Author Events with Peter Hessler and Rubin "Hurricane" Carter;

THE LOVER'S DICTONARY, by Daniel Levithan (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18)

This little Rubik's Cube of a book can be read as a novel, a swift collection of microfiction, or, of course, as a dictionary. Daniel Levithan traces the arc of a relationship through a couple's vocabulary. The story does not unfold linearly or chronologically but follows the alphabetical order of the dictionary's definitions -- a form that suits Levithan perfectly. He zeroes in on passing moments and feelings with a gut-wrenching precision that will banish any fears of cuteness, or comparisons to 500 Days of Summer. My favorites? "Contiguous," "viable," "antsy," "autonomy," "meander," "cadence," and "kerfuffle." - Elizabeth Sher

Book A Month

For a wonderfully unique Valentine's Day present, consider our Book-a-Month Gift Program! Not to brag or anything, but many of our customers say it's the best gift they've ever received.

Each month we will choose and send a book anywhere in the world to the person of your choice. We carefully select each book based on the information you provide: your reader's interests and hobbies, and their favorite books and writers.

But we'll let our readers speak for themselves. Here's what some subscribers have to say:

"I cannot speak highly enough of this amazingly unique and creative program. I have referred many people to the Book-a-Month program and every single person who has signed up has been amazed at the thoughtfulness that goes into selecting a book … Without a doubt, the Book-a-Month Program is the best gift I have ever received -- and monthly, I am reminded of how happy I am to have received it."

"So far, I have recommended every month's book to my family and friends, and I think they get just as much enjoyment out of the Book-a-Month Program as I do."

"My partner signed me up from abroad, and whenever I receive a book, it's a pleasant surprise and I think of her."

Click here for more Book-a-Month testimonials.

For more information or to sign up for Book-a-Month, visit our website or email Liz Sher at bookamonth@politics-prose.com

Another great gift option is our Signed First Editions Club, which features exclusive, autographed first printings of new books by writers like Jonathan Franzen, Nicole Krauss, Salman Rushdie and more!

LOVE LETTERS FOR LITERACY

Before Carla's death, the Washington Literacy Council named Barbara Meade and Carla Cohen as recipients of its 2011 Lifetime Literacy Achievement Award for their passionate support of literacy, books and authors. The announcement said, "Politics & Prose has been a community lifeline for the Washington Literacy Council's efforts to serve adults with the most limited reading skills, fewest job resources, and greatest employment needs in the District of Columbia." We are honored that the Washington Literacy Council would extend this award to the founders of Politics & Prose. A presentation will be made on February 15 at WLC's annual event, Love Letters for Literacy, at Morton's Steakhouse in downtown Washington, D.C. David Cohen will accept in Carla's name. If you would like to know more about the work of the Washington Literacy Council, Love Letters for Literacy 2011, and how you can attend, please visit www.washlit.org.

DISCOUNTS ON BIOGRAPHIES

During the month of February, we are offering discounts to all P&P members on books from our biography sections (which includes memoirs and autobiographies, children's and teens' titles, and biographies from our remainder room). This is a great opportunity to find a presidential biography for President's Day or read about a notable figure for African-American History Month. This discount applies to any biographies which we currently have in stock on the shelves, and which do not need to be specially ordered.

BOOK NOTES

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

The recent international developments in Yemen, Tunisia, and Egypt have been dramatic. While the popular movement is exciting and the potential democratic resurgence is heartening, it is also hard to comprehend what and who might fill the gap if Mubarak steps down. The social fragmentation and violence is already worrisome. It is interesting to watch what develops and see what the role for the United States might be. For more background on the situation, we recommend the following books:

THE STRONG HORSE: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations, by Lee Smith (Anchor, $14.95)
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Lee Smith moved to Egypt with a desire to understand the perceived antagonism of the proverbial "Arab on the street" against the United States. He ended up spending eight years studying Islam and Arabic language and culture, and reporting from Cairo, Beirut, and Jerusalem. He was surprised to discover that the conflicts were much more profoundly contentious within Arab society than against the West. His book is filled with personalities vying for influence and vignettes set in the context of Arab and especially Egyptian philosophical, cultural, and political history. First published a year ago, this is a very readable first introduction to the world events and turmoil, which brought us to the last few weeks conflicts. As Doubleday suggests, "Lee Smith offers paradigm-shifting insight into how the Arab world works and what America's role should be in that world today."

