Author Events with Marjorie Garber, Anthony Horowitz, and David Carter

As we look forward to Mother's Day, we celebrate the abundance throughout the world of talented women novelists, whom the Orange Prize Committee honors each year for excellence, originality and accessibility. On Tuesday, April 12, the longlist of nominees was winnowed down to a shortlist of six authors.

Mark Brown, arts correspondent for The Guardian reports:

First-time novelists make up half the shortlist for the 2011 Orange prize for fiction, indicating "the rude health of women's writing", according to this year's chair of judges Bettany Hughes.

The list includes novels that tackle strikingly difficult subjects – not least Kathleen Winter's debut novel Annabel, which tells the story of a baby born in back-of-beyond Newfoundland with both male and female genitalia.

Then there is inhuman imprisonment in Emma Donoghue's Room; mental illness in Emma Henderson's Grace Williams Says It Loud; the Sierra Leonean civil war in Aminatta Forna's The Memory of Love; the aftermath of the Balkan civil war in Téa Obreht's The Tiger's Wife; and traumas, sorrows and terrible secrets in Nicole Krauss's Great House.

"The clarity and human understanding on the page is simply breathtaking," said Hughes. "The verve and scope of storylines pays compliment to the female imagination. There are no subjects these authors don't dare to tackle.

"Even though the stories in our final choices range from kidnapping to colonialism, from the persistence of love to Balkan folk-memory, from hermaphroditism to abuse in care, the books are written with such a skilful lightness of touch, humour, sympathy and passion, they all make for an exhilarating and uplifting read. This shortlist should give hours of reading pleasure to the wider world."

Emma Donoghue (Irish) - ROOM - 7th Novel (Little, Brown, $24.99)
Aminatta Forna (British/Sierra Leonean) - THE MEMORY OF LOVE - 2nd Novel (Atlantic Monthly, $24.95)
Emma Henderson (British) - GRACE WILLIAMS SAYS IT LOUD; Sceptre; 1st Novel (not yet published in the United States)
Nicole Krauss (American) - GREAT HOUSE - 3rd Novel (W.W. Norton, $24.95)
Téa Obreht (Serbian/American) - THE TIGER'S WIFE - 1st Novel (Random House, $25)
Kathleen Winter (Canadian) - ANNABEL - 1st Novel (Black Cat, $14.95)

Click here to learn more about these books and the other nominees from the longlist.

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT BAGS

Mother’s Day is May 8th this year. Show your appreciation for Mom by treating her to a gift that she can enjoy all year. A gift bag of five superb books!

We have selected ten exceptional books that we think would be perfect for moms. To tailor the gift for the mother or grandmother in your life, pick any five books that you know she’ll love from these ten selections. We will wrap each book individually, enclose a greeting card, and put them in a useful, sturdy, canvas Politics & Prose tote bag. If you like, we’re also happy to ship the package wherever necessary.

Click the titles to read about each of the books:

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
Leave Me Alone I’m Reading by Maureen Corrigan
For You Mom, Finally by Ruth Reichl
Best American Short Stories 2010 edited by Richard Russo
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

The price for five books and the tote bag is $100 ($80 for P&P members).

Click here to order one for your mother or grandmother.

Or click here to see more of our suggestions for Mother's Day.

Coming soon: High School and College Graduation Gift Bags and Father’s Day Gift Bags

- Anna Thorn

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 some place 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!

DAVIDS DELIBERATIONS

REFLECTIONS ON PASSOVER AND CONTEMPORARY HAGGADOT

Passover represented the happiest times in the Cohen family. It was the one religious holiday we all loved. Our children, Aaron and Eve, each led the Seder when they were home. In his eulogy for Carla, Rabbi Serotta acknowledged my leading the Seder and leading the discussion, but Carla was truly the all-around participant: full of questions, opinions and conclusions, and the consummate master of organizing the meal .

Carla gave me a two-hour limit for the rituals of the Seder in order to have time for discussion, which always ensured that the Jewish and historical aspects of the story were also universal and contemporary. Discussion continued through the meal. We always opened the door for Elijah, but sometimes the Seder was not fully completed. We concluded by rephrasing the traditional "Next year in Jerusalem" as "Next year a City of Peace," which is the meaning of Jerusalem if you examine the word's origins.

