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Grass Roots Books and Music
— 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis OR 97339 — 541-754-7668 |
| April 18, 2013 |
| Contents |
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| Newest Books |
Amity & Sorrow
Peggy Riley
Amaranth escapes with her daughters Amity and Sorrow from their polygamist, doomsday community, driving for four days before crashing—exhausted— near an almost-deserted gas station in rural Oklahoma. Sorrow, convinced she is God’s chosen one and has conceived Jesus with her father, locks herself in the gas station bathroom and miscarries, while Amity wavers between the life she’s known at the compound, and the possibility of a different future. Bradley, a farmer and the gas station owner, eventually takes these three women in, eventually forming a new kind of family.
Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Little Brown and Company; ISBN: 9780316220880 |
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Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods
Christine Byl
“This chronicle of years spent as a ‘traildog’ a seasonal worker doing the underappreciated, backbreaking work of maintaining wilderness trails first in Montana's Glacier National Park, and later in Alaska's Denali National Park blends beauty and crudeness, grit and grace. Successfully articulating the satisfaction of physical labor and the camaraderie of the people who do it, Byl organizes the book around her beloved tools. . . . [But] her most obvious love is for the people who work the trails with her, whose taciturn behavior, practical jokes, and machismo she must navigate, whose internal culture she learns as she becomes a part of the team, and whose mentorship is invaluable.” –Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Beacon Press; ISBN: 9780807001004 |
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Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots
Jessica Soffer
“This powerful debut sheds light on the meaning and power of family, whether its members are blood-related or "created" by nonrelatives. . . Young, troubled Lorca lives in New York City; her distracted mother, a chef, is rather uninterested in Lorca's psychological troubles; her estranged father lives in New Hampshire. Researching how to prepare an unusual meal, Lorca feels she can win her mother's interest and love if she can prepare this delicacy. She meets Victoria, who once owned a restaurant specializing in Iraqi meals. Their cooking lessons lead to confided morsels of their own pasts. However, it is not just the love of food but understanding and acceptance that help to make this such a lovely novel.” –Library Journal Starred Review
Hardcover, $24.00
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; ISBN: 9780547759265 |
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Bug Music: How Insects Gave Us Rhythm and Noise
David Rothenberg
Further exploring the nature of sound (after Why Birds Sing and Thousand Mile Song), David Rothenberg—a jazz musician and professor of philosophy and music—considers the radical notion that humans got our idea of rhythm, synchronization, and dance from the world of insect sounds. In listening to the humming, clicking, and thrumming of the insects around him, Rothenberg finds the soundtrack they have provided for humanity throughout the history of mankind. Along the way, he discovers insect influences in classical and modern music, plays his saxophone with crickets and other insects, and confers with researchers and scientists nationwide.
Hardcover, $26.99
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; ISBN: 9781250005212 |
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| New in Paperback |
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Istanbul Passage
Joseph Kanon
A neutral city straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul survived WWII as a magnet for refugees and spies, trafficking in secrets and lies rather than soldiers. Expatriate American businessman Leon Bauer was drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs and courier runs in support of the Allied war effort. Now, as the espionage community begins to pack up and an apprehensive city prepares for the grim realities of postwar life, Leon is given one last routine assignment. But when the job goes fatally wrong—an exchange of gunfire, a body left in the street, a potential war criminal on his hands—Leon is plunged into a tangle of intrigue, shifting loyalties, and moral uncertainty
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Washington Square Press; ISBN: 9781439156438 |
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The Black Box
Michael Connelly
Twenty years ago, Harry Bosch was sent to a murder scene in the middle of the L.A. riots to investigate the killing of a young female photographer, but in the chaos of the riots there was no time to solve the case. Bosch did pick up a single spent 9mm shell casing at the scene, and a bullet from a recent crime matches the unsolved case. Now Bosch's ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal, and connected to a deeper intrigue. Like an investigator combing through the wreckage after a plane crash, Bosch searches for the "black box," the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together.
Paperback, $14.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN: 9781455526956 |
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Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution
Rebecca Stott
Following the publication of his work in On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin was criticized for not acknowledging the work of his predecessors. He corrected the oversight in the third by including a preface that outlined the work of those who had contemplated evolutionary ideas before him. Rebecca Stott delves into the stories of the collective discovery of evolution, an idea that emerged over many centuries, advanced by daring individuals across the globe who had the imagination to speculate on nature's extraordinary ways, and who had the courage to articulate such speculations at a time when to do so was often considered heresy.
