Mini Book Expo For Bloggers

Reading by Lightning [Anna's review]

Reading by Lightning strikes Anna with its tone and quality:

Reading by Lightning is a wonderfully written coming of age story about a girl from the Canadian prairies who is sent to England just prior to WWII.
* 5 stars *

Keep reading Anna's review...

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More information   

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864925123   
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925121

What if red ran out [Suzanne's review]

What if red ran out will not clot, and it bleeds a little through the gauze of pacing for Suzanne:

Katia Grubisic’s debut poetry collection is at once both whimsical and realistic. While one piece will read straight out of a daydream, the next seems to be merely retelling the day’s events — although, admittedly, with a lot more style and grace than a news report.

Grubisic’s lyrical talents are unquestionable, but at times these skills are not enough to sustain the weight of this small yet substantial book. Sure, it’s less than 100 pages, but the content here is still fairly heavy and I often found myself wading through it at a rather slow pace.

A few gems do stand out in this collection, however, including “Barometer” (an analysis of what happens in the moment you decide to kiss someone) and “Manifesto for August” (the story of the month of August, personified as a flighty yet independent woman).

Overall, What if red ran out is a mixed bouquet that could use a bit more pruning.
* 3 stars *

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864925093 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925091

Something Drastic [Jonita's review]

Isn't anyone else curious about the significance of the garden gnomes and the strangely bolded letters on this drastically colourful cover for Something Drastic?!  If there is a reason, Jonita is not letting on:

When we first meet Lenore it is January 6th, and her live-in boyfriend of 8 years has just left her on Boxing Day. She writes letters to him at the post office box address that he left her so that she could forward on his mail, and she does not understand why he has left her. Things were good between the two of them, or so she thought, and when she gets home from the Boxing Day sales she simply finds that he is gone. He's left her a note; he's not happy with the "Status Quo" and has moved to Florida to work for the tourist industry. Lenore finds out in February that he did manage to steal over $3,000 from her, as he was kind enough to make charges to her credit card and run up her phone bill before he left.
* 5 stars *

Keep reading Jonita's review...

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864921713
• ISBN-13: 978-0864921710

Beatitudes [John M's review]

Beatitudes bangs the drum of existentialism for John at The Book Mine Set:

As I began Herménégilde Chiasson's Beatitudes, I very quickly decided that it was not a book I'd recommend to just anyone, not even among the poetry-minded folk. With 118 pages of lines that almost always begin with "those who," it runs the risk of becoming tedious. Plus it ends with a comma which might alienate those who require more of a resolution.

Surprisingly, however, Chiasson pulled it off.
* 4 stars *

Keep reading John M's review...

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864924860
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924865

Beatitudes [Herménégilde Chiasson, Joanne Elder]

Courtesy of Goose Lane

For Herménégilde Chiasson, every work of art is both a cry and a prayer. Beatitudes reflects this perspective by connecting everyday events -- people losing their keys or their cellphone signals -- to the universal. Sighs, silences, and human utterances all become part of an ongoing incantation that ranges from the personal to the textual, from the local to the cosmopolitan.   

In this postmodern "sermon on the mount," Chiasson has created a tour de force at once compassionate and complex, thoughtful and illuminating. A meditation on what it means to be human, Chiasson writes from a deep sense of melancholy. Exploring the common bonds of humanity, he creates a tonal montage that probes our notions of who we are and who we might become. Beginning in mid-sentence and ending not with a period but a comma, Beatitudes is Herménégilde Chiasson's most important work to date, with beautiful lines that continue to echo long after they have been read. It will be released simultaneously in French by Editions Prise de Parole.

About the Author   

Herménégilde Chiasson is one of Canada's most accomplished cultural icons. He is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, over 30 plays, and several collections of essays. A filmmaker, visual artist, curator, and widely published author, he has received numerous awards for his work, including the Governor-General's Award for poetry, le prix France-Acadie, the prestigious Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Prix quinquennal Antonine-Maillet-Acadie Vie. In 2003, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick./Jo-Anne Elder is the editor of Ellipse. She has translated a dozen novels and poetry collections including Herménégilde Chiasson's Climates and Conversations, both of which were shortlisted for the Atlantic Poetry Prize.