Here is an excerpt from Carla's last cookbook, "A Scrapbook of Recipes and Other Pleasant Associations," written for family and friends:

My family of origin did not believe in formal religion...With David, I have come to adopt Jewish ritual, and I have grown to appreciate how satisfying it is to mark the weeks and year. Most of our food events revolve around Shabbat, Passover and the High Holidays. . . . I like the recipes from the Middle East and North Africa in Jewish cookbooks. The most important consideration of Passover food is to be able to cook it ahead and during the long service.

Especially at Passover, we will remember Carla this year and miss her beyond words. She specialized in understanding the books explaining the rituals and always updated her essay explaining the new Haggadot. This year I imagine her writing about THE WASHINGTON HAGGADAH, originally printed in Germany with the art of that period. She would have been drawn to David Stern's and Katrin Kogman-Appel's scholarly essays. The Washington Haggadah (Harvard Univ., $39.95) comes from the Hebraic Section of the Library of Congress, and Carla would have encouraged us to acknowledge the Library as the important national resource that it is.

Carla also focused on how each Haggadah fits the style of Seder service you wish to host for your guests. As such, she would have loved OUR HAGGADAH: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families by Cokie and Steve Roberts (HarperCollins, $19.99). Their reality fits so many families, including our own and those of Carla's siblings. She also would have been the first to say you don't have to be an interfaith family to benefit from this Haggadah. By drawing on the power of respecting other traditions, it is Jewish to the core. The essays by Steve and Cokie demystify leadership of the Seder. Like Nashon, who stepped into the Red Sea when others were reluctant, Cokie and Steve give us all the necessary confidence to run a Seder. They make it understandable and spirited, so that we can be fully present in our own experience of the Exodus.

Click here to read Carla's Haggadot comparisons from the archives.

- David Cohen

BOOK NOTES

Wasteland

POETRY FOR YOUR POCKET

I don’t need a cult of sleep to tell me to die
every night.

- chosen by Sam Ramos

“Old Bed” from HUMAN DARK WITH SUGAR, by Brenda Shaughnessy (Copper Canyon, $15)

We pierced the sky
with our panting, involuntary light.

- chosen by Angela Willliams

“Love Poem for College” from i was the jukebox, by Sandra Beasley (W.W. Norton, $24.95)

. . . what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment’s surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed

- chosen by Michael Allen

“The Waste Land” from THE WASTE LAND and Other Writings, by T.S. Eliot (Modern Library, $7.95)

Click here for more poetry suggestions from our booksellers.

PODCAST OF THE WEEK

On Sunday, February 6, 2011, Jasmin Darznik, a professor of English at Washington and Lee, spoke about her book, THE GOOD DAUGHTER: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life (Grand Central, $24.95).

The chance find of an old photo of her mother’s wedding to a man she’d never seen before led Darznik to discover startling new facts about her family history. Her memoir chronicles three generations of Iranian women and their legacy of secrets, losses, and the search for freedom.

Click here to listen to the talk and to download the MP3, which includes Jasmin Darznik'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

ILL FARES THE LAND, by Tony Judt (Penguin, $15)

BARGAINING WITH THE DEVIL: When to Negotiate, When to Fight, by Robert Mnookin (Simon & Schuster, $16)

WHAT IS LEFT THE DAUGHTER, by Howard Norman (Mariner, $13.95)

THE LONG SONG, by Andrea Levy (Picador, $15)

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

The Troubled Man, by Henning Mankell (Knopf, $26.95)
The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht (Random House, $25)
Drawing Conclusions: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon (Atlantic Monthly, $24)
Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems, by Billy Collins (Random House, $24)
The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace (Little, Brown, $27.99)
A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins, $25.99)
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel, by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon, $24.95)
The Fifth Witness, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $27.99)
Emily, Alone, by Stewart O'Nan (Viking, $25.95)
The Trinity Six, by Charles Cumming (St. Martin's, $24.99)
Swim Back to Me, by Ann Packer (Knopf, $24.95)
The Free World, by David Bezmozgis (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26)

Click here for our paperback fiction bestsellers.

Non Fiction Best

NONFICTION

Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families, by Cokie Roberts and Steven V. Roberts (HarperCollins, $19.99)
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable (Viking, $30)
Bossypants, by Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur, $26.99)
The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, by David Brooks (Random House, $27)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $27)
Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, by Gabrielle Hamilton (Random House, $26)
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by Joshua Foer (Penguin Press, $26.95)
Unfamiliar Fishes, by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead, $25.95)
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution, by Francis Fukuyama (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $35)
America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation, by David Goldfield (Bloomsbury, $35)
To a Mountain in Tibet, by Colin Thubron (HarperCollins, $24.99)
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood, by James Gleick (Pantheon, $29.95)

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.
Events

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!
Signing line-tickets required. Click here for more details.

