Click here for our events calendar to preview upcoming events through the end of December.
Click here for more complete descriptions and to buy signed copies online.
Members always save 20% on event books. Click here to register!

 

SALE ON ART BOOKS
During the month of October, Politics & Prose is offering 20% discounts to P&P Members on our entire inventory of art and architecture monographs, biographies, art history, and criticism. Anything in stock and on our shelves now in these sections will be eligible for these savings. Now is the time to buy the large format coffee table book you have been coveting for your living room, or to learn more about an artist whose work you have admired. In addition, members always save on each month's author event selections and the top twelve P&P hardcover fiction and non-fiction bestsellers. If you are not currently a member, it's a great time to sign up and take advantage of these deals!

AUTHOR EVENTS
This week we are looking forward to our event on Saturday, October 9 with Ron Chernow who is already well-known for his popular biographies of Rockefor his new biography of George WASHINGTON: A Life (Penguin, $40). The New Yorker provided this review and comparison to the work of earlier biographers:

Washington isn’t like Adams, effusively cantankerous; he’s not like Jefferson, a cabinet of contradictions. He’s not funny like Franklin or capacious like Madison. If critics said that his inner life glowed but faintly, Chernow, who calls him “the most interior of the founders,” thinks his inner life was red hot, burning with pent-up passion. Washington wasn’t a tortured man, though, nor was he enigmatic. He was a staged man, shrewd, purposeful, and effective. Not surprisingly for an eighteenth-century military man, he held himself at a considerable remove from his men. But he also held himself at this remove from just about everyone else. . . . “Washington: A Life” is a prodigious biography, expertly narrated and full of remarkable detail.

Next week we will be hosting Michele Norris when she shares her memoir The Grace of Silence (Pantheon, $24.95). We are pleased to host this popular DC celebrity and you can get a preview of her book through this review in Ms. Magazine.

Norris illustrates the everyday cost of silence at seemingly minor moments: her mother's unexpressed anger when a white neighbor cuts down an apple tree rather than let the Norris children pick the fruit from a branch that overhangs their yard. Norris' failure, at age 26, to muster even a scowl when two white women in an airport misjudge her father, assuming he is a lush rather than a very ill man struggling to maintain his dignity. Norris acknowledges that there could have been -- and perhaps should have been -- a more direct response to these incidents. Not speaking out may preserve the image of the "model minority," but these learned silences prohibit real conversations about race. With learned candor, she describes the corrosive effect of family stories left untold, showing how the denial of painful histories can only contribute to the anger, unease and mistrust of "post-racial" America.

We also wish to remind you that tickets are still available for our event next Thursday, October 14 with acclaimed journalist and political observer David Grossman at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue for his most recent novel To the End of the Land (Knopf, $26.95) There have been many poignant reviews but one that particularly struck a chord was published in The Millions:

Much of Israeli literature remains plagued by a lingering triumphalist strain born of the whitewashed and mythologized Zionist enterprise. To the End of the Land is not the first Israeli novel to depart from that rigid and jarring narrative, but it is arguably the finest. For even as Ora remains impervious to the militant and totalistic anti-Israel ideologies engulfing the Arab world and beyond, she defies Israel itself, the state that has “nationalized her life” and demands that she acquiesce in its jingoism and its greedy claim to her son. Indeed, To the End of the Land is, above all, a bold restoration of humanity’s primacy over ideology and politics of any kind.

Please join us for these events and look over our full calendar below.

 

Go back to top of email

 

ANNOUNCING THE SIGNED FIRST EDITION CHILDREN’S BOOK CLUB

Did you miss out on buying a first edition Harry Potter book when J.K. Rowling was at Politics and Prose in 1999? Would you want a signed first edition, first printing of a new book by Chris Van Allsburg, Peter Sis, or David Wiesner? Now you can sign up to have a first edition, first printing of a newly released children’s or young adult book delivered each month directly to your - or another collector’s – doorstep. You can also save on shipping and pick your book up at the store.

There is no enrollment fee. The cost of each book ($30 or less, when including shipping) is the only charge, which will be processed every month when the books arrive at Politics & Prose. P&P members will receive 20% off on all selections.

For an extra $1.50, you can choose to have us cover your book in an acid-free archival book cover. You may enroll in the program for six or twelve months at a time.