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• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 1 copy available  This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (October 19, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0864924860
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924865

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Something Drastic [Colleen Curran]

Courtesy of Goose Lane 

Something Drastic is a first-rate comedy wrapped in a clever story starring eccentrics galore. When her boyfriend dumps her, Lenore writes long letters to him while her own life takes her on a roller coaster of emotions and events.

About the Author   

Colleen Curran is a Montréaler of Irish heritage, and her life-long "French immersion" has given her the gift of the gab in both official languages. The genius for dramatic comedy so apparent in her hilarious novels also permeates the plays for which she has become a well-known figure in Canadian theatre. As well as writing CBC radio drama, she has had six plays produced on stage at the Blythe Festival. A former playwright-in-residence at Montreal's Centaur Theatre, Colleen Curran is now co-artistic director of the Triumvirate Theatre Company.

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• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 5 copies available This book is CLAIMED 
• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (October 1, 1995)
• ISBN-10: 0864921713
• ISBN-13: 978-0864921710

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Bittersweet [Philip Lee]

Confessions of a Twice-Married Man

Courtesy of Goose Lane

Philip Lee has survived "the dark year" - a year in which two newly divorced brothers rough it, with no running water or indoor plumbing and contend with a feisty band of squirrels that inhabit their kitchen. Dishes are washed in the rain, coffee is made with a can and a blowtorch, a bucket becomes a make-shift shower, and renovation projects are abandoned almost as soon as they are started.

But life never stands still, and Lee churns his way into new chapters of his life with the help of a therapist, and the new love of his life. Choice literary snippets gleam among his personal epiphanies, life's losses, and small victories. Slowly, enlightenment dawns, and with it, a second chance at love and happiness. 

With wry wit, warmth, and sensitivity, Lee shares a personal journey that takes him from the rivers and coastlines of Eastern Canada to the cities of China and the Greek island of Naxos. He cuts to the heart of the matter - how it is that we might lift ourselves up through the great work of love.

About the Author    

Philip Lee is an award-winning journalist, who has received two Canadian Association of Journalists awards and several Atlantic Journalism Awards. His writing has been short-listed for the Michener Award and the National Magazine Awards. He has published two books: Home Pool: The Fight to Save the Atlantic Salmon and the national bestseller Frank: The Life and Politics of Frank McKenna.

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• Extra Info: Bittersweet [Book Excerpt]
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 3 copies available This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (Sep 19 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0864924631
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924636

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Reading by Lightning [Joan Thomas]

 

Courtesy of Goose Lane

 

Lily Piper and her family live in an ephemeral world, due to collapse any moment when the Lord comes to pluck His faithful from the drought-ravaged Prairie. Lily tries to be ready, but she is restless, not the daughter she feels her mother wants. As she tries to invent herself, she conjures, too, an imagined past for her beloved father in an effort to understand him and the demons he battles.

 

In her teens, Lily is sent to England to care for her Grandmother and further explores the delicious question of who she might become. She falls in love with her adopted cousin, learns to experience life in all its ambiguity, and waits with the rest of England for World War II to start - until the news she has been dreading arrives on the doorstep, and she is called home to face a future she thought she had escaped.

 

Reading by Lightning is a Bildungsroman of great wit and depth. Thomas's prose is wry and intimate, elegant and devastatingly funny. Her engrossing story of Lily Piper tells us something of how we can make sense of a future when the future is something we can hardly imagine.

 

About the Author   
Joan Thomas has been a regular book reviewer for the Globe and Mail for more than a decade. Her essays, stories, and articles have been published in numerous journals and magazines including Prairie Fire, Books in Canada, and the Winnipeg Free Press. She has won a National Magazine Award, co-edited Turn of the Story: Canadian Short Fiction on the Eve of the Millennium, and has served on the editorial boards of Turnstone Press and Prairie Fire Magazine. She lives in Winnipeg.

