Happy Holidays From Chat Noir Books!

Good Day Folks,

Jenn and I would like to thank all of you for all the support these past
5 years, you have helped us become your local independent community bookstore! We would like to wish you all an amazing Holiday season and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Jenn & Paul

For those of you who are doing some last minute shopping we are open until 3:00pm today, we also have still have stock coming into the store.

Here are a few of my recommendations:

30 Years of Laughs & Lasagna: The Life & Times of a Fat, Furry Legend!

When the world’s most famous feline hits the three-decade milestone it’s time to celebrate! 30 Years of Laughs & Lasagna is a tribute to this tremendous achievement. Organized by decade, each with an introduction by Jim Davis, this lavishly illustrated volume features more than four hundred strips, including thirty of Jim Davis’s all-time favorites–with informative remarks from Jim on why they made the grade. Packed with early sketches, enlightening quotes, and fun facts (did you know that the Garfield comic was originally titled Jon?), this book shows how Garfield evolved from a witty kitty to a world-renowned fat cat.

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The Clash

Written by the surviving members of the band--Topper Headon, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon--this comprehensive work is packed with more than 300 photos as well as personal memorabilia, and is being published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the band's first U.S. album release.

The unique story of the Clash, by the Clash. The Clash were a band like no other. Pioneers of British punk rock, their incendiary gigs, intelligent songwriting, definitive style and passionate idealism caught the spirit of the times and made them a worldwide phenomenon. Rolling Stone magazine declared London Calling one of the greatest albums of all time, their autobiographical documentary Westway to the World won a Grammy, and their music lives on, influencing emerging bands and exciting new audiences today.


This is the first official book to be created by the band. With unprecedented access to the Clash archive, this landmark publication brings together previously unseen material--including tour posters, artwork, and photos of the band at home, on stage, in the studio and on the road--with each member telling it like it was, in their own words.

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Mysterio's Encyclopedia of Magic and Conjuring: A Compendium of Astonishing Illusions

Quirk's Amazing Magical Wonder Deck charmed amateur and professional magicians with its gorgeous aesthetic and fiendishly clever card tricks. Now these same readers can experience a complete course in magic with Mysterio's Encyclopedia of Magic and Conjuringa giant compilation of more than 300 tricks and variations.
Here are illustrated step-by-step instructions for rope tricks money magic mind-reading effects stage illusions everyday magic and plenty of all-new card tricks. Readers will learn how to bend spoons stretch handkerchiefs levitate glassware make small children disappear shuffle playing cards with aplomb and much moreeverything from simple street-magic effects to epic on-stage illusions. Mysterio's Encyclopedia of Magic and Conjuring is a beautifully designed reference for magicians of all ages and abilities.

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Just After Sunset: Stories

Stephen King -- who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies -- delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since Everything's Eventual six years ago. As guest editor of the bestselling Best American Short Stories 2007, King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications.

Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating -- and then terrifying -- journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable -- and resourceful -- as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana," a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, "N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it.

Just After Sunset -- call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.

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The Complete Star Wars® Encyclopedia

THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE GUIDE TO A SPACE FANTASY PHENOMENON

The Star Wars universe, much like our own, is constantly expanding. In the ten years since the publication of the Star Wars Encyclopedia, a lot has happened in that galaxy far, far away: four new feature films, a host of official original novels, comics, video games, and more. Now, thirty years of information on all things Star Wars–ranging from science and technology to history and geography, culture and biography to ecology and cosmology–has been supplemented with an entire decade’s worth of all-new material. Abundantly illustrated with full-color artwork and photos, and now in a new three-volume edition to accommodate its wealth of detailed entries, the Star Wars Encyclopedia encompasses the full measure of George Lucas’s creation.

Here’s just a sampling of what’s inside:
• character portraits of both the renowned (Luke Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Darth Vader) and the obscure (Tnun Bdu, Tycho Celchu, Bib Fortuna)
• the natives and customs of planets as diverse as Tatooine and Hoth, Dagobah and Kashyyyk
• the rituals, secrets, and traditions of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords
• a timeline of major events in Star Wars history, from the Clone Wars and the inception of the Empire to the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker and the invasion of the monstrous Yuuzhan Vong

Scrupulously researched and written by leading authorities Stephen J. Sansweet, Pablo Hidalgo, Bob Vitas, and Daniel Wallace, this landmark work is the must-have!

