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Click here for our events calendar to preview upcoming events through December.
Members always save 20% on author event books and titles included in other special promotions. Click here to register!
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Thursday, October 13
10:30 a.m. Padma Venkatraman
Island’s End (Putnam, $16.99)
7 p.m. Kathryn J. McGarr
The Whole Damn Deal: Robert Strauss and the Art of Politics (PublicAffairs, $29.99)
Friday, October 14
7 p.m. Anne Enright
The Forgotten Waltz (W. W. Norton, $25.95)
Saturday, October 15
1 p.m. Stephen Mitchell (Translator)
Homer: The Iliad (Free Press, $35)
3:30 p.m. Vernon Loeb
King's Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East (W.W. Norton, $26.95)
6 p.m. Eli Saslow
Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President (Doubleday, $25.95)
Sunday, October 16
5 p.m. David Margolick
Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock (Yale Univ., $26)
Monday, October 17
10:30 a.m. Tommy Greenwald
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading (Square Fish, $14.99)
7 p.m. Bill Bryson
At Home: A Short History of Private Life (Doubleday/Anchor, $28.95/$15.95)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
7 p.m. Bob Edwards
A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio (Univ. Press of Kentucky, $21.95)
Tuesday, October 18
7 p.m. Steve Inskeep
Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi (Penguin Press, $27.95)
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Wednesday, October 19
10:30 a.m. Rosalyn Schanzer
Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem (National Geographic, $16.95)
4:30 p.m. Michael Takiff and Mike McCurry
A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him (Yale Univ., $23)
7 p.m. Jill Abramson
The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout (Times, $22)
Thursday, October 20
4:30 p.m. Maggie Stiefvate
The Scorpio Races (Scholastic, $17.99)
7 p.m. Sarah Bakewell
How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (Other, $25/$15)
Friday, October 21
7 p.m. Richard Thompson & Ben Hatke
Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists (First Second, $18.99)
Saturday, October 22
1 p.m. Gordon S. Brown
The Captain Who Burned His Ships: Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750-1829 (U.S. Naval Institute, $28.95)
Saturday, October 22
6 p.m. John Summers and Andrew Ferguson
Masscult and Midcult: Essays Against the American Grain (NYRB, $16.95)
Sunday, October 23
5 p.m. David Rowell
The Train of Small Mercies (Putnam, $25.95)
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The Scoop from Brad and Lissa
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 Following the death last week of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, public interest in the story of his extraordinary life has surged. A cascade of advance orders for an authorized biography of Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson, has already assured the book’s status as a bestseller. Previously scheduled for release in November, the book, titled simply Steve Jobs and drawing on more than 40 interviews with the pioneering technology leader, is now due in stores by October 24.
Similarly, a collection of statements by Jobs is being rushed into print with plans to ship this month. I, Steve, edited by George Beahm, offers more than 200 quotes from Jobs pulled from presses releases, public appearances and interviews over the years. For those in search of books already available, two recent titles include: Inside Steve's Brain by Leander Kahney, and Return
to the Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs and the Creation of Apple by Michael Moritz.
Meanwhile, our extraordinary line-up of author events continues virtually unabated this fall, and three upcoming events are especially worth noting. On Saturday, Stephen Mitchell will talk about his new translation of The Iliad and the contemporary language he lends to the 3,000-year-old epic poem. The first major translation of the Iliad in 15 years, Mitchell’s work is generating excitement (and controversy) in academia and beyond. On Monday, we have a surfeit of choices for customers: Bill Bryson, the humorist, creative thinker, and expert on language, will be at Sixth & I Synagogue to talk about his book, At Home. That same evening, the familiar voice of former NPR newsman Bob Edwards will be heard at the store as he reads from A Voice in the Box.
Long-time customers at Politics and Prose know that, along with our expertly curated inventory of 35,000 titles, we also sell a variety of non-book items. Indeed, we have earned something of a reputation over the years for our selection of elegant journals, greeting cards, calendars, puzzles, book marks, and book plates. While some of these “sidelines” (as they are called in the book business) have literary themes or connections, not all do. Our sidelines buyer, Leslie Bradshaw, comes from the museum world and has an eye for the unique and creative. Her view, and ours, is that sidelines should be engaging for their artistry, whimsy, or rarity, and match the tastes and sophistication of our book-loving customers. In that vein, you may have noticed beautiful hand-knit socks from Vermont (an essential for reading by the fire in winter), our new line of Scrabble letter mugs, and colorful, reusable tote bags known as Envirosax, among many others.
