Under the Cover follows the life trajectory of a single work of fiction from its initial inspiration to its reception by reviewers and readers. The subject is Jarrettsville, a historical novel by Cornelia Nixon, which was published in 2009 and based on an actual murder committed by an ancestor of Nixon's in the postbellum South. Clayton Childress takes you behind the scenes to examine how Jarrettsville was shepherded across three interdependent fields—authoring, publishing, and reading—and how it was transformed by its journey. Along the way, he covers all aspects of the life of a book, including the author's creative process, the role of the literary agent, how editors decide which books to acquire, how publishers build lists and distinguish themselves from other publishers, how they sell a book to stores and publicize it, and how authors choose their next projects. Childress looks at how books get selected for the front tables in bookstores, why reviewers and readers can draw such different meanings from the same novel, and how book groups across the country make sense of a novel and what it means to them. Drawing on original survey data, in-depth interviews, and groundbreaking ethnographic fieldwork, Under the Cover reveals how decisions are made, inequalities are reproduced, and novels are built to travel in the creation, production, and consumption of culture.

Bookshop owner and maid of honor Addie Greyborne vows to catch the killer who crashed her best friend's wedding... It promises to be Greyborne Harbor's wedding of the year. The impending nuptials of Serena Chandler and Zach Ludlow will take place aboard his family's luxurious super-yacht, currently moored in the harbor and the talk of the town. But on the day of the wedding, a man's body washes up on the beach with no ID, only a torn page from a book in his pocket. As owner of Beyond the Page Books and Curios, bibliophile Addie is called in to identify the book, but she cannot. The morning following the extravagant ceremony, a second body washes ashore and Addie has a sinking feeling that the two deaths are connected. While the guests are held on the yacht as the police investigate, at least Addie can peruse Zach's father's rare books library on board. A copy of Agatha Christie's first Hercule Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, provides a clue that the killer may still be on the ship--but narrowing down the suspects without becoming the next victim may prove a truly Herculean task...

This well loved writer effectively uses his personal mistakes to illustrate riveting truths about repentance and forgiveness. As he focuses on the true authority of God, he is careful to explain by example the important difference between "submission" and "obedience." The same struggle with divine authority is also represented through the lives of John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, and other biblical figures. An especially helpful book for Christians who want to develop a serious pursuit of God.

A well written, thoughtful challenge to the honored notion of social work as an institutional instrument of caring. Margolin (counselor education, U. of Iowa) doesn't pull punches in this assessment of the history of social work, pointing out through case records that the field developed an access to the private space of clients, fostered an imposition of middle class standards on the "underclass," disguised a language of power as one of sympathy, and eventually created the current atmosphere of "doublespeak" in which workers burn out or decide to move to private practice. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A rare book inspires a crime of passion in the fourth novel in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series. When she receives an exquisite copy of the Kama Sutra from her best friend, Robin, to appraise and restore, bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright anticipates recreating a beautiful book and spicing up her love life. But before Brooklyn can get started, Robin winds up in big trouble: her apartment’s been ransacked, and the great guy she recently met lies murdered in her bed. Now Robin is the #1 suspect. Luckily Brooklyn’s boyfriend, British security expert Derek Stone, has moved to San Francisco and is ready to help. And not a moment too soon as Brooklyn’s own apartment is found thoroughly searched. Obviously, exploring the Kama Sutra’s bliss will have to wait until after Brooklyn finds the killer...

Based on John's live presentation of the Biblical principles he explored in the book by the same title, Under Cover will help you undertake a serious, Holy Spirit led study of God's authority. Your shield of faith will be strengthened by Biblical awareness in order to protect you from some of the most dangerous arrows of the enemy.

Can you still have a home if you don't have a house? In the spirit of The Truth About Jellyfish and Fish in a Tree comes a stunning debut about a family struggling to find something lasting when everything feels so fleeting. Always think in threes and you'll never fall, Cora's father told her when she was a little girl. Two feet, one hand. Two hands, one foot. That was all Cora needed to know to climb the trees of Brooklyn. But now Cora is a middle schooler, a big sister, and homeless. Her mother is trying to hold the family together after her father's death, and Cora must look after her sister, Adare, who's just different, their mother insists. Quick to smile, Adare hates wearing shoes, rarely speaks, and appears untroubled by the question Cora can't help but ask: How will she find a place to call home? After their room at the shelter is ransacked, Cora's mother looks to an old friend for help, and Cora finally finds what she has been looking for: Ailanthus altissima, the "tree of heaven," which can grow in even the worst conditions. It sets her on a path to discover a deeper truth about where she really belongs. Just Under the Clouds will take root in your heart and blossom long after you've turned the last page. "[A] heartbreaking yet hopeful story of a family searching for a place to belong." --Publishers Weekly "[A] thought provoking debut about the meaning of home and the importance of family."--Horn Book Magazine

Years after his real parents are killed by a drunken driver and Thorn executes his own justice in the form of murder, his foster-mother is found brutally killed on her charter fishing boat, and Thorn, now in his late 30s, edges in among the suspects.

Hungry Wolf disguises himself as a sheep and nobody suspects a thing! (Or do they?) Wolf dreams of tasty sheep—sheep sandwiches, sheep sushi, sheep tacos! In his clever sheep costume, he infiltrates the friendly neighborhood herd, blending in by helping with chores, reading bedtime stories to the lambs, and working up a sweat in sheep aerobics class. Wolf’s sneaky plan works so well, he becomes part of the family. And suddenly, the sheep don’t seem quite as tasty. . . . With a charming twist ending and lots of visual fun—including the running theme of Wolf’s disguise not being quite as convincing as he thinks—this hilarious take on the wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing will have readers howling for more.