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Greetings from Politics & Prose!
Week of April 7

Author Events with Howard Jacobson, Jennet Conant, Donna Leon, Diane Ackerman, and Billy Collins

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Click here for our events calendar to preview upcoming events through the end of May.
Members always save 20% on author event books and titles included in other special promotions. Click here to register!

Thursday, April 7
7 p.m. Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

Friday, April 8
7 p.m. Jennet Conant - A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS

Saturday, April 9
1 p.m. Susi Wyss - The Civilized World
6 p.m. Louis Bayard - The School of Night

Sunday, April 10
1 p.m. Alexander Yates - Moondogs
5 p.m. Diane Ackerman - One Hundred Names for Love

Monday, April 11
7 p.m. Donna Leon - Drawing Conclusions

Tuesday, April 12
7 p.m. Billy Collins - Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems

 

 

Wednesday, April 13
7 p.m. David Goldfield - America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation

Thursday, April 14
7 p.m. Marjorie Garber - The Use and Abuse of Literature

Friday, April 15
7 p.m. Anthony Horowitz - Scorpia Rising

Saturday, April 16
1 p.m. Ben Dolnick - You Know Who You Are
6 p.m. Garrett M. Graff - The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror

Sunday, April 17
5 p.m. Marc Freedman - The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife

 


LETTER FROM BARBARA

 

 

What a busy week we have just experienced, and we are looking forward to so much more. We are pleased that the announcement of our decision to sell the store to Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine has been met with such an outpouring of positive reactions and supportive messages. If you have not already read their personal account of “Why We Bought Politics & Prose,” published last week in The Washington Post, you can read it here.

I feel like I’m barely catching my breath with the combination of the business aspects of this transition, and the wealth of in-store events. More than 400 people greeted Sarah Vowell on Saturday, March 26. Then on Monday, the day of the announcement, we hosted both Cal Ripken, Jr. and Téa Obreht. Later in the week, large crowds also turned out to welcome Jacqueline Winspear and to attend a CD box set release party for JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology (Folkways, $107.98).

Although we suffered a huge disappointment this week when Henning Mankell cancelled at the last minute due to travel complications, we are still looking forward to meeting Man Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson, poet Billy Collins, mystery author Donna Leon, and one of my personal favorite historians of personalities, Jennet Conant.

We hope you will join us!

- Barbara Meade

Here there be dragons

APRIL DISCOUNTS ON TRAVEL GUIDES, MAPS, AND PHRASEBOOKS

As the weather warms, our thoughts turn to vacations. All travel guides, maps, and phrasebooks on our shelves are 20% off for members until April 30th. It's the perfect time to begin your planning, or simply to learn about someplace you have always wanted to visit. Come in and browse our large selection of guides from Frommer's, Fodor's, Lonely Planet, Moon Guides, Michelin, Rick Steves, and Rough Guides for almost anywhere in the world you would like to go. Or call us and we'll help you locate the perfect book to prepare for your journey!


BOOK NOTES

Poetry

PoetryWelcome to poetry month! Over the next few weeks we plan to introduce you to several books by and about poets. And as Barbara mentioned, don't miss meeting Billy Collins next Tuesday!

ELIZABETH BISHOP AND THE NEW YORKER Edited by Joelle Biele (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $35)

Why read a volume of business correspondence? When the business is The New Yorker and the correspondents are writers of the caliber of Elizabeth Bishop, William Maxwell, Katharine White, and Howard Moss, any doubts about this project disappear. Far from being a gathering of sweepings meant to capitalize on Bishop’s popularity, these letters are a fascinating look at how a top literary magazine was run between 1934 and 1979.

Even Bishop got rejections from The New Yorker, and they’re here, laying bare the editing process, as are editors’ queries about lines, facts, and punctuation. As the poet and her editors got to know each other over the years, the letters grew more expansive and the personalities shine through, with a wit and warmth that’s fresh and vivid. Today’s emails may be more efficient, but can emoticons ever achieve the charm of these old-fashioned missives?