EGYPT ON THE BRINK: From Nasser to Mubarak, by Tarek Osman (Yale Univ., $20)
As a companion piece, Egypt on the Brink provides a more straightforward political and historical perspective. Tarek Osman focuses on the last 60 years since Nasser became president, while studying the impact of modernization in the context of political dissent and repression. Islamism, Arab nationalism, political(and terrorist) movements, liberalism, economic disparity, religious diversity, and declining employment opportunities for educated youth are all discussed in depth with plenty of background material. This is another book that will provide essential reading for the layperson interested in learning more about the country behind the front page news.

Click here for more suggestions to broaden your understanding about Egypt and the Arab world in general.

- Andrew Getman

Egypt 3

And for literary context on contemporary life in Egypt, we recommend:

OUT OF EGYPT, by André Aciman (Picador, $16)
In 20th-century Alexandria, André Aciman's Jewish family occupied a peculiar space. Caught between Arab neighbors who viewed them with suspicion and "true" Europeans who wanted nothing to do with Jews at all, they carved out their own teeming, vibrant enclave. But as Aciman shows in his brilliantly evocative memoir, no clan is as insular as it believes. He conjures this vanished world through his family's arrival in Egypt in the first days of the century to their forced exodus in the 1960s.

- Elizabeth Sher

THE COMMITTEE, by Sun'Allah Ibrahim, trans. by Charlene Constable and Mary St Germain (Syracuse Univ., $22.95)
This 2001 novel by the author often referred to as the “Egyptian Kafka,” recounts one man’s psychological battle with contemporary Egyptian bureaucracy. The mysterious “committee” contracts the nameless protagonist to prepare various reports, including on the “20th century’s most important achievement.” As his investigation continues, "committee" members slowly move into his home and even into his own bed, as he finds himself in a dehumanizing battle to control his own destiny – something he and all other Egyptians may have lost long ago.

MIRAMAR, by Naguib Mahfouz (Anchor, $15)
The decaying Miramar Hostelry in the once-glamorous city of Alexandria hosts many guests – all of whom have an obsession with the enticing peasant girl Zohra. Told from each guest’s point of view, their intersecting lives and ultimately Zohra’s fate create a vivid representation of the competing political voices and frustrations in 1960’s Egypt.

PALACE WALK, by Naguib Mahfouz (Anchor, $16)
This first book in the famous Cairo Trilogy helped elevate Mahfouz to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Palace Walk intricately details an account of one family’s disintegration at the hands of their tyrannical father. The trilogy continues with Palace of Desire and Sugar Street.

And in film:

CAIRO STATION, Directed by Youssef Chahine - 1958
One of the great Egyptian classics, Cairo Station beautifully uncovers the inner lives of the train station’s permanent residents including the crippled street vendor Qinawi, who carries a deep obsession with the beautiful Hind, a lemonade seller. The film’s stunning combination of Film Noir and Neorealist aesthetic creates a nightmarish portrait of working-class Cairo in the 1950s.

Elivia Shaw

EBOOKS

Google Every year the ABA – the American Booksellers Association – holds a conference for independent booksellers across the country. Convening this year in Washington DC, the occasion was a time to meet people, to talk about books, to swap ideas on trends in the market. A big topic this year, as in the past: eBooks.

Last May, I posted an article in this newsletter about eBooks, Apple, and the iPad. On December 6th, Politics & Prose introduced our platform for selling Google Editions as another step in addressing the eBook issue. Google Editions has the advantage of convenience and allows us to stay in sync with the direction the book industry seems to be headed.

Now when you buy an eBook from us, you can read it on almost any device (except the Kindle). The unique "cloud-based" storage library associated with Google Editions means that a user can buy from Politics & Prose and read his or her books on any of several devices, including a PC at work, a laptop in a coffeeshop, or a Android phone or iPad while traveling or commuting. Even without a dedicated eReader apparatus, all you need is access to the internet, a Google or Gmail login, and a password.