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Ugly Dolls

From the creative minds of two love struck artists David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim emerge the Uglydoll family!  What started as a drawing of a playful orange character known as Wage has turned into a whole new world of fun! In 2001, when David's soon to be wife and creative partner Sun-Min had to return to Korea, he sent her many "I miss you" letters with his little Wage character drawn at the bottom. Sun-Min sewed Wage into a plush doll and sent him to David as a surprise gift. David asked Sun-Min to sew a couple more for the Giant Robot store in Los Angeles and they sold out in one day! A very excited Sun-Min sewed many more and those sold just as fast! Sun-Min and David then began to pull more characters from the Uglyverse, a universe where UGLY meant unique and special, to translate into plush Uglydolls.  They both met again at their very first Uglydoll Toy Fair booth (a small 6x6 booth made of felt and wood) in New York, where they would go on to win Toy Of The Year 4 years later!

Now the award-winning Uglydoll characters are available in a variety of sizes and styles of plush, and are available  at right here at Chat Noir Books.

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Driven Magazine Featuring Joseph Boyden

Driven magazine Dec issue has a great article on Joseph Boyden the author of "Three Day Road" and this years Giller Prize winner for "Through Black Spruce". If you are like us and cannot find an issue to read, not a problem! Just follow the link below to Driven's website. You should get the current issue of Driven magazine coming up with Joseph on the cover(who cleans up very nicely!! As all of the female staff told me!) Just click on the next page arrows to page 39 and you can read the full article. Check it out! Then go read "Through Black Spruce" if you haven't yet!!

P.S. Thanks Mary!!

http://www.drivenmag.com/theissue





IN OTHER NEWS:

It has been pretty busy here at the store with the Christmas season started, hopefully we will be able to get a chance to get up or top 5 list's for this year, there are also more pictures from our Halloween Party, plus Robert Rotenberg stopped by the store. Robert has a new book called "Old City Hall" that will be out in March. This Fiction Thriller Mystery Detective novel is already starting to get some great buzz! Look for it in the new year!

Live at Chat Noir Books - Wabi Delta Blues Band!!

This video was taken from the night we had the book reading for "Walking with Wolf". The picture isn't the best, but the sounds not bad.

Today's Picks

Today's Picks



A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North

Every culture has its own folk heroes who embody values, explain history, and fire children's imaginations. When Peter Sís was growing up in Czechoslovakia, Jan Welzl, who went out on his own to the Yukon to seek a more rewarding way of life, was that hero. In this book, Peter Sís combines the stories he remembers and the facts about Jan Welzl's life with a traditional American folktale form: the tall tale.





Boys In The Trees

Newly arrived to the countryside, William Heath, his wife, and two daughters appear the picture of a devoted family. But when accusations of embezzlement spur William to commit an unthinkable crime, those who witnessed this affectionate, attentive father go about his routine of work and family must reconcile action with character. A doctor who has cared for one daughter, encouraging her trust, examines the finer details of his brief interactions with William, searching for clues that might penetrate the mystery of his motivation. Meanwhile the other daughter's teacher grapples with guilt over a moment when fate wove her into a succession of events that will haunt her dreams. In beautifully crafted prose, Mary Swan examines the volatile collisions between our best intentions--how a passing stranger can leave an indelible mark on our lives even as the people we know most intimately become alienated by tides of self-preservation and regret. In her nuanced, evocative descriptions a locket contains immeasurable sorrow, trees provide sanctuary and refuge to lost souls, and grief clicks into place when a man cocks the cold steel barrel of a revolver. A supreme literary achievement, The Boys in the Trees offers a chilling story that swells with acutely observed emotion and humanity.