THE POETRY OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS OF RUTHERFORD By Wendell Berry (Counterpoint, $24)

When it seemed as though you had to be an expatriate to be an American writer, Williams stayed home and wrote about New Jersey. Celebrating this art grounded in the local, Berry lays out the thematic and prosodic challenges Williams met, and shows how he developed a poetry that articulated the previously unpoetic in a fresh American idiom. Berry has been reading Williams all his life and his comments on the poet’s language and meter are both learned and heartfelt (and not at all academic). While succinct, this book has a wide scope. Berry examines the culture Williams wrote from and hoped to heal; like the doctor-poet, Berry is troubled by the dehumanizing tendencies of seemingly unlimited development. A profound statement of values that both include and transcend art, this book has much to offer irrespective of whether you love Williams’ poetry.

Recommended by Laurie Greer

LAURIE ALSO RECOMMENDS

FlanneryHERE ON EARTH: A Natural History of the Planet, by Tim Flannery (Atlantic Monthly, $25)

Flannery describes this book as “a twin biography of our species and our planet.” As such, it looks at both the natural history and the human-engineered future of Earth, and Flannery tells both stories with vigor and enthusiasm. There’s a lot of science here: continental plates and their drift; how Earth’s crust gave rise to life; how super-organisms evolve and how they work; the origins of fossil fuels and the consequences of burning them. Flannery’s explanations of these complex processes are not just clear, they’re fascinating, and they illustrate his view that all aspects of earthly life are fundamentally related.

As he uncovers the fossil records of eons of adaptability, destruction, and resilience, Flannery is markedly more hopeful about the planet’s future than he was in The Weather Makers. He outlines several ways we can harness natural processes, technology, and globalization to foster sustainability—even when there are nine billion of us (as there will be soon) for Earth to support.

Tim Flannery will appear at National Geographic Live on April 20.

Click here to read about some of Laurie's other favorite books.

 


SPRING TRIP - PICASSO MASTERPIECES

Picasso Signature

Saturday, May 14, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
PICASSO: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris

Join us on a memorable spring trip to The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia to view the exhibition, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris. The VMFA is the only East Coast venue for the seven-city international tour. The exhibit presents iconic works from virtually every phase of Picasso’s legendary career, documenting the full range of his unceasing inventiveness and prodigious creative process. The Musée Picasso’s holdings stand apart from any other collection of his work because they represent the artist’s personal collection.

The morning of the trip, we will meet for a light breakfast of coffee and muffins at 7:30 a.m. at the Modern Times Coffee House located at the back entrance of Politics & Prose. Promptly at 8 a.m., we will depart in a private motor coach.

When we arrive at the Museum, we will take an audio tour of the Picasso exhibit followed by a docent-led tour of the highlights of the museum. This will include a look at one of the finest Fabergé Collections in existence, Ife art from ancient Nigeria, civil war drawings, native American art objects, and a contemporary photography exhibit.

We will then enjoy a private lunch with time to peruse the gift shop before our return to Politics and Prose. We should return by 5 p.m.

All registered participants will receive 20% off books on Picasso in stock up to our departure date.

The price is $130 per person or $120 for members. Space is limited. Please reserve early to avoid disappointment.

For more information, please contact Bonnie Kogod at 202-363-7738 or [email protected]. To reserve a ticket, please call the store at 202-364-1919 or click here to make a payment online.

PODCAST OF THE WEEK

Invisible BridgesIt's always a treat to host a well-known author for a paperback release because so many of the audience have had the time to read the book and come with their informed and provocative questions. On March 18, 2011, Politics & Prose hosted Julie Orringer for the paperback release of her novel THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE (Vintage, $15.95). This is what one of our booksellers had to say about why she liked it.

Do you want to experience student life in 1930s Paris and linger in the classrooms and cafés of a bustling, vibrant, youthfully impoverished Latin Quarter? Have you ever wondered about studying in an architectural atelier, designing sets for a Parisian theater, or teaching ballet in the wealthy Marais? (All this vivid living and striving a welcome counterpoint to the grim news emerging from Germany and Spain.) You might be more interested in the precise conditions of work camps on the Eastern Front, and the subversive diversions their inmates created to cope with backbreaking, dehumanizing labor. Or perhaps you'd prefer one of the most moving, honest and unconventional love stories in recent memory. Through the entwined fates of three Hungarian Jewish brothers, Julie Orringer creates a universe soaring in its scope and extraordinary in its intimacy. The Invisible Bridge absorbed me completely.  - Liz Sher

Click here to listen to the talk and to download the MP3, which includes Julie Orringer's talk and conversation with the audience.

