Bring Your Books Inside And Cool Off

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By Ray Saadi / Book Editor

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The Good Father

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By Noah Hawley

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Doubleday $25.95

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        Dr. Paul Allen answers his frontbrdoor to find two Secret Service agents who inform him that his son, Daniel, hasbrshot and killed a leading Democratic presidential candidate. Allen refuses tobrbelieve it even after seeing TV news clips showing Daniel, his son from hisbrfirst marriage, with the gun struggling with an unidentified man. Ostracized bybrfriends and associates and plagued by reporters, Allen, his second wife andbrtwin boys, move to Arizonabrto start anew and be nearer to the federal prison where Daniel is held evenbrthough his son refuses to see him. This is a gut-wrenching novel of love, angerbrand guilt and virtually impossible to put down.

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Never Tell

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By Alafair Burke

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Harper $24.99

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            Julia Whitmire,brthe 16-year-old daughter of famed punk rock producer, Bill Whitmire, is foundbrdead in her bathtub, wrists slit, a bottle of wine nearby and a hand written suicidebrnote on her bed. Detectives Ellie Hatcher and her partner J.J. Rogan write itbroff as a suicide but Julia’s influential parents won’t accept that conclusionbrand call in favors from police superiors who order the case investigated asbrmurder. Now pressured to pursue the case as a homicide, Ellie finds herselfbrpulled into a world of privileged teens as well as street kids, and a bloggerbrwho invites bullying responses. The plot’s twists and turns will have youbrguessing until the final pages.

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Bloodline

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By James Rollins

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William Morrow $27.99

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            The President’sbrpregnant daughter is missing, kidnapped by Somali pirates, but no ransombrrequest is made. The kidnappers don’t want the daughter, but her baby, forbrfertility experiments in developing a breed of human immortals. SIGMA CommanderbrGray Pierce is immediately enlisted to rescue daughter and baby and he calls onbrformer Army Ranger Capt. Tucker Wayne and his amazing military dog, Kane, (thebrreal hero here.) Rollins mixes exciting fiction with facts in this excitingbrthriller. And he documents those facts in an afterword that may be morebrincredible than the story itself.

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Killing Lincolnbr

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By Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard

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Henry Holt $28

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            Although thebrassassination of President Lincoln is an event known even to grade school kids,brthe authors have added enough material to add suspense to that horrendous event.brLincoln hadbrjust been reelected, and with the Civil War ended, the president finally feltbrentitled to enjoy a night out with his wife, Mary. Lincoln chose the popular play “My American Cousin”brat Ford’s Theatre, a fortuitous choice for assassin John Wilkes Booth, abrpopular actor who knew the logistics of the theatre well. Booth was shot and killedbrby soldiers and other conspirators were hanged.

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Fooling Houdini         

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By Alex Stone

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Harper$26.29

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            From age five,brwhen his father gave him a magic set, Stone knew he wanted to become a magician.brHe began to seriously study and practice close-up magic, later attending manybrMagic Schools. He eventually became expert enough to achieve membership in thebrSociety of American Magicians, which later demanded his resignation forbrviolating Magic’s cardinal rule by revealing not only thesecrets of his ownbrtricks, but many of other magicians as well. He didn’t resign and they didn’tbrpursue it. Stone does reveal an expert’s method, (with credit), for rememberingbrnames and more by “storing images in imaginary spaces” in your mind. I’m hopingbrit works for me.

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What’s On Your Mind?

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            Plenty, accordingbrto these three authors: In neuroscientist David Eagleman’s,br“Incognito” (Pantheon), he examines for example, why youbrsubconsciously hear your name in a conversation you weren’t listening to andbrwhy we are always tempted to tell a secret? Charles Duhigg’s “ThebrPower Of Habit” (Random House) illustrates how unknown Pepsodentbrbecame the best selling toothpaste of its time and how scientific discoveriesbrexplain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Finally, there are fivebrtips in Jonah Lehrer’s, “Imagine”explaining how creativity works: GetbrStumped; Stick With It; Take a Break; Become an Outsider; and Channel YourbrInner Seven-Year-Old. Read all three.

