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Store Hours
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Mon - Wed 9:30 - 6:00
Thursday 9:30 - 9:00
Friday 9:30 - 6:00
Sat 9:30 - 5:00
Sun Noon - 5:00
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Holiday Hours as of 12/15:
Mon - Wed 9:30 - 8:00
Thursday 9:30 - 9:00
Friday 9:30 - 8:00
Sat 9:30 - 6:00
Sun 9:30 - 6:00
Christmas Eve open until 4
Open 24/7 online at:
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Greetings!
A full, fun week ahead of us!
Thursday, December 13 is Concord's Holiday Shopping Night - shops along Main Street and Walden Street will be open late, with festive activities and store specials. Stop in the bookshop and listen to pieces played by students from the Concord Conservatory of Music - we're open until 9 on Thursday!
We have the "10 Best Books of 2012" as selected by the New York Times Book Review; scroll down for our other picks this week.
Barbara McClintock signed dozens of books when she visited the bookshop; this table in our children's section and our Signed Books Gallery offer many options for a special gift.
The community window highlights the Family Trees exhibit at The Concord Museum.
We look forward to chatting with you in the Bookshop! When you come in to take a closer look at an item mentioned here, please tell us "I saw it in the newsletter" and let us know what you're reading now.
Comments are always welcome via email to
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New York Times Book Review selects "10 Best Books of 2012"
As selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review, here are the top books of the year:
FICTION:
- Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - winner of the 2012 Man Booker Prize; delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn
- Building Stories by Chris Ware - an utterly unique collection of 15 "graphic novel" artifacts that explores the lives of residents of a Chicago apartment building
- A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers - "... takes us around the world to show how one man fights to hold himself and his splintering family together in the face of the global economy's gale-force winds."
- NW by Zadie Smith - "... brilliant tragi-comic new novel follows four Londoners ... as they try to make adult lives outside ... the council estate of their childhood."
- The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers - "[This] is the harrowing story of two young soldiers trying to stay alive. ... a powerful account of friendship and loss."
NONFICTION:
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History of Norse myths
Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths
by Nancy Marie Brown
Much like Greek and Roman mythology, Norse myths are still with us. Famous storytellers from JRR Tolkien to Neil Gaiman have drawn their inspiration from the long-haired, mead-drinking, marauding and pillaging Vikings. Their creator is a thirteenth-century Icelandic chieftain by the name of Snorri Sturluson.
Like Homer, Snorri was a bard, writing down and embellishing the folklore and pagan legends of medieval Scandinavia. Unlike Homer, Snorri was a man of the world - a wily political power player, one of the richest men in Iceland who came close to ruling it, and even closer to betraying it... In Song of the Vikings, award-winning author Nancy Marie Brown brings Snorri Sturluson's story to life in a richly textured narrative that draws on newly available sources.
Author Nancy Marie Brown is the author of highly-praised books of nonfiction, including The Abacus and the Cross and The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman. She has studied Icelandic literature and culture since 1978. Formerly the editor of the award-winning magazine Research/Penn State, Brown lives in Vermont, where she keeps four Icelandic horses and an Icelandic sheepdog.
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Wit and satire from The Onion
The Onion Book of Known Knowledge: A Definitive Encyclopaedia Of Existing Information by the editors of The Onion
"One of the best works that "The Onion" has ever produced...[it] dryly parodies an encyclopedia in the most comprehensive manner imaginable."
-- Huffington Post Comedy
In a history spanning 24 years, 7 popular books, and 19 Webby Awards, The Onion has attracted legions of loyal fans drawn to its fearless reporting and scathing commentary on world events, human behavior, and journalistic convention.
Replete with an astonishing assemblage of facts, illustrations, maps, and charts, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge is packed with "valuable" information. It has hundreds of entries for all 27 letters of the alphabet; this book must be purchased immediately to avoid the sting of eternal ignorance.
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Multi-media art history
Joseph Cornell's Manual of Marvels: How Joseph Cornell Reinvented a French Agricultural Manual to Create an American Masterpiece
edited and essays by Analisa Leppanen-Guerra
and Dickran Tashjian
A fabulous facsimile of an almost unknown masterpiece by Joseph Cornell, presented in a box, along with a volume of essays and an interactive DVD.
Produced in association with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this unique 'Cornell box' contains:
* a facsimile volume, with cutouts, collages and tip-ins
* the story behind the work in an illustrated volume of essays
* an interactive CD of the complete original book 
Joseph Cornell loved to meander through Manhattan's secondhand bookstalls and antiquarian shops in search of books, old documents, and faded photographs. One day, he came upon a French agricultural manual, the Journal d'Agriculture Pratique, from 1911.
He took it home and began to work on the book, making cutouts through which one could view collaged elements, inserting images from old photographs, and tipping-in classic paintings and transparent overlays. In the process, Cornell reinvented the French manual as an American masterpiece.
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Fun for kids!
Recycled Robots: 10 Robot Projects by Robert Malone
Robots and kids: a perfect combination. From R2-D2 to the Transformers to WALL-E, robots are a source of endless fascination. Now comes an irresistible book and kit that shows how to make ten different robots - that move - out of the most ordinary things from around the house. By delivering an experience that's so much richer than putting together a model, this book gets to the essence of creativity and imaginative problem-solving and shows how to be an inventor, designer, and engineer all in one.
Created by robot expert Robert Malone, chairman of the Automation Hall of Fame, the plans are ingenious and include a materials list (rounding it up is like a treasure hunt!) plus step-by-step directions illustrated with detailed, full-color photographs. The kit includes all the essential accessories: a battery-operated motor and two windup walkers, plus templates, dowels, beads, wire, mounting squares-and googly eyes.
Transform a leftover action figure into Armorbot. Start with a few paper cups, and presto, Cupbot. Repurpose cardboard boxes and tubes into the endlessly adaptable Boxbot - it even has a rotating head. From the tiny Hopbot - put it on the floor and you'll see how it got its name - to giant Styrobot, here are ten plans to make a roomful of robotic wonders.
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New in our Signed Books Gallery
a wide selection from Barbara McCormick
What a lovely afternoon with Barbara McCormick! We listened to a few clips from the Natalie Merchant CD included in Leave Your Sleep, and discussed the inspirations for Barbara's illustrations in both this book and Twelve Kinds of Ice.
Barbara's path to becoming a children's book author and illustrator is very interesting, and includes a phone call to the late Maurice Sendak, who advised her to build a portfolio and move to New York!
We have a table display in our children's section which highlights several signed editions of Barbara McCormick's books, including:
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In our window
"Family Trees" exhibit at the Concord Museum
A love of books and reading is a lifelong treasure passed from adult to child, from generation to generation.
The 17th annual Family Trees: A Celebration of Children's Literature at the Concord Museum gives Concord's renowned literary tradition a creative twist.
From November 21, 2012 through January 1, 2013, the Museum's galleries are filled with 38 fanciful trees of all shapes and sizes, decorated with original ornaments inspired by acclaimed children's storybooks and contemporary picture book favorites.
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