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Week of December 1

Holiday Storewide Member Sale;
Author Events with Bill Clinton, Walter Isaacson, Henry Louis Gates,
Katrina vanden Heuvel, and Daniel Kahneman

Popular Destinations
Click a link below to skip down to the relevant section

Upcoming Events Offsite Events
Classes
Signed Book of the Week
Children and TeensMusic

 

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

 

Thursday, December 1
7 p.m. Walter Isaacson - Steve Jobs (Simon & Schuster, $35)

Friday, December 2
4:30 - 6:30 p.m. President Bill Clinton - Back to Work (Knopf, $23.95) - Signing only

Friday, December 2 - Sunday, December 4
Politics & Prose Holiday Storewide Member Sale

Monday, December 5
7 p.m. Henry Louis Gates - Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 (Knopf, $50)

Tuesday, December 6
7 p.m. Katrina vanden Heuvel - The Change I Believe In: Fighting for Progress in the Age of Obama (Nation Books, $16.99)


Wednesday, December 7
7 p.m. Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30)

Thursday, December 8
5 p.m. The Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry, $19.99) and
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin (Simon & Schuster, $16.99)
at Bethesda Library
7400 Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD

Thursday, December 8
7 p.m. John Lewis Gaddis - George F. Kennan: An American Life (Penguin Press, $39.95)


The Scoop from Brad and Lissa


Exciting Books

With the holiday season officially underway, we’d like to recommend some gift ideas that go beyond the exceptional titles included in our 2011 holiday newsletter. �Given the wide range of literary tastes among today’s readers, one of the biggest challenges of holiday gift-giving is trying to figure out which books a family member, friend, or colleague might enjoy. Our booksellers are expert at pairing books with people. And we have two programs that might be of special interest during the holidays.

First, our Book-a-Month program: Each month our staff will choose a book and send it to you or to a person of your choice anywhere in the world, including APOs and DPOs. All you do is clue us in to what the recipient of your gift might like – his or her favorite authors, genres, interests, and avocations, for example – and our staff will hand-select titles to match that person’s tastes. This is an especially meaningful gift for friends and family living overseas, including diplomatic and military personnel serving in challenging locales where bookstores (and books) are few and far between. You can also give this wonderful gift to yourself. Customers who have participated in the program have expressed their delight in receiving a surprise book each month and being exposed to books they might never have read otherwise.

Second, our Signed First Edition program: This is an impressive gift for readers interested in building their own libraries or simply in owning special editions of newly-released titles. Each participant receives a signed first edition, first printing of a new book each month. Writers featured in the past have included Jonathan Franzen, David McCullogh, Salman Rushdie, Tea Obreht, Ann Patchett, Michael Ondaatje, Chad Harbach, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Nicole Krauss. P&P members receive a 20 percent discount on these special editions. �

If you have questions about either program, please call us at 202-364-1919 or email our coordinators at [email protected] or [email protected].

Don’t forget to check out our Holiday Newsletter for blurbs about 125 of our favorite titles from 2011. Or take your time and browse the more than 35,000 titles we have in stock. �While you’re at P&P&, you can also find elegant, creative, and whimsical gift items such as holiday greeting cards, journals and diaries,� calendars,� puzzles, and even colorful and purposely mismatched socks hand-knit in Vermont.

We’re sure we can help you find the perfect gifts for friends and loved ones.

Happy reading and happy holidays!

--Brad and Lissa

 

Book Notes


 

Newsletters

Holiday Recommendations from Politics & Prose

The P&P Holiday Newsletter and Children’s Winter Favorites are now available. Click to download the pdfs or visit the store to pick up your copies. Peruse our suggestions for the holidays. Start selecting what you want to give your friends (or buy for yourself) during the Storewide Member Sale this weekend!

But don't forget, the items in the holiday newsletter are discounted all month long. This weekend the member sale savings apply to nearly everything on our shelves, Friday through Sunday, in store and online.

In the meantime, here are two more ways to benefit from the skill our staff members have in suggesting the perfect gift for your family and friends, or even yourself!

 

 

Book-a-Month Gift Program

Gift BookGive the Gift of Reading!

Enroll a lucky person -- or indulge yourself! -- in our Book-a-Month Program! Each month, our talented staff will choose and send a book anywhere in the world to the person of your choice. Let those who live elsewhere experience Politics & Prose.