 

 

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More information 

   
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

 

Product Details

 

   
• 3 available This book is CLAIMED
  
   
• Paperback: 388 pages
   
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (September 11, 2008)
   
• ISBN-10: 0864925123
   
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925121

 

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Summers in St Andrews [Soraya's review]

Summers in St Andrews didn't captivate Soraya:

If you're a Canadian history buff of Eastern Canada then this may be a book you'd be interested in.  If you're looking for a fictional story you would likely want to keep browsing.  Summers in St. Andrews is an account of the history of a resort in Eastern Canada.  Initially, it got my attention because it talks about C.P. Rail.  It goes on to describe the local hotels and some of the famous people that would migrate to the location in the summers.  However, being a prairie girl from Saskatchewan, it reminded me of the local area history biographies we had on different areas.  While there are some distinguished families identified and written about in the book I'm afraid it just didn't contain my interest. 

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864924569 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924568

A Sharp Tooth in the Fur [Squidgeaboo's review]

The stories of A Sharp Tooth in the Fur are obscured by the language, says Squidgeaboo:

Around page ninety-six I began dragging my eyes across the page like a reluctant teenager sent to do household chores...

Keep reading Squidgeaboo's review...

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More information

• Author Site: darrylwhetter.ca
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864923538 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864923530

A Sharp Tooth in the Fur [Chrissy's review]

A Sharp Tooth in the Fur is a remarkably memorable title, and here's what Chrissy thinks about the stories:

Thirteen tantalizing tales. Whetter`s writing will consume you. Each stimulating story will leave you wanting to know more about these captivating characters. An abstruse glimpse into the human experience. A distinguished debut!!

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More information

• Author Site: darrylwhetter.ca
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864923538 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864923530

The Nettle Spinner [avisannschild's review]

The Nettle Spinner doesn't quite poke avisannschild in all the right places, but it does scratch a couple of itches:

My favourite scene is Alma’s encounter with a bear—part rant about the craziness of what she’s doing, part comedy of errors, part philosophical musing about the nature of right and wrong, this is possibly the best woman-meets-beast scene I’ve ever read—complete with a Janis Joplin soundtrack no less.

Keep reading avisannschild's review...

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More information

• Author Site: kathrynkuitenbrouwer.com/
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com
• ISBN-10: 0864924224 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924223

Blunt Trauma [Ivy Bannister]

After the Fall of Flight 111

Courtesy of Goose Lane

Nova Scotia. All 229 men, women and children on board perished, including Ivy Bannister's sister, Patty. Set in Dublin, New York and the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Blunt Trauma is the true story of how one family's life was ravaged by the terrible event. 

When Ivy Bannister switched on BBC radio from her home in Dublin the following morning, she has no idea that that the first thing she'd hear would change her life forever. An ocean away from the tragedy that claimed her sister's life, Ivy soon left her family to be with her 80-year-old mother in New York City. What follows is a poignant day-by-day account of how she coped with the tragic death of her sister, and the painful practicalities of identifying remains and disposing of possessions. Meetings with lawyers and airline officials prove difficult, as is the daunting task of clearing out Patty's apartment. 

Overwhelmed by a lifetime's worth of accumulated belongings and the "heartbreak of unravelling" her sister's possessions, Ivy soon realises that Patty's home was a shrine to the past and of future wishes. Abiding to her mother's philosophy of "waste not, want not," Patty kept everything. From ticket stubs and guidebooks, to outfits worn in their childhood, pristine china and a stockpile of things she saved for the future, Ivy struggles to understand the woman she had lost touch with so many years before. Adding to the heartache is Ivy's turbulent relationship with her controlling mother. A feisty, stubborn, disapproving woman set in her own ways, Hortense finds fault with everything and everyone around her – including her one remaining daughter. Hampered by her mother's fierce need to keep her life private, her unreasonable demands, her angry outbursts and her irrational paranoia, Ivy holds on as her mother's response to one daughter's violent death wounds the other. 

