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Mon - Fri 9:30 - 6:00
Sat 9:30 - 6:00
Sun Noon - 6:00
Special Hours Open weekends until 6pm. Thursday, December 9: Concord's Holiday Shopping Night until 8pm |
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Upcoming Events
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Leslie Perrin Wilson reads from and discusses Historic Concord and the Lexington Fight |
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Greetings!
If you're looking at a November calendar, it's time to turn the page and welcome in the last month of 2010!
This week's newsletter offers suggestions for a notable short fiction collection, a quirky art/architecture book, and a book group favorite now in paperback.
Also featured is the Concord Free Press and their newest book, Rut, by Scott Phillips. Read the full article (below) to learn more about this revolutionary concept in publishing.
We have signed editions of non-fiction works from Nora Titone and Richard Francis. Titone gave a fascinating presentation on the Booth family and the intense sibling rivalry between Lincoln's assassin and his brother; a real page turner! Francis' book has an especially strong local appeal, as it takes a in-depth look at the utopian experiment at Fruitlands.
A few of our upcoming special events include Leslie Perrin Wilson with her 375th anniversary edition of the history of Concord, and the Holiday Shopping Night sponsored by the Concord Chamber of Commerce. Details are in this newsletter.
If you're in town shopping this weekend, note our extended hours - now open until 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays, through the holidays. The Concord Museum hosts "Family Trees - A Celebration of Children's Literature" beginning December 3.
When you're in the bookshop, we ask that you might consider donating a children's book to the Concord Prison Outreach, which furnishes books that fathers can read to their children during a family visit. There is a box for donated books here at the Concord Bookshop.
As we do each week, we encourage you to share this newsletter with a friend. We've added Facebook event pages for upcoming events; we hope you take advantage of this social media to invite friends to join you at the bookshop. Stop in and talk with us about what you'd like to read next! Comments are also welcome via email to info.concordBookshop@gmail.com; drop us a line and tell us what you're reading now.
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Our Next Event: Leslie Perrin Wilson and Historic Concord
Historic Concord by Leslie Perrin Wilson
Please join us Sunday, December 5th at 3:00 when we welcome Leslie Perrin Wilson, discussing "Historic Concord and the Lexington Fight" by Allen French with an all-new guide for the Concord 375th Anniversary Edition by Leslie Perrin Wilson.
Beginning with Allen French's original guide and updating its account of local landmarks and history for 21st century visitors, Leslie Wilson has drawn on the wealth of information in the archives of the Concord Free Public Library to convey the spirit of community that has succeeded in preserving the past while living vibrantly in the present.
Leslie Perrin Wilson earned her B.A. in Latin from Wellesley College, her M.S. from the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and her M.A. in English from Simmons College. She has made her career in special collections and archives and has been Curator of Special Collections of the Concord (Massachusetts) Free Public Library since 1996.
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New in Our Signed Books Gallery: Richard Francis and Nora Titone
Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia by Richard Francis AND My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone
 | | Nora Titone signs My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy |
 | | Richard Francis signs Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia |
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Concord Free Press
"Free Their Books and Their Minds Will Follow"
We are excited to be part of the unique distribution chain for the newest "hot off the presses" book from Concord Free Press!
Concord Free Press calls itself "a revolutionary experiment in generosity-based publishing." The organization publishes one high-quality book at a time, and gives each copy away. For free. Really.
Rather than put a price on the book, Concord Free Press asks that readers make a voluntary donation to someone in need, then pass the book along so the next reader can also give. This is the ultimate in 'paying it forward.'
Each limited edition book is numbered, and the organization asks readers to log their giving anonymously on their website; it's fascinating to see the scope of people and organizations who have benefited from Concord Free Press' initiative. At this writing, almost $180,000 in donations have been reported!
Rut, the fifth title from CFP is "a dystopian novel with a difference ... hilarious and horrifying ... a wonderfully weird tale unlike any other." Read more about the author and his original novel on the CFP website, then come in and pick up a copy (while they last!) ... and let the giving continue!
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Nonfiction
Stickwork by Patrick Dougherty
... Dynamic works that twist the line between architecture, landscape, and art.
You may have seen a "stickwork" at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln. Patrick Dougherty's Spin Offs was installed at the sculpture park in 1990.
The ultimate in temporary art installations, Patrick Dougherty's sculptures - made completely of organic material that has been bent, woven, and fastened - eventually disintegrate and return to the landscape.
Stickwork looks at several dozen of the 200 sculptures Doughtery has created. Featuring a wealth of photographs and drawings that document the construction process of each remarkable structure, Stickwork preserves the legend of the man who weaves the simplest of materials into a singular artistic triumph. A great gift for those interested in out-of-the-ordinary art and architecture.
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Short story collection
Selected Stories by William Trevor
Named one of the "100 Notable Books of 2010" by The New York Times
"William Trevor has crafted exquisitely rendered tales that brilliantly illuminate the human condition. Bringing together forty-eight stories from After Rain, The Hill Bachelors, A Bit on the Side, and Cheating at Canasta, this second volume of Trevor's collected fiction offers readers "treasures of gorgeous writing, brilliant dialogue, and unforgettable lives" (The New York Times Book Review)."
Trevor has published fourteen novels, most recently Love and Summer, and twelve collections of short stories. He is one of the most acclaimed authors of our time: a four-time winner of the O. Henry Prize, three-time winner of the Whitbread Prize, and five-time finalist for the Man Booker Prize. Born in County Cork in 1928, Trevor now lives in England.
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Now in paperback
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
"Thoroughly charming . . . With her crisp wit and gentle insight, Simonson . . . knows just what delicious disruption romance can introduce to a well-settled life."-The Washington Post
A book group favorite - now in paperback! In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
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In Our Window
"Family Trees: A Celebration of Children's Literature" 
The Concord Museum presents Family Trees - A Celebration of Children's Literature,
December 3-January 2.
"The 15th annual Family Trees gives Concord's renowned literary tradition a creative twist, as the Concord Museum is filled with fanciful trees of all shapes and sizes inspired by acclaimed children's storybooks and contemporary picture book favorites.
The exhibition's focus on children's literature makes Family Trees unique among the many holiday events in greater Boston. Inspired by the storyline, the illustrations, the characters or setting of a particular book, volunteer decorators let their imaginations take flight, much to the delight of visitors of all ages from all over New England.
Proceeds from Family Trees, organized by the Museum's Guild of Volunteers, benefit the Concord Museum's educational mission."
For more information, visit the Concord Museum website, or phone 978-369-9763. |
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