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February Events:
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2/8 - Knit Night (Crocheters, too!) 2/18 - Michael Hastings Ongoing - Group Art Show and EAL Winter Art Exhibit
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Looking for a Valentine's Gift for Your Sweetheart?
 With a book, you can give your Valentine the gift of passion, intrigue, and adventure, all in one affordable, portable (but very memorable) package.  Of course, we also have Danforth and Hope for Women jewelry, candles and candle holders, fine and functional art, and an array of Valentine's Day cards!
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Valentine's Cards for Kids
Looking for fresh, fun, Valentine's Day cards to help your children celebrate?
Look no further! We have an array of Valentines from two of our favorite companies: Peaceable Kingdom and eeboo.
 Our selection of Valentines includes something for everyone. We have: baseball, butterflies, dinosaurs, fairies, robots, trucks, and wildlife cards - not to mention craft and glitter cards! So stop by soon to get your first pick!
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 February is Strawberry Shortcake Month!
Save 25% off select Strawberry Shortcake books this month!*  These days, Strawberry Shortcake and her berry best friends are having all sorts of new adventures! Inspired by her classic 80s' look -- including her iconic green and white-striped tights -- this spirited, little red-haired girl has a fresh new look and lives in a miniature world beneath a berry patch. In the whimsical land of Berry Bitty City, Strawberry and her friends run little shops and have fantastic adventures full of humor, fun and friendship.
*In-store, in-stock purchases only.
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Not Sure What to Read Next?
Check out some of our personal favorites online, at phoenixbooks.biz. Once you find the book you'd love, give us a ring at 872-7111 so we can check the shelves and put one on hold just for you.
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Not Sure What to Buy?
![]()  Gift Certificates are the Perfect Choice!
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Make the Connection 
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Thank you for choosing local and indie!
 | Store Hours:
Mon-Fri: 9am-7pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm
at the Essex
Shoppes & Cinema
21 Essex Way #407
Essex, VT 05452
802.872.7111
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Dear Friends, The days may be cold this time of the year, but they're getting longer and brighter, and tomorrow we'll see whether Punxsutawney Phil and his fellow prognosticators declare that spring's on the horizon. In the meantime, we can't help but relish the perfect conditions to curl up with a good book. If you're not sure which book to curl up with, read on: There are plenty of ideas below.
We ended January with a celebration of our newest group art show, featuring a fiber artist, a graphic artist, a painter, and two photographers. If you didn't get to join us for the opening reception, please stop by sometime this month to enjoy the gorgeous artwork on our walls. We're proud of all this local talent.
We'd also like to invite you to a very special event on February 18th, when Michael Hastings - the Rolling Stone writer whose article resulted in General Stanley McChrystal's resignation - will discuss his new book, The Operators.
As always, thank you for choosing to shop local and independent. We look forward to seeing you! Sincerely,
Mike, Renee, Beth, Colleen, Deb, Heather, Katie, Kristen,
Rachel M., Rachel O., Rick, and Tod
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YOU'RE INVITED TO... ...
Come Face to Face with a Rolling Stone Journalist
Michael Hastings
Saturday, February 18th at 2pm
Michael Hastings will visit Phoenix to discuss his new book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan. Hastings is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. He regularly covers international affairs for the magazine, including the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. In 2011, he received the George Polk Award in journalism for his Rolling Stone story "The Runaway General."
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FICTION PICKS
Home and Other
The House I loved, by Tatiana De Rosnay
Release date: February 14th.
By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris. Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer each day. Attempting to overcome her loneliness, she begins to write letters to her beloved late husband. As she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years. (Hardcover.)
Home Front by Kristin Hannah
Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. It agonizes Jolene to leave her family, and in her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. Then tragedy strikes, and Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own. (Hardcover)
Among Others, by Jo Walton
As a child growing up in Wales, Morwenna played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. When her half-mad mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled - and her twin sister dead. Fleeing to a father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England - a place all but devoid of true magic. There, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off... (Paperback Sci Fi/Fantasy.)
 The Invisible Ones, by Stef Penney
Small-time private investigator Ray Lovell veers between paralysis and delirium in a hospital bed. But before the accident that landed him there, he'd been hired to find Rose Janko, the wife of a charismatic son of a traveling Gypsy family, who went missing seven years earlier. Half Romany himself, Ray is well aware that he's been chosen more for his blood than his investigative skills. Still, he's surprised by the intense hostility he encounters from the Jankos. Touched by tragedy, they're either cursed or hiding a terrible secret - whose discovery Ray can't help suspecting is connected to Rose's disappearance.... (Hardcover)
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, 
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be...until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father's past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader's belief in the power of love to move mountains. (Paperback Romance.)