We carefully handpick each book based on your reader’s interests and hobbies, and their favorite books and writers. We are happy to correspond with the gift recipient to discuss book selections and areas of literary interest. Click here to enroll.

We send books to readers of all ages! Click here to enroll a child or teenager.

Questions? Call us at 202.364.1919 or email our coordinators at [email protected]

 

Signed First Editions Club

Signed FirstBuild an impressive and irreplaceable library through the Politics & Prose Signed First Editions Club. Sign up to have a first edition, first printing of a newly released book delivered each month to your - or your loved one's - doorstep. P&P members receive 20% off each selection. We strive to bring you the best, most exciting new titles, from writers who inspire us with contagious enthusiasm. Past writers have included Jonathan Franzen, Nicole Krauss, Salman Rushdie, Téa Obreht, David McCullough, Ann Patchett, Chad Harbach, Michael Ondaatje, and Jeffrey Eugenides.

Click here to sign up now.

Click here for Children’s Signed Firsts. The selections for December are: Chanukah Lights, by Robert Sabuda (Candlewick, $34.99) and/or The Story of Christmas, by Pamela Dalton (Chronicle, $17.99)

Questions? Call us at 202.364.1919 or email our coordinators at [email protected].

The cost of each program is the price of the monthly book, plus shipping. Click here to see what our readers have to say!

 

Book Angels for Unity Health Care Pediatrics

Book Angel

 

Every winter Politics & Prose invites you to participate in our annual Book Angel Program.

This year, we are collecting new books to donate to pediatric patients at Unity Health Care. Unity Health Care, Inc. operates a network of 30 sites and provides primary and specialty healthcare services to underserved populations throughout D.C., including 13 community health centers, and two school-based centers. Unity has a strong commitment to the promotion of literacy and serves approximately 18,000 pediatric patients from birth to 18 years old. 

The Book Angel Program runs through December 31, 2011.  Each book that is purchased for Unity Health Care is discounted 20%.  Take a look at the display in the children's department or click here for a selection of suggested books. If you shop online, please indicate in the order comments field if you are donating a book to Unity Health Care Pediatrics.

 

Holiday Gift-wrapping

 

Literacy Council

Our ongoing relationship with the Washington Literacy Council continues this holiday season. The Washington Literacy Council (WLC), one of the oldest adult literacy programs in the District, serves adults who have the most limited reading skills, fewest job resources and greatest employment needs in the District of Columbia. The WLC program is intensive, providing direct reading instruction offered by a small staff and more than 180 volunteers. Through small group instruction and one-on-one tutoring, our program provides reading education to students with limited reading or pre-reading skills.

WLC volunteers will be in the store every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas, from open until close, offering a selection of attractive holiday-themed wrapping papers. The service is free, but donations to support the work of the organization are welcome. You may also make a donation while ordering online by adding the gift wrap option to your shopping cart. For volunteer opportunities (wrapping, or otherwise) please contact Pati Young at  [email protected].


Caroling with the Washington Chorus

Washington Chorus

Thursday, December 15, 5 p.m.
Join us for holiday caroling with members of the award-winning Washington Chorus led by assistant director John Bohl. The Chorus will sing here at P&P just before its five Christmas concerts, Julian Wachner conducting, at the Kennedy Center and Strathmore. The 2010 CD, Christmas with the Washington Chorus (Dorian, $16.99) is available too. Bring the whole family! Click for information about the concerts.

 

Sideline of the Week


 

Candles

Are the holidays already stressing you out? Well, there’s still a whole ‘lotta seasonal shopping to do, so breathe deep and get centered ("om"). Votive Scented Candles (Skeem, $16.25) provide much needed tranquility for the frazzled holiday shopper.  With scents like Peach Velvet and Midnight Orchid, Votive Candles will replace holiday hassles with the smells of serenity.  Not to mention -GREEN ALERT! - each silkscreened glass candle holder can be re-purposed for the office to house paperclips or in the kitchen to hold sugar. The perfect gift for a tense, loved one (or a way for you to deal with said, loved one).

  • Mark Moran

Christmas Cards of the Week


12 Days of Christmas

Holiday Cards are Here!

We have our usual fantastic assortment of holiday cards. Come in and browse. Here is just a sample!

Sassy and specialized, these “12 Days of Christmas” Boxed Greeting Cards (Allport, $14.95 each) allow your field of interest to take center stage in the Christmas carol.  Why settle for the predictable partridge in a pear tree? How about a blind bard in an olive tree for the literary set?  Or maybe a partridge in a pear sauce for the festive foodie?   Featuring the wit and whimsy of artist David Price, this clever card set is the antidote to ho-hum holiday cards. A modern art lover doesn’t want eleven pipers piping; but they’d love eleven Pollocks dripping.