Paperback, $17.00
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau; ISBN: 9780812981704 |
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| Featured Books for Young Readers |
Pinwheel
Salina Yoon
Ages 2 to 4
“Yoon follows Kaleidoscope (2012) with another well-executed interactive book, building her scenes around turn-wheels embedded within the pages as she takes readers across land, sea, and sky. ‘Field of flowers gently swaying, / Bees a-buzzing, prancing, playing,’ Yoon writes as two bees fly near a sunflower. Turning the wheel causes the flower's center to shift from stripes to checkerboard patterns; on the next page, the same wheel makes a school of fish shimmer in pinks, purples, and blues. Other clever touches include a kite that spirals out from the page in this winning combination of lyrical writing and smart interactive design.” –Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Board Book, $12.99
Publisher: LB Kids; ISBN: 9780316221764 |
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A Long Way Away: A Two-Way Story
Frank Viva
Ages 3 to 7
“Cleverly designed and perfectly executed, this dynamic two-way story across space, land and sea offers multidimensional adventure and possibilities. Begin on one side, and it's a journey down, away from the familiar into the deep. A warm embrace greets readers before a cephalopodlike alien descends, weaving past planets and stars on its topsy-turvy trajectory toward Earth. The appealing creature zooms by planes and towns, sea life and subs, before reaching the deep underwater world to sleep. Begin on the other side, and the alien rises from slumber, its trajectory upward toward heart and home.” –Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 9780316221962 |
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The Sasquatch Escape (Imaginary Veterinary #1)
Suzanne Selfors
Ages 8 to 12
Sent to Buttonville to spend the summer with his grandfather, Ben Silverstein thinks it will be the most boring vacation ever. When his grandfather’s cat brings home what appears to be a baby dragon, the summer starts getting exciting. Ben and his new friend Pearl take the injured hatchling to the only veterinarian in town, the “worm hospital” operated by the mysterious Dr. Woo. Inside the hospital they discover a refuge for imaginary creatures. After Ben accidentally leaves the hospital's front door unlocked and a sasquatch escapes into Buttonville, Ben and Pearl are tasked with retrieving the runaway creature, and what started out as an ordinary summer becomes the story of a lifetime.
Hardcover, $15.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 9780316209342 |
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| Music |
Steve Earle
Low Highway
Genre: Pop/Folk
The alt-country legend's new album is collaboration with his band, the Dukes (& Duchesses). On all new tunes, instrumental aid is provided by Chris Masterson, Eleanor Whitmore, Kelley Looney, Will Rigby, and Allison Moorer. ($16.95) |
Iron & Wine
Ghost on Ghost
Genre: Pop/Folk
Singer-songwriter Sam Beam releases his fifth studio album under the Iron & Wine moniker. In addition to his trademark hushed, acoustic folk, Ghost on Ghost features instrumentation and rhythms drawn from the world of jazz music. ($13.95) |
Shannon McNally
Small Town Talk
Genre: Pop/Folk
McNally has established a small but loyal following playing original Americana music, flavored with Louisiana accents. Her new album features collaborations with Dr. John on a tribute to the music of the legendary songwriter Bobby Charles. ($10.95) |
Carla Bruni
Little French Songs
Genre: World
The former first lady of France presents a collection in the great chanson tradition of her adopted homeland. The tunes feature primarily Bruni on guitar and vocals, mixing originals and takes on traditional pieces. ($13.95) |
Sarah Brightman
Dreamchaser
Genre: Classical
Dreamchaser marks the classical crossover vocalist's eleventh album. In addition to more orchestral-themed pieces, Brightman performs songs from Cocteau Twins, Paul McCartney, Sigur Rós and more. ($15.95) |
JJ Grey & Mofro
This River
Genre: Jazz/Blues
"Chock-full of vibrant characters and compelling stories set to Stax-worthy soul, greasy Southern rock and funk and glorious ballads that stay with you long after the last notes fade. Gutsy vocals, rugged horns and muscular grooves come together to create a down-home musical celebration.” ($17.95) |
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| Events |
Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Poetry Reading
Stephanie Lenox & Donna Henderson
Congress of Strange People and The Eddy Fence
Two local poets published by Airlie Press join us for an afternoon reading in the Grass Roots loft.