All That I Am,  by Ann Funder
Publication Date: February 7th When eighteen-year-old Ruth Becker visits her cousin Dora in Munich in 1923, she meets the love of her life, the dashing young journalist Hans Wesemann, and eagerly joins in the heady activities of the militant political Left in Germany. Ten years later, Ruth and Hans are married and living in Weimar Berlin when Hitler is elected chancellor of Germany. Together with Dora and her lover, Ernst Toller, the celebrated poet and self-doubting revolutionary, the four become hunted outlaws overnight and are forced to flee to London. (Hardcover)
The Flight of Gemma Hardy, by Margot Livesey
The remote Blackbird Hall belongs to Mr. Sinclair, a London businessman; his eight-year-old niece is Gemma's charge. Even before their first meeting, Gemma is, like everyone on the island, intrigued by Mr. Sinclair. Rich (by Gemma's standards), single, flying in from London when he pleases, Hugh Sinclair fills the house with life. An unlikely couple, the two are drawn to each other, but Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin: a journey of passion and betrayal, redemption and discovery, that will lead her to a life of which she's never dreamed. (Hardcover.)
 The Mirage, by Matt Ruff
Publication Date: February 7th
11/9/2001: Christian fundamentalists hijack four jetliners. They fly two into the Tigris & Euphrates World Trade Towers in Baghdad, and a third into the Arab Defense Ministry in Riyadh. The fourth plane, believed to be bound for Mecca, is brought down by its passengers. The United Arab States declares a War on Terror.
Summer, 2009: Arab Homeland Security agent Mustafa al Baghdadi interrogates a captured suicide bomber. The prisoner claims that the world they are living in is a mirage - in the real world, America is a superpower, and the Arab states are just a collection of "backward third-world countries." Other captured terrorists have been telling the same story. The president wants answers, but Mustafa soon discovers he's not the only interested party. As Mustafa and his colleagues venture deeper into the unsettling world of terrorism, politics, and espionage, they are confronted with questions without any rational answers, and the terrifying possibility that their world is not what it seems. (Hardcover)
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NONFICTION PICKS
Yoga and Other Treats
Poser, by Claire Dederer
Ten years ago, Claire Dederer put her back out while breastfeeding her baby daughter. Told to try yoga by everyone from the woman behind the counter at the co-op to the homeless guy on the corner, she signed up for her first class. She fell madly in love. Over the next decade, she would tackle triangle, wheel, and the dreaded crow, becoming fast friends with some poses and developing long-standing feuds with others. To her surprise, Dederer found that the deeper she went into the poses, the more they tested her most basic ideas of what makes a good mother, daughter, friend, wife - and the more they made her want something a little less tidy, a little more improvisational...less goodness, more joy. (Paperback.)
 Cupcakes, Cookies, & Pie, Oh My!
by Karen Tack
Hello, Cupcake! inspired millions to become cupcake artists and launched an international sensation. Now the talented pair who started it all returns, with projects that are more hilarious, more spectacular, more awe-inspiring - and simpler than ever.
But they don't stop at cupcakes. No sweet treat is safe from their ingenuity: refrigerator cookies, pound cakes, pie dough, cheesecakes, bar cookies, and Jell-O are all transformed into amazing and playful desserts. (Paperback)
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RAISING PASSIONATE READERS
Picks for All Ages
 Mr. Prickles, by Kara LaReau
Mr. Prickles was not a particularly friendly fellow. He was tough to get close to . . . because he was a porcupine.
"You're not cute like us," said Raccoon.
"Or cuddly like us," said Chipmunk.
"Or playful like us," said Skunk.
"I am," said Mr. Prickles. "On the inside."
Poor Mr. Prickles was very lonely - until the day he met Miss Pointypants. Could she be the perfect prickly companion for moonlit strolls and midnight feasts? Was love in the air for even the sharpest of sorts? (Hardcover Picture Book.)
Introducing the Mega Mash-Up Series, by Nikalas Catlow and Tim Wesson! These books take great subjects and combine them into short, bonkers, and funny stories that are incredibly easy to read. The illustrations are bold and crazy, and there's plenty of space left on each page - together with suggestions for how to fill it - so kids can add their own drawings. The books read as hilarious, zippy stories that look a lot like novels but are terrific doodle books as well. (Paperback ages 7+.)
Romans vs Dinosaurs on Mars
Romans and Dinosaurs live together in a huge glass dome called Romasauria. They race their rocket chariots and feast on moon-cow and chips until life on Mars is threatened by a giant asteroid!
Aliens vs Mad Scientists Under the Ocean
The earth is in peril! Aliens are trying to stop it from spinning so that everyone will fall off and they can take over.
Robots vs Gorillas in the Desert
Deep in the desert, Gorillas trade oil for bananas grown by high-tech robots. But then they have a big falling-out and decide to have a race to settle their differences...
  
 Winterling, by Sarah Prineas
An IndieNext pick!
"Winterling is a heartfelt story about a girl named Fer who travels to a magical wintry world full of danger and illusion. The Lady, the ruler of that world, wants Fer to become a huntress, but Fer grew up as a vegetarian with her herbalist grandmother. Through her power to heal, Fer wins over the denizens of the wintry world, overcomes the Lady and her illusions, and allows springtime to break through." - Kristen (Hardcover Middle Reader.)
 Incarnate, by Jodi Meadows
An IndieNext pick!
"Ana lives in a society where everyone is reincarnated and remembers all of their past lives. As the first new soul in 5,000 years, Ana is alone and regarded as something between a child and a mayfly. On her 18th birthday, Ana sets off on a mission to discover her origins. But, in order to gain access to the information she needs, Ana must prove that even a short-lived soul is worth loving." - Kristen (Hardcover Young Adult.)
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