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.

Events

Sunday, April 17

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.

Monday April 18 - NO EVENTS - PASSOVER

Tuesday, April 19

David Carter - Colors / Up & Down: Bugs Pop-Up Concepts
10:30 a.m. Join us for two new additions to Carter’s popular bugs pop-up series. With colorful, imaginative bugs popping up in the most unusual ways, these skillfully crafted books reinforce early learning concepts of color and direction. Ages 3-5.

NO EVENING EVENT - PASSOVER

Wednesday, April 20

John Stephens - The Emerald Atlas
10:30 a.m. Kate, Michael, and Emma were kidnapped one Christmas Eve and spent ten years being shuttled from one orphanage to another. They weren’t unwanted—they were being protected from a grave evil. But now they’ve embarked on a journey through a realm of magic and danger; will the prophecy that says they’ll change the world come true? Stay tuned: this is the first book of a projected trilogy. Ages 9-12.

7 p.m. Meghan O'Rourke - The Long Goodbye: A Memoir
7 p.m. Drawing on a poet’s sensitivity and skill at emotional compression, on the essayist’s gift for close-focus analysis, and on the cultural critic’s attention to the larger context, O’Rourke recounts her mother’s death and her own grief. Her memoir is an intimate account of illness and caretaking and how they alter family ties.

Events

Thursday April 21

7 p.m. Simon Schama - Scribble, Scribble, Scribble: Writing on Politics, Ice Cream, Churchill, and My Mother
7 p.m. A prolific historian and art critic, Schama roves as widely in journalism as he does in his books. The lively, informative pieces collected here range from book reviews to food writing (complete with recipes), and cover major figures and events of the past and present, from Rembrandt to Scorsese, Churchill to Bush.

Friday, April 22

Philip Kerr - Field Gray
7 p.m. The seventh novel in Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series charts Gunther’s experiences during World War II and in the early Cold War years. An intelligence officer and later a prisoner of the Soviets, Gunther reports on police actions in the Eastern bloc and treatment of German POWs by the Allies. He also carries on a long chess tournament with a communist he rescued from a hostile gang.

Saturday, April 23

Nathan Larson - The Dewey Decimal System
Persia Walker - Black Orchid Blues
Nina Revoyr - Wingshooters
1 p.m. Join us for a showcase of new fiction from Akashic Press, "a Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction." Larson’s first novel is a“literary noir” set in New York City; Revoyr's third novel is the story of a Japanese-American girl in an all-white Wisconsin town; and Walker’s historical mystery is set in 1920s Harlem.

David J. Linden - The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good
6 p.m. A neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins and author of The Accidental Mind, Linden presents the science behind hedonism. Blending the latest research with illustrative anecdotes, he discusses intoxication and addiction, and shows how behavior and biology influence each other. He also offers a look at the future, when technology may give us more control over our brain’s pleasure centers.

Sunday, April 24

NO EVENTS - EASTER

P&P CUSTOMERS ARE ALSO INVITED TO . . .

Thursday, April 14, 8:30 – 10:15 a.m.

Greater Washington Board of Trade Business Leadership Series
Capital Hilton
1001 16th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036

GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK
A REASON TO BELIEVE: Lessons from an Improbable Life (Broadway, $21.99)

In 2007, Deval Patrick became the first black governor of the state of Massachusetts, one of only two black governors elected in American history. From a chaotic childhood to an elite boarding school in New England, from a sojourn doing relief work in Africa to the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, and then to a career in politics, Patrick has led an extraordinary life. In this heartfelt and inspirational book, he pays tribute to the family, friends and strangers who, through words and deeds, have instilled in him transcendent lessons of faith, perseverance and friendship.

For more information and to register, visit www.hooksbookevents.com.

Sunday, April 17, 10:30 a.m. - noon

The Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market
20th St. NW between Massachusetts Ave. and Connecticut Ave.
(In the adjacent parking of PNC bank)
JOE YONAN
SERVE YOURSELF: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One (Ten Speed Press, $22)
Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at The Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning “Cooking for One” column. Joe’s work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation’s award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Come to the Market and meet Joe who will be presenting demonstrations from his new book, which brings together more than 100 inventive, easy-to-make, and globally inspired recipes celebrating solo eating.