Next week, I will go step by detailed step through the process of buying an eBook from Politics & Prose. You can get a preview by clicking here.

My point: if you do buy eBooks, try us first. Please feel free to browse our online eBookstore.

HEMINGWAY CLASS

THE FICTION OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY: Taught by Jackson R. Bryer
The Nick Adams Stories, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms

March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 1-2:30 p.m.
(On March 9, the class will meet 3-4:30 p.m.)

This course will study the short fiction and two novels of Ernest Hemingway, whose themes and unique prose style have influenced several generations of writers around the world. The emphases of the course will be on discussion of the common themes, characters, and stylistic devices that run through his work; on Hemingway’s fiction as a reflection of the times in which he wrote; and on the development of his fictional techniques and themes.

Two 90-minute classes will be devoted to each book. The texts used will be the Scribner paperback editions.
Enrollment: $100 (P&P Members: $80). Click here to read more about the books and to sign up.

UPCOMING TICKETED EVENTS

In order to accommodate a larger audience, we sometimes hold our events at other locations. Please reserve your tickets early if you plan to attend.

Monday, February 28, 7 p.m.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
DR. IZZELDIN ABUELAISH
I SHALL NOT HATE: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity (Walker, $24)

"Anger is not the same as hate," Dr. Abuelaish states, and his words carry weight. Born in the Jabalia refugee camp and now a physician, Abuelaish treats both Israelis and Palestinians. His account of everyday life in the contested Gaza Strip is a story of check points and embargoes, humiliations and violence—yet even after his daughters were killed in their home by Israeli forces, Dr. Abuelaish still believes that a commitment to peaceful solutions can end the region's terrible bloodshed. Learn more about him and his foundation here -> http://www.daughtersforlife.com/

Click here for $8 tickets, or to receive two free tickets with purchase of the book from P&P.

Monday, March 14, 7 p.m.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
JOSHUA FOER
MOONWALKING WITH EINSTEIN: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (Penguin, $26.95)

Foer's unlikely journey from chronically forgetful science journalist to U.S. Memory Champion frames a revelatory exploration of the vast, hidden impact of memory on every aspect of our lives. This book will be released on March 3, but you can read an excerpt online with Google Preview by clicking here.

Click here for $10 tickets, or to receive two free tickets with purchase of the book from P&P.

NEW IN PAPERBACK

New Paper

Click here to see more recently released paperbacks, both Fiction and Non-Fiction.

THE INFINITIES by John Banville (Vintage, $15)
is comic, insightful, and wide-reaching in its themes and subjects; I cannot do it justice in a short paragraph by attempting to summarize the plot. Simply put, it is based in a family drama that immerses the reader in a parallel world, inhabited by gods and scientists, elaborately crafted with references to familiar works of literature and intellectual discovery, and yet woven through with Banville's twisting and masterful style, erudition, and imagination. - Barbara Meade

THE POSTMISTRESS, by Sarah Blake (Berkley, $15)
Sarah Blake evokes Britain at the outbreak of World War II, as she skillfully interweaves the tales of three women - an American journalist reporting on the German aggression and the impact on Jewish Europeans, a postmistress in Cape Cod holding a critical piece of mail from a doctor stationed in England, and his young, pregnant wife awaiting his return. Blake's elaborations of the scenes and the situations in which her characters are drawn into history make this first novel compelling reading and a book group favorite! - Barbara Meade

THE BIG SHORT: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton, $15.95)
The bestselling author of Liar's Poker and other books about money, Lewis here presents his interpretation of how and why the American economy has tanked. From villains on Wall Street to ineffectual government regulatory agencies, and even a few heroes, this is a dark tale colorfully told. - Laurie Greer

NOMAD: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey through the Clash of Civilizations, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Free Press, $16)
Ayaan Hirsi Ali captured the world’s attention with Infidel. In Nomad, Hirsi Ali tells of coming to America to build a new life away from the death threats made to her by European Islamists, the strife she witnessed, and the inner conflict she suffered. She calls on key institutions of the West—including universities, the feminist movement, and the Christian churches—to enact specific, innovative remedies that would help other Muslim immigrants to overcome the challenges she has experienced.

