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People at parties ask us all the time about what kind of absinthe they should try. The short answer is, all of them. But since there are now about 20 absinthes available in the U.S., your time is limited, and your boss probably frowns on drinking on the job, we'll offer a quick primer.

There are three basic types of absinthe: Swiss, French, and Bohemian. Swiss absinthes tend to be lighter and mix well with more subtle flavors and other liquors. They make great martinis and spritzers and are easily drinkable even without sugar.

French brands are almost always more bitter but also more complex and interesting. They mix well with punches and fruit drinks, as the bitterness and sugar complement each other. We tend to sub French brands for whiskey in cocktails.

Bohemian absinthes are even more bitter and less complex than French absinthes. Some people would insist that they aren't absinthes at all. While we won't judge them that harshly, with a handful of good exceptions, they're best broken out for spring break, war wounds, and visiting exes.

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Flirt Unabridged CDs
Laurell K. Hamilton
Audiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 5 Hours; 5 CDs | 04 Feb 2010 9780142428016

Listen to an audio excerpt

Summer According to Humphrey
Betty G. Birney
Audiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 4 Hours; 3 CDs | 04 Feb 2010 9780143145585

Listen to an audio excerpt

 Adventure According to Humphrey/Audio
Betty G. Birney
Audiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 4 Hours; 3 CDs | 04 Feb 2010 9780143145578

Listen to an audio excerpt

 Author Q&A'a (1)

Author Q&A - Pocket Peace Allan Lokos (Tarcher)

Excerpts (6)

Excerpt - Caught Harlan Coben (Dutton)

Excerpt - Pocket Peace Allan Lokos (Tarcher)

Excerpt - The Watchers Shane Harris (The Penguin Press)

Excerpt - Ravishing in Red Madeline Hunter (Jove)

Excerpt - Keith Haring Journals Keith Haring (Penguin Classics)

Excerpt - Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals Peter Pronovost and Eric Vohr (Hudson Street Press)

Videos (1)

Video - A Company of Heroes Marcus Brotherton (Berkley)

>>Julie Klausner discusses her book, plus how pop culture has influenced her views on love and her similarities to Miss Piggy from the Muppets.

>>Read more about I Don't Care About Your Band

Julie Klausner I Don't Care About Your Band Music Podcast Author Pengun Books

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By now, you've heard all the brouhaha over the legalization of absinthe and probably read a few stories about the traditional way it's served and all the famous Belle Epoque artists who once drank it. We love to knock back a glass of absinthe and water, and we can't find much to complain about in Paris, but the "Absinthe Is Back" stories missed the point.

The point is not that absinthe is fashionably naughty again. The point is that one of the world's great liquors-with the virtuosity of wine and the punch of a good whiskey-has taken its rightful place on the modern bar and opened up a cocktail gold rush. It's like someone just discovered an eighth continent and mailed us all flagpoles.

We got so overwhelmed by the possibilities that we started writing them down and ultimately made them into a book: The Little Green Book of Absinthe. Here we offer a favorite recipe not included in the book:

The Deep End

3 oz. Le Tourment Vert absinthe
3 oz. fresh mango juice
1½ oz. agave water blend

Add ice, then ingredients, into a blender. Blend for 7 to 8 seconds. Pour into a 16-oz. glass and garnish with a slice of lime and two slices of mango. Paul Owens serves this cocktail at his San Francisco restaurant, Tortilla Heights.

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Penguin Group (USA) Continues to Have the #1 Bestselling Hardcover Fiction Title, Leading a Great Week on the New York Times Bestseller Lists

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is #1 on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list for the fourth consecutive week – the first time a Putnam title has achieved a four-week run at the top of this list since September of 2001, when Clive Cussler matched this feat with Valhalla Rising. There are more than 1.75 million copies of The Help in print and the book has now been on The New York Times bestseller list for 44 weeks.

The hardcover division had an additional eight titles on the fiction and nonfiction besteller lists, including one debut. Linchpin by Seth Godin (Portfolio) entered the hard-to-crack hardcover advice, how-to and miscellaneous list at #10.

