Slow Days, Fast Friends by Erik Brooks

Slow Days, Fast Friends
by Erik Brooks

HOWARD the cheetah loves being fast. Everyday is a race -- and he always wins. However, when Howard hurts his leg and can't run, the only animal that he can keep up with is Quince the sloth -- the slowest creature around! How could anyone like being slow? It's up to Quince to show Howard how wonderful slow can be!

This engaging story and exuberant art celebrate an unusual friendship as well as the beauty of life at a different pace.

ERIK BROOKS is the author and illustrator of several books for children, including The Practically Perfect Pajamas and Octavius Bloom and the House of Doom. He is also a runner, but never quite so fast as Howard :)

Like many athletes, Erik has had his share of aches and pains and knows how hard it is to slow down and wait for injuries to heal -- sometimes, the slow days go by far too quickly!

Erik is also proud of the many friendships that have come his way via running. This is true of so many sports and experiences in life, but cannot be celebrated and recognized enough. There is always potential to slow down and nurture something well beyond the speedy introductions.

The Last Thylacine by Terry Domico

The Last Thylacine
by Terry Domico

The Thylacine was the largest marsupial predator in human history. Unfortunately, like most wild animals that develop a taste for domestic stock, they were mercilessly hunted by stockmen and farmers. This species finally went extinct in 1936 when the only captive Thylacine in the world died at Tasmania's Hobart Zoo.

Since then, there have been a string of mysterious sightings of this animal. However, not one of these encounters has ever been confirmed by wildlife authorities. Until now.

THE LAST THYLACINE is the gripping tale of Matthew Clark, a field biologist who actually beholds this supposedly extinct animal. Matthew reports the sighting to his employer and through an awkward set of circumstances, he is fired from his job. This reversal marks only the beginning of Matthew's amazing adventure...

Bestsellers - wk ending Oct. 23, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending October 23, 2005.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Knife of Dreams, Robert Jordan
2. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon
3. Son of a Witch, Gregory Maguire
4. The Trouble With Poetry, Billy Collins
5. Saving Fish From Drowning, Amy Tan
6. The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly
7. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch (a northwest-books.com author)
8. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, Alexander McCall Smith
9. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
10. The March, E. L. Doctorow

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
2. Healthy Aging, Andrew Weil
3. The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt
4. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
5. Julie and Julia, Julie Powell
6. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
7. A Crack in the Edge of the World, Simon Winchester
8. Spook, Mary Roach
9. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
10. Collapse, Jared Diamond

MASS MARKET

1. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
2. Hour Game, David Baldacci
3. Dressed for Death, Donna Leon
4. The South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, M.D.
5. The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
6. Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
7. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
8. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
9. Jarhead, Anthony Swofford (a northwest-books.com author)
10. The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, Merriam-Webster (Eds.)

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. The Penultimate Peril (A Series of Unfortunate Events #12), Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist (Illus.)
2. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
3. Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
4. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
6. High Rhulain (Redwall #18), Brian Jacques, David Elliot (Illus.)
7. Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
8. A Family of Poems, Caroline Kennedy, Jon J. Muth (Illus.)
9. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.)
10. Flush, Carl Hiaasen

New this week

Two new books by Puget Sound area authors. Terry Domico of Friday Harbor, writes a gripping tale of a biologist who sees a supposedly extinct animal in The Last Thylacine. And a children?s picturebook, Slow Days, Fast Friends by Winthrop author Erik Brooks is all about a cheeta who hurts his leg and can?t run. Both are worth a closer look.

Four, count ?em, four books on the bestseller lists here in the Pacific Northwest. Jarhead, by Anthony Swofford popped up last week on the mass market paperback top ten, probably because the movie version is set for release on Nov. 4. It?s a first person account by a Marine of life during the first Gulf War. Jim Lynch?s The Highest Tide continues to do well in the Northwest, showing up on the hardcover top ten. And, Eldest and Eragon by Christopher Paolini continue in the top ten of Children?s books.

Prince Ezrick and the Morpheas Curse

Prince Ezrick And the Morpheas Curse
by Jordan McMakin

This exciting new novel by 23-year-old Jordan McMakin introduces Ezrick Oliver Leary III, a frustrated and mischievous prince who spends most of his time getting expelled from school or riding his horse through the castle dungeons. Unfortunately, the last thing his father wants is an heir who prefers wearing play clothes to the crown. But when Ezrick runs away from the castle, the entire Kingdom is thrown into turmoil, for the King has just received a strange letter about the mysterious Morpheas Curse. Meanwhile, Ezrick has unwittingly begun a dark and gripping adventure of his own, on which he discovers secrets of his past that will change his future forever...