  • Mark Moran

eBook of the Week


eBookPlaybook 2012: The Right Fights Back (Politico Inside Election 2012) (Random House Digital, $2.99)
By Mike Allen, Evan Thomas, Politico

Two of America’s most perceptive political reporters join forces for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the race for the White House in POLITICO’s Playbook 2012, a series of four instant digital books on the 2012 presidential election. The first edition, The Right Fights Back, follows the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Click here for more.

Politics & Prose Classes


Paris

By popular demand, we have just added a second, evening session of a Paris: A Literary Adventure. This class will begin on Tuesday, January 31 and will run for six weeks (no class 2/14) from 7-9 p.m. at Jake’s American Grille, directly across the street from P& P. Click here for more information about this, and other new classes for 2012. Additional classes for March and later in the spring will be posted soon.

And this is the last chance to enroll in novelist Katharine Weber’s Reading and Writing the Unreliable Narrator class on December 6!

Travel Survey

Thank you to the over 500 customers who responded to our travel survey! And congratulations to long-time store member Louise White, who won a $100 P&P gift certificate for entering her name in the travel survey raffle. We are still collating the information, and we hope to report back soon with details of forthcoming literary tours.

Signed Book of the Week


Then Again

 

Then Again

By Diane Keaton
First editions, first printings
(Random House, $26)

November 2011 - Hardcover

(Please note that these are tip-ins from the publisher, with a clear signature on a bound, inserted page.)

Graphic Novel News


Graphic Novels

The Euro comic worship doesn't stop in section 109 of P & P!!! First up is The Manara Library, Volume One (Dark Horse Comics, $59.95). Dark Horse has decided to release nine library editions of Milo Manara's greatest work. For those unfamiliar with the Italian comics legend, his classic clear line sensibility, his remarkable consistency in portraiture, all come to a head with his infamous skill in depicting the female form. This is the kind of artwork that keeps a reader entranced with a story, which is almost nowhere to be seen in the American comics market. This first collection contains one of his most acclaimed works, Indian Summer, a historical epic set in colonial America, done in collaboration with Hugo Pratt.

Also, in stock: the most highly anticipated release of the year, The Metabarons Ultimate Collection (Humanoids, $129.95). This over-sized deluxe hardcover with slipcase has a limited production run of 999, and as of now, the title is officially sold out to the direct market. We managed to get our shaking hands on a few copies. After only knowing this masterwork in the trade paperback format, seeing Juan Gimenez's lavish water-colored pages in an oversized format is absolute ecstasy. If you haven't yet gotten around to reading this mind-bending space opera, now is the time. Don't miss out!! 

  • Frans Boukas

Coming Soon to Your Favorite Bookstore


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

Events

Thursday, December 1, 7 p.m.

Walter Isaacson
Steve Jobs
(Simon & Schuster, $35)
To his string of bestselling biographies of Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Kissinger, and others, Isaacson now adds the life story of Steve Jobs. Written with the cooperation of its subject, this profile of the inventor, entrepreneur, leader, and visionary, offers a detailed profile of a man as imaginative as he was fiercely perfectionist.

Friday, December 2, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

President Bill Clinton
Back to Work
(Knopf, $23.95)
Politics and Prose is delighted to announce that President Bill Clinton will be at the store from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 2, to sign copies of his new book, Back to Work. Given the large number of people expected to attend, special procedures have been set to ensure an enjoyable, safe and smooth event for all. Due to the intense interest in this event, we regret that we cannot accept orders over the phone or online. You must attend the event to have a book signed. Click here for details.

Friday - Sunday, December 2-4

Politics & Prose Holiday Storewide Member Sale
This weekend - Friday, December 2, through Sunday, December 4 - brings the Politics & Prose Holiday Member Sale. The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. (Please note that we are staying open an extra hour Sunday evening.)

All weekend long, nearly everything we currently have on our shelves will be discounted to Politics & Prose Members. These discounts also apply to online purchases as long as the books are on our shelves and payment is made through the website. The sale offers 20% discounts on nearly all regularly stocked books, and 15% discounts on most CDs and DVDs. Come in early to have the best selection. Or shop online between December 3 and 5 and receive the same benefits!