On the trade paperback side, seven titles appear on the bestseller lists, led by Food Rules by Michael Pollan (Penguin) which remained at #1 for the fourth consecutive week on the paperback advice, how-to, & miscellaneous list, The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee (Penguin), which was featured in an Associated Press article last week, and Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea (Penguin), which has been on the trade paperback list for 157 weeks!

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Riverhead’s Nick Hornby Nominated for an Academy Award 

Riverhead author and international bestselling writer Nick Hornby can now add another credit to his resume—Oscar nominee. Nick’s screenplay for the film “An Education” was nominated for this year’s Adapted Screenplay Academy Award. Riverhead Trade Paperbacks published the screenplay this past fall with a special introduction from Nick.

In addition to Nick’s nomination, the movie (which was co-produced by Nick’s wife Amanda Posey) was also nominated for Best Picture and star Carey Mulligan was nominated for Best Actress.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC-TV on Sunday, March 7th.

Read the full introduction to "An Education" here, and also watch the movie trailor.

Two Penguin Group (USA) Titles Are Nominees for Minnesota Book Awards 

Finalists for the 22nd Minnesota Book Awards were announced last week by Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and two PGI titles are nominees. Rough Country by John Sandford (Putnam) is a finalist in the Genre Fiction category and The Book of Night Women by Marlon James (Riverhead) is a finalist in the Novel and Short Story category. Winners will be announced April 17th at the Minnesota Book Awards gala.

View The Book of Night Women book page to read an excerpt, explore the reading group guide, listen to a podcast with Marlon James, and read his blog posts on the Penguin Blog.

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Paul Owens (pictured, left) and Paul Nathan (pictured, right) are guest bloggers during the week of February 8th. If you have any questions for either Paul, add a comment to any of their posts. Here is some more information about The Little Green Book of Absinthe: An Essential Companion with Lore, Trivia, and Classic and Contemporary Cocktail:

A celebration of "the green goddess"-this is the first book to share absinthe recipes since it was recently legalized in the U.S.

This enticing little volume presents a collection of more than 100 absinthe cocktail recipes that draw upon the classic roots of the drink as well as its new iterations. Readers will be entertained with nuggets of absinthe history and trivia, including the tradition of the green fairy, famous devotees of the drink, and the myths (or facts) of its hallucinatory properties.

Readers will learn that:

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Interview With a Typist

By Jack Fletcher

 BEGIN TRANSMISSION

"Hi Katie."

"Eeeeek! What that... who are you?"

"I'm Jack."

"Jack?"

"Jack Fletcher."

"Good God! What are you doing here?"

"The people at Penguin asked me to do a bunch of interviews for them. You're my last one, as a matter of fact."

"But...but...how did you get into my office?"

"I'm not really here, only a projection of me is. Hey, Dooley, get the recording device going, would you? Thanks. So, Katie, I understand you are a typist."

"I'm a what? Oh, you've been talking to my muse, haven't you?"

"Maybe."

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The Grand Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics starts on February 12, 2010, with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron.

Every four years, the entire world comes together to honor and celebrate outstanding athletes, remarkable athletic achievements, and the grand tradition of the Olympic competition.

This year's Olympics are in Vancouver, Canada, where the conditions are ideal for the skating, skiing, and luging competitions that constitute the winter games. 

For light-hearted fans of Canada and the Winter Olympics, here are a couple of whimsical picks from the Penguin library:

The Penguin Book of More Canadian Jokes
by John Robert Colombo

Book: Paperback | 8.50 x 5.51in | 488 pages | ISBN 9780143014904 | 01 Sep 2004 | 18 - AND UP 

$11.50 - Add to Cart

Winter Games Mad Libs
by Roger Price and Leonard Stern

Book: Paperback | 5.31 x 8.38in | 48 pages | ISBN 9780843116519 | 03 Nov 2005 | PSS Juvenile | 8 - AND UP years 

$3.99 - Add to Cart