This week—just in time for Halloween—we’re excited to have in stock an array of beautiful hand-crafted wood wands (for adults and children) made by Muscatine Woodworks in northern California. The artist, Jeff Muscatine, is Lissa’s brother. You can learn the whole story behind these stylish, whimsical, and individually-crafted wands in our “Sideline of the Week” entry. Remember: The wand picks the wizard. Check out the selection!
Brad and Lissa
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David's Deliberations
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Carla’s Legacy: Love for Books, Community, and Discussion, Part II
The Politics & Prose community has recognized the first anniversary of Carla's death with warm recollections of her impact, the community she and Barbara nurtured and strengthened with the remarkable P&P staff. The vitality of the community draws on a base of engaged, interested and articulate lovers of books. Underneath it all, there is in our community's DNA the belief that a mind is a terrible thing to waste even as reading and discussing books and their ideas, while often serious, should also be fun.
Last week I wrote about how moved I am by the poster of Carla, with Politics & Prose in the background and an illustrative display of Carla's favorite books in the store window. We provided hyperlinks, which didn't work, so here they are corrected. Click here to see these books (and more of her favorites) online.
This week I want to share with you five new books, which Carla would have loved.
Click here for more. |
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Ticketed Events
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Monday, October 17, 7 p.m.
 Bill Bryson
At Home (Anchor, $15.95 / Doubleday, $28.95)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Bryson’s informative and genial chronicle of the evolution of the modern household might be subtitled “a short history of nearly everything in the house.” Moving room by room through his own abode, a 19th-century rural parsonage, he finds in the layout and objects a wealth of history on everything from disease to landscaping to lighting. Join us for the paperback release of this instant favorite.
Two free tickets will be provided with each purchase of the book (paperback or hardcover) from P&P. Additional tickets are $10 (or $12 the day of the event).
Pre-purchased books and tickets may be picked up at Politics & Prose. On October 17, the day of the event, books and tickets may be collected at the event Will Call at Sixth & I Synagogue. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins promptly at 7 with General Admission seating.
Click here to purchase the book and tickets.
Monday, October 31, 7 p.m.
 Jeffrey Eugenides
The Marriage Plot (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $28)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Mitchell, Madeleine, and Leonard: a classic triangle, but, in the hands of the masterful author of The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, the story of these three college classmates is much more. Set in the early 1980s, the novel chronicles the characters’ experiences as they finish college and face the “real” world. Given illness, unrequited love, and impossible models like Mother Teresa, of what help to them is semiotics, Jane Austen, or even Darwin?
Two free tickets will be provided with each purchase of the book from P&P. Additional tickets are $12 (or $15 the day of the event).
Pre-purchased books and tickets may be picked up at Politics & Prose beginning October 11. On October 31, the day of the event, books and tickets may be collected at the event Will Call at Sixth & I Synagogue. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins promptly at 7 with General Admission seating.
Click here to purchase the book and tickets.
Monday, November 7, 7 p.m.
 The Honorable John Paul Stevens
Five Chiefs (Little Brown, $24.99)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
John Paul Stevens knew the Supreme Court under five Chief Justices: He clerked for Vinson; practiced before Warren; was a circuit judge and junior justice for Berger; and was a colleague of Rehnquist and current Chief Justice Roberts. His tenure on the High Court from 1975 to 2010 was the third longest in history. That unparalleled experience informs his remarkable memoir. Justice Stevens will be in conversation with Judge David S. Tatel, who was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1994.
Two free tickets will be provided with each purchase of the book from P&P. Additional tickets are $12 (or $15 the day of the event).
Pre-purchased books and tickets may be picked up at Politics & Prose through November 6. On November 7, the day of the event, books and tickets may be collected at the event Will Call at Sixth & I Synagogue. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins promptly at 7 with General Admission seating.
Click here to purchase the book and tickets.
Wednesday, November 9, 7 p.m.