Contact: dupont@freshfarmmarkets.org
NEW HOURS! Regular season (April through Dec. 2011): Sundays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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

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

Thursday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.

NOTE RESCHEDULED DATE

Friendship 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.

Thursday, April 28, 6 p.m.

Laogai Museum
1734 20th St., NW
MARJORIE GANN and JANET WILLEN
FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OF SLAVERY (Tundra Books, $27.95)
Slavery has existed throughout human history from ancient Sumeria to Medieval Europe to present day Ghana and beyond. Authors Marjorie Gann and Janet Willen put a human face on the slavery world-wide for readers ages 11 and up. The book’s American launch is at the newly reopened Laogai Museum, which exposes China's vast system of brutal forced labor prison camps.

Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by sending an email to Laogai@laogai.org or calling (202) 408-8300 x300.

Bookmark this link for future offsite events.

FROM THE CHILDREN AND TEENS' DEPARTMENT

CHILDREN'S SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS BOOK CLUB

Did you miss the opportunity to obtain a first edition Harry Potter book when JK Rowling visited Politics & 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 picture book delivered each month directly to your - or another collector’s - doorstep, or you can pick up your book at the store. You may choose to enroll in the program for six or twelve months at a time.

There is no enrollment fee. The cost of each book ($30 or less, including shipping) is the only charge, which will be processed every month when the books arrive at Politics & Prose. You can choose to have us cover your book with an archival book cover for an extra $1.50. P&P members will receive 20% off all selections.

Our current books are:

April: QUEEN OF THE FALLS by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $18.99)

She could remember standing in a park near the falls, hypnotized by the sight and sound, and holding her father’s hand as they took a walk that would lead them closer.

That’s what everyone wonders when they see Niagara . . . How close will their courage let them get to it? At the turn of the nineteenth century, a retired sixty-two-year-old charm school instructor named Annie Edson Taylor, seeking fame and fortune, decided to do something that no one in the world had ever done before—she would go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. Come meet the Queen of the Falls and witness with your own eyes her daring ride!

Chris Van Allsburg is the winner of two Caldecott Medals for Jumanji and The Polar Express, as well as the recipient of a Caldecott Honor Book for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.

May: HOORAY FOR AMANDA & HER ALLIGATOR by Mo Willems (Balzer + Bray, $17.99)

6½ stories about 2 surprising friends.
Having a stuffed alligator for a best friend can be surprising.
Sometimes Amanda surprises her alligator with books. Sometimes Alligator surprises Amanda by eating them.
But what happens when Amanda brings home a special—and not entirely welcome—surprise? The result might be unexpected indeed.
Beloved author-illustrator Mo Willems has created a funny and tender portrait of friendship that readers of any age will love. Mo Willems is a three-time Caldecott Honor winner (for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny, and Knuffle Bunny Too).

CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK
(20% off through April 20)
“How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!” announces the first poem in this collection of nonsense verse by Edward Lear. And pleasant indeed it is for children of all ages to encounter Mr. Lear in this wonderful, whimsical book put together by Daniel Pinkwater. Calef Brown’s bright, colorful illustrations perfectly capture these silly songs and stories, from the Jumblies in their sieve on the sea to the moonlit romance of the Owl and the Pussycat. Read the poems in HIS SHOES WERE FAR TOO TIGHT (Chronicle, $16.99) out loud with your favorite kid or not-too-serious grown-up. All ages. – Dana Chidiac

April is National Poetry Month! Come check out our poetry table and enjoy some of our favorites

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.

Click here to access the teen blog.

MARKDOWN BOOKS

Among the many outstanding poetry collections on hand for Poetry Month is August Kleinzahler’s SLEEPING IT OFF IN RAPID CITY: Poems, New and Selected. This book won the 2008 National Book Award for poetry, and it was richly deserved. Rapid City is only one of the many locales this restless poet visits on his travels, and it’s striking how his style and tone change with the different landscapes he finds himself in. He’s always avidly observing and listening (he’s written a book of essays on music, too) and the poems are vivid with sights and sounds. Available in hardcover, $5.98.

Since Tender at the Bone, readers haven’t been able to get enough of Ruth Reichl’s memoirs. In her most recent volume, NOT BECOMING MY MOTHER: And Other Things She Taught Me along the Way, Reichl focuses not on food but on her mother, who wanted to be a doctor, settled for a more ladylike role as bookstore proprietor, and then did her duty by marrying and starting a family. Until Reichl opened her mother’s journals, she hadn’t guessed at the anger and rebelliousness her mother felt. Reichl’s book is a personal story that’s also the story of a generation of American women. Available in hardcover, $5.98.