It's also a great time to join our Membership Program and then continue saving throughout the year! P&P members always receive 20% off purchases of event books, bestsellers, and other discounted items, even when shopping online. Remember to TRY US FIRST! Our website is open 24 hours a day!!!

Monday, December 5, 7 p.m.

Henry Louis Gates - Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 (Knopf, $50)
The latest work from the distinguished professor, scholar, and prolific writer recounts the long, rich saga of African-American experience in North America. Covering five centuries, this history makes no single argument but lets the sheer diversity of events, achievements, tragedies, and people speak for itself. Gates’s narrative is accompanied by a veritable treasury of images, from ancient maps to cartoons, posters, and photographs.

Tuesday, December 6, 7 p.m.

Katrina vanden Heuvel - The Change I Believe In: Fighting for Progress in the Age of Obama (Nation Books, $16.99)
In her collected commentaries on the Obama presidency, The Nation editor and publisher reaffirms her hopes and expectations for the 44th Chief Executive. Vanden Heuvel argues that progressive goals will be reached only by the ongoing work of independent organizing, strategic creativity, bold ideas, and determined idealism.

Events

Wednesday, December 7, 7 p.m.

Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30)
Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on decision-making and has pioneered the field of behavioral economics. His new book presents thinking as a combination of the mind’s two systems, one fast, intuitive, and emotional; the other slower, deliberative, and logical. Each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Thursday, December 8, 5 p.m.

Cassandra Clare & Michelle Hodkin
Bethesda Library
7400 Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD
The Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry, $19.99)
Tessa is a Shadowhunter, seeking out demons disguised as normal people. In this second installment of the Infernal Devices series, the Shadowhunters are imperiled by Mortmain. When Tessa, Will, and Jem try to discover the facts about Mortmain's past, they also find unsettling secrets about Tessa. Ages 14 and up.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin (Simon & Schuster, $16.99)
When Mara Dyer wakes up, she’s in a hospital. At first she has no memory of the accident or of the fact that it killed her friends. As she slowly remembers what happened, she’s horrified. Hodkin’s first novel is an emotional, realistic tale of a young girl coming out of a coma. Ages 14 and up.

Thursday, December 8, 7 p.m.

John Lewis Gaddis - George F. Kennan: An American Life (Penguin Press, $39.95)
In this magisterial biography begun some 30 years ago, Gaddis, the great historian of the Cold War era, draws on Kennan’s diaries and on interviews conducted late in the diplomat’s life to give the fullest account to date of the man who formulated the containment policy.

 

P&P Customers Are Also Invited To . . .


 

Friday, December 2, 8:30 – 10:15 a.m.

OffsiteTD Bank Morning Star Speaking Series
Capital Hilton
16th & K Streets, NW
Jim Clinton
The Coming Jobs War (Gallup, $24.95)
Drawing on 75 years of Gallup studies and his own perspective as the company’s chairman and CEO, Jim Clifton explains why jobs are the new global currency for leaders. More than peace or money or any other good, the business, government, military, city, and village leaders who can create good jobs will own the future. Registration required.

For more information, visit www.hooksbookevents.com.

Tuesday, December 6, 7 p.m.

TOffsite he Arts Club of Washington
2017 I Street, NW

Meryle Secrest
Modigliani: A Life (Knopf, $35)
The private life of the Italian artist and sculptor, Amedeo Modigliani, has always been painted in lurid colors. The first biographies of his short life - he died in 1920 at age 35 - portrayed him with a black reputation, as an artist of rigor and originality, but a hopeless alcoholic, drug addict and womanizer. Meryle Secrest's new book seeks to peel back rumor and fiction to expose a much more complex and sympathetic figure. Meryle Secrest is a Washington author, former feature writer for the Washington Post, and biographer with numerous studies in art, architecture and music. She has won many prizes and received the National Humanities Medal at the White House in 2006.

Free and open to the public. Click here for more information or call 202-331-7282.

Wednesday, December 7, 7 p.m.

OffisteSixth & I
600 I Street, NW
Metro: Gallery Place/Chinatown
Melissa Clark
Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make (Hyperion, $29.99)
For anyone who has ever been intimidated at a farmers' market, overwhelmed by seasonal offerings, or relegated an heirloom squash to the back of the fridge for weeks on end―this book is for you. From the New York Times “A Good Appetite” columnist and James Beard award winner, Cook This Now demystifies the principles behind cooking seasonally with a range of savory and sweet recipes for an entire year of good eating. 