We record nearly every in-store author event. You can listen to our current selection of author event recordings here, or click here to browse and download more MP3s. If you would like to request a CD or MP3 recording from a past event which is not already posted, send an email to Wendy Brown.

 

NEW IN PAPERBACK

 

New Paperback

THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett (Berkley, $16)

TRUE COMPASS: A Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy (Twelve, $16.99)

 

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

 

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 Bestsellers

FICTION

  1. The Tiger’s Wife, by Téa Obreht (Random House, $25)
  2. A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins, $25.99)
  3. The Troubled Man, by Laurie Thompson, Henning Mankell (Knopf, $26.95)
  4. Drawing Conclusions: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon (Atlantic Monthly, $24)
  5. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party: The New No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel, by Alexander Mccall Smith (Pantheon, $24.95)
  6. The Complaints, by Ian Rankin (Reagan Arthur, $24.99)
  7. The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace (Little, Brown, $27.99)
  8. The Trinity Six, by Charles Cumming (St. Martin’s, $24.99)
  9. Emily, Alone, by Stewart O’Nan (Viking, $25.95)
  10. When the Killing’s Done, by T.C. Boyle (Viking, $26.95)
  11. Rodin’s Debutante, by Ward Just (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26)
  12. Started Early, Took My Dog, by Kate Atkinson (Reagan Arthur, $24.99)

Click here for our paperback fiction bestsellers.

Non Fiction Bestsellers

NONFICTION

  1. Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families, by Cokie Roberts and Steven V. Roberts (HarperCollins, $19.99)
  2. Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India, by Joseph Lelyveld (Knopf, $28.95)
  3. The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, by David Brooks (Random House, $27)
  4. Unfamiliar Fishes, by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead, $25.95)
  5. Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan, by Del Quentin Wilber (Holt, $27)
  6. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood, by James Gleick (Pantheon, $29.95)
  7. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by Joshua Foer (Penguin Press, $26.95)
  8. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $27)
  9. To a Mountain in Tibet, by Colin Thubron (HarperCollins, $24.99)
  10. Pakistan: A Hard Country, by Anatol Lieven (PublicAffairs, $35)
  11. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (HarperCollins, $24.99)
  12. Bismarck: A Life, by Jonathan Steinberg (Oxford Univ., $34.95)

Click here for our paperback non-fiction bestsellers.

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 May.

Event

Thursday, April 7

Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
7 p.m. Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize, Jacobson’s novel was cited for being “very funny…but also very clever, very sad and very subtle. It is all that it seems to be and much more than it seems to be.” The eponymous Finkler is a popular Jewish philosopher, writer, and television personality, and the story focuses on his long friendship with gentile Julian Treslove, who becomes obsessed with what it means to be Jewish. $10 tickets are required for this event.

Friday, April 8

Jennet Conant - A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS
7 p.m. In her popular The Irregulars, Conant reported on the secret life of Roald Dahl. Her new book is a stunning account of Julia and Paul Child’s experiences as members of the OSS in the Far East during World War II, and the tumultuous years when they were caught up in the McCarthy Red spy hunt in the 1950s.

Saturday, April 9

Susi Wyss - The Civilized World
1 p.m. Written as a sequence of linked stories following the lives of five women, Wyss’s debut novel takes place in various African countries, including Ghana, Ivory Coast, and the Central African Republic. Her characters are ambitious—sometimes impatient—migrant workers with dreams; Americans with good intentions but too little understanding of Africa; and ordinary villagers gossiping about their neighbors.

Louis Bayard - The School of Night
6 p.m. Bayard’s acclaimed The Black Tower and The Pale Blue Eye were artful combinations of history and fiction; his new novel takes the blurring of truth and fabrication as its theme. The eponymous school, a secret debating club, may have counted Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe as members, and a pair of rival antiquities dealers race to uncover the truth.

Event

Sunday, April 10

Alexander Yates - Moondogs
1 p.m. Yates’s first novel is a fast-paced coming-of-age story set in the Philippines. Benicio, mourning the recent death of his mother, sets out to reunite with his long-estranged father. Instead, he finds himself trying to negotiate with his father’s kidnappers and embarking on a series of adventures.