COMING SOON TO YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE

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

Click www.politics-prose.com/event for our author events calendar through February.

Event

Thursday, February 10

Gennifer Choldenko - No Passengers Beyond this Point
10:30 a.m. In this compelling fantasy from the author of the Newbery Honor Book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, India, Finn, and Mouse go to stay with their uncle in Colorado—but when they arrive, they aren't in Colorado. Nor do they know what time it is, as different clocks give different times. Ages 10-14

Peter Hessler - Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
7 p.m. The author of River Town and Oracle Bones completes his trilogy on contemporary China with a report on that country's love affair with cars. Hessler, Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, got a Chinese driver's license in 2001 and spent six years driving some 7,000 miles around China. His narratives of driving lessons, use of the horn, and traffic violations are funny and frightening.

Friday, February 11

Nick Galifianakis - If You Loved Me You'd Think This Was Cute
7 p.m. Since 1997 Galifianakis has drawn the cartoons for the nationally syndicated advice column by Carolyn Hax, a selection of which appeared in the 2001 book, Tell Me About It: Lying, Sulking, Getting Fat ... and 56 Other Things NOT to Do While Looking for Love. In their encore, the team offers tips about relationships of all kinds, with Galifianakis's witty drawings making the point that if we can laugh about it, we'll be all right.

Saturday, February 12

Ron Collins and Sam Chaltain - We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free: Stories of Free Expression in America
6 p.m. This history of free speech in America by Collins, a professor at the Washington College of Law, and Chaltain, former national director of the Forum for Education and Democracy, draws its title from a statement by Justice Hugo Black, who believed that the First Amendment was the essential foundation for a free people. Organized around landmark First Amendment cases, the book charts the evolution of thought about free speech over the last century.

Event 2

Sunday February 13

Douglas Waller - Wild Bill Donovan
5 p.m. Called "Wild Bill" for his battlefield bravado in World War I, Donovan led the Office of Strategic Services during the Second World War, introducing covert methods of warfare that became the stuff of spy legends. Separating the man from the myths, Waller, author of A Question of Loyalty, assesses Donovan's legacy and tells a true story as riveting as a fictional thriller.

Monday, February 14

Valentine's Day - NO EVENTS

Tuesday, February 15

Melissa Thomson - Keena Ford and the Secret Journal Mix Up
10:30 a.m. Keena Ford loves keeping a journal where she vents about classmates, but when she leaves the journal at Tiffany's house, Tiffany, the meanest girl in second grade, threatens to tell the class what Keena wrote unless Keena does everything she tells her to do. Ages 7-9

Dr. Rubin Carter and Ken Klonsky - Eye of the Hurricane
7 p.m. Dr. Carter, once a boxing champion, was wrongfully convicted of murder and served nineteen years in prison. His story has been told in the film The Hurricane; now he speaks for himself. Working with Klonsky, a journalist and prisoners' advocate, Carter recounts the poverty of his early years and the life-changing experience of imprisonment, including its spiritual lessons.

Wednesday, February 16

David Hazony - The Ten Commandments: How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life
7 p.m. The Ten Commandments are an ancient text, but in Hazony's reassessment they are far from obsolete. In his thoughtful rereading of the Mosaic dictates, Hazony, a journalist, Commentary magazine blogger, and editor of New Essays on Zionism, finds that they still have much to offer the modern, secular world by serving as foundations for moral growth.

Thursday, February 17

Ben Hatke - Zita the Space Girl
10:30 a.m. In Hatke's exciting graphic novel, Zita hits a red button and launches her friend Joseph into space. She hits the button a second time and sends herself out to find Joseph. As she crosses the universe, Zita encounters monsters, alien friends, and strange situations. Zita is resourceful, funny, and determined to rescue Joseph and bring them both home. Ages 7-10

Event

Susan Jacoby - Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age
7 p.m. In 2000 some 12.4% of Americans were age 65 and older. As this percentage rises, there are more retirement communities and more talk of imminent "cures" for old age. In her investigation of the lives of the aging, especially the poor and minorities, Jacoby, author of Freethinkers and The Age of American Unreason, finds a reality sharply at odds with the image of the active, carefree elderly.