Stephanie Lenox’s inventive debut collection Congress of Strange People entices readers into a “federation of freaks” with voice-driven poems that sing a collective ode to our common strangeness. Employing humor, mystery, and a bold yet generous gaze, this book keeps company with a snake handler and conspiracy theorist, record-holders from The Guinness Book, Miss Manners, human cannonballs, Nancy Drew, and other characters from a family of outcasts.
Donna Henderson’s collection The Eddy Fence was an Oregon Book Award Finalist in 2010. It traces the contours of the “eddy fence” where love and loss meet. In poems that confront a mother’s illness, a forest’s destruction, and the struggles to seed new life, she discovers a difficult beauty and passage to healing. Here we encounter a restless intelligence in dialogue with itself, seeking to enter the world more entirely through deeper and deeper seeing. |
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Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Cliff Kirkpatrick
Oregon State University Baseball: Building a Legacy
In the postseasons of 2005, 2006 and 2007, the Oregon State Beavers baseball team achieved a seemingly impossible dream and forever changed the culture of Northwest sports. After nearly a century of dismissal as a wet-weather team, unable to compete with the southern baseball belt on the national stage, a run of three College World Series appearances and back-to-back titles earned the Beavers national respect. Inspired by his own coverage of the dramatic seasons, Corvallis Gazette-Times sportswriter Cliff Kirkpatrick recounts the program's rise to prominence and lasting legacy.
Cliff Kirkpatrick has covered the athletics programs at Oregon State University for the Corvallis Gazette-Times since July 2004. Most of his work focuses on the football team, but includes a variety of sports. Kirkpatrick has received multiple writing awards for his football and baseball coverage of Oregon State. His game story about the baseball team's victory over Michigan in the 2005 Super Regional to reach the College World Series won best sports writing from the Oregon Newspaper Publishing Association. |
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Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Poetry Reading
Turn, an anthology from Uttered Chaos
Experience the seasons with a variety of poets, and an afternoon of poetry in the Grass Roots loft. The theme of Turn is “months of the year,” and editor Laura LeHew left it to the poets to decipher what that meant. She was not disappointed, and wants to share it with others.
Readers for this event are Ayelet Amittay, Laura Gamache, Quinton Hallett, Susan Kenyon, Laura LeHew, Cathy McGuire, Nancy Carol Moody, Sharon Lask Munson, Eileen Peterson, Tim Pfau, Kit Sibert. |
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Tuesday, April 30,
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Community Poetry Night
Celebrate National Poetry Month with Grass Roots during an Open Mic event in the bookstore. Local poets and poetry fans are invited to read their own work, or a favorite poem by someone else. Participants will be asked to sign up before the event, but everyone is welcome to read, time permitting. Please plan on limiting your reading to 5 minutes. To register, please stop by Grass Roots Books & Music, call at 541-754-7668, or send an email to grootsreads@gmail.com. |
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Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m.
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
645 NW Monroe Avenue, Corvallis |
Book Release Event
Kathleen Dean Moore, with Rachelle McCabe on piano
Holdfast: At Home in the Natural World
Naturalist, philosopher, and essayist Kathleen Dean Moore is joined by concert pianist Rachelle McCabe in a celebration of the music of words and the words of music, with a book signing to follow. The event marks the publication of a new edition of Moore’s collection of essays: Holdfast: At Home in the Natural World. Moore and McCabe, both of OSU, will mix it up with Simon and Garfunkel. They’ll explore what it means to love a child through music, words, and an old lullaby. Moore will read old favorites like “Howling with Strangers” and “The Song of the Canyon Wren,” and new works about such things as the best songs to sing to bears.
This free event is cosponsored by Grass Roots Books & Music, The Friends of the Corvallis-Benton County Library, The Spring Creek Project, and OSU Press. |
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Upcoming Events
We have many more events coming up in the next few months! For a complete list of all of our upcoming events, please visit our website. |
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| Community Events |
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Community Events
Darkside Cinema: Movies showing April 19 to 25, showtimes daily, Darkside Cinema, Corvallis. Visit their website for showtimes.