A poignant story that will touch the heart, Ivy Bannister lets readers into her family life so we may all understand the grievous wounds that disasters inflict upon those whose loved ones have vanished. Blunt Trauma takes a powerful look at tragedy, grief and acceptance in an intimate, fast-paced, and sometimes startling story that shows the past as illuminated by the present and explores how catastrophe shatters imperfect familial relationships. 

About the Author
Ivy Bannister is a story-writer, playwright, and novelist. She grew up in New York City and currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. She is the author of two story collections, Magician and Other Stories and The Wild Circus Show. Her stories have also been widely anthologized and broadcast by RTÉ (Ireland's Public Service Broadcaster) and BBC, and she is a contributor to Sunday Miscellany (Dublin). She is a lecturer on literature and drama, and she has facilitated writers' workshops for Dublin's Writers Center, the Global Women's Network, and the Verbal Arts Centre. She recently received the Hennessy Award and the Mobil Ireland Playwriting Award. 

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 3 copies available This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 248 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; 1 edition (April 28, 2006) 
• ISBN-10: 0864924526 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924520

Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Goose Lane

The Coasts of Canada [Lesley Choyce]

A History

Courtesy of Goose Lane 

From the days before the arrival of the Europeans in North America, when the original inhabitants of our country made their way across a small land bridge, to today's arrival in supersonic jets, there is one sight that is shared by all new Canadians - the country's dramatic coastline. 

In this eclectic history of the sea's elemental power over Canada's coastal peoples, Lesley Choyce brings to life the heroes and villains, the Aboriginals and the Europeans, the great and the humble, and the intrepid but ill-prepared explorers, who "discovered," travelled through, and inhabited Canada's east, west, and north coasts. Brimming with shipwrecks and rescues, roguery and virtue, and stories of overcoming unimaginable odds, 

The Coasts of Canada is both idiosyncratic and iconoclastic. At once a book of discoveries and a record of misunderstandings, errors and misjudgements, it features the stories of hardy souls who persevere in difficult realms. It is also a plea to preserve the good things of the sea, the coastal communities, and the fragile environment that constitutes three borders of this country. 

About the Author

Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951, moved to Canada in 1978 and became a Canadian citizen. He teaches part-time at Dalhousie University, runs Pottersfield Press and has written over 40 adult and young adult books. His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands. 

Lesley surfs year round in the North Atlantic and is considered the father of transcendental wood-splitting. He's worked as a rehab counsellor, a freight hauler, a corn farmer, a janitor, a journalist, a lead guitarist, a newspaper boy and a well-digger. He also hosts a nationally syndicated TV talk show in Halifax. 

He lives in a 200 year old farm house on Lawrencetown Beach overlooking the ocean. 

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More information 

• Author Site: Lesley Choyce 
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details 

• 3 copies available This book is CLAIMED 
• Hardcover: 308 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (November 27, 2002) 
• ISBN-10: 0864923600 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864923608

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What if red ran out [Katia Grubisic]

Courtesy of Goose Lane

What if red ran out is the assured first collection from one of Canada's finest young poets. Provocative, funny, and brash, the poems in this collection leap from one surprising image to another, from poignancy to an outlandish, teasing delight. The sheer tonal range of Grubisic's poems is remarkable. They shimmer with playfulness yet deepen into contemplative gravity. These street-smart poems register the pulse of contemporary commodity culture's off-kilter pacing; "the hyena at the bodega," as she calls it. They peer into back alleys of thought and bring forth our fears. But then, all at once, they race down the street again, laughing, reminding us of all we love and how we might hold onto it. 

About the Author
Katia Grubisic's poems and short stories, translations, and reviews have appeared in numerous periodicals, including The Globe and Mail, Books in Canada, Arc, The Antigonish Review, The Croatian Reader, CV2, ellipse, The Nashwaak Review, Grain Magazine, and Matrix. She is presently an editor for The New Quarterly and formerly a member of the editorial boards for Qwerty and The Fiddlehead. Her work has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards and the Descant / Winston Collins Prize for poetry. She presently lives in Montreal. 