Diane Ackerman - One Hundred Names for Love
5 p.m. In 2005, Ackerman’s husband, the British writer Paul West, suffered a stroke that severely damaged the language centers in his brain. She encouraged him to record his experience in The Shadow Factory, and now adds her own powerful and moving memoir from the caregiver’s perspective. She is previously known for The Zookeeper’s Wife, An Alchemy of Mind, and A Natural History of the Senses. Co-sponsored by The National Aphasia Association

Monday, April 11

Donna Leon - Drawing Conclusions
7 p.m. Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti has earned legions of followers since he appeared on the scene in 1992. In his twentieth case he investigates the sudden death of a widow. The authorities say she died of a heart attack, but Brunetti is sure there’s more to it, and he’s determined to find out what really killed her.

Tuesday, April 12

Billy Collins - Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems
7 p.m. Collins’s witty, jovial poetry is popular even with people who don’t usually read poems. In his ninth collection the former Poet Laureate considers matters of death and mortality, but he approaches the big questions by way of daily routine and mundane settings: could Hell be worse than a cavernous mattress warehouse in which he finds himself?

 

Event

Wednesday, April 13

David Goldfield - America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation
7 p.m. A University of North Carolina historian specializing in Southern history, Goldfield begins his study of the Civil War in 1834. That year a Boston mob destroyed a Catholic convent, a landmark event in the rise of the Protestant evangelicalism that Goldfield argues fomented Northern activism and led finally to war.

Thursday, April 14

Marjorie Garber - The Use and Abuse of Literature
7 p.m. With books on topics as diverse as Shakespeare, bisexuality, real estate, and dogs, Garber, a Harvard professor of English, here sets out to define the term “literature.” Does it refer to any and every written text?  Does it confer a special status? Looking at a range of works from the 15th century to the present, Garber considers the changing cultural work of reading and writing.

Friday, April 15

Anthony Horowitz - Scorpia Rising
7 p.m. In his latest–and final—mission, Alex battles Scorpia, the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization, in one of the most treacherous regions on Earth, the Middle East. Scorpia was behind the deaths of Alex’s parents, and they’ll stop at nothing to get him, too. Ages 10 and up

Brush up on your Alex Rider facts--we’ll have a trivia contest with prizes.  And hold on to your line signing ticket: we’ll have a drawing with one lucky winner!

When customers come into the store to pick up their copies of Scorpia Rising, they will each receive one numbered signing-line ticket per copy.  The number on each ticket corresponds to a spot in line, and tickets are distributed in the order that books are picked up.  Customers must come into the store to get their tickets.  No tickets will be held, mailed, or given out separately.

If you cannot attend this event, we can accept orders for signed books without personalization.  All Scorpia Rising phone and web orders must be complete by 10 p.m. on Thursday, April 14.  Any purchases made after the store closes on April 14 must be made in person.

Saturday, April 16

Ben Dolnick - You Know Who You Are
1 p.m. Author of the accomplished Zoology, Dolnick in his affecting second novel tells the life story, so far, of Jacob Vine. Over the course of 15 years, Jacob grows from child to young adult, experiencing first love, his mother’s death, and college.  

Garrett M. Graff - The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror
6 p.m. The age of terrorism has introduced new kinds of threats that call for new strategies to keep America secure. In his portrait of today’s FBI, Graff, the editor-in-chief of The Washingtonian, draws on extensive interviews and once-secret documents to present a new generation of agents.

Sunday, April 17

Events

 

Marc Freedman - The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife
5 p.m. Retirement today doesn’t mean the end of work, only a shift from one role to another. Freedman, a writer and social entrepreneur, has gathered the personal stories of people, who, in their later years, have made the transition into a new and rewarding life.

P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO . . .

Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m.

ASHLEY JUDD ALL THAT IS BITTER AND SWEETSixth & I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown

ASHLEY JUDD
ALL THAT IS BITTER AND SWEET (Ballantine, $25)

Actor and activist Ashley Judd has kept poignant journals of her travels into the world's human-rights hot spots, where, as a global ambassador for PSI/Youth AIDS, she waded into slums, brothels, and war-torn villages on four continents, advocating programs to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people. As part of her journey to help these victims, Judd was forced to take a deep look at her own life, and at the damaging issues she had been wrestling with for years.

