Featured New Bestsellers

Growing up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny by Marlo Thomas

Publishers Weekly –

Some know her as the star of the 1960s TV show That Girl, or creator of Free to Be... You and Me, or perhaps major fund-raiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Thomas, author of five bestselling books, here focuses on a role she's had her entire life: daughter. Laughter was the soundtrack for Thomas's formative years in 1950s Beverly Hills. Her father, comedian Danny Thomas, regularly had funny friends--including Bob Hope, Sid Caesar, and George Burns--over to the family home. The author, actress, feminist, and philanthropist shares fond memories of enjoying and learning from these comedy luminaries, and of being a Hollywood kid long before game-changers like the Internet and cable TV. She chronicles her path from childhood to adulthood; particularly interesting tidbits include her meeting and marrying Phil Donahue, becoming friends with Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug, and, with her siblings, "producing" her father's funeral. But this book is more than a well-written memoir. Thomas also includes interviews with comedy powerhouses galore, from Tina Fey to Alan Alda, Chris Rock to Ben and Jerry Stiller. On the whole, this book offers a delightful firsthand look at how comedy has become integral to American culture--and the way it's shaped one woman's colorful life.

A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries

Library Journal –

Annabel Lake will do just about anything to save her family's brewery, even wager her lucky heirloom ring for another brewer's marketing help. Notorious gambling hellion Lord Jarret Sharpe, the current reluctant manager of his family's Plumtree Brewery, ups the stakes to a night in his bed, but Annabel shocks him by calling his bluff—and winning. Still, Annabel is keeping secrets, and as they gradually come to light, Jarret demands another wager, one he doesn't intend to lose. Complex, immensely appealing protagonists, a delightful profusion of diverse secondary characters (including a particularly engaging 12-year-old), the perfect touch of fascinating detail about the late Regency-era beer trade, and a plot that becomes more intriguing as it unfolds add up to another stellar read and another success for the rapidly ascending Jeffries. VERDICT Rich with family interaction, deliciously redolent of yeast and hops, and overflowing with scintillating wit and heart-stopping sensuality, this addition to Jeffries's latest addictive series satisfies while cleverly doling out tidbits that will keep readers eager for the next installment.

Legacy by Danielle Steel

Publishers Weekly –

Steel (Big Girl) rebounds from a string of less than stellar books with this inspiring story about a frustrated woman who rediscovers her passion for life during a genealogical quest. After Brigitte Nicholson loses her archeologist boyfriend and her university admissions office job in the span of two days, she agrees to help her mother do some research for a family history project. Brigitte becomes hooked after she discovers a mystery in their family's past: how did a Dakota Sioux princess end up buried in Brittany as a noblewoman alongside a distant relative? Brigitte's quest to learn the story of the Marquise de Margerac (née Wachiwi) takes her from Salt Lake City to Sioux Falls, S.D., and eventually to Paris, where she meets Marc Henri, a fetching Sorbonne literature professor. Steel splices in passages from Wachiwi's life--abduction by a Crow war party, traveling to France, surviving the French Revolution--to create a doubly absorbing romantic adventure.