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Today's Picks

Today's Picks



Santa Claus

Have you ever wondered how Santa's sleigh really works? Or what reindeer eat? Or just how big the North Pole's mailroom must be? Well, this Christmas all of your questions will be answered with this ultimate book of SANTA CLAUS. This is your lavish behind the scenes tour of the history, the mystery, and the magic of Jolly Saint Nick. Learn all about the clothes, the elves, and the gadgets that make the man. Find out all the secrets about the man who makes miracles happen every December 25th.

So very cute.



Quilt Counting

Quilt Counting uses rhythmic verse to count up to 10 and then back down with each page consisting of 4 lines of verse. While counting up, the rhymes involve paraphernalia used for quilt making such as thread, scissors, and pin cushions. While counting down, the rhymes relate to the farming landscape. Ransome’s illustrations are effective and add much to the book. However, the rhyming verses are often forced and would be difficult for younger children to read and understand.






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Today's Picks

Today's Picks



Fiction

So Brave, Young, and Handsome

A stunning successor to his best selling novel Peace Like a River, Leif Enger’s new work is a rugged and nimble story about an aging train robber on a quest to reconcile the claims of love and judgment on his life, and the failed writer who goes with him.
In 1915 Minnesota, novelist Monte Becket has lost his sense of purpose. His only success long behind him, Monte lives simply with his wife and son. But when he befriends outlaw Glendon Hale, a new world of opportunity and experience presents itself. Glendon has spent years in obscurity, but the guilt he harbors for abandoning his wife, Blue, over two decades ago, has lured him from hiding. As the modern age marches swiftly forward, Glendon aims to travel back to his past--heading to California to seek Blue’s forgiveness. Beguiled and inspired, Monte soon finds himself leaving behind his own family to embark for the unruly West with his fugitive guide. As they desperately flee from the relentless Charles Siringo, an ex-Pinkerton who’s been hunting Glendon for years, Monte falls ever further from his family and the law, to be tempered by a fiery adventure from which he may never get home.



Non Fiction

Like a Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story

In 1992, Chuck Cadman was regarded by his Surrey neighbours as a typical suburban couch potato, a man who, despite the ponytail left over from his days as a small-time rock musician, had settled into a nine-to-five job and seemed content to pay down the mortgage, watch TV, drink a few beers and enjoy family life. Then, on October 17, his sixteen-year-old son Jesse was senselessly murdered by teenage delinquents, and Chuck's peaceful world changed forever.
Overnight, the quiet homebody was galvanized into an inspired public spokesman, an articulate and unshakeable advocate of stricter treatment of young offenders and more compassionate treatment of victims of crime. He became a rallying figure for people across Canada growing impatient with tolerant attitudes toward youth crime, and in 1997 the people of Surrey North elected him as their Member of Parliament. In Ottawa, Chuck kept his focus and made himself one of the most authoritative voices on the parliamentary justice committee. He also kept his ponytail and blue jeans and his down-to-earth, man-of-the-people manner; his reputation as a straight-shooter earned him respect on both sides of the house. His final moment in the spotlight came on May 19, 2005 when, though in the final stages of terminal cancer, he made one last long trip to Ottawa to save the Liberal government from defeat--not because he wanted to, but because his constituents wanted him to. When he died six weeks later his loss was mourned by people from all walks of life across the entire country. In a time of deepening disenchantment with the political process, Chuck had given citizens a reassuring reminder that public service can still be an honourable calling.




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Today's Picks

Today's Picks



The Origin of Species Winner of the GG's this year

Whenever Alex’s thoughts grow darkest, he is compelled to recall Desmond, the British professor with dubious credentials whom he met years ago in the Galapagos. Treacherous and despicable, wearing his ignominy like his rumpled jacket, Desmond nonetheless caught Alex in his thrall and led him to some life-altering truths during their weeks exploring Darwin’s islands together. It is only now that Alex can begin to comprehend these unlikely life lessons, and see a glimmer of hope shining through what he had thought was meaninglessness.

Funny, poignant and visceral, Nino Ricci’s most recent masterpiece The Origin of Species will remind you of the wonder of life, the beauty of existence and the great gift that is our connection to the universe and all that is.