 Umberto Eco
The Prague Cemetery (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $27)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Eco’s historical novel dramatizes some of the most shocking ideas and events of nineteenth-century Europe. His protagonist, a montage of actual figures, is the man behind The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and numerous conspiracies of a like nature. The challenge Eco set himself here was to invent a character who’s “the most cynical and disagreeable in all the history of literature.” Eco will be in conversation with the novelist Keith Donohue (Centuries of June, Crown, $24, May 2011)
Two free tickets will be provided with each purchase of the book from P&P. Additional tickets are $12 (or $15 the day of the event).
Pre-purchased books and tickets may be picked up at Politics & Prose on November 8. On November 9, the day of the event, books and tickets may be collected at the event Will Call at Sixth & I Synagogue. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins promptly at 7 with General Admission seating.
Click here to purchase the book and tickets.
Wednesday, November 16, 7 p.m.
 Michael Ondaatje
The Cat's Table (Knopf, $26)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Set on a ship bound from Colombo to England in the 1950s, the haunting new novel by the Booker Prize-winning author of The English Patient is the coming-of-age story of an eleven-year-old boy. Finding unlikely tutors on jazz, literature, and women among his fellow passengers, the boy also glimpses things he doesn’t understand, from a mysterious shackled man to the elusive Miss Lasqueti.
Two free tickets will be provided with each purchase of the book from P&P. Additional tickets are $12 (or $15 the day of the event).
Pre-purchased books and tickets may be picked up at Politics & Prose until November 15. On November 16, the day of the event, books and tickets may be collected at the event Will Call at Sixth & I Synagogue. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins promptly at 7 with General Admission seating.
Click here to purchase the book and tickets.
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Sidelines of the Week
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The Wand Picks the Wizard….
Just in time for Halloween, (and our November 7 event with Erin Morgenstern for The Night Circus (Doubleday $26.95), not to mention Christmas), we’re excited to offer a selection of elegant, hand-crafted wood wands made in northern California. The artist is Lissa’s brother, Jeff Muscatine, who made his first wands years ago for his children to take to the queue for the seventh Harry Potter novel. Many people inquired about the wands, but until recently, Jeff never made more. Now he has, and we are pleased to offer a gorgeous selection at Politics and Prose.
Jeff cuts, carves, and fits each wand individually, with different styles of handles, metal ferrules, and glass or stone inserts in some. He uses beautiful woods from around the world and favors responsible conservation-oriented sources and species that are not endangered. Variation is the rule. No two wands are the same, and each comes with a tag identifying the materials used and instructions for care and cleaning. Prices range from $22 for the simplest wand to $65 for the most elaborately carved and exotic ones.
In addition to adult wands, we also stock Jeff’s Apprentice wands, which are shorter, simpler, and blunter, and thus suitable for apprentice, rather than full-grown, wizards. (Remember: wands, not swords!)
Here’s what Jeff says about his love of wand-making: “A magic wand is a vehicle of whimsy, imagination, and fun. As I interpret it, a wand should be a beautiful object in its own right. Looking at a wand and holding it give me an immediate sense of removal from the everyday, a delight in possibilities and pleasing fancies.”
Take a look for yourselves. We think you’ll appreciate and enjoy these imaginative and engaging works of art.
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EBook of the Week
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 Blindness by José Saramago (Mariner, $3.99)
José Saramago (1922–2010) was the author of many novels, among them Blindness, All the Names, Baltasar and Blimunda, and The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis. In 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In Blindness, a city is hit by an epidemic of 'white blindness.' The blindness spreads, sparing no one. Authorities confine the blind to a vacant mental hospital secured by armed guards. Inside, the criminal element among the blind hold the rest captive - food rations are stolen, women are raped. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers through the barren streets. The developments within this oddly anonymous group -- the first blind man, the old man with the black eye patch, the girl with dark glasses, the boy with no mother, and the dog of tears -- are as uncanny as the surrounding chaos is harrowing.
Click here to buy Blindness.
Click here to see more recommended eBooks and to learn more about buying eBooks from Politics & Prose.
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Coming Soon to Your Favorite Bookstore
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Click www.politics-prose.com/event for our author events calendar through December.
Thursday, October 13, 10:30 a.m.
Padma Venkatraman
Island’s End (Putnam, $16.99)
The author’s experience on the Andaman Islands inspired this story of Uido, a girl selected as her tribe’s future leader. Among her challenges are her brother’s jealousy and the temptations of modern life brought by visitors from the mainland. Ages 11-14.
Thursday, October 13, 7 p.m.