Click here to purchase $8 tickets ($10 the day of the event) or receive two (2) FREE tickets with the purchase of the book through Sixth & I ($30). Questions? Please call 202.408.3100.

Now through January 1, 2012

Much Ado about Nothing

Shakespeare Theatre Company
Sidney Harman Hall
610 F St., NW

Much Ado about Nothing
Directed by Ethan McSweeny
'Tis the season for holiday cheer, a special date with a loved one, an outing with friends and great theatre at the Shakespeare Theatre Company! Much Ado about Nothing is the ultimate battle of the sexes, Shakespeare style, where young lovers woo and old enemies fight (before finding their true loves). Set against a backdrop of hot and sultry 1930s Cuba, passions and temperatures will rise this winter at Sidney Harman Hall in this classic tale of love and wits.

P&P patrons receive 10% off tickets. Click here to purchase or call the Box Office at 202.547.1122, option 1 with promo code: POLITICSPROSE.

 

 

From the Children and Teens' Department


 

Children's Book of the Week
(20% off for everyone through December 7)

ChildrenWe may not think about it when we jump on our bikes for a quick ride around the neighborhood, but in the mid-1800s bicycles represented an unprecedented opportunity for women to travel further and more independently than ever before. In Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) (National Geographic, $18.95), Sue Macy traces the history of the bicycle and its unique relationship to the women’s rights movement. This captivating account includes features on celebrity cyclists of the 19th century and mini-biographies of women who had an impact on cycling. Ages 9 and up. –Janet Minichiello

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

Story Hour
Story hour with BearSong and his guitar will be on hiatus during the holiday season.
In 2012, story hour will resume in the Children and Teens' Department each Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Signup here to receive email updates about the Politics & Prose story hour - storytelling and music for children from birth to 5 years old. We will inform you of special story hours, changes or cancellations. Be sure to sign up for our email updates for news of the next season’s opening day.

 

Markdown Books


markdown books

Don’t forget: books in the remainder section are also 20% off for members this weekend during the holiday sale.

If you know anything at all about graphic art—even if it’s just appreciating the design on book jackets—you’ll recognize the names Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast as experts in the field. Together they have produced Illustration: A Visual History, an eye-opening look at the innovations and achievements in illustration from the industrial revolution to the digital age. Organized chronologically, the book surveys design of the Victorian, Art Deco, Postmodern and Punk eras, tracing the evolution of technology and the accompanying developments of the graphic arts. Lavishly and colorfully illustrated, the book presents posters from the fabled Chat Noir of Montmartre, classic covers from The Saturday Evening Post, cartoons by George Herriman and Winsor McCay, and much, much more. Available in hardcover, $9.98.

Think of “science” and what comes to mind? Animals, evolution, genes, quarks—the universe. You may not think of good writing, but in fact literary skill is in the mix, too, as is amply proven by the excerpts collected in The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing. Edited by Richard Dawkins (a member of The Royal Society as well as the Royal Society of Literature), this anthology samples the great works of scientists in myriad disciplines, from the biologists Julian Huxley and Edward O. Wilson, to the ecologists Rachel Carson and Loren Eisley. Stephen Pinker is here, discussing language and cognitive science, as is Primo Levi, with his chapter on carbon from The Periodic Table. Other contributors include Stephen Hawking, Francis Crick, Carl Sagan, and many others. This beautiful compilation offers a wonderful way to learn a lot—about both science and about which books to track down and read whole. Available in hardcover, $7.98.

What’s for dinner? The question isn’t as simple as it seems. When the novelist Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) became a father, he had to consider food on someone else’s behalf. He took the matter seriously enough to recall his own childhood meals, look closely at culinary traditions, question assumptions about eating habits, and visit factory farms. His book combines these various elements—blending the serious with Foer’s signature wit—and makes a thought-provoking statement about Eating Animals. Available in hardcover, $6.98.

Please call us at 202-364-1919 or stop by the store to shop for these and other discounted titles.

Laurie Greer

 

 

Music News


Music

NEW HOLIDAY CDs

You can also link to a more complete Holiday Music 2011, with reviews of my all-time favorites, favorites from recent years, and a few Hanukkah suggestions. Click here for more.