The 19th Wife

Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense.

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.

Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death.




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Today's Picks

Today's Picks



Fiction

Something to Tell You

In the early 1980s Hanif Kureishi emerged as one of the most compelling new voices in film and fiction. His movies My Beautiful Laundrette and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid and his novel The Buddha of Suburbia captivated audiences and inspired other artists. In Something to Tell You, he travels back to those days of hedonism, activism and glorious creativity. And he explores the lives of that generation now, in a very different London.

With great empathy and agility, Kureishi has created an array of unforgettable characters -- a hilarious and eccentric theater director, a covey of charming and defiant outcasts and an ebullient sister who thrives on the fringe. All wrestle with their own limits as human beings; all are plagued by the past until they find it within themselves to forgive.

Comic, wise and unfailingly tender, Something to Tell You is Kureishi's best work to date, brilliant and exhilarating



Non Fiction

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea

In this hilarious, deliciously skewed collection, Chelsea mines her past for stories about her family, relationships, and career that are at once singular and ridiculous. Whether she's convincing her third-grade class that she has been tapped to play Goldie Hawn's daughter in the sequel to Private Benjamin, deciding to be more egalitarian by dating a redhead, or looking out for a foulmouthed, rum-swilling little person who looks just like her...only smaller, Chelsea has a knack for getting herself into the most outrageous situations. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea showcases the candor and irresistible turns of phrase that have made her one of the freshest voices in comedy today.


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Today's Pick

Today's Picks




Fiction

The Condition

The Condition tells the story of the McKotches, a proper New England family that comes apart during one fateful summer. The year is 1976, and the family, Frank McKotch, an eminent scientist; his pedigreed wife, Paulette; and their three beautiful children has embarked on its annual vacation at the Captain's House, the grand old family retreat on Cape Cod. One day on the beach, Frank is struck by an image he cannot forget: his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, strangely infantile in her child-sized bikini, standing a full head shorter than her younger cousin Charlotte. At that moment he knows a truth that he can never again unknown something is terribly wrong with his only daughter. The McKotch family will never be the same.




Non Fiction

Dark Days

That’s what happened to FOUR CANADIAN MUSLIM MEN accused of terrorist links. One of them, Maher Arar has been fully exonerated by a public commission of inquiry. Now Dark Days chronicles the shocking story of how three other Canadian men experienced similarly devastating ordeals. One of these men, Ahmad El Maati, says that despite everything that’s happened, “I always remember that we are the lucky ones. Since 9/11 so many others have just disappeared, or are still in secret prisons, with no right to ask questions. At least we have the right to ask questions about why this happened. At least we might get answers.”




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Today's Picks

I know all the hype seems to be about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series this season. There are other books out there believe it or not.
I'll to try to highlight a few each day leading up to Christmas.

Today's Picks



Fiction:
Through Black Spruce (The Giller Prize Winner this year)

From internationally acclaimed author Joseph Boyden comes an astonishingly powerful novel of contemporary aboriginal life, full of the dangers and harsh beauty of both forest and city. When beautiful Suzanne Bird disappears, her sister Annie, a loner and hunter, is compelled to search for her, leaving behind their uncle Will, a man haunted by loss.While Annie travels from Toronto to New York, from modelling studios to A-list parties, Will encounters dire troubles at home. Both eventually come to painful discoveries about the inescapable ties of family. Through Black Spruce is an utterly unforgettable consideration of how we discover who we really are.



Non Fiction:

An Imperfect Offering

An Imperfect Offering is a deeply personal, deeply political book. With unstinting candor, Orbinski explores the nature of humanitarian action in the twenty-first century, and asserts the fundamental imperative of seeing as human those whose political systems have most brutally failed. He insists that in responding to the suffering of others, we must never lose sight of the dignity of those being helped or deny them the right to act as agents in their own lives. He takes readers on a journey to some of the darkest places of our history but finds there unimaginable acts of courage and empathy. Here he is doctor as witness, recording voices that must be heard around the world; calling on others to meet their responsibility.

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Holiday Hours Start Dec 15

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