- Trance –R: An art auctioneer who has become mixed up with a group of criminals partners with a hypnotherapist in order to recover a lost painting. Danny Boyle directs!
- No –R: An ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal. Subtitled Spanish.
- Beyond the Hills –R: With this viscerally involving drama, acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) tells another strikingly original story of women caught between old and new world beliefs. Subtitled Romanian.
- Silver Lining Playbook –R: After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
- Life of Pi –PG: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger. Director: Ang Lee.
- Quartet –PG-13: At a home for retired musicians, the annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.
Literary Events: Visit our Community Calendar for details on these events and others in the area.
- Visiting Writers Series welcomes Dawn Raffel, The Secret Life of Objects: Friday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., Valley Library Rotunda, OSU, Corvallis.
- Spring Light: Readings & Other Delicacies by LBCC’s English Dept. and Students: Friday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., Benton Center Lobby, Corvallis.
Opportunities:
- Summer in Words Conference: Three days of events, talks, and workshops taught by a stellar cast of authors and writing instructors will help you learn more about story and craft and invite you to move forward. June 20-23, Hallmark Inn & Resort, Cannon Beach, OR. For more information and to register, visit the Conference website.
- Terroir Creative Writing Festival: A day of workshops, lectures and readings brings readers and writers of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction together in McMinnville, April 27, 2013. Early-registration discount available through April 17. Registration forms can be found at the Terroir Festival website.
- Summer Fishtrap: The 26th annual Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers at Wallowa Lake runs July 8-14, 2013. For more details on workshops at Summer Fishtrap and to register please visit fishtrap.org.
- Call for Submissions: Calling Authors and Artists to Submit to the Summer 2013 Issue of VoiceCatcher’s Journal. VoiceCatcher: a journal of women’s voices & visions opens for submissions for its Summer 2013 issue on March 15, closing April 30, 2013. Please find our guidelines — and hints —on our journal's submission page (www.voicecatcherjournal.org) .
- 2013 Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize: March 1-May 31, 2013, postmarked. Please submit up to three unpublished poems (six pages maximum). Simultaneous submissions are discouraged. The CALYX editorial collective reads all manuscripts first, then selects 10-20 finalists to send to the final judge. See the CALYX submissions page for more information.
- The Trillium Project: The Spring Creek Project would like to invite you to submit a proposal for the Trillium Project at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek. You can find more information about the Spring Creek Project and the Cabin on their website.
- Call for Submissions: For the summer 2013 issue of Oregon Humanities magazine, we want ideas, arguments, theories, and stories about "skin," as in: The one you're in. You have two chances to contribute to this discussion. Shorter responses (400 words) for our Posts section are due May 13. Visit their website to read the full call Posts submissions.
- William Stafford Writing Contest: Teachers can mail submissions of their students’ work to Ooligan Press through April 2013. Selected student entries will be published in a book titled We Belong In History. The anthology will be released in January 2014 to help launch the yearlong celebration of William Stafford’s birth. Please visit the Contest website for additional information.
- Inklings, an open critique group, is seeking new members. The group meets on 1st & 3rd Sundays from 11 am to 1 pm in the upstairs meeting room at Market of Choice on 9th Street and Circle Boulevard in Corvallis. Please contact Dinaz Rogers at drogersor@msn.com or 541-967-1911 if you have any questions.
Ticket Sales: Grass Roots sells tickets for local music events. Check our Community Calendar for upcoming events that we have available. |
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Saturdays, May 4 and May 11, 2 to 4 p.m.
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
645 NW Monroe Avenue, Corvallis |
Writing Lives: the Short Personal Essay, from Invention to Publication
Title
The 2-part writing workshop will be led by 2012 Oregon Book Award winner George Estreich (The Shape of the Eye),and 2013 Oregon Book Award nominee Aria Minu-Sepehr (We Heard the Heavens Then).
On the first meeting, the instructors will talk about the short personal essay, give examples, and talk about the challenges in writing a good personal essay. There will be a short writing prompt, to begin the process of invention, and time permitting, there will be an opportunity to discuss some of the student work. For the second class, students will be asked to bring in a 900-word draft, with the goal of submitting to the New York Times "Lives" column. In the second class the instructors will discuss how to revise, improve, and submit work. Participants will read a few sample columns from "Lives," discussing not only what makes them work, but what the editors seem to be looking for in each case. Additional venues to send written work will also be discussed. Preregistration required. Please call the Reference Desk 541-766-6793 to sign up.
