-fiction memoir. A brilliant, haunting, magnificent book.

Promise Me
by Harlan Coben

A Myron Bolitar novel. Myron, now working as an talent agent, tells his neighbors' teenage daughters to call him if they get into a jam - he'll help them out, and won't tell their parents. When one of them takes him up on his offer, he gets into far more than he ever expected. A wonderful beach read - you'll get a sunburn with this one!

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LEE'S PICKS:

1776
by David McCullough

This details all of Washington's campaigns of 1776 and leaves you wondering how we ever survived as a country and defeated the greatest power of the world. Takes you through the British defeat in Boston, Washington's disastrous defeat in New York, and then his brilliant attack at Princeton, which probably sealed the future of the country. Particularly interesting to read now, because it tells a lot about who we are today.

In the American West
by Richard Avedon

One of the great books of photography. Avedon spent five or more years travelling the West to photograph people he found interesting. Done in large format, these are powerful and honest portraits.

Bouvard and Pecuchet
by Gustave Flaubert

A book to change your life. Flaubert's last, and unfinished, novel, this is the story of a 'Mutt and Jeff' pair of Parisian copiests, who decide to try a variety of other professions -- farming, philosophy, geology, law - all of which end disastrously, so they end up back where they started.

Quicksands: A Memoir
by Sybille Bedford

A marvelous memoir by a 92-year old grande dame. Born in Germany before World War I, she escaped by a 'brief' marriage arranged by the Huxleys. This is a charming romp through the century, with a spirited and stylish guide.

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FAITH'S PICKS:

Beach Music
by Pat Conroy

Conroy is a great story teller and this is a sprawling chronicle about a man who leaves to live in Rome with his young daughter after his wife's suicide. Drawn back to his South Carolina hometown, he introduces his daughter to her roots. Rich, descriptive, and dark in places, not breezy, but a very good beach read.

Mussolini's Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City
by Borden W. Painter, Jr.

Written by the former president and history professor at Trinity, this is a wonderful book to read if you are planning to visit Rome this summer. It is the story of Mussolini's attempt to rebuild, or remodel, Rome to his view, and explains much of what you see there now.

A Piece of Normal
by Sandi Kahn Shelton

A new novel by a writer for the New Haven Register, this is the story of Lily Brown, a single mom and advice columnist, who has to face her past when her younger sister moves back home. A story about families, the ones you are born with and the ones that you make for yourself.

Two Time
by Chris Knopf

SOne of the recommended summer mysteries in last weeks NYT Review of Books, this is one that we featured here not long ago. The second mystery written by Knopf, a Connecticut resident, this one is set in the Hamptons, on Long Island and is a very very good read.

Write.: 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block Period.
by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.

I don't suffer from writer's block, and never have, but Karen Peterson is a psychologist, novelist, and public speaker, and the cover quotes Kurt Vonnegut as saying "(this) is as well researched and helpful a book on writing as I've ever read".