Our first three selections are:

• October: IT’S A BOOK by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook, $12.99)
• November: ZEN GHOSTS by Jon Muth (Scholastic, $17.99)
• December: ART AND MAX by David Wiesner (Clarion, $17.99)

And into the coming year, you can be sure that we will continue to select books to cherish for years to come!

Call 202-363-1919 or email Amy Kane at the store for more information, or click here to sign up online for the Politics & Prose Children's Signed First Edition Club.

AND TO GO WITH A SIGNED BOOK GIFT SUBSCRIPTION

Our irresistible children’s bookends ($20, $28, $38), are handmade by a small locally owned business in Hagerstown, Maryland.  They are made of multi-ply birch and painted with nontoxic acrylic paint.  They come in three sizes, many styles and colors. Click here to see a larger selection and to order online.

Go back to top of email

 

P&P will co-host these four events at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. When you pre-purchase these books from P&P, you will receive two free admission tickets. Space permitting we will also sell books with tickets at the door. Book signings and Q&A will follow each author talk. These events may sell out!

Click the links below for more information and to buy your books and/or admission tickets today!

Thursday, October 14, 7 p.m.
DAVID GROSSMAN - TO THE END OF THE LAND (Knopf, $26.95) - Available Now at P&P

From one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers, To the End of the Land is a novel about family life—the greatest human drama—and the cost of war. Evoking the ever-present intrusion of war into the daily life of Israelis, Grossman’s novel tells the story of Ora, a woman whose son, Ofer, who is about to leave the army, and instead goes to the front. To endure the anxiety, Ora leaves home with an old friend, an artist turned recluse after a brutal POW experience. Together the two recall old times and slowly reaffirm the values that give their lives meaning. Grossman vividly depicts the reality and surrealism of daily life in Israel, the currents of ambivalence about war within one household, and the burdens that fall on each generation.

Monday, October 18, 7 p.m.
NICOLE KRAUSS - GREAT HOUSE (W.W. Norton, $24.95) - Available Now at P&P

Like the heirloom desk at its center, this novel is intricately and sturdily composed of niches and compartments, secret drawers and histories, each of them telling its own story and contributing to a larger one. From an American novelist to a poet in Pinochet’s Chile, from a woman dying in London to an antiques dealer in Jerusalem, Krauss weaves a powerful narrative of epic sweep. 

Nicole Krauss is the author of Man Walks into a Room and the international bestseller The History of Love. In 2010, The New Yorker named her one of the 20 best writers under 40.


Thursday, October 21, 7 p.m.
V.S. NAIPAUL -THE MASQUE OF AFRICA: Glimpses of African Belief (Knopf, $26.95) - Pre-purchase Now - Available Oct. 19

From Uganda to Ghana and Nigeria, around the Ivory Coast and Gabon, and on to South Africa, the Nobel laureate’s latest work of travel and culture looks at the role of belief throughout the African continent. Considering native faiths based in animism as well as religions introduced from other areas of the world, Naipaul has synthesized a wide range of history, practices, and peoples to tell one more portion of the larger story of human civilization.

Wednesday, November 17, 7 p.m.
SALMAN RUSHDIE - Luka and the Fire of Life (Random House, $25) - Pre-purchase Now - Available Nov. 16

With the same imagination that has made Salman Rushdie one of the great storytellers of our time, Luka and the Fire of Life revisits the magic-infused, intricate world he first brought to life in the modern classic Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

This new novel centers on Luka, Haroun’s younger brother, who must save his father from certain doom by traveling to the Magic World and stealing the Fire of Life. Thus begins a quest full of unlikely creatures, strange alliances, and seemingly insurmountable challenges as Luka and his assorted of enchanted companions race through peril after peril, pass through the land of the Badly Behaved Gods, and reach the Fire itself, where Luka’s fate, and that of his father, will be decided. Filled with mischievous wordplay and themes as universal as the power of filial love and the meaning of mortality, Luka and the Fire of Life is a book of wonders for all ages.

Please note: From the day the books are released until the day of the event, ticket-holders may collect their books and tickets at P&P. On the day of the event, books and tickets will only be available for Will Call at 6 p.m. at Sixth & I. Signed books may be shipped after the event.

 

Go back to top of email

P&P Members always save 20% on our top twelve FICTION and NON-FICTION hardcover bestsellers.
Click the titles to read more about these books and to buy them from Politics & Prose.

