Best Books of August 2011

Lev Grossman Hardcover

Return to Fillory in the riveting sequel to the New York Times bestseller and literary phenomenon, The Magicians Quentin Coldwater should be happy. He escaped a miserable Brooklyn childhood, matriculated at a secret college for magic, and graduated to discover that Fillory—a fictional utopia—was actually real. But... Read more
CDN$ 31.00 CDN$ 17.32

Nicole Lundrigan Paperback

With vivid and unflinching prose, Nicole Lundrigan has created a suspenseful and deeply human saga of the persistence of evil and the astonishing power of love. When Roy Trench is killed in a drunken prank gone wrong, his brother Lewis sees blood on the hands of the man responsible: the abusive alcoholic, Eli Fagan. Read more
CDN$ 22.95 CDN$ 16.57

Alice Waters, Calvin Trillin, Michael... Hardcover

Chez Panisse opened its doors in 1971. Founded by Alice Waters, the restaurant is rooted in her conviction that the best-tasting food is organic, locally grown, and harvested in ecologically sound ways by people who are taking care of the land for future generations. The quest for such ingredients has always... Read more
CDN$ 62.00 CDN$ 38.87

Brian Francis Hardcover

“It’s beautiful,” I said, even though it wasn’t my style. It was cut glass and silver. Something a movie star might wear. Is this what my boy thought of me? I wondered as he fastened it around my neck. He called me Elizabeth Taylor and I laughed and laughed. I wore that necklace throughout the rest of the day. In... Read more

Kevin Wilson Hardcover

“The Family Fang is a comedy, a tragedy, and a tour-de-force examination of what it means to make art and survive your family….The best single word description would be brilliant.” —Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto “It’s The Royal Tenenbaums meets Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I’d call The Family Fang a guilty... Read more
CDN$ 26.99 CDN$ 16.92

Amy Waldman Hardcover

Claire Harwell hasn’t settled into grief; events haven’t let her. Cool, eloquent, raising two fatherless children, Claire has emerged as the most visible of the widows who became a potent political force in the aftermath of a catastrophe. She longs for her husband, but she has found her mission: she sits on a jury... Read more
CDN$ 29.99 CDN$ 18.80

Ernest Cline Hardcover

At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by... Read more
CDN$ 25.00 CDN$ 15.68