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So many books, so little time.
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Greetings!
Greetings from Green Apple, now celebrating its 42nd anniversary. In case you missed the news, the ten-year buyout of Green Apple by long-time employees Kevin Hunsanger, Pete Mulvihill, and Kevin Ryan is complete. And we just signed a ten-year lease. Yes, we've staked our livelihood and that of our 25 booksellers on a bet that we can keep this bookstore thriving for at least ten more years. So unless you wish to prove us foolish, please come in soon to show your support. . . .
On to today's newsletter. First, our Book of the Month: Tracy Kidder's inspiring new book Strength in What Remains. See Nick's blurb below.
Also below, we present some new book releases we're excited about (all with free shipping). There's also a short column on Irish mystery writers by our very own Martin.
And our blog thrives. Check it out, or follow us (very occasionally) on Twitter.Thanks, as always, for reading.
--Pete et al. |
"A good book is always on tap; it may be decanted and drunk a hundred
times, and it is still there for further imbibement."
~Holbrook Jackson |
September 2009 |
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September's Book of the Month
Each month, Green Apple presents a Book of the Month, a brand-new book that we're so crazy about, we passionately guarantee it 100%.
August's selection is Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder.
And here's Nick's "shelf-talker":
If you loved Mountains Beyond Mountains,
here is another truly inspirational, heart-wrenching account of one man
trying to overcome everything that stands in his way--everyone who
would like to see him fail, if not dead--to help others in need.
Strength in What Remains is the story of Deogratias, a man from a small village in Burundi,
one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Despite this, Deo was
attending medical school when Civil War and genocide broke out in
Burundi and neighboring Rwanda. I think Kidder puts it best:
"When I first heard Deo's story, I had one simple thought: I would not have survived. I hoped in part to reproduce that feeling in recounting what seems to me a rich tale: an adventure story, a survival story, an immigrant's story, a story of despair and determination, of evil and kindness."
Kidder (described by the Baltimore Sun
as a "master of the non-fiction narrative") has accomplished what he
set out to do. He deftly and masterfully describes Deo's terrifying run
through fields and jungles, barely surviving his escape to New York.
When he lands in America, he doesn't speak English and knows no one.
Deo pushes on, delivering groceries and living in Central Park.
Deo's
is a truly terrifying & powerful story, of what the human body
& spirit can withstand. He now is helping the country that he left
with Village Health Works whose motto is, "Where there is health, there is hope."
I don't really know how to end this other than saying that I think both Mountains Beyond Mountains & Strength in What Remains should be required reading for everyone. It would make us all a little
more humble, a little kinder, and a little more considerate to those
around us and those less fortunate than us. --Nick Buzanski
And this book is guaranteed 100%. You'll love it or we'll give you your money back. And apologize.
Click here to buy a copy (with free shipping!) or stop by the store soon. |
2010 Calendars Coming Soon
The city's finest selection of 2010 calendars--page-a-days, walls, minis, oversize, etc.--arrives at Green Apple in a few weeks, by Friday, September 25th at the latest. Start saving your shekels. |
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New Books We're Excited About;
with free shipping
Notable this month:
NurtureShock: Hey, Malcolm Gladwell fans: can't wait for your next fix? Well, NurtureShock
is the answer to your dilemma. Bronson and Merryman have dug through
the research papers and scientific journals and academic studies, and
what they've found will surprise, entertain and enlighten you. Click here to see more. . . .
In Cheap We Trust: When she was young, Lauren Weber resented her father for keeping the
heat at 50 degrees through the frigid New England winters and rarely
using his car's turn signals--to keep them from burning out. But as an
adult, when she found herself walking 30 blocks to save $2 on subway
fare, she realized she had turned into him. Click here to read more. . . .
A Bomb in Every Issue: The story of a fascinating time in San Francisco history, the wild ride of Ramparts, the muckraking magazine that captured the zeitgeist of the 1960s, repeatedly scooped the New York Times,
and gave us Warren Hinkle. The contributors were a who's who of the
American left: Noam Chomsky, Susan Sontag, Seymour Hersh--and the CIA
spied on the Ramparts staff after the magazine exposed the agency's covert activities in Vietnam. Former Ramparts staffers went on to found Rolling Stone and Mother Jones. Click here to buy this one.