Click here to purchase $14 tickets or receive 1 FREE ticket with the purchase of the book ($28) through Sixth & I. If you have questions, please call 202.408.3100.


Tuesday, April 12, 6:30 p.m.

Offsite

 

Embassy of Sweden
2900 K Street NW

JONAS HASSEN KHEMIRI
MONTECORE (Knopf, $25.95)
Acclaimed international author, Khemiri , has written an inventive and illuminating novel about Abbas, a Tunisian orphan, who immigrated to Sweden and rose to great fame as a photojournalist. His son, Jonas, tells the story of Abbas's surprising journey at the urging of his father's friend. The novel is a rich blend of diverse voices, roles, and conflicting memories. To attend, please contact, [email protected]

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

Offsite 3Friendship Heights Village Center
4433 S. Park Avenue, Chevy Chase

COKIE and STEVE ROBERTS
OUR HAGGADAH: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families (HarperCollins, $19.99)
When Cokie and Steve Roberts met in college, they found common ground in their shared values, despite their different religious beliefs – she is Catholic, he is Jewish. After they married, they began hosting a Passover Seder that has evolved, over forty-five years, from a small family gathering into a Washington tradition. Based on the time-honored Haggadah—the text read throughout the evening that gives order to the ritual meal— the Robertses's book is a practical guide for interfaith families.  

Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797.




Wednesday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.

Flannery

National Geographic Live
Grosvenor Auditorium
1600 M Street, NW
TIM FLANNERY

HERE ON EARTH: A Natural History of the Planet (Atlantic, $25)
Tim Flannery
, internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist, has discovered more than 30 mammal species and earned the title Australian of the Year 2007. He wrote the best-selling book The Weather Makers. His new book Here on Earth offers the message of hope that we are equipped more than ever to improve our relationship with the planet on which our biological, economic, and cultural futures depend.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were one delightfully written book that told you everything you’d like to know about humans, the Earth, sex, sperm counts, war, our future, and hundreds of other subjects? Here it is…Tim Flannery’s books have made him the rock star of modern science.”—Jared Diamond, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, and Pulitzer-prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel

Co-sponsored with the Embassy of Australia. Read a profile of Tim Flannery on the Australian of the Year website.

Click here to buy $18 Tickets ($16, NG Members). $10 Student Rush tickets will be available at the door 45 minutes prior to event


Bookmark this link for future offsite events.

 

FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT

All the water in the worldCHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through April 13)

“Honey, those clouds just let it go and rain, rain, rain!” Never have I read such a fun and poetic explanation about the importance of ALL THE WATER IN THE WORLD (Atheneum, $15.99) than in George Ella Lyon‘s book. To show the cyclic nature of water, words swirl up and thunder down in large font on the pages, with explanations aided by Katherine Tillotson‘s bold and clever illustrations. After showing the centrality of water to every living thing’s survival, Lyon ultimately has a preservationist message for young readers, urging against wasting water to keep the world green for us all. Ages 4-7 - Amy Kane

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

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

 
Markdown

As Poetry Month begins, be sure to check out the poetry section downstairs. Among the recent arrivals, we’re delighted to have TELEPHONE RINGING IN THE LABYRINTH: Poems 2004-2006 by Adrienne Rich. Since her first collection was published back in 1951, winner of that year’s prestigious Yale Younger Poets award, Rich has been one of the most powerful and prolific poets at work. This selection of her recent poetry shows Rich is as challenging and active a poet as ever; writing about music, literature, politics, daily life—pushing “for furtherance.” Available in paperback, $4.98.

The line between poetic prose and prose poems can be elusive, and the elegant, lyrical writing in Simon Van Booy’s LOVE BEGINS IN WINTER evokes both genres. These five short stories are set in various places—Rome, New York, Sweden—but all are grounded in the human heart. Van Booy’s characters feel things deeply; many have loved and lost, and are prepared to do so again. If you like brooding noir-ish films, you’ll find these narratives have a similar tone and emotional resonance. Available in paperback, $4.98.