The New Yorker publishes so many great articles, stories, and cartoons, it’s no wonder it has spawned such an extensive series of anthologies. SECRET INGREDIENTS: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink, edited by David Remnick, is a trove of culinary treasures. These treasures, like the magazine itself, come in all genres; whether your taste runs to humor, feature articles, reviews, trends, fiction, or, yes, cartoons—they’re all on the menu, from Woody Allen and Steve Martin to John McPhee and Joseph Mitchell, M.F.K. Fisher and Gabrielle Hamilton to Adam Gopnik and Jane Kramer. Available in paperback, $5.98.

Click here to shop for more recently acquired remainders.

MUSIC NEWS

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH: GARY SNYDER IN MUSIC
April is Poetry Month, and in previous years I’ve written about poetry set to music. Luciana Souza’s settings of Elizabeth Bishop, Fred Hersch’s settings of Walt Whitman, and Peter Lieberson’s settings of Rilke and Neruda were all featured.
This year, there’s a brand new CD called ON COLD MOUNTAIN: SONGS OF POEMS OF GARY SNYDER (Innova, $14.99). The singer is contralto Karen Clark, and she’s accompanied by an unusual string quartet featuring a viola da gamba as the fourth member, replacing the viola. The quartet has some of the colors of a viol consort, and is perfect foil for the low, dark qualities of Ms Clark’s voice. Four composers (Roy Wheldon [the gamba player in the group], Fred Frith, Robert Morris, and W.A. Matthieu) have set poems and translations by Mr. Snyder. This is

NEW
Paul Simon, SO BEAUTIFUL OR SO WHAT (Hear Music, $12.98) – Paul Simon has been writing and singing great songs for over fifty years, and he’s getting rave reviews for his latest. Read the Washington Post review (http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/recordings-paul-simons-so-beautiful-or-so-what/2011/04/07/AFM7iyMD_story.html ). “Nuff said.

Alison Krauss & Union Station, PAPER AIRPLANE (Rounder, $17.98) – Alison Krauss’s pure soprano returns in originals and beautiful covers, especially “Dimming of the Day,” written by Richard Thompson, and originally sung by Richard and Linda Thompson. Her group also features heavyweights Jerry Douglas on dobro, and Dan Tyminski on guitar and vocals. A beautiful album.

Ben Allison, ACTION-REFRACTION (Palmetto, $16.98) – Jazz bassist Ben Allison writes great tunes, but on his latest, he covers Thelonious Monk (“Jackie-ing”), PJ Harvey (“Missed”), Donny Hathaway (“Some Day We’ll All Be Free”), and the Carpenters (“We’ve Only Just Begun”). His sound is a little rockier than before, thanks to guitarist Steve Cardenas. The other members of his band are Michael Blake (bass clarinet and tenor sax ), Jason Lindner (keyboards), and Rudy Royston (drums).

Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya, SOTHO BLUE (Sunnyside, $16.98) – South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim released one of his greatest albums, Ekaya, in 1983, featuring an ensemble of multiple reeds, flute, and trombone, plus rhythm section. That album is out of print (one cut is on the new box set, Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology), but Ibrahim put together a new Ekaya group on Sotho Blue, and revisits a few of his most recognizable songs such as “The Wedding.” If you’re a fan of melodic ensemble arrangements, this is one to pick up.

THE CIVIL WAR IN SONGS
There will be many books, lectures, and exhibits during the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has just reissued Tom Glazer’s A TREASURY OF CIVIL WAR SONGS (Smithsonian Folkways, $16.98), originally released in 1973. University of Maryland Professor of Musicology Patrick Warfield’s new essay has sections on borrowed tunes, professional songwriters, songs of humor, and Abraham Lincoln and political songs.

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

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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 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

Monday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.
Legacies of American Exceptionalism Book Group
Green Grass, Running Water, by Thomas King
May 16 selection: The Holder of the World, by Bharati Mukherjee

Tuesday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.
Spanish Language Book Group
Riña de Gatos, by Eduardo Mendoza
May selection: TBA

Wednesday, April 20, 12:30 p.m.
Daytime Book Group
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, by Mario Vargas Llosa
May 18 selection: The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano

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

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
e-mail: books@politics-prose.com
twitter:@politics_prose

Directions to Politics & Prose

Modern Times Coffeehouse
(202) 362-2408

www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
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