Friday, February 18

Amy Chua - Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
7 p.m. Chua follows her economic and historical studies, World on Fire and Day of Empire, with a look at parenting. Eschewing what she sees as the permissive Western style for a more disciplined Asian method, Chua recounts how she and her husband raised their two daughters to meet high academic standards, develop a strong work ethic, and respect authority.

Saturday, February 19

Clarence Lusane - The Black History of the White House
7 p.m. Lusane's chronicle of the White House is also the story of the struggle for civil rights in America. A professor at American University and former editor of Black Political Agenda, Lusane recounts the stories of the black laborers who built the White House, the scandal concerning Booker T. Washington and Teddy Roosevelt that earned the building its name, and various crises that pushed forward a progressive agenda.

Sunday, February 20

Richard Whitmire - The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on the Nation's Worst School District
5 p.m. Michelle Rhee wrote the introduction to Whitmire's Why Boys Fail; now, in his second book, Whitmire profiles Rhee, fleshing out the public figure with details of her personal life. The center of the story is Rhee's contentious tenure as chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools, and the book includes an interview with Rhee on what she learned from the experience.

P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO . . .

Friday, February 18, 7:30 PM

Washington National Cathedral
3101 Wisconsin Ave, NW
JONATHAN FRANZEN
FREEDOM (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28)
This event is co-sponsored by Washington National Cathedral and PEN/Faulkner Foundation.

Come to hear an author hailed by Time magazine as “the great American novelist” in one of Washington’s most stunning and historic settings when Jonathan Franzen delivers Washington National Cathedral’s 2011 PEN/Faulkner Lecture. Featuring a reading from the widely acclaimed Freedom, Franzen’s latest novel, the evening includes the author’s thoughts about his own writing and life experience. In addition, Franzen will sign books.

Jonathan Franzen is the author of four novels—The Twenty-Seventh City, Strong Motion, The Corrections (recipient of the 2001 National Book Award), and Freedom—and two works of nonfiction, How to Be Alone and The Discomfort Zone. He lives in New York City and Santa Cruz, California.

Click here for more information and to buy $22 tickets ($16 for seniors and students).

Tuesday, February 22, 6:30 p.m.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown

PAULA SHOYER
THE KOSHER BAKER: Over 160 Dairy-Free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy (Brandeis Univ., $35)

Paula Shoyer, local pastry chef and owner of Paula’s Parisian Pastries Cooking School in Chevy Chase, will teach a class offering sweet and satisfying instructions for the classic chocolate babka. The Kosher Baker, was recently named one of the best holiday baking books by the Washington Post Express.

This $30 class includes a light dinner, samples, and ingredients. Please call 202-408-3100 to register.

Thursday, February 24, 12 noon

Hay-Adams, Top of the Hay
Sixteenth & H Streets, NW
RON CHERNOW
WASHINGTON: A LIFE (Penguin Press, $40)

This event is presented as part of The Hay-Adams Author Series

Join the National Book Award winner for a three-course lunch and lively discussion of his latest New York Times bestseller, a richly nuanced and vivid portrait of the real George Washington. The first public event in the new Top of the Hay, with stunning views directly across from the White House, will be co-hosted by renowned historian Michael Bechloss. A book signing will follow.

Ron Chernow's first book The House of Morgan received the 1990 National Book Award. His books Alexander Hamilton and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller were nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography and spent months on the New York Times bestseller list.

$85 ticket includes lunch, wine, tax and gratuity. Click here or call (202) 220-4844 for more information.

Saturday, February 26, 7:30 p.m.

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
MICHAEL SHOWALTER
MR. FUNNY PANTS (Grand Central, $25)
Michael Showalter, the writer and star of The State, Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, and Michael & Michael Have Issues, combines funny anecdotes, stories, jokes, observations, and graphic elements in his first book, Mr. Funny Pants. Full of Showalter's odd charm, Mr. Funny Pants journeys into the deep (and not-so-deep) recesses of his creative mind to tell Showalter's story: his obsessions--creative and otherwise--his successes, and his failings.

Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the event, or receive 2 FREE tickets with the purchase of the book ($25) through Sixth & I. If you have questions, please call 202.408.3100.

Bookmark this link for future offsite events.

P&P BESTSELLERS

All Politics & Prose Weekly Hardcover Bestsellers are 20% off for Members.
Click the book titles for more information about these featured books.

Bookmark www.politics-prose.com/bestsellers/hardcover-fiction and www.politics-prose.com/bestsellers/hardcover-nonfiction for our weekly discounted bestsellers.

Click here to receive the benefits of Politics & Prose membership.

Fiction Bestseller

FICTION

The Fates Will Find Their Way, by Hannah Pittard (Ecco, $22.99)
Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell (Knopf, $24.95)
Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell (Random House, $26)
You Know When the Men Are Gone, by Siobhan Fallon (Amy Einhorn, $23.95)
To the End of the Land, by David Grossman (Knopf, $26.95)
The Storyteller of Marrakesh, by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya (W. W. Norton, $24.95)
West of Here, by Jonathan Evison (Algonquin, $24.95)
The Empty Family: Stories, by Colm Toibin (Scribner, $24)
The Death Instinct, by Jed Rubenfeld (Riverhead, $26.95)
Heartstone: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery, by C. J. Sansom (Viking, $27.95)
The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown (Amy Einhorn, $24.95)

Click here for our fiction paperback bestsellers.

Non Fiction Bestseller

NONFICTION

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $27)
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua (Penguin, $25.95)
The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos, by Brian Greene (Knopf, $29.95)
I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, by Izzeldin Abuelaish (Walker, $24)
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson (Random House, $30)
Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, by Karen Armstrong (Knopf, $22.95)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (Crown, $26)
In the Shadow of the Buddha: Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories, and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet, by Matteo Pistono (Dutton, $25.95)
Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom, by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Lawrence Hill, $26.95)
Life, by Keith Richards (Little, Brown, $29.99)
My Father at 100, by Ron Reagan (Viking, $25.95)
Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age, by Susan Jacoby (Pantheon, $27.95

Click here for our non-fiction paperback bestsellers.

FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through February 16)
In this haunting collection of poems, Eloise Greenfield gives us a glimpse into THE GREAT MIGRATION: Journey to the North (Amistad $16.99). Colored by the poet's own experiences as a child, the collection explores the thoughts and emotions of African Americans as they sought to escape the hardships of the South by migrating to the North. Though some find the idea of leaving their lives and their land behind bittersweet, one compelling page tells of a woman who is eager to leave: "Goodbye town. Goodbye,/ work all day for almost no pay,/ enemy cotton fields, trying/ to break my back, my spirit." Jan Spivey Gilchrist's evocative illustrations are the perfect complement to Greenfield's candid poems. Ages 4-8. –Kerri Poore

Click here to see more of our suggestions for Black History Month.

Valentine

VALENTINE'S DAY

Are you inclined to give the classic I LIKE YOU (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $6.95) by Sandol Warburg? Or are you a pragmatic Valentine who prefers to express your sentiments for your little one with I LOVE YOU WHEN YOU WHINE (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $15) by Emily Jenkins? However you say "I love you," the children and teens' department has a large display of Valentine's Day books and packs of cards suitable for classroom giving.

We just hosted a children's Valentine's Day Event on Tuesday with Laura Malone Elliott's book, A STRING OF HEARTS (Katherine Tegen, $16.99), in which Sam wants to give a valentine to Tiffany, the most popular girl in the class. His friend Mary Ann helps him, but when Tiffany drops Sam's valentine, Sam realizes the difference between a true friend and an idealized romance. Ages 4-7

In the Teens' Department, you can find books brimming with all the love and angst you would care to discover. One of my favorite Valentine's books is THWONK by Joan Bauer (Speak, $7.99). The cover looks fluffier than it is. In the book, a young girl receives her own cupid. She gets him to shoot an arrow into the heart of a current infatuation . . . who turns out to be way less than what she had imagined, and she then has to undo the spell. A very funny middle school book.

