Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle by Mathew Honan

America has fallen in love with Barack Obama for his impassioned rhetoric, his commitment to change, and his hope for a brighter future. But what about the time he tuned up your guitar? Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle is the first book to chronicle all the lesser-known accomplishments of the freshman senator from Illinois, from finding your car keys to batting in the winning run for your softball team.

Mathew Honan, creator of the hit website barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com, spent hundreds of thousands of hours on the campaign trail to bring you 366 examples of some of the things America’s sweetheart of a senator has done for you, including:

*Barack Obama shoveled the snow from your walkway
*Barack Obama checked under your bed for monsters
*Barack Obama danced with your mom at your sister’s wedding
*When one of your vocalists came down with a nasty bronchitis bug, Barack Obama sang backup in your band
*Barack Obama left a comment on your blog
*Barack Obama warmed up your car for you
*Barack Obama followed your directions even though he was pretty sure his way was faster

A must-have compendium of the sweet things he has done for you, Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle is the only book that can do justice to the nicest man who ever lived.

Mathew Honan made barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com in February 2008. A contributing editor at Wired magazine, his writing can also be found in Salon.com, Mother Jones, The New York Sun, and Popular Science.

Puff by Bob Flaherty

Meet John Gullivan, age thirteen, obsessed with the moles that dot most of his body. Meet his brother Gully, who can’t stop laughing at them. Now meet the brothers ten years later, in the middle of the most ferocious blizzard anyone can remember. Set in an Irish working-class suburb of Boston in the 1960s and 1970s, Puff centers on a quest as the soon-to-be-orphaned brothers, posing as rescue personnel, attempt to steer their dilapidated van through insurmountable snow, all to score a bag of pot.

Trapped in their own ruse and forced to act the part of the saviors they are pretending to be, the brothers run into an endless stream of foes and obstacles: the cops, their childhood priest, a knife-wielding maniac, and the ill all stand in the way of their elusive high. A raucous caper, Puff is as hilarious as it is heartfelt and will resonate with old and young alike.

Juicy Mangos by Michelle Herrera Mulligan

Juicy Mangos will shatter your ideas of female innocence forever. Here, the smartest, sexiest literary writers are gathered to tell stories of women at their rawest and most intimate. Each of the seven stories centers around a holiday — from Valentine’s Day to Christmas — when these enticing characters slip out of their daily roles and take on new, daring personas: A married woman finds a back door to Eden where fantastical orgies force her to confront her true and dangerous sexual desires, a historiographer experiences a lustful affair while wearing an enchanting antique dress as an erotic disguise, a sex-toy saleswoman takes on a business partner with benefits to boost her sales.
With exotic backdrops around the world and beautiful, complex characters, Juicy Mangos is sexy enough to keep you glued to the page. But like its diverse protagonists, the stories are smart and provocative and will leave you hot long after your touch on the page has cooled.

Michelle Herrera Mulligan coedited and contributed an essay to Border-Line Personalities: A New Generation of Latinas Dish on Sex, Sass, and Cultural Shifting. Her articles have appeared in Time, Woman’s Day, and Publishers Weekly. A former editor at Latina, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Firelands by Michael Jensen

The winter of 1799 is falling fast on the small Ohio Territory settlement of Hugh’s Lick. Food is scarce, and relations with the Delaware tribe are strained; but things are about to get much worse. In the midst of a storm, frontiersman Cole Seavey is attacked by a creature that is neither man nor beast but something burst forth from the bowels of hell and reeking of the grave. Badly injured, he is rescued by Pakim, a young Delaware brave, and is taken to safety at the home of John Chapman, whom readers will remember from Jensen’s best seller Frontiers. Cole’s intense attraction to Pakim leaves him longing for something he fears to even consider. He half convinces himself that the monster he battled is the product of his fevered brain. But then the killings begin, killings of such ferocity they can only be the work of something neither human nor animal. The Delaware call it the Wendigo. As the town waits in terror for the next attack, Cole, Pakim and Chapman find themselves face-to-face with the Wendigo; it is a face they know well.

Michael Jensen is the author of Frontiers, a novel that featured a young John Chapman, who would become the American folk icon Johnny Appleseed. Jensen lives in Tacoma, Wash., with his partner, the novelist Brent Hartinger.

Hey, God! by Kip Conlon

Who hasn’t revealed some insecurity to God? After all, the divine creator would find out about it anyway, right? In fact, eavesdropping on everyone else’s neuroses is the appeal of author Kip Conlon’s new book Hey, God!, a tongue-in-cheek look at some very irreverent communications with the supreme being. Consider these “messages” to God: Dear God: What do you think of the new “Jesus is my best friend” bumper sticker on the Honda? Sometimes I think it’s sort of weird. Like, “Why am I telling this to people?” – Stephen, age 27; Dear God: Apparently, I am created in Your image. Which is bad news for the both of us, I’m afraid. – Ronald, age 38; Dear God: Jesus love me. He’s also been dead 2000 years and from what I understand, loves everybody, including Son of Sam. I need a man. Happy New Year’s. – Priscilla, age 43. Handwritten on stationary that mimics private and company letterhead, each piece of correspondence has a style all its own. With illustrations by Susan Conlon (the author’s mother, who has a master’s of art therapy and also works for the American Folk Art Museum in New York City), Hey, God! gives readers a humorous take on communicating with the Master of the universe.

Kip Conlon is a stand-up comedian in New York City. Reviews of his work have appeared in the Village Voice, the New York Times, and New York Magazine. In addition, he has contributed to Time Out New York and Esquire’s Dubious Achievement Awards issue.