FICTION and POETRY

1. Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28)
2. To the End of the Land, by David Grossman (Knopf, $26.95)
3. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, by David Sedaris, illus. by Ian Falconer (Little, Brown, $21.99)
4. Human Chain: Poems, by Seamus Heaney (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $24)
5. Room, by Emma Donoghue (Little, Brown, $24.99)Bottom of Form
6. The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman (Dial, $26)
7. The Widower's Tale, by Julia Glass (Pantheon, $25.95)
8. By Nightfall, by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $25)
9. Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett (Dutton, $36)
10. Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart (Random House, $26)
11. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell (Random House, $26)
12. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, by Danielle Evans (Riverhead, $25.95)

NONFICTION

1. White House Diary, by Jimmy Carter (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30)
2. Obama's Wars, by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster, $30)
3. The Secret History of MI6, by Keith Jeffery (Penguin, $39.95)
4. Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption, by Scott Simon (Random House, $22)
5. Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture, by Mark Feldstein (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30)
6. C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, by Jeff Sharlet (Little, Brown, $26.99)
7. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson (Random House, $30)
8. Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom, by Mary Catherine Bateson (Knopf, $25.95)
9. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race, by Jon Stewart (Grand Central, $27.99)
10. Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women, by Rebecca Traister (Free Press, $26)
11. Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship, by Gail Caldwell (Random House, $23)
12. The Grace of Silence: A Memoir, by Michele Norris (Pantheon, $24.95)

 

Go back to top of emaii

 

This is a good week for newly released non-fiction paperbacks.

The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays, by Chinua Achebe (Anchor, $14.95)
Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy, by Joseph E. Stiglitz (W.W.Norton, $16.95)
A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon, by Neil Sheehan (Vintage, $16.95)

And here is a novel that is sure to provoke lively discussions in your book groups:
The Museum of Innocence, by Orhan Pamuk (Vintage, $15.95)

Kemal is a rising young businessman about to be­come engaged to the ideal woman, when he falls in love with 18-year-old Fusun, a boutique clerk. As this new relationship bursts over him, Kemal is so impassioned that he doesn’t see why he can’t have a wife and a lover. Both women dump him, but he remains obsessed with Fusun, eventually tracking her down and courting her for eight years, even though she’s married by then. Kemal, though self-absorbed, is so earnest and inventive in his plans and theories that he’s an unexpect­edly engaging protagonist. And the inward focus of his emotional story is balanced by his habit of collecting objects for his museum. Started as part of his obsession, this collection of figurines, candles, glasses—anything related to Fusun—expands to document a wide range of Turkish life from the mid-1970s on. In fact, Pamuk, the Nobel laureate, has been working for the last decade to establish such a museum as a tribute to his own enduring beloved, Istanbul. - Laurie Greer

 

Go back to top of emaii

 

If you can't attend a talk, but would like to reserve a signed copy or a recorded author talk, click the title links to purchase online. P&P members save 20% on these author event titles.

Thursday October 7

Brian Floca - Ballet for Martha
10:30 a.m. Martha Graham's dream ballet was realized when she teamed up with the composer Aaron Copland and the sculptor Isamu Noguchi to create Appalachian Spring. With his lovely watercolor images, Floca, a 2010 Sibert Award winner, brings to life the story of the making of this American classic. (Ages 7-10)

Maxine Kumin - Where I Live & The Roots of Things
7 p.m. In her long, distinguished career, Kumin has written 16 books of poetry, won the Pulitzer and Ruth Lilly Prizes, and the Frost Medal, and served as Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress. She's also found time to write novels, essays, and children's books, as well as run a horse farm in New Hampshire. Her two most recent collections of essays and poems continue her rich engagement with nature, family, and language.

Friday October 8

Seth Stern - Justice Brennan
7 p.m. This chronicle of Brennan's life and career was co-written with Stephen Wermiel, who conducted extensive interviews with Brennan over the course of six years and was given access to the Justice's court and personal papers. The book reveals the strategizing behind major court cases, the working relationship between Brennan and Chief Justice Earl Warren, and much more. 

Saturday October 9

Diane Rehm - Life With Maxie
1 p.m. In her heartwarming book of stories and photos, the renowned NPR host celebrates her best friend, the long-haired Chihuahua, Maxie, and discusses the positive impact a dog can have on a person's life.

Ron Chernow - Washington
6 p.m. The National Book Award-winning biographer of J.P Morgan, Alexander Hamilton, and others here gives a rich, full account of the first president, delving into his private life as well as chronicling his public accomplishments. Chernow challenges the standard view of Washington as dispassionate and laconic, finding evidence that he was also fiercely opinionated.

