oh. my. god.

In my hands (right this moment! It's kind of hard to type) is a box. It's 6 inches by 9 inches, about 4 inches deep. It has an old map of Boston printed on it.

When you open the box, an assortment of replicated photos, maps and newspaper articles fall out. A New York Times article from 1919, a photo of Emma Goldman and another of Calvin Coolidge. A full map of Boston from 1902 and a replica Babe Ruth baseball card from his 1914-1935 Red Sox years. Under all of this ephemera lies a book. It is a heavy paperback (704 pages) called The Given Day: A Novel and it is Dennis Lehane's newest book, set to hit bookstores and libraries September 23, 2008.

Dennis Lehane wrote two of my favorite mystery/suspence novels: Gone, Baby, Gone (which of course was made into a hit movie) and Shutter Island (which is being made into a movie and wins BEST TWIST award). There are lots of others too, like Mystic River. Lehane is an amazing writer and his mysteries are always complex yet fun to read. But the thing about this new book?

It's historical fiction.

How did I come to hold this treasure box? Why, my good friend, fellow librarian and bookstore owner, Terry! This promotional advance copies are reason enough to open your own bookstore!!