Kathryn J. McGarr
The Whole Damn Deal: Robert Strauss and the Art of Politics (PublicAffairs, $29.99)
In her first book, McGarr, whose work has appeared in Politico, chronicles the life and, as important, the times of Robert S. Strauss. Granted extensive access to her subject, McGarr portrays the presidential advisor, ambassador, special trade representative, and chair of the Democratic National Committee not only as a superb politician, but as emblematic of the kind of productive, bipartisan figure sorely missed in Washington today.
Friday, October 14, 7 p.m.
Anne Enright
The Forgotten Waltz (W. W. Norton, $25.95)
Enright’s first novel since the 2007 Man Booker-winner, The Gathering, is Gina Moynihan’s account of a recent affair with a serial philanderer. But this is a love story with multiple focuses and several twists. As Gina awaits the arrival of her lover’s troubled teenage daughter, a snowstorm brings post-boom Dublin to a halt, creating perfect conditions for Enright’s distinctive wry, dark, and startling voice.
Saturday, October 15, 1 p.m.
Stephen Mitchell (Translator)
Homer: The Iliad (Free Press, $35)
Mitchell’s achievements as a translator are nearly unparalleled. From ancient epics like Gilgamesh to literary classics like Rilke’s poetry, from the Tao Te Ching to The Bhagavad Gita to The Book of Job, he’s rendered timeless texts in today’s English. His new version of the ancient Greek tale of the Trojan War is a masterpiece of scholarship and craft.
Saturday, October 15, 3:30 p.m.
Vernon Loeb
King's Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East (W. W. Norton, $26.95)
The late Jack O'Connell was CIA station chief in Amman from 1963 to 1971; thereafter, he served as King Hussein's U.S. attorney and Jordan's lobbyist. In his memoir, written with Loeb, a Washington Post editor, he portrays the Jordanian leader as a more passionate force for peace in the region than either the U.S. or Israel. Jack O'Connell's son, Sean, will be representing his father at this event and will be speaking alongside Vernon Loeb.
Saturday, October 15, 6 p.m.
Eli Saslow
Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President (Doubleday, $25.95)
Every day, President Obama reads ten representative letters among the thousands he receives from citizens across the land. The letters come from people of all ages, walks of life, and political points of view. Saslow, a reporter at the Washington Post, became fascinated by the power of these letters and set out to find the stories behind them.
Sunday, October 16, 5 p.m.
David Margolick
Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock (Yale Univ., $26)
One indelible image from the civil rights movement is that of a black student enduring taunts as she enters Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The student was Elizabeth Eckford, and the jeering white classmate behind her was Hazel Bryan Massery. What happened to the two young women next is the subject of Margolick’s dual biography/narrative history. The author of Beyond Glory and Strange Fruit, Margolick brings a veteran journalist’s insights about race and America to this pivotal moment.
Monday, October 17, 10:30 a.m.
Tommy Greenwald
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading (Square Fish, $14.99)
An avid non-reader, Charlie Joe goes to great lengths to conceal his aversion to books. But things get harder in middle school, and he comes up with an ingenious—and hilarious—plan to stay away from literature. Ages 8-11.
Monday, October 17, 7 p.m.
Bill Bryson
At Home: A Short History of Private Life (Doubleday/Anchor, $28.95/$15.95)
at Sixth & I Synagogue
600 I Street, NW
Bryson’s informative and genial chronicle of the evolution of the modern household might be subtitled “a short history of nearly everything in the house.” Moving room by room through his own abode, a 19th-century rural parsonage, he finds in the layout and objects a wealth of history on everything from disease to landscaping to lighting. Join us for the paperback release of this instant favorite.
Two free tickets will be provided with each purchase of the book (paperback or hardcover) from P&P. Additional tickets are $10 (or $12 the day of the event). Prepayment is required to secure reservations. Books and tickets cannot be held without a confirmed payment.
Monday, October 17, 7 p.m.
Bob Edwards
A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio (Univ. Press of Kentucky, $21.95)
One of the pioneering figures of National Public Radio and the host of NPR's Morning Edition from 1979 to 2004, Edwards, since his abrupt departure from NPR, has gone on to break new ground with satellite radio. This memoir chronicles his forty-year career in broadcast journalism, from his early years with the American Forces Korea Network through his current work on Sirius XM Radio.