Sunday October 10

Mother/Daughter Tea with Authors Jennifer Allison - Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop & Caroline Hickey - Isabelle's Boyfriend
4 p.m. Join us for a mother-daughter chat with the authors (to be held downstairs in the Remainder Room). Allison and Hickey will discuss teen reading, writing for teens, and their own recent books. When we last saw Allison's heroine, Gilda Joyce had landed a summer internship at the International Spy Museum and suspected Russian spies were in D.C. Ghosts from the Cold War helped her uncover clues. Hickey's hilarious novel is about two girls interested in the same boy, with ensuing complications. Mothers and their daughters are invited for light refreshments, and an informal discussion of young-adult themes such as friendship, rivalry, and other age-appropriate issues. Attendees will receive a goodie bag with bookmarks and a 20% discount coupon, which may be used the day of the event for the authors' books. (Suggested ages 10-14)

For information on purchasing $6 admission tickets, please click here or contact the P&P Children's Department. Enrollment is limited.

Judith Viorst - Unexpectedly Eighty

5 p.m. What's in store for the rising octogenarian? In her latest look at a dreaded decade, the witty versifier finds plenty to look forward to. There are great-grandchildren, third helpings of dessert, and memory loss to help you forgive and forget. And after the cataract surgery, you'll see things in a whole new light.

Monday October 11

Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg - Madison and Jefferson
7 p.m. This dual biography from a pair of esteemed historians offers a revisionist view of the third and fourth presidents. Giving Madison top billing, the authors argue that he played a larger role than Jefferson did at key points in the formation of the country’s political system.

Tuesday October 12

Release Party for THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS, Book #1: The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan.
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Join us for: nectar and ambrosia, a 20% discount on The Lost Hero, Camp Half Blood trivia games, and a raffle with prizes, with the Grand prize of a voucher for a free copy of the next Kane Chronicles book, title to be announced!

Michele Norris - The Grace of Silence
7 p.m. This memoir by the co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered delves into both family and national history to paint a vivid picture of the lasting effects of racism. Norris weaves memories of her Minneapolis childhood with events she learned of only later, chief among which was a 1946 incident in which a white Alabama policeman shot her father, who had just been honorably discharged from the Navy.

Wednesday October 13

Ari Berman - Herding Donkeys
7 p.m. Berman’s lively account of the rise of the Democratic party from its 2004 low point starts with Howard Dean, then shows how the Obama campaign built on Dean’s ideas, especially his fifty-state strategy. A tribute to grassroots activism, the book demonstrates the crucial role of organizers with fresh ideas.

 Ari Berman will be in conversation with Howard Dean.

Thursday October 14

Tami Lewis Brown - Soar, Elinor
10:30 a.m. In 1928, at age 17, Elinor Smith was the youngest U.S. licensed pilot. After male flyers and newspapermen ridiculed her, she decided to show them up by flying under four New York City bridges. She accomplished this feat on October 21, 1928.  Ms. Brown is a local author, librarian, and pilot.

David Grossman - To the End of the Land @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
7 p.m. Evoking the ever-present intrusion of war into the daily life of Israelis, Grossman’s novel tells the story of Ora, a woman whose son, about to leave the army, instead goes to the front. To endure the anxiety, Ora leaves home with an old friend, an artist turned recluse after a brutal POW experience. Together the two recall old times and slowly reaffirm the values that give their lives meaning. 

This is a ticketed event. Two admission tickets are free with book purchase from P&P or are $10 each without purchase of the book. A book signing and Q&A will follow the author talk.

Friday October 15

Condoleezza Rice - Extraordinary, Ordinary People
3 p.m. Rice’s memoir charts her trajectory from a childhood in segregated Birmingham to her academic success and on to her role on the world stage as Secretary of State. At every phase of her diverse career, she had the love and support of her family, and this book is a moving tribute from a devoted daughter to her parents. Please note that this is a booksigning only. The publisher has stipulated these guidelines for this event: No personalizations. No posed photos. No handshakes. No memorabilia, or signing books other than these new titles.

James Zogby - Arab Voices
7 p.m. Based on a poll conducted throughout the Middle East by Zogby International, this book covers a wide range of topics. Participants were questioned about their views on American foreign policy, the Israel-Palestine peace process, and even on their favorite TV shows. The results give Western readers a direct look at often-misunderstood societies.

