New Titles

1) Nichols, Wallace J., Brad Nahill, and Melissa Gaskill. A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles. 2014. Texas A&M University Press. Flexibound: 221 pages. Price: $25.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Sea turtle populations around the world are endangered, and in recent years tourism has been a critical element in worldwide efforts to save them. More travelers seek meaningful experiences that bring them close to nature and wildlife, and opportunities to interact with and help sea turtles now exist at locations around the globe, from remote beaches to urban labs.
     In A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles, a scientist, a conservationist, and a journalist have come together to provide a guide to the places where people can view sea turtles and participate in authentic conservation projects.
     Covering five continents and including the South Pacific and Caribbean, the authors direct readers to the parks, reserves, and research sites where they can responsibly observe turtles in the wild, especially nesting beaches where people can see female sea turtles lay eggs and hatchlings make their harrowing journey from nest to sea. Options for on-site lodging and other amenities are included, if available, as well as details of other nearby attractions that travelers may wish to include in their itineraries.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for sea turtle fans!

2) Pratchett, Terry. A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction. 2014. Doubleday. Hardbound: 307 pages. Price: $26.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A Slip of the Keyboard is the first collection of Pratchett’s nonfiction work, and it brings together the finest examples of his extraordinary wit and his persuasive prose. Whether in short opinion pieces (on death and taxes), or in long essays, speeches, and interviews (covering a range of topics from mushrooms to orangutans), this collection is a fascinating look inside an extraordinary writer’s mind. It includes his remarks at science-fiction and fantasy conventions, his thoughts on the importance of banana daiquiris on book tours, his observations on fan mail, and his belief that an author is obligated to sign anything a fan puts in front of him (especially if it is very sharp). He also writes about the books that shaped his love of language and legends, not to mention his entrance into science-fiction fandom when he attended his first sci-fi convention as a teenager.
     Filled with all the humor and humanity that have made his novels so enduringly popular, this collection brings Pratchett out from behind the scenes of Discworld to speak for himself—man and boy, bibliophile and computer geek; a champion of hats, orangutans, and Dignity in Dying.
     With a foreword by Pratchett’s close friend and Good Omens coauthor Neil Gaiman to lead off, A Slip of the Keyboard is a must-have for any Pratchett fan.
RECOMMENDATION: As it says above, this book is a must have for Terry Pratchett fans!