Tuesday, October 18, 7 p.m.
Steve Inskeep
Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi (Penguin Press, $27.95)
Karachi, Pakistan’s fast-growing commercial center, with a population of some 13 million, largely drawn from the countryside in the last few decades, typifies today’s “megacity.” In his portrait of this complex metropolis, the award-winning NPR host and correspondent looks at the city’s numerous political, religious, and ethnic divisions as well as its many innovative health and education programs. Inskeep will be in conversation with Madhulika Sikka, executive producer of Morning Edition.
Wednesday, October 19, 10:30 a.m.
Rosalyn Schanzer
Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem (National Geographic, $16.95)
In January 1692 two girls in Salem Village came down with a mysterious condition of twitches and mumbling that no one could explain, except by attributing it to possession by the devil. Schanzer’s history recounts the mass hysteria that sent the community on a devastating witch hunt. Ages 10-14.
Wednesday, October 19, 4:30 p.m.
Michael Takiff and Mike McCurry
A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him (Yale Univ., $23)
In conjunction with the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Literary Circle, we present a discussion of A Complicated Man. Takiff will be joined by Mike McCurry, former press secretary for the Clinton administration, and the discussion will be moderated by our own Lissa Muscatine. The Literary Circle, mostly composed of practicing attorneys and judges, has been continuously meeting each month for more than 18 years, discussing great works of literature and important works of non-fiction.
Wednesday, October 19, 7 p.m.
Jill Abramson
The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout (Times Books, $22)
Expanding on her popular blog about her golden retriever puppy, The New York Times managing editor recounts the joys and challenges of her first year with Scout. Full of stories as well as practical information about training, grooming, feeding, and much more, this book celebrates the human-canine bond.
Thursday, October 20, 4:30 p.m.
Maggie Stiefvater
The Scorpio Races (Scholastic, $17.99)
Known for her Shiver series, Stiefvater here takes readers to an Irish island where horses live under water part of the year. When they surface on November 1, they want to eat flesh, but the townspeople capture and race them. It’s a dangerous tradition, and Sean, the returning champion, faces the challenge of his life. Ages 14 and up.
Thursday, October 20, 7 p.m.
Sarah Bakewell
How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (Other, $25/$15)
Bakewell’s presentation of Montaigne’s life and work demonstrates why classic writing lasts. Winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award and now available in paperback, this genial study looks at the great essayist’s ideas and how they helped him cope with the Big Questions we still wrestle with today.
Friday, October 21, 7 p.m.
Richard Thompson & Ben Hatke
Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists (First Second, $18.99)
This ingenious pairing of fifty classic nursery rhymes with pictures by today’s leading comic artists puts a colorful spin on Mother Goose. Join us for a reading and discussion by Thompson, illustrator of “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” and Hatke, who took on “Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?” All ages.
Saturday, October 22, 1 p.m.
Gordon S. Brown
The Captain Who Burned His Ships: Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750-1829 (U.S. Naval Institute, $28.95)
A former diplomat and author of Toussaint’s Clause, The Incidental Architect, and other studies of early American history, Brown has written the first biography of Captain Thomas Tingey. Tingey served in the Royal Navy before jumping ship for America, and was instrumental in the growth of the U.S. Navy. In 1814, rather than see the Washington Navy Yard fall into British hands, he ordered it burned.
Saturday, October 22, 6 p.m.
John Summers and Andrew Ferguson
Masscult and Midcult: Essays Against the American Grain (NYRB, $16.95)
In his title essay, originally published in 1960, Dwight Macdonald, the writer, critic, and prominent member of the New York Intellectuals, argued that mass culture posed a grave threat to high culture. How have his ideas held up since his death in 1982? Join us for a discussion of Macdonald and the fate of culture with John Summers, editor of this edition, and Andrew Ferguson, columnist, author, and senior editor at the Weekly Standard.
Sunday, October 23, 1 p.m.
Google eBooks Information Session
This will be less formal than the last session. Stop by at your convenience;
P&P booksellers will be ready to assist you in trying various devices and learning how to download eBooks from politics-prose.com.
It's not hard to sign up for an account while you're here, and we can help you through the steps. Once your account is set up, you can store all your ebooks in the cloud on your own personal bookshelf which you can access whenever and wherever you log into politics-prose.com.
Click here to read more about buying Google eBooks from Politics & Prose.