Saturday October 16

Joyce Hinnefeld - Stranger Here Below
1 p.m. Hinnefeld’s first novel, In Hovering Flight, was a P&P favorite. In her second, this accomplished storyteller looks back to 1961 and chronicles the lives of three women who meet at Berea College in Kentucky. Amazing Grace and Mary Elizabeth have grown up in straitened circumstances and they find a mentor in Sister Georgia, a Shaker who believes in discipline, simplicity, and love.

Bruce Duffy - The World as I Found It
6 p.m. First published in 1987, and now reissued by New York Review Classics, Duffy’s acclaimed novel is a fictionalized life of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The narrative traces the thinker’s development from his upbringing in a wealthy but tragic Viennese family, to his academic stardom in Cambridge and his complicated relationships with colleagues, especially G.E. Moore and Bertrand Russell.

Sunday October 17

Martin Tolchin and Susan J. Tolchin - Pinstripe Patronage
1 p.m. The Tolchins' eighth book on American politics focuses on today's high-stakes political-patronage deals, which often involve billion-dollar contracts and outsource many services for which the government used to be responsible. The authors contend that this system of favors for support is running amok, especially where it affects foreign policy.

Wray Herbert - On Second Thought
5 p.m. You’re facing a decision. Do you carefully weigh the pros and cons or just follow your gut reaction? Combining the latest research on cognitive functions with anecdotes and psychological studies, Herbert offers a fascinating tour of the mind and a helpful guide for knowing when to trust reason over instinct.

To see the complete schedule and to purchase any of the above books, click here.

 

Go back to top of email

Thursday, October 7, 7:30 p.m.

National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
JENNIFER JORDAN
THE LAST MAN ON THE MOUNTAIN: The Death of an American Adventurer on K2 (W.W. Norton, $26.95)
Jennifer Jordan tells the story of Dudley Wolfe, an American socialite, who in 1939 attempted to summit K2, only to become its first victim when he was abandoned—dehydrated and suffering from altitude sickness—at 25,000 feet. In a tale of adventure and tragedy, Wolfe travels from the parlors of Boston to one of Earth's most forbidding landscapes. Author of the book Savage Summit, Jordan has lived at the base of K2, where in 2002 she discovered Wolfe's remains. Click here to buy $18 tickets (3-part Quest for Adventure Series: $48); NG Members: $16 (3-part series: $42).

Co-sponsored with Booz Allen Hamilton

Friday, October 8, 7:30 p.m.

National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU
MY FATHER, THE CAPTAIN: My Life with Jacques Cousteau (National Geographic, $26)
Since the age of seven—when he was tossed overboard, scuba gear and all, by his legendary father—Jean-Michel Cousteau has explored the ocean realm. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Cousteau used his work to persuade President Bush to declare the Northwest Hawaiian Islands a Marine National Monument. His new book celebrates the centennial of the older Cousteau's birth and offers an intimate look at the life Jean-Michel shared with his father. Click here to buy $20 tickets ($18, NG Members).

Presented in honor of the centennial of Jacques Cousteau's birth.

Friday, October 8, 7:30 p.m

Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol Street, S.E.
PEN/Faulkner Presents
An Evening with COLUM McCANN
LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN (Random House, $15)
Irish-born and internationally bestselling author Colum McCann won the National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin. He has also written Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Songdogs, as well as two critically acclaimed story collections. His fiction has been published in thirty languages and he has been a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, among others. His short film Everything in This Country Must was a 2005 Oscar nominee. He teaches at Hunter College and lives in New York City with his wife and children.  Click here to buy $15 tickets.

Tuesday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.

National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
K. DAVID HARRISON
THE LAST SPEAKERS: The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages (National Geographic, $27)
By 2100, half of the 7,000 languages spoken on earth—many not yet recorded—may disappear. As head of National Geographic's Enduring Voices Project, Swarthmore linguistics professor K. David Harrison documents endangered languages and their associated culture, history, and environment. Harrison's new book chronicles his expeditions around the world. Spend an evening with him as he shares the eloquent reflections of individuals who know they may indeed be the last people to speak their native languages. Click here to purchase $18 tickets ($16, NG Members).

Thursday, October 14, 7:30 p.m.