Beth Kephart's UNDERCOVER (HarperTeen, $8.99) is a great book for Valentine themes. It has a heart shaped leaf on the cover. A young girl is paid to write love letters to other girls from certain boys in the eighth grade. The love letters she composes - using nature as her muse - are quite good, but she finally says enough to all of that and decides to spend her time becoming an ice skater. This book is one of Kephart's best novels and was a National Book Award Finalist.

Come visit us for even more suggestions!

Gussie Lewis

Read about - and buy - more of our favorite books for children and teens by clicking here.
Click here to access the teen blog.

Monday mornings at 10:30 a.m.
STORY TIME
BearSong, the Guitar Man, leads his weekly morning story time with 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.

MARKDOWN BOOKS

Remainders

Stacy Cordery's biography, ALICE: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker, has a little of everything: rebellion, love affairs, politics, high society. Alice was the daughter of Teddy Roosevelt, the wife of a Speaker of the House, lover of a Senator, but she was her own woman and did as she pleased, whether that was smoking cigarettes or trying to undermine FDR's New Deal. Never elected to office, she was nonetheless a true powerbroker, hosting diplomats, kingmakers, celebrities of all stripes. She lived through two world wars and was on hand for thirteen presidencies; her energy never waned, her tongue never dulled. Cordery, bibliographer of the National First Ladies' Library, has mined a trove of documents, including diaries and love letters. Available in hardcover, $6.98.

For bird watching, field guides are essential, but what about the legends and culture that have grown up around various species? Intrigued as much by stories as by facts, the British ornithologist Peter Tate put together FLIGHTS OF FANCY: Birds in Myth, Legend, and Superstition. This concise gathering of bird lore is both fanciful and useful; covering some 30 different birds, from eagles and magpies to owls and cuckoos, it recounts old beliefs regarding migration (some birds were thought to plunge into a lake for the winter, others to change into different birds and stick around), ancient rituals involving birds, healing properties of birds, as well as descriptions of appearance and habits. Available in hardcover, $4.98.

It's hard not to be charmed by THE SELECTED WORKS OF T.S. SPIVET. This first novel by Reif Larsen is a combination of two beloved American genres—the road trip, the coming-of-age story—done in a fresh and especially visual way. The eponymous Spivet is twelve years old and a genius, specializing in cartography. When he wins a big prize he goes to Washington D.C. to accept it—but he goes on his own, as a hobo. His adventures and responses to his cross-country trip come complemented with his drawings and maps. Available in paperback, $4.98.

Click here to shop for more recently acquired remainders.

• Laurie Greer

MUSIC NEWS

Music

NEW VOCALS

Kurt Elling, THE GATE (Concord, $17.98) – Kurt Elling is one of the premier jazz singers on the scene today; he chooses material wisely, can write new lyrics to tunes, and often sets poetry to music. His new album focuses on covers of songs associated with Joe Jackson (“Steppin’ Out”), Stevie Wonder (“Golden Lady”), the Beatles (“Norwegian Wood”), Miles Davis (“Blue in Green”), among others.

Frank Sinatra, BEST OF VEGAS (Concord, $17.98) – Frank Sinatra debuted at the Desert Inn in September, 1951, and over the years became the entertainer most associated with Las Vegas. Best of Vegas collects some of his most inspired live performances from 1961 to 1987, in venues like the Sands, the Golden Nugget, and Caesar’s Palace.

Natalie Dessay, HANDEL: CLEOPATRA (Virgin Classics, $16.98) – Metropolitan Opera star Natalie Dessay sings arias from Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, accompanied by Le Concert d’Astrée, led by Emmanuelle Haïm.

VALENTINE’S DAY DISPLAY: DUETS

We have a couple of Valentine’s Day displays in the store; one features literary and musical duets. Here are two CDs—one new, one old—that reflect the best of the genre.

Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal, CHAMBER MUSIC (Six Degrees Music, $16.98) – In 1999, kora player Ballaké Sissoko played on a wonderful duet album with fellow kora player Toumani Diabate called New Ancient Strings. His new collaboration is with French cellist Vincent Segal, and the sonic combination is a delight, mixing traditional Malian tunes, and originals with plenty of improvisation.