Pick Hits:

Geri Allen, A CHILD IS BORN (Motema, $15.98) –This is a beautifully programmed set of instrumentals played on solo piano (sometimes overdubbed with celeste), clavinet, Farfisa organ or electric piano. Interspersed with meditative seasonal songs, spirituals, and a jazz standard are two short original vocal pieces. A powerful use of sampling is one of the highlights of this set: a piano and celeste version of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” begins and ends with the spine-tingling voices of the quilters of Gee’s Bend singing two hymns. Ms Allen dedicated tunes to two piano masters who passed away this year: “A Child is Born” for Hank Jones (written by Jones’s brother, Thad) and “Let Us Break Bread Together” for Billy Taylor. From the beautiful cover etching to its final notes, this CD captures the “wonder and mystery” of the Christmas season.

John Zorn, A DREAMERS CHRISTMAS (Tzadik, $15.98) – This is in a little more lighthearted vein: composer and saxophonist John Zorn assembled a versatile band, the Dreamers, to mix jazz with lyrical “exotic lounge” and surf guitars. Piano, bass, drum, and guitar are here, as expected, but it’s the vibraphones, chimes, glockenspiel, and percussion which give the album its charm. Standouts include two Zorn originals, as well as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” which begins as a solo homage to Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence, before the full band breaks into an all-out, swinging 4/4 interlude. After the relaxing instrumentals, the set ends in front of the fireplace, with the low, low voice of Mike Patton on “The Christmas Song.” This album will bring a smile to your face, whether you’re roasting chestnuts, opening presents, or recovering from the office holiday party.

Click here for more holiday suggestions.

 

 

GIFTS FROM DUST TO DIGITAL

Dust to Digital is a small label from Atlanta run by Lance and April Ledbetter whose mission is to “produce high-quality, cultural artifacts, which combine rare, essential recordings with historic images and detailed texts describing the artists and their works.”

Their first release in 2003 was the monumental 6-CD gospel collection housed in a wooden box, Goodbye Babylon. In 2004, their followup was one of my favorite Christmas albums, Dick Spottswood’s historical collection, Where Will You Be Christmas Day?

There are three new deluxe releases from Dust to Digital, perfect for the holidays:

 

 

John Fahey, Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You: The Fonotone Years 1958-1965 (Dust to Digital, 5CDs & book box set, $85.98) – This is a serious box of the earliest recordings by guitarist John Fahey, five CDs featuring 115 tracks, most of which are available on CD for the first time. The 88-page book features essays from music scholars, and reminiscences from friends.

 

Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM (Dust to Digital, 4CDs and book box set, $55.98) – This box set features 100 tracks taken from rare 78rpm recordings of African music (1909 to mid-1960s), none of which have ever been issued on CD until now. The set was compiled by Jonathan Ward, a Los Angeles-based collector, researcher, and writer. The set comes with a 112-page soft-cover book.

 

. . . I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces: Music in Vernacular Photographs 1880-1955 (Dust to Digital, book with 2 CDs, $43.98) – . . . I Listen to the Windis a beautiful hardcover book with 2 CDs that “brings together a collection of early photographs related to music, a group of 78rpm recordings, and short excerpts from various literary sources that are contemporary with the sound and images.” It was compiled by archivist and visual artist Steve Roden.

 

Book Groups


P&P's book groups meet monthly and are free and open to the public.

Monday, December 5, 7:30 p.m.

Classics Book Group
The Life of Alexander the Great, by Plutarch
January 2 selection:
The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika

Tuesday, December 6, 7:30 p.m.

Travel Book Group
Enduring Cuba, by Zoe Bran
January 3 selection: The Last Resort, by Douglas Rogers

Wednesday, December 7, 7:30 p.m.

Futurist Book Group
The Economics of Enough, by Diane Coyle
January 4 selection: The Price of Civilization by Jeffrey Sachs

Thursday, December 8, 7:30 p.m.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Group
6:30 Fantasy: Good Omens, by Gaiman & Pratchett
7:30
Science Fiction: A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge

January 12 selection: Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes


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!

News from the Coffeehouse


Our local coffee provider has changed their name. Caffe Pronto is now called Ceremony Coffee Roasters. Every week, they will continue to supply us (and you) fresh espresso, coffee blends, and a fine selection of single origin varietals from around the world, craft roasted right down the road in Annapolis, Maryland. We love their coffee and are pleased to support a local, independent business that uses fair trade, direct trade, Rainforest Alliance, and certified organic products.

- Javier Rivas

Click here for news from the Modern Times blog or to follow them on Twitter.



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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

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(202) 362-2408
www.moderntimescoffeehouse.com
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