Sunday, October 23, 5 p.m.
David Rowell
The Train Of Small Mercies (Putnam, $25.95)
In his first novel, The Washington Post Magazine editor tells several small stories against the backdrop of one overwhelming national event. Set in June 1968, the day Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train made its way to D.C. from New York, the narrative follows the lives of four individuals and the different meaning the occasion has for each.
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P&P Customers Are Also Invited To . . .
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Politics & Prose sells books at many book signing parties and events. The events below are open to the public; however, reservations and tickets should be acquired from the hosting organization. Please contact offsite@politics-prose.com if you are planning an event and would like us to supply the books.
Thursday, October 13, 7:30 p.m.
 Friendship Heights Village Center
4433 S. Park Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD
Dana Priest
Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State (Little, Brown, $27.99)
The two-year investigation revealed that the government has built a national security and intelligence system so large, complex, and difficult to manage, that nobody knows if it is actually keeping citizens safe.
Dana Priest is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. She has won numerous awards, including the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for public service for "The Other Walter Reed" and the 2006 Pulitzer for beat reporting for her work on CIA secret prisons and counterterrorism operations overseas. Ms. Priest and her co-author, William M. Arkin, won a George Polk Award for National Reporting for the July 2010 Post series "Top Secret America.”
Please sign up in advance for this FREE event by calling the Village Center at 301-656-2797. Copies of the book, provided by Politics & Prose, will be available for purchase. October 23–November 2
Washington DCJCC
1529 16th Street NW at Q Street
Metro: Dupont Circle
The Washington DCJCC’s Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival celebrates the year’s best in Jewish writing. Whether you enjoy history, art, politics, fiction or great family programming, this festival has something for everyone. During the 11-day event, audiences will engage with critically acclaimed authors, such as Lucette Lagnado and Ursula Hegi, and enjoy talks, readings and provocative panels.
For tickets and info, please visit www.washingtondcjcc.org/litfest or call (202) 777-3251.
Tuesday, October 25, 7:30 p.m.
National Geographic Live!
1600 M Street, NW
Wade Davis
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest (Knopf, $32.50)
Based on newly discovered documents, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis’s new book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest tells the story of the legendary and ultimately tragic 1924 British Everest expedition. Linking Mallory and his comrades’ determination to gain glory in the Himalaya to their bitter experiences in the trenches of WWI, Davis offers a compelling fresh take on history.
Wednesday, October 26, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26, 7 p.m.
National Geographic Live!
1600 M Street, NW
Jared Diamond
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (Penguin, $18)
Why do humans make decisions the way they do? And what does that mean in the context of the current threats to our species’ survival? Daniel McFadden, the 2000 Laureate in Economics Studies, whose work focuses on how people make choices and sort themselves into groups, will discuss questions of human choice and their repercussions with National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the bestseller Collapse, which analyzed the phenomenon of societal failure. The conversation will be moderated by National Geographic Weekend host Boyd Matson.
This event is sold out. Click here for more information.
Thursday, October 27, 7 p.m.
Sixth & I
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
Justice Stephen Breyer
Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View (Vintage, $16)
Charged with the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the awesome power to strike down laws enacted by our elected representatives. Why does the public accept the Court’s decisions and follow them, even when those decisions are highly unpopular? What must the Court do to maintain the public’s faith and help make our democracy work? In Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View—the bestseller now in paperback—Justice Stephen Breyer tackles these questions.
Tickets are $22 and include one (1) copy of the book. Purchase here. If you have questions, please call 202.408.3100.
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From the Children and Teens' Department
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Children's Book of the Week
(20% off through October 19)
One day in the savanna, Mouse scampers over a tall mountain only to find that it’s not a mountain at all, but a great, ferocious Lion. Lion is so angry that he threatens to eat Mouse, until Mouse convinces Lion that he might need his tiny acquaintance one day. Later, when Lion finds himself in a tangle, Mouse scurries to the rescue, showing Lion how powerful even the tiniest creature can be. Mouse & Lion (Michael Di Capua, $17.95) is a stunning retelling of Aesop’s fable, featuring engaging text by Rand Burkert. Nancy Ekholm Burkert’s paintings convey a beautiful sense of motion, and her expert use of white space captures both the small-scale interactions between Mouse and Lion and the great expanse of the savanna. Ages 3-7. –Dana Chidiac
Read about - and buy - more of our favorite books for children and teens by clicking here.