Books will be available to purchase on May 11 from Grass Roots Books & Music. |
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Thursday, May 9,
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
645 NW Monroe Avenue, Corvallis |
Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Music
Joseph Bruchac, Storyteller & Writer
A free storytelling event for adults, teens, and school-aged children. Joseph Bruchac is the author of more than 120 books for children and adults.
Books will be available to purchase from Grass Roots Books & Music. |
Photo by Michael Greenlar |
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| News |
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Book Awards
Pulitzer Prizes: The 2013 Pulitzer Prizes, honoring excellence in journalism and the arts since 1917, were presented on Monday. (This year’s winners include one in fiction!) Winners in the letters and drama categories are:
IACP Awards: The International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the 2013 IACP awards last week, presented to “promote quality and creativity in writing and publishing and to expand the public’s awareness of culinary literature.” The award—presented for more than 25 years—is considered the gold standard among cookbook awards. This year’s winners include:
Edward Lewis Wallant Award: The Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies has announced the winner of the 2012 Edward Lewis Wallant Award, “presented annually to an American writer whose published creative work of fiction is considered to have significance for the American Jew.” The 2012 recipient is Joshua Henkin for his novel, The World Without You. |
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Featured in the Store
Paperblanks: Whether you’re writing down your most heartfelt dreams, or jotting down a grocery list, you should have a beautiful notebook to do it in. Paperblanks are beautiful writing journals that celebrate human artistry and craft, and we now have an expanded selection in a gorgeous variety of sizes, styles, and designs. Whether being used to record thoughts, ideas, stories, poems or another craft, our journals' perfect marriage of imagination and art always inspires a unique writing experience. They also make a great gift for birthdays and graduation! Stop by the store to see our beautiful new display. |
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| This Week's Puzzle |
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| Reading Group Selection |
Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The Marriage Plot
Jeffrey Eugenides
Pamela hosts the discussion for The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. It was named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, and Publishers Weekly.
Madeleine Hanna is a dutiful English major at Brown in the early 1980s, writing her thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels. While taking a course on semiotics—a more modern take on language—she meets and falls in love with the charismatic and manic depressive Leonard. At the same time, an old friend of hers declares himself her destined mate for life, forming a love triangle with a marriage plot of its own. |
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Publisher: Picador USA
ISBN: 9781250014764
Paperback
Regular price: $16.00
On sale for $13.60 until May 7.
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On Our Nightstands |
 Tiffany
Walking Home: A Poet's Journey
Simon Armitage
When Simon Armitage set out to walk the Pennine Way, the British equivalent of the Appalachian Trail, he added another challenge for himself. He arranged to give poetry readings in pubs and town halls and living rooms for every evening of his trek, relying on the generosity of strangers to provide a bed for the night. The product of those miles is a quietly reflective (and often funny) book—memoir, travelogue, poetry, and natural history in one gently unfolding read.
Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation; ISBN: 9780871404169 |
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Charneé
Congress of Strange People
Stephanie Lenox
Stephanie Lenox created a collection of poems that was made for me. Congress of Strange People appeals to my love of the abnormal: the small bits we try desperately to hide from others – which is sometimes easier said than done. With masterful prose she weaves together a motley cast of characters. Some of my favorites include the 2’ 1.5” tall Madge Bester and the man who was born with his heart on the outside of his body, Christopher Wall. Stephanie steps into their skin and eloquently delivers pseudo-autobiographies that convincingly expose their deepest thoughts and emotions.
*Stephanie Lenox will read her work at Grass Roots Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m. with Donna Henderson.
Paperback, $15.00
Publisher: Airlie Press; ISBN: 9780982106662 |
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Tami
Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Thich Nhat Hanh
Looking to slow down and be more mindful throughout your day? This book is a series of short writings about mindfulness. Each step in the day can be a place of peace, from the opening of a door and walking through to the peeling of an orange. I like that the writings are short enough that I can carry it with me and read it here and there throughout my day. You may also like his other book, The Miracle of Mindfulness, which is a series of guided meditations.
Paperback, $15.00
Publisher: Bantam Books; ISBN: 9780553351392 |
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