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• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• 1 copy available This book is CLAIMED
• Paperback: 88 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (April 11, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 0864925093 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925091

Shipping within Canada sponsored by Goose Lane

Back in 6 Years [Luanne's review]

Imagine going on a trip... for 6 years! Luanne enjoys the ride Back in 6 Years provides:

Tony Robinson-Smith has been teaching English in Japan for five years when he suddenly decides he's had enough. (having sung the only 2 english songs on the karaoke list at a bar over and over again may have helped swing his decison...)
He decides he will not travel by air at any time and heads back to England to begin his journey.

Keep reading Luanne's review...

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More information

• Extra Info: Prologue from Back in Six Years [PDF]
• Goose Lane Press | Chapters.ca | Amazon

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (April 25, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 0864925026 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925022

Shipping within Canada and US sponsored by Goose Lane Press

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (April 25, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 0864925026 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925022

Shipping within Canada and US sponsored by Goose Lane Press

Ganong [Michele's review]

Who doesn't want a little more sweetness in their life?

Michele lovingly reviews Ganong - a history of Canada's longstanding chocolate company - on her weblog:

...I selected this book because I love Chocolate.  I would love for Health Canada to make it a part of the major food groups.  Seriously, it is a legit request.  This book is filled with the history of the Ganong family/business.  It is not one big advertisement, like many other books about companies...

Keep reading Michele's review...

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  |  Amazon.com 
• Ganong Chocolates

Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (October 27, 2006) 
• ISBN-10: 0864924801 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924803

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The Darren Effect [Carmen's Review]

Carmen's back (from c-alexis) with her review of The Darren Effect. I share her feelings towards not understanding infidelity. If you're not happy, why put up with it? Would there be a story if you didn't? Without any delay, here's a snippit of her review:

The complexities of the character's relationships kept me on my toes. Though I can't relate to affairs and I don't really understand how people can be so ... not loyal... but this affair just kept the story going. I wanted to know exactly what Isabella knew about it, and what she did. I have to say that I'm surprised that she didn't come out with it. I'm not entirely sure whether I think she's strong or too weak to handle it. As for Heather, well I pity her for losing a man she loved.

Keep reading Carmen's review...

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More information

• Read an excerpt 
• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  | Amazon.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages 
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (March 7, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 0864925069 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925060

Cricket in a Fist [Mark Leslie's Review]

Amnesia and self help? Identity and unearthing family secrets? Sounds like my last family reunion. Actually it's Mark Leslie's review of Cricket in a Fist, over on Mark Leslie's Blog. He explains how this book was woven together:

The basic story begins with two daughters, one in her twenties and the other thirteen years old, attempting to come to terms with the manor in which their mother abandoned their family to become a self-help guru not long after suffering from amnesia during an accident involving a head injury.

Under a new identify, their mother preaches "willing amnesia" to the world while the girls try to sort out the truth of their own past, their mother's past, and slowly unravel the tangled web of truth from amidst the family's long history of secrets.

Let's keep reading Mark Leslie's review...  

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More information

• Goose Lane | Chapters.ca  |  Amazon.com

Product Details

• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (February 22, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 086492495X 
• ISBN-13: 978-0864924957

No Such Thing as a Free Ride? [Luanne's Review]

Would you stick out your thumb for a free ride? In these times of paranoid uncertainty where the next person you meet could be a ticking time bomb of weirdness, a book like No Such Thing is a bit of an anachronism. Luanne, from A Bookworm's World, enjoyed this collection of essays and memories about hitch-hiking:

But honestly every article is a great read. I was fascinated with people's experiences on the road. Some good, some bad, some downright scary, but all with a view as to how hitchhiking touched their lives.

There is a great appendix at the back with a listing of references to hitchhiking in websites, books, music and film.

And who contributed to this collection? ...

Keep reading Luanne's review...

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More information 

• Goose Lane |Chapters.ca| Amazon.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions (May 23, 2008) 
• ISBN-10: 0864925050
• ISBN-13: 978-0864925053