Signing line tickets available now for Jeff Kinney's visit to Politics & Prose!
 Wednesday, November 16, 3 p.m.*
Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Amulet, $13.95)
In the sixth installment of the Diary, Greg is in big trouble for damaging school property. He's innocent this time - sort of. He gets a reprieve when a blizzard closes school, but he knows that when the storm is over, he'll have to face the authorities. Ages 9-12.
* Join us at 3 p,.m. when we start our own blizzard with a snow-making truck; Jeff Kinney will speak at 4 p.m.
Tickets are required for the signing line; please see below.
Customers wishing to have their books signed must come into the store to pick up their signing line tickets, and must have proof of purchase from Politics & Prose. The tickets will be distributed in the order of pickup in the store. If you purchase early by phone or online, we can not hold an early signing line ticket. You will receive the color sequence that is available at the time you pick up your order. Unfortunately, if you are ordering from out of town, we cannot mail a ticket; you must collect it when you arrive at the store. Those who cannot attend the event will not receive a signing line ticket.
Phone and online orders must be completed by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15. On the day of the event, sales only will be available to customers who come into the store.
Click here to purchase your book online.
Next week is Teen Read Week!
Visit our PG-15 section to check out the featured books on our teen blackboard.
Join our Teen Book Group to discuss Kenneth Oppel’s This Dark Endeavor (Simon & Schuster, $17.99) on Sunday, October 23.
And, don’t miss Maggie Stiefvater’s visit to Politics & Prose next Thursday, October 20 at 4 p.m., when she’ll introduce her latest novel, The Scorpio Races (Scholastic, $17.99).
We’re excited about the release of Colin Meloy’s new middle grade novel, Wildwood (Balzer + Bray, $17.99). Better known as the lead singer of the Decemberists, Meloy has stepped into his new role as novelist with aplomb. Click here for reviews of Wildwood and the Decemberists’ lastest album, The King is Dead.
Story Hour
Story hour with BearSong and his guitar takes place in the Children and Teens' Department each Monday at 10:30 a.m., Please join us each week for storytelling and music for children from birth to 5 years old.
Sign up here to receive email updates about the Politics & Prose story hour. We will inform you of special story hours, changes or cancellations.
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Markdown Books
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“Anger is not the same as hate,” Izzeldin Abuelaish contends in I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, 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 checkpoints and embargoes, humiliations and violence—yet even after his daughters were killed in their home by Israeli forces, Dr. Abuelaish still hopes that a commitment to peaceful solutions can end the region’s terrible bloodshed. Available in hardcover, $9.98.
Jeannette Walls had an immediate hit with her incredible memoir, The Glass Castle. For her second book she decided to tell the story of her grandmother, who grew up in a dirt dugout in West Texas. The nonfiction became fiction, however, as Walls filled in blanks with her imagination. The result, Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, is an action-packed narrative told in the down-to-earth voice of Lily Casey Smith, who at age six was helping her father break horses and by fifteen, despite little formal schooling, was herself teaching in a frontier town. And that’s only the beginning. Available in paperback, $4.98.
This week, a double dip into one of Ireland’s best contemporary writers, Colm Tóibín. His latest novel is Brooklyn, the quietly powerful and moving story of Eilis, a young Irish woman who is almost self-destructively earnest. She wants to do her best, which means pleasing those she loves. At her mother’s urging, she immigrates to America to make a better life for herself; though homesick, she sticks it out, tries to please her landlady, the priest looking out for her, and her Italian-American boyfriend, Tony. Then she’s suddenly called back to Ireland for a family emergency, and realizes how much she has lost. Available in paperback, $4.98.
Tóibín also writes great short stories; his most recent collection is The Empty Family. Set in the U.S., Ireland, and Spain, these nine narratives focus on emigration and love, memory and dreams. They each have the depth of longer works, and Tóibín is utterly convincing whether writing about Lady Gregory and literature or chronicling the difficult lives of gay Pakistani workers in Barcelona. Available in hardcover, $5.98.
Please call us at 202-364-1919 or stop by the store to shop for these discounted titles.