F, U, Penguin: Telling Cute Animals What's What: The website-into-books phenomenon may not have yet produced a better
result than this book. We can't say much about it or this newsletter
will get nailed by your spam-filter, so check out
http://www.fupenguin.com/ and laugh and laugh and laugh, and then come
buy the book. You can't bathroom read on a laptop, after all. Ew. Click here to buy.
Masterpiece Comics: Classics Illustrated gone one step better. See Blondie and Dagwood in
the Book of Genesis; Ziggy in Candide; Wuthering Heights rendered in
the style of Tales of the Crypt; Crime & Punishment if Rashkolnikov
were Batman. And see what happens when Charlie Brown wakes up as a
cockroach in "Good ol' Gregor Brown." Funny stuff, and fairly priced
for a hardcover with so much color. Click here to buy.
I Drink for a Reason: Not sure we can top the publisher's own product description for this
book, so here it it: After a decade spent in isolation in the Ugandan
jungles thinking about stuff, David Cross has written his first book.
Known for roles on the small screen such as "never-nude" Tobias Funke
on Arrested Development and the role of "David" in Mr. Show With Bob
And David, as well as a hugely successful stand-up routine full of
sharp-tongued rants and rages, Cross has carved out his place in
American comedy. Click here to read more. . . .
Born Round: Though Frank Bruni's eating addiction and bodily shame are the main threads running through Born Round--bulimia, diets, Mexican speed-it's the part food played in his family that engaged me most. With obvious affection, he recalls the military precision of his mom's Thanksgiving productions, and how she spread the word of Frank's gayness to his dad and siblings. Click here to read more. . . .
 San Francisco Cliff House: A much more in-depth pictorial history of the Cliff House and Adolph
Sutro's grounds (now Sutro Park) than we've seen before. Chock full of
photos, along with stories and vintage recipes from the Cliff House
past. Click here to buy.
Click on any title to view our "shelf talker" or click here to see all of our September selections.
Free shipping (media mail in the USA) on any of these featured titles. Shop local first. |
Martin's Mystery Roundup
In the land of mystery, some things will always be consistent. Bodies will be found. Dust-jackets will feature shadows. And great
novels will be set in the old familiar places (San
Francisco, New York, London). But there will also be
books set in fresh locations: ancient Rome
for instance. And, every so often, a new style of mystery will come
forward.
Ireland
is not the first (or even fifth) locale one thinks of for hard boiled
crime novels, but over the last decade, Irish authors have been steeping
forward to rectify this situation. For the sake of brevity, I will limit myself to three.
Ken
Bruen is the author of the Jack Taylor series, now on its seventh book
(Sanctuary). And a great series it is, capturing an Ireland poised between its traditional style of living and the new opportunities provided by the Celtic
Tiger Economy.
Benjamin Black is the alias for John Banville
who won the Man Booker prize in 2005 for The Sea. He has written so far
two novels featuring Quirke, a coroner in 1950's Dublin. Along with
being well written mysteries, these book provide an extremely vivid
portrayal of Dublin in the mid to late fifties.
 And a newcomer
to the genre: Stuart Neville has written The Ghosts of Belfast, the
first in a series about a former IRA assassin who is haunted by the ghosts of
those he has killed. It's one of the next books on my nightstand, and
one I'm very much looking forward to reading.
And of course, I
would be remiss if I did not mention Dublin Noir, part of the noir
series of different cities. This book is an excellent introduction to
some of the current Irish crime writers. --Martin Sorenson
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Golden Gate Park Book Fair
Save the date: October 25th. Green Apple will be among the many book dealers at this FREE book fair.  |
Need more Green Apple?
Try our blog or follow us on Twitter
Our blog is good. Really.
And we post occasionally on Twitter. Follow us.
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