Music

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, RAISING SAND (Rounder, $17.98), 2007
Producer T Bone Burnett’s inspired pairing of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss has led to a masterpiece. In Raising Sand, Plant and Krauss create new paths into American roots music, with surprising soul and passionate vocals. Duets and solos by each singer bring out the drama of each tune; Robert Plant may have mellowed since Led Zeppelin, but his vocals still convey a reined-in power. Alison Krauss's pure soprano reaches the heartache within these folk-inspired tunes. Ballads like “Please Read the Letter” follow rock-inspired numbers like “Nothin’,” whose heavy guitar is explosively wedded to Krauss’s raw fiddle-playing. In songs by the Everly Brothers, Doc Watson, and Tom Waits, Plant and Krauss stunningly travel the blues and country roads to make a memorable album which gets better every time you hear it. • reviewed by Lacey Dunham

Click here for news and reviews. Please call us at 202-364-1919 or email me at agoldinger@politics-prose.com to order these CDs.

• András Goldinger

BOOK GROUPS

Politics & Prose currently hosts sixteen different book groups in the store each month.
P&P's book groups meet monthly and are free and open to the public.

These are the selections for the next week. Click the titles to read more about these books.
Click here to learn more about participating in a Politics & Prose book group and to see the entire month of upcoming meetings.

Book-group titles are discounted 20% to participants. Please join us!

Thursday, February 10, 7:30 p.m.
Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Group
Blackout, by Connie Willis
March 10 selection: Palimpsest, by Catherynne Valent

Monday, February 14, 7:30 p.m.
Women's Biography Book Group
Just Kids, by Patti Smith
March 14 selection: TBA

Tuesday, February 15, 7:30 p.m.
Spanish Language Book Group
Purgatorio, by Tomas Martinez
March 15 selection: El porvenir de mi pasado, by Mario Benedetti

Wednesday, February 16, 12:30 p.m.
Daytime Book Group
In Hovering Flight, by Joyce Hinnefeld , meeting with the author
March 16 selection: Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

Sunday, February 20, 6 p.m.
Spirituality Book Group
The Art of Power, by Thich Nhat-Hanh
March 20 selection: The Meaning of Life, by the Dalai Lama

NEWS FROM THE COFFEEHOUSE

New art show: Nathaniel Pearlman's 'Timeplots' and paintings by Nicole Bourgea

This month, we're pleased to present the work of two unique local artists: Nathaniel Pearlman and Nicole Bourgea.

Nathaniel Pearlman is an information artist who resides just a few blocks from Politics and Prose. Pearlman works in a tradition that seeks to communicate a high density of data honestly and elegantly. He studied at Yale College with Edward Tufte, renowned guru of the art of visually displaying quantitative information.

Pearlman's first five "Timeplots" are political because Pearlman has long been involved with American politics. He began his career building political technology applications for redistricting and campaigns. Though aided by a range of design and programming tools, all of the Timeplots are fundamentally hand-crafted, with every pixel and data point placement reflecting painstaking attention to detail. Pearlman hopes that the Timeplots celebrate and communicate culturally, socially and politically significant information and histories — while simultaneously producing art that challenges the viewer to see details, facts, figures, data and knowledge in a new way. For more information, or to purchase a print, visit www.timeplots.com

Nicole Bourgea is a third generation artist and resident of the greater Washington, DC area. She enjoys the challenge of applying her artistic vision to projects ranging from individual portraits and home portraits, to larger projects for schools, offices and interior designers. In all of these cases, her contemporary expressionistic paintings are concerned with microcosms that suggest a whole larger than the sum of its parts.

Bourgea is currently working on a series of large-scale portrait installations exploring, what she calls, "the protective psychological instincts surrounding the experience of being noticed."

For more information on Nicole's work, visit: www.nicolebourgea.com

Click here for more news from the Modern Times blog.

Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.
Modern Times Coffeehouse opens daily at 8 a.m.

Politics & Prose Bookstore
5015 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-1919 or
(800) 722-0790
Fax: (202) 966-7532

www.politics-prose.com
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twitter:@politics_prose

Directions to Politics & Prose

Modern Times Coffeehouse
(202) 362-2408

www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
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