Laurie Greer
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Music News
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TICKET RAFFLE FOR GAINSBOURG AT THE WEST END CINEMA
On Friday, October 14, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life opens at theWest End Cinema. The biopic of the boundary pushing chanson composer and pop star Serge Gainsbourg is very imaginatively directed by the French comic-book artist Joann Sfar (The Rabbi’s Cat, Little Vampire). Most importantly, Sfar found a sensational lead actor (Eric Elmosnino) who fully embodies Gainsbourg throughout the whole of his life: at the beginning with the shy bar pianist, during the glamorous years with Bardot and Birkin, and at the dissolute end. You’ll hear plenty of Gainsbourg’s songs…and you’ll definitely want to hear more.
Check out some of the CDs: Comic Strip (Mercury, $14.98), Couleur Café (Mercury, $14.98), and Initials SG (Philips, $14.98).
If you’d like to win a pair of passes (good for performances Monday through Thursday), please email me at agoldinger@politics-prose.com , and write SERGE in the subject field.
VOICES
Claudia Quintet +1 feauturing Kurt Elling and Theo Bleckmann, What is the Beautiful (Cuneiform, $17.98) – Drummer John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet +1 (sax, vibes, accordion, piano, bass, drums) play his compositions incorporating the poetry of Kenneth Patchen, whose 100th anniversary it is this year. The poems are recited on some tunes by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling at his beatnik-best, and sung on others by the one-of-a-kind Theo Bleckmann.
Björk, Biophilia (Nonesuch, $17.98) – Björk has finished another genre-breaking project. Biophilia is filled with songs with scienctific themes incorporating newly-invented instruments, and each song has a dedicated iPad app.
René Pape, Wagner (Deutsche Grammophon, $18.98) – Bass René Pape sings solos from Walküre, Meistersinger, Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tannhäuser. He is beautifully supported by the Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Plácido Domingo joins on the Parsifal duet.
VIOLINISTS
Hilary Hahn & Valentina Lisitsa, Ives: Four Sonatas (Deutsche Grammophon, $18.98) – Hilary Hahn seldom plays it safe, and over the last several years, she and her piano partner, Valentina Lisitsa, have immersed themselves in the sonatas of Charles Ives. The collage-like and proto-sampling methods of Ives still sound radical and invigorating, and as Hahn writes, “their brooding, plotted beauty, their wit, their quicksilver modernity, and the dreams they evoke of a changing time and place, drew us through every hour.”
Alina Ibragimova & Cédric Tiberghien, Ravel: Complete Music for Violin & Piano (Hyperion, $18.98) – Alina Ibragimova received many accolades for her Bach Sonatas & Partitas from 2009. She and pianist Cédric Tiberghien (who was at the Kennedy Center this spring playing some powerful Messiaen) have a long running partnership, having recorded two Beethoven CDs live at Wigmore Hall. Their new album partners Ravel with the Violin Sonata by Guillaume Lekeu.
 LOUIS LORTIE PLAYS LISZT AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Next Wednesday, October 19, at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium, pianist Louis Lortie will play the second and third sections of Liszt’s Années de Pélerinage (Years of Pilgrimmage) in this Liszt 200th anniversary year.
I will be at the Coolidge on the night of the concert, selling copies of Lortie’s Liszt: The Complete Années de Pélerinage (Chandos, 2 CDs, $18.99).
Click here for more 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
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P&P's book groups meet monthly and are free and open to the public.
Thursday, October 13
Science Fiction and Fantasy
6 p.m. Fantasy : Drowntide, by Van Scyoc
7:30 p.m. Science Fiction : The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
November 10 Fantasy selection: Children of Hurin, by Christopher Tolkien
November 10 Science Fiction selection: Dune, by Frank Herbert
Sunday, October 16, 6 p.m.
Spirituality
The Future of Faith, by Harvey Cox
November 20 selection: What is God?, by Jacon Needleham
Monday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.
Memoirs of Africa
Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller
November selection: A Primate's Memoir by Robert Sapolsky
Tuesday, October 18, 7:30 p.m.
Spanish Language
Te Llamare Viernes, by Almudena Grandes
November selection: TBA
Wednesday, October 19, 12:30 p.m.
Daytime
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
November selection: Pudd'nhead Wilson, by Mark Twain
Click here to learn more about participating in these or other Politics & Prose book groups.
To receive monthly updates about suggestions for private book groups as well as book groups at Politics & Prose, click here to add "Monthly Book Group Recommendations and News" to your mailing lists!
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