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Top Of The Rock

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Warren Littlefield with T.R. Pearson

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Doubleday $27.95

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            NBC Execsbrmay very well be asking, “Where is Warren Littlefield when we need him?” In thebrmid-June Nielsen ratings, NBC had only one show in the top 10 (“America’s Got Talent”),brputting the network about where it was some years ago when Littlefield becamebrPresident of Entertainment. In just a five year period, he turned the Net frombr“Also Ran,” to a Billion Dollar moneymaker with some of the greatest showsbrever: Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Cheers, ER and more that made it,brparticularly on Thursdays, “Must See TV.” In unscripted conversations with thebrstars and producers of the shows, we get a backstage view of the laughs tobrpetty jealousies and drug interventions. True TV fans will love this.

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New, Local, And Noteworthy  

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            CamillabrHunt Cole, a former English instructor at UL Lafayette and a licensedbrprofessional counselor pens “Mesquite,” a story of Molly, her broken marriage,brimminent bankruptcy, and nowhere to turn except back to her home in Mesquite,brTexas where she finds strength in touring her roots. Dianne Dempsey-Legnon,anotherbrLafayette educator turned novelist spins a warmbrtale of life in “Belair Cove,” a nearly Prairie Cajunbr Village, where “Memiere”brrecalls for her grandchildren, the story of her life, moments of laughter andbrpoignancy. Anthony J. Lomas delivers a very funny James Bond parody,br“Operation Aspic,” with not just one 007 but many triple 0’s and a slew ofbrother agents whose mission is to steal a secret Cajun recipe so the Britishbrculinary team can win the World Culinary Olympics. (Even with the recipe, itbrwon’t taste the same.)

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New OrleansbrNew Elegance

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By Kerri McCaffety w/Intro by Julia Reed

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The Monacelli Press $50

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            Despite thebrdevastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Newbr Orleans was forced into creating anew as is elegantlybrshown in these sumptuous McCaffety photographs. They feature forty luxuriousbrhouses and apartments from all areas of the city, many with fantastic DalebrChihuly chandeliers and one boasting an incredible floor to ceiling Swarovski Cascadebrchandelier designed by Vincent Van Duysen. Even if yours is not a St. Charles Avenue mansion,bryou’ll find exciting decorating ideas to fire up your imagination.

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Hey, What’s for Dinner?

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            Want Italian?brTry Hazan family favorites (Stewart,Tabori & Chang) and their 85br“Beloved Italian Recipes” collected by Guillano Hazan from abr56-year-oldnotebook. Forty sumptuous color photos illustrate dishes from soupbrto desserts. E ‘buono! For Vegetarians, Sally Butcher, chef-proprietorbrof Persepolis in London, fills “The New Middle EasternbrVegetarian” (Interlink) with recipes that might have you passing upbrsteak for eggplant, tomatoes stuffed with olives or Artichoke Hearts withbrPistachio Sauce, to name just a few.  And, if you’ve always wished for abrbook of authentic Cajun dishes, your wish is granted with John Gravois’br“A Cajun Family Cookbook.” Gravois, a former newspaperman from Houma, now an editor at the “Fort WorthbrStar-Telegram,” reveals recipes his mother taught him for cooking all thebressential Cajun dishes. C’est Bon!

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The Inquisitor’s Key br

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brBy Jefferson Bass

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William Morrow $25.99

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br            Are bonesbrfound in a chest in a newly discovered chamber beneath the Palace of the Popesbrin Avignon, France, those of Jesus of Nazareth?brAlthough the inscription makes that claim, Anthropologists Dr. Bill Brocktonbrand his protégé, Miranda, are skeptical, even after the bones are linked to thebrShroud of Turin. Still, at least three parties are determined to make thebr“relics” theirs at all costs including the lives of the anthropologists.brPrepare yourself for a frightening, whirlwind tour of murder and torture amidbrthe palatial beauty of Avignon.brIf you’re not already a fan of the“Bone Farm” series, this one will definitelybrmake you a believer.

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