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


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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: August 4th, 2006

ROXANNE'S PICKS:

Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home
by Nando Parrado

I couldn't put this down! Parrado is one of the survivors of the October 1972 plane crash that stranded members of the Uruguay rugby team in the Andes for 73 days. And he was one of the two that walked out to get help, after it was clear that search parties had given up. This first-person account is gripping, frightening, and inspiring.

The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11
by Ron Suskind

Written in a highly readable style (similar to Bob Woodward's), this book gives insights into the political history of Cheney and Rumsfeld back to the Reagan administration, and the Bush administration's decision-making processes - and how these factors have combined to produce the current policies. Read it along with Fiasco The American Military Adventure in Iraq (by Thomas E. Ricks, ISBN: 159420103X) to get a broad, informed view of what is going on.

Poem a Day: Volume One
by Karen McCosker and Nicholas Albery

A lovely collection of 365 poems - literally a poem for every day (there are now 2 other volumes out) that illustrates how a single poem learned by heart can transform a person. A nice collection to begin to discover the pleasure and ease of poetry.

Revolutionary Road
by Richard Yates

I just reread this classic of 50's suburban life set in Connecticut - the story of a young couple's dreams fading and their marriage sliding towards hell. The nuances make the characters rich and full - a wonderful telling of the human nature of everyday life.

One Man's Meat
by E.B. White and Roger Angell

This is a collection of columns that White wrote for Harper's from 1938-44 - columns that are about anything and everything - he can write about a doorknob and make it fascinating - in language that is witty, smart, and insightful.

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ROSE'S PICKS:

Get a Life
by Nadine Gordimer

A great title! Set in South Africa, Paul Bannerman, an ecologist battling a nuclear plant, becomes radioactive after treatment for cancer and becomes 'quarantined' at his parent's house, giving him the opportunity to re-assess his life. This is a short afternoon read (200 pages) that is a powerful novel of ideas, a novel for people who love to think.

Unless
by Carol Shields

Rita Winters, a happy, settled 44-year old wife and mother, suddenly learns that her oldest daughter, Norah, has become mute, spending her time sitting on a street corner with a sign "Goodness" around her neck. Rita's subsequent search for her daughter and the causes of her actions makes for the best book I've read in 5 years.

The Piano Tuner
by Daniel Phillipe Mason

In 1886 Edgar Drake leaves his comfortable life in England at the request of the British War Office to trek to the depths of Burma to tune a surgeon-major's piano. This beautifully written tale is by a 22-year old, right out of college! The best first novel I've have read since Cold Mountain.

Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist
by Adrian Desmond and James Moore

A fascinating biography tracing Darwin's life and his attempt to explain the diversity he saw around him, and the struggle to reconcile to the faith of his time. A wonderful companion book to The Origin of Species.

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LEE'S PICKS:

High Five
by Janet Evanovich
(also Hot Six, Ten Big Ones, and a 'number' of other titles)

Perfect light summer reading. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter with a memorable family, colorful co-workers, serious car issues, and a weakness for Tastycakes. These light-hearted tales, set in Trenton, will have you feeling you are part of her neighborhood, if not her family.

Selected Poems
by Robert Browning

A wonderful collection of poems from the Victorian master, including the 'Pied Piper of Hamlin', the classic fable of the town that refused to pay the piper for ridding them of rats, whereupon he piped all of their children (save one) off to an irresistible paradise.

MIddlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides

This is a great family epic, tracing three generations (and their genes) from Greece to Detroit, as told by Callie, a 15 year old hermaphrodite, who makes a wonderful narrator. This is a marvelous tale, filed with excitement; deep and thoughtful.

The 20th Century Art Book
by Phaidon Press

A great little reference book - everyone should have a copy. 500 of the notable 20th century artists are represented, arranged alphabetically with representative pieces of their work - all for under $10.

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FAITH'S PICKS:

The Messenger
by Daniel Silva

I absolutely love these books - this is his latest, full of intrigue and adventure, again set in Israel, but ranging all over the Mediterranean. Silva gets better and better with every book.

The First Counsel
by Brad Meltzer

Picked this up to read on vacation, and if you like books about intrigue in government, the presidency, and the CIA, like I do, this is one for you - a terrific read. (Note: This book is out of print.)

Unexpected Guest
by Agatha Christie and Charles Osborne

This was originally written as a play and later adapted into a book. Michael Starkwedder runs off the road into a ditch at night, in the Welsh countryside. When he goes for help, he discovers a dark house, a dead body and a distraught widow who appears to have just killed her husband. The twists and surprises go on from there. A classic Christie mystery.

Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen

Narrated by Jacob, now in his 90's and in a nursing home, these are his reminiscences 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 - it is a good book, perhaps not as great as the hype would have you belief, but a very good read nonetheless.

Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown
by MIchael Cunningham

First in the Crown Journey series, Cunningham provides a fascinating description of the history of Provincetown, MA and the eccentricity of day-to-day life there.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel

A graphic novel by the noted cartoonist, this is a memoir of her family, and particularly her father - an English teacher, third-generation funeral home director (thus the name), avid preservationist, and homosexual, among other talents. This is darkly funny, beautifully drawn, and captivating work.

Last Bite
by Nancy Verde Barr

Barr, Julia Child's friend and executive chef, has written a culinary romance revolving around Casey Costello, an executive chief on a morning TV show. Lots of fun and a great beach romance!

Gatsby's Girl
by Caroline Preston

A novel based on fact, this is the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald's first love, Ginevra King, who he met in high school at a country club dance. Wealthy and privileged, she dumped him for a more socially acceptable, but boring husband, and Fitzgerald went on to romanticize her in a number of his novels. Here she traces her reincarnations and fantasizes about what might have been.

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AND FROM RUTH IN GLASTONBURY:

Waiting for Armando
by Judith K. Ivie

Four legal secretaries band together to solve the murder of one of their bosses when one of them becomes the prime suspect. Smart, funny, and set in central Connecticut.