Whether or not you recognize the name, you know Maira Kalman’s work. She’s done New Yorker covers, children’s books, and the illustrated edition of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, to name a few of her projects. In THE PRINCIPLES OF UNCERTAINTY, Kalman does a little of everything—and more. Here are a year’s worth of her takes on flowers, street life (in streets paved and not), shop windows, war memorials, art exhibits—you name it. Her visual journal comes in drawing, photos, collages, and handwritten text. A true treasure! Available in hardcover, $6.98.

Click here to shop for more recently acquired remainders.

Laurie Greer

 

MUSIC NEWS

NEW VOICES

MusicGretchen Parlato, THE LOST AND FOUND (Obliqsound, $12.98) – In 2004, Gretchen Parlato won the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition. I distinctly remember seeing her in the semi-finals at Baird Auditorium, and being riveted right from the start: she started with a capella scatting, sang wonderfully in Portuguese, and interacted with the band with maximum swing. The Lost and Found features originals, new lyrics by Gretchen to Wayne Shorter’s “Juju,” and original takes on songs done by Simply Red, Mary J. Blige, and Paulinho da Viola. Gretchen is supported by a superb group: Taylor Eigsti on keyboards, Derrick Hodge on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums.
She will be appearing at the Bohemian Caverns, April 15 and 16. Don’t miss her.

Justin Bond, DENDROPHILE (Whimsy Music, $14.98) – In his chapter, “Edges of Pop,” in his latest book, Listen to This, Alex Ross writes about the cabaret act of Kiki and Herb. Justin Bond was Kiki, the epically melodramatic chanteuse. I also saw a glorious duet on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” between Bond and Rufus Wainwright on the McGarrigle Family Christmas DVD that came out a year ago. Now, Justin Bond has released an album of originals and a few choice covers.  Kiki was known for her medleys, and here, Justin does a wonderful mash-up of Karen Carpenter and Joan Baez on “Superstar/Diamonds and Rust.” For any outré cabaret lover, this album is the one for 2011.

CHICAGO BLUES & SALSA
MusicChicago has a powerful blues tradition, and Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator Records forty years ago to record what he was hearing in the neighborhood blues clubs. Over the years, he’s recorded Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and other legends, as well as the new generation of Corey Harris and Shemekia Copeland. On 40TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (Alligator Records, 2 CDs, $17.98), you get over two hours of great Chicago blues on two CDs for the price of one.
Scott Simon interviewed Bruce Iglauer on NPR a couple of weeks ago (http://www.npr.org/2011/03/26/134861589/alligator-records-pushing-blues-forward-for-40-years ).

Chicago also produced a home-grown brand of salsa that stressed the Puerto Rican roots rather than the Cuban. This music didn’t get wide exposure, but now the archival label Numero Group has put out a set to remedy that gap, with profuse notes and pictures on Salsa Boricua de Chicago (Numero Group, $18.98).
NPR also had a story about this CD, ( http://www.npr.org/2011/03/30/134980252/the-secret-history-of-chicago-salsa )

NEXT WEEK
Great new releases from Paul Simon and Alison Krauss.

 

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.


Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m.
Capital James Joyce Book Group
The Divine Comedy: Volume 1: Inferno by Dante, beginning with Canto 23
May 5 selection: TBA

Monday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.
Women’s Biography Bookgroup
|
Enemies of the People, by Kati Marton
May 9 selection: TBA

Tuesday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.
Evening Fiction Bookgroup
Purge, by Sofi Oksanen
May 10 selection: A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry

Wednesday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.
Lez Read
Girl Meets Boy, by Ali Smith
May 11 selection: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel

Thursday, April 14, 7:30 p.m.
Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookgroup
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
May 12 selection: Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester

Sunday, April 17, 6 p.m.
Spirituality Bookgroup
Nothing Special, by Charlotte Joko Beck
May 22 selection: TBA

 

Click here to learn more about participating in these or other Politics & Prose book groups and to see the entire month of upcoming meetings.

All book-group titles are discounted 20% to participants. Please join us


NEWS FROM THE COFFEEHOUSE

black coffee. freshly ground, fully packed”

Click to listen to our ode to black coffee, strength and independence:
From the 1972 Ike & Tina Turner LP “Feel Good.”


Click here for more news from the Modern Times blog.


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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
e-mail: [email protected]
twitter:@politics_prose

Directions to Politics & Prose

Modern Times Coffeehouse
(202) 362-2408

www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
moderntimescoffeehouse.blogspot.com