Jordan McMakin has lived in France and worked in Manhattan at Puffin Books. She holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing and currently resides in Anacortes, Washington.

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

Fledgling
by Octavia Butler

Fledgling, Octavia Butler's first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

Octavia E. Butler is the author of eleven novels, including Kindred, Dawn, and Parable of the Sower. Recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant, the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award and numerous other literary awards, she has been acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations that range from the distant past to the far future.

Bestsellers - wk ending Oct. 16, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week of October 16, 2005.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. Knife of Dreams, Robert Jordan
2. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon
3. The March, E. L. Doctorow
4. Son of a Witch, Gregory Maguire
5. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
6. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch
7. The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly
8. The Painted Drum, Louise Erdrich
9. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, Alexander McCall Smith
10. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
2. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
3. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
4. 1491, Charles C. Mann
5. A Crack in the Edge of the World, Simon Winchester
6. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
7. The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt
8. 1776, David McCullough
9. A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle
10. Julie and Julia, Julie Powell

MASS MARKET

1. Melancholy Baby, Robert B. Parker
2. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
3. Dressed for Death, Donna Leon
4. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
5. London Bridges, James Patterson
6. Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
7. Deception Point, Dan Brown
8. Metro Girl, Janet Evanovich
9. The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
10. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
2. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
3. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
5. High Rhulain (Redwall #18), Brian Jacques, David Elliot (Illus.)
6. Junie B., First Grader: Boo...and I Mean It!, Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (Illus.)
7. Napoleon Dynamite: The Complete Quote Book, Simon Spotlight (Eds.)
8. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.)
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling, Scholastic
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

Bestsellers - wk ending Oct. 9, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending October 9, 2005.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon
2. Son of a Witch, Gregory Maguire
3. The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly
4. The March, E. L. Doctorow
5. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
6. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, Alexander McCall Smith
7. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
8. The Painted Drum, Louise Erdrich
9. Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie
10. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt
2. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
3. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
4. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
5. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
6. A Crack in the Edge of the World, Simon Winchester
7. Don't Get Too Comfortable, David Rakoff
8. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, Kevin Trudeau
9. Burning Fence, Craig Lesley
10. Julie and Julia, Julie Powell

MASS MARKET

1. Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
2. Dressed for Death, Donna Leon
3. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
4. Double Shot, Diane Mott Davidson
5. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
6. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
7. Hour Game, David Baldacci
8. The South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, M.D.
9. Metro Girl, Janet Evanovich
10. New Comprehensive A-Z Crossword Dictionary, Edy G. Schaffer (Ed.)

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
2. Eragon Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
3. Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
4. High Rhulain (Redwall #18), Brian Jacques, David Elliot (Illus.)
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
6. Flush, Carl Hiaasen
7. The Redwall Cookbook, Brian Jacques, Christopher Denise (Illus.)
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
10. The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau

Bestsellers - wk ending Oct. 2, 2005

The Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and Book Sense. Most of these books aren?t books from the Pacific Northwest, but are books that are currently selling well in the Pacific Northwest. Week ending Sunday, October 2, 2005.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon
2. Son of a Witch, Gregory Maguire
3. The March, E. L. Doctorow
4. On Beauty, Zadie Smith
5. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
6. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, Alexander McCall Smith
7. The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch (a northwest-books.com author)
8. Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie
9. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
10. The Painted Drum, Louise Erdrich

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman
2. The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt
3. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
4. Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich
5. Burning Fence, Craig Lesley
6. 1776, David McCullough
7. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, Kevin Trudeau
8. The Shame of the Nation, Jonathan Kozol
9. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
10. Collapse, Jared Diamond

MASS MARKET

1. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown
2. London Bridges, James Patterson
3. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason
4. Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
5. Hour Game, David Baldacci
6. The Constant Gardener, John le Carre
7. Winter House, Carol O'Connell
8. A Taint in the Blood, Dana Stabenow
9. 1984, George Orwell
10. New Comprehensive A-Z Crossword Dictionary, Edy G. Schaffer (Ed.)

CHILDREN'S (FICTION AND ILLUSTRATED)

1. Eldest, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-books.com author)
2. Eragon, Christopher Paolini (a northwest-book.com author)
3. Inkspell, Cornelia Funke
4. Flush, Carl Hiaasen
5. High Rhulain (Redwall #18), Brian Jacques, David Elliot (Illus.)
6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Movie Tie-in), Ann Brashares
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
8. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.)
9. Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling