Humble Pies and White Lies


Book Description

Liz Eckardt, owner of the Olde Mansion Inn in Pleasant Creek, Indiana plans to make a delicious home-cooked feast for her guests. Residents of the small town eagerly await the pumpkin pie bake-off and the national spotlight it will shine on their town when the event is broadcast on a popular TV show. Mary Ann Berne, Liz's good friend and fellow member of the Material Girls quilting group is expected to win the pie contest, but one of Liz's guests is also a strong contender. With the cameras rolling and everyone in town watching, the judge tastes Mary Ann's pie and collapses to the floor.




Breach of Crust


Book Description

Plate up another slice of Southern magic and mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Lemon Pies and Little White Lies . . . PIE SHELLS AND DEATH BELLES Ella Mae LeFaye’s delicious pies are still drawing long lines—as well as the attention of Beatrice Burbank, president of the Camellia Club, a philanthropic organization comprised of high-society Southern ladies from the charming and affluent town of Sweet Briar, Georgia. To ensure the success of their centennial dessert cookbook, Bea hires Ella Mae to teach the tasty tricks of her trade to the club’s members at their annual retreat. Eager to work on new recipes for customers with food allergies and dietary restrictions, Ella Mae readily agrees. But when Ella Mae finds Bea’s body floating in Lake Havenwood, she wonders what she’s gotten herself mixed up in. Someone certainly wanted Bea to eat humble pie, and the retreat offers no shortage of unsavory characters, including Ella Mae’s longtime nemesis, Loralyn Gaynor. Ella Mae definitely doesn’t need magic to tell her she must find the killer before someone else gets panned.




Humble Pie


Book Description

In America, pie is a food--and a concept--that carries unusual resonance. In Humble Pie, Anne Dimock offers a delightful combination of memoir, pie quotes, inspiration, recipes, travel writing, and assorted philosophical, cultural, and culinary musings on this powerful yet humble dessert. Anne Dimock grew up in a household where, she notes, "A dearth of good pie was a hardship I never encountered, never knew must be borne up by most folk." When she realized that the decline of the American pie civilization might be a harbinger of even deeper cultural problems, Anne became a woman on a mission to save pie from extinction. Dimock shares her thoughts on the Zen of making pie crust, the politics of pie, judging a man's character according to his pie protocol, state fair pie competitions, the kinship between pie and baseball, and the search for edible pie at roadside diners. Folksy and full of humor, Humble Pie is more than just an evocative journey through a life lived in pie. It is a culinary manifesto for a pie renaissance, inviting readers to take up their rolling pins and revive an endangered slice of American culture. Dimock advises us all to "Roll back the apprehension, the doubt, and enter the childlike state of grace where all things are possible and anything lost can be found again. The pie you seek resides not only in memory and imagination--your next piece of pie begins right here."




Lemon Pies and Little White Lies


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Books by the Bay series and the Book Retreat mysteries--Includes pie recipes! After Pecan Pies and Homicides comes another tangy slice of life—and death—in a charmed, and charming, small town... Ella Mae LeFaye’s Charmed Pie Shoppe has become a phenomenon beyond her wildest dreams, providing the enchanted town of Havenwood, Georgia, with spellbinding desserts and magical pies. Her personal life is also heating up as she takes on the responsibilities of leadership within her magical community. In fact, the only thing weighing her down is the fact that handsome Hugh Dylan won’t return her calls… Still, when Havenwood is rocked by a series of mysterious deaths, Ella Mae must put romantic longings aside—especially when she realizes that the mystical symbols left at each crime scene are dangerously personal. Now she will have to whip up all her supernatural skills to uncover a killer out to settle an ancient score—before the murderer devastates everything Ella Mae is determined to protect…




Flipped


Book Description

A classic he-said-she-said romantic comedy! This updated anniversary edition offers story-behind-the-story revelations from author Wendelin Van Draanen. The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. Juli says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down: just as Bryce is thinking that there’s maybe more to Juli than meets the eye, she’s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny voices. The updated anniversary edition contains 32 pages of extra backmatter: essays from Wendelin Van Draanen on her sources of inspiration, on the making of the movie of Flipped, on why she’ll never write a sequel, and a selection of the amazing fan mail she’s received. Awards and accolades for Flipped: SLJ Top 100 Children’s Novels of all time IRA-CBC Children’s Choice IRA Teacher’s Choice Honor winner, Judy Lopez Memorial Award/WNBA Winner of the California Young Reader Medal “We flipped over this fantastic book, its gutsy girl Juli and its wise, wonderful ending.” — The Chicago Tribune “Van Draanen has another winner in this eighth-grade ‘he-said, she-said’ romance. A fast, funny, egg-cellent winner.” — SLJ, Starred review “With a charismatic leading lady kids will flip over, a compelling dynamic between the two narrators and a resonant ending, this novel is a great deal larger than the sum of its parts.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred review




You Don't Love Me Yet


Book Description

Bestselling author Jonathan Lethem delivers a hilarious novel about love, art, and what it's like to be young in Los Angeles. Lucinda Hoekke's daytime gig as a telephone operator at the Complaint Line—an art gallery's high-minded installation piece—is about as exciting as listening to dead air. Her real passion is playing bass in her forever struggling, forever unnamed band. But recently a frequent caller, the Complainer, as Lucinda dubs him, has captivated her with his philosophical musings. When Lucinda's band begins to incorporate the Complainer's catchy, existential phrases into their song lyrics, they are suddenly on the cusp of their big break. There is only one problem: the Complainer wants in. BONUS MATERIAL: This edition includes an excerpt from Jonathan Lethem's Dissident Gardens.




Ask a Manager


Book Description

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together




Secrets of the Amish Diary


Book Description

When Liz Eckardt leaves behind her hectic life as a Boston lawyer to become an innkeeper in charming Pleasant Creek, Indiana, she hopes to find solace and answers as she mourns the loss of her mother, Abigail. Along with her mother's diary and an antique heirloom quilt, Liz inherited a family secret: Abigail cut ties with her Amish family years ago, a family Liz never knew existed, and Liz yearns to unravel the mystery of her mother's past. Liz settles into her new life at the Olde Mansion Inn with the help of the town's quirky quilting group, the Material Girls, and several members of the Amish community. She bonds instantly with her new Amish friend, Miriam Borkholder, and enjoys the success of her burgeoning bed and breakfast. That is until one of her guests, the unpopular Clarence Peabody, is found dead in the lake behind her inn and Miriam's son is the prime suspect.




As the World Churns


Book Description

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA




Chains


Book Description

If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl? As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom. From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.