National Geographic Society
1600 M Street, NW
SUSAN ORLEAN
THE ORCHID THIEF (Random House, $14)
Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief and many New Yorker articles, weaves stories of offbeat characters and unusual adventures—from fertility ceremonies in Bhutan to extreme origami contests in Japan. “Besides her clever descriptions and charming candor, the most salient feature of Orlean’s travel writing is her enthusiasm,” says Booklist. In dialogue with Traveler editor Don George, Orlean will offer up tales that rival the best.
The event will be preceded by a reception at 6:30 p.m. (ID required) Click here to purchase $20 tickets (NG Members: $18).

Monday, October 18, 7:30 p.m.

Friendship Heights Village Center
4433 S. Park Ave.
Chevy Chase, MD
NORAH O’DONNELL and GEOFF TRACY
BABY LOVE: Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler (Griffin, $19.99)
Restaurateur and chef Geoff Tracy and MSNBC correspondent and anchor Norah O’Donnell are a married couple and the parents of three young children. Geoff Tracy is the owner and operator of Chef Geoff’s, Chef Geoff’s Downtown, Lia’s in Friendship Heights, as well as two other restaurants. Norah O'Donnell is the Chief Washington Correspondent for MSNBC. In addition, the Emmy Award-winning journalist serves as contributing correspondent for NBC's "TODAY" and is a regular on “The Chris Matthews Show.” Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by calling the Friendship Heights Village Center at 301-656-2797.

Tuesday, October 19, 7:30 p.m.

PEN/Faulkner Presents:
NOTE!! Special Location and Time!
6th and I Historic Synagogue
600 I St., NW

NICK HORNBY and BEN FOLDS
JULIET, NAKED (Riverhead, $25.95/$15) and LONELY AVENUE (Nonesuch, $24.98/$14.98)

 Join PEN/Faulkner for an exclusive evening with English novelist Nick Hornby and singer/musician Ben Folds, featuring a reading from Hornby's novel Juliet, Naked (Riverhead, $15) and songs from the newly-released album Lonely Avenue, with lyrics by Nick Hornby and music by Ben Folds.

Nick Hornby is the author of the novels Slam, A Long Way Down, How to be Good, High Fidelity, and About a Boy, and the memoir Fever Pitch. He is also the author of Songbook, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award, among other works.

A widely celebrated singer and multi-instrumentalist, Ben Folds is best known as a solo artist and as the frontman and pianist of the ‘90s trio Ben Folds Five. His solo albums include Rockin’ the Suburbs, Songs for Silverman, supersunnyspeedgraphic: the lp, and Way to Normal.

 

Click here to buy $30 tickets.

Go back to top of email

 

Tuesday, October 12, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Release Party for THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS, Book #1: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (Scholastic, $18.99)

Join us for:

• Nectar and ambrosia
• 20% discount on The Lost Hero
• Camp Half Blood trivia games
• Raffle with prizes
• Grand prize!: a voucher for a free copy of the next Kane Chronicles book,
• title to be announced!
  

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through 10/13/2010)

“Is it enough to have feathers in all kinds of weathers?” is just one of many questions posed by a curious little boy about what life is like as a LITTLE BLACK CROW (Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, $16.99). This poem, illustrated with gorgeous, sparse, hypnotizing watercolors is meant to be read out loud slowly and lyrically. The black ink used to depict the little black crow sharply contrasts and highlights the muted background watercolors. Chris Raschka’s simple language and illustrations create a sweetness that will attract children and adults alike. Kerri Poore - Ages 3-7

Read about - and buy - more of our favorite books for children and teens by clicking here. 

Please join us for Storytime on Mondays at 10:30 a.m., BearSong, the Guitar Man, is back after several years' hiatus, leading stories, songs, finger plays, and more for children from birth to 4 years old and their caregivers.

For upcoming events and more from the Children and Teens' Department, click here.
Click here to access the teen blog.

Go back to top of email

Go back to top of email

 

SHUTTER (Tartan Asia Extreme, $19.99), a Thai film by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom was originally released in 2004 and was nominated for a 2005 Golden Kinnaree Award for best film at the Bangkok International Film Festival. The plot starts with a young photographer and his girlfriend finding paranormal phenomena in his photographs. The storyline soon expands into a shockingly intricate web of interconnections as the pair try to solve the mystery of the haunting. While it does contain some Asian horror-movie clichés—including the pale, bedraggled girl acting with a preternaturally disturbing physicality—if you liked the originals of The Ring and The Grudge this is definitely a solid treat from a country that is sometimes hit or miss on this genre. Overall, the story is solid and well thought out, the sound design is outstanding, and the ending is brilliant. It’s a perfect cure for the common horror flick.

Go back to top of email