It's a big week for new book releases. Scott McClellan's expose, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong with Washington no sooner hit the shelves than we were sold out. The publisher assures us the new print run will arrive soon, but we recommend reserving a copy if you want one. Also, out now, in case you didn't know, are new books by Alan Furst, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Sedaris, for which we are a bit more prepared!

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris was just featured on the Daily Show with John Stewart. They had a brief and very funny conversation about the title, about how David quit smoking by moving to Japan - where it is illegal to smoke on the street, not because of lung cancer, but because it is so crowded that a smoker might accidentally burn a passerby, or set them on fire. Of course the story is much more involved, with many hilarious non-sequiters, so I encourage you to buy it and read it yourself! I also loved his story about how when he went to college, prayer was compulsory, but it was before Jesus, so they worshipped a five-eyed god named Sashatiba; credit for courses was pass-fail, but failure mandated public immolation; and if he was ever burned alive for failing his courses, his parents would have killed him. John concluded by saying, "The book is phenomenal . . . if you like joy," and who doesn't need more joy?!

I've only just begun reading The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst and I'm already having a hard time putting it down to write this column. It is everything we would expect from the great master of the spy thriller. It takes place in the neutral territory between the east and west of Warsaw in the decadent period after WWI and as the German menace is growing. The characters are described with subtlety and dimension, and Furst hooks you into their selfish moral duplicity from the very first pages, taking you along step by step as a character is led down the slippery slope of betrayal during the rise of Nazism. While patriotism could be one motivation towards espionage, and for the most part the characters carry themselves with dignity, in this case it is pure self-interest and self-preservation that compels them.

If you missed our author event with Chuck Palahniuk for Snuff this past week, I'm sorry, but I'll try to summarize.

Once again, Mr. Palahniuk shines in his ability to explore the lives of marginal, perhaps even despicable personalities, and yet make them seem reasonable and even honorable when viewed from a certain angle. Palahniuk conveys that it was not necessarily they who chose to be who they are, but society that formed them, and the fact that they developed strong character at all should be viewed as an achievement to be admired rather than an indictment.

In this book, he turns his attention to the porn industry and three men who show up for a world record breaking film shoot with an aging female porn star. The history of this much maligned and idealized subculture is exposed in Palahniuk's inimitable simultaneously repellent and yet beguiling manner.

At the event, he regaled us with a story written especially for the book tour, gave us a glimpse into the upcoming movie version of Choke, answered questions presented by Eric Nuzum (author of The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires...), encouraged everyone to read Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock, and presented trivia questions, challenges, and prizes to the audience! A great time for everyone involved, and there are still autographed copies of the book available in all our stores.

Some and visit us soon to see these and other great new reads!

-Andrew