The Silver Star 

Hardcover; $26.00

Publisher: Scribner Book Company; ISBN: 9781451661507

Trains and Lovers   Alexander McCall Smith

"The human yearning for love. . . is at the heart of McCall Smith's wistful stand-alone novel, as four strangers on an Edinburgh-to-London rail journey share stories of romance both thwarted and fulfilled. Art history student Andrew tells how he fell for the daughter of a disapproving business magnate. Hugh thinks his schoolteacher girlfriend might have an assumed identity. David recalls his unrequited affection for another man during summers spent in rural Maine. And in the book's most affecting tale, Kay recounts her Scottish father's emigration to the desolate Australian outback and pen pal courtship of her mother." - Library Journal Hardcover; $22.00 Publisher: Pantheon Books; ISBN:9780307908544

Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm Mardi Jo Link

After ending her nineteen-year marriage, mother and farmer Mardi Jo Link is left in debt and heartbreak, but she isn't ready to give up. Armed with an unshakable sense of humor and her three teenage sons, she resolves to rescue her century-old Michigan farmhouse from foreclosure and make a fresh start. On the way, she cultivates her own wisdom: learning how to confront coyotes and blizzards, mastering the art of hog butchering, raising her boys on wood chopping, and practicing Zen divorce. Full of heart and grit, Link shows readers her own path toward a rich and honest livelihood against all odds. Hardcover; $24.95 Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780307596918

Bad Monkey Carl Hiaasen

"[Hiaasen's latest is] a shambolic comic tale of garden-variety Florida crime: a wealthy Medicare fraudster appears to have died in a boating accident. The only evidence of death is his arm, which is reeled in by a hapless vacationer. Enter Andrew Yancy, once and future Monroe County detective. He thinks the fraudster was murdered by his wife, and if he can prove it, he can get his old job back and leave restaurant inspections behind. . . He means well, but many of his problems are hilariously self-inflicted. . . Laugh-out-loud funny and thoroughly entertaining." - Booklist Starred Review Hardcover; $26.95 Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780307272591

The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story   Lily Koppel

Revealing the true story of the courageous spouses of some of the biggest American heroes in history - the Mercury Seven astronauts - The Astronaut Wives Club presents the military wives who were transformed into celebrities overnight. Together, they appeared on the cover of Life magazine, had tea with Jackie Kennedy, and became fashion icons. Despite divorce, tragic losses, and the pressures of domestic perfection, the women formed friendships that would last over fifty years. "[Koppel] hits the mark, crafting an exceptional story [that] will hold vast appeal for armchair historians, and those interested in feminism, women's history, and 20th-century history."-Library Journal Starred Review Hardcover; $28.00 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN: 9781455503254

Bobcat & Other Stories 

Rebecca Lee 

Paperback; $14.95

Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; ISBN: 9781616201739  

Exit: The Endings That Set Us Free   Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

Sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot explores the ways we leave one thing and move on to the next; how we anticipate, define, and reflect on our departures; and our epiphanies that something is over and done with. Following interviews with more than a dozen people in states of major change, she paints their portraits with sympathy and insight. Exit finds wisdom and perspective in the possibility of moving on and marks the start of a new conversation, to help us discover how we might make our exits with purpose and dignity. Paperback; $15.00 Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books; ISBN: 9780374533908

In the Shadow of the Banyan   Vaddey Ratner

"The struggle for survival is relayed with elegance and humility in Ratner's autobiographical debut novel set in Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia. Raami is seven when civil war erupts, and she and her family are forced to leave Phnom Penh for the countryside. As minor royalty, they're in danger; the Khmer Rouge is systematically cleansing the country of wealthy and educated people. . . Amid hunger, the loss of much of her family, and labor camp toil, Raami clings to the beauty that her father has shown her in traditional mythology and his own poetry. . . A hauntingly powerful novel imbued with the richness of old Cambodian lore, the devastation of monumental loss, and the spirit of survival." - Publishers Weekly Starred Review Paperback; $16.00 Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781451657715

Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa   Benjamin Constable

"Constable's inaugural novel provides an offbeat tale dark but playful in tone about a possible serial killer, her befuddled friend, and a two-hemisphere treasure hunt. Narrator Ben Constable, named after the author, is an aspiring British writer who works in a Paris bank and discovers a letter from his friend Tomomi 'Butterfly' Ishikawa, a transplanted New Yorker, in which she claims to have committed suicide. Through a series of rambling posthumous letters, electronic documents, and e-mails, she reveals her dark past, including several murders, and eggs him on to pursue her rather perverse 'treasure hunt' of planted clues." - Publishers Weekly Paperback; $16.00 Publisher: Gallery Books; ISBN: 9781451667264

Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety   Daniel Smith

"Raised in a neurotic family consisting of two anxious parents and a brother suffering from hypochondria, [Smith's] anxiety began in childhood. By his mid-20s, he had suffered multiple serious anxiety attacks. . . Combining a droll tone and a sharp eye for detail, Smith chronicles his consuming physical and mental symptoms. . . In addition to his personal stories, Smith describes the character traits exhibited by the different types of anxiety sufferers. . . Smith's narrative smoothly juxtaposes clinical language with often-excruciating details of a life lived within the painful framework of severe anxiety. A true treasure-trove of insight laced with humor and polished prose." - Kirkus Reviews Paperback; $16.00 Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781439177310

Boom!: Big, Big Thunder & One Small Dog 

Mary Lyn Ray

Hardcover; $16.99

Publisher: Disney Press; ISBN: 9781423162384

Pi in the Sky   Wendy Mass Ages 8 to 12

"The Realms occupy the dark matter of the universe and keep the whole thing running; Joss's job is to deliver pies for the Powers That Be (PTB), pies that hold 'the very fabric of the universe together.' When 12-year-old Earth resident Annika accidentally spots a pie baker in the Realms, the PTB rip Earth and its solar system out of the space-time continuum, effectively revoking its existence. . . Annika herself somehow appears in the Realms, and she and Joss must recreate the entire solar system from the ground up. . . A high-stakes extraterrestrial adventure that's as exciting as it is fun." - Publishers Weekly Hardcover; $17.00 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 9780316089166

Jason Isbell

Southeastern

Pop/Folk; $12.95  

Aoife O'Donovan    Fossils

As heard on NPR. Aoife ("ee-fa") O'Donovan is best known as a former vocalist for the acoustic string band Crooked Still. For her debut solo album, her musical palette has expanded to include country, pop, and Celtic sounds.   Pop/Folk; $16.95

Harry Connick, Jr.      Every Man Should Know

New Orleans jazzman has crafted a personal album that embraces a wider variety of music than ever before. In addition to his piano-based New Orleans jazz, Connick ventures into everything from country skiffle to bossa nova and gospel.   Jazz/Blues; $11.95

Tuesday, June 18 at 7 p.m.

Wendy Jehanara Tremayne offers a lively presentation of her book, leading the audience to deeply consider and share their thoughts and feelings about the ways that our lives are being shaped by being the first people alive to witness the whole world for sale.

Monday, June 24 at 7 p.m.   Adam Rome  The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach-In Unexpectedly Made the First Green Generation   Grass Roots Books & Music 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis

Co-Sponsored by Grass Roots Books & Music and The Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature and the Written Word The first Earth Day is the most famous little-known event in modern American history. Because we still pay ritual homage to the planet every April 22, everyone knows something about Earth Day. Some people may also know that Earth Day 1970 made the environmental movement a major force in American political life. But no one has told the whole story before. In The Genius of Earth Day, the prizewinning historian Adam Rome offers a compelling account of the rise of the environmental movement.

Thursday, July 11 at 7 p.m.   Poetry Reading and Book Launch Charles Goodrich & Gary Lark   Troubadour Music Center 521 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis

Join Grass Roots Books & Music to celebrate poetry and the new releases of Charles Goodrich and Gary Lark.   Charles Goodrich's newest collection of poetry is A Scripture of Crows from Silverfish Review Press. Kim Stafford says: "Charles Goodrich here writes a manifesto for world change one compact epiphany at a time. Administrator of local discoveries, he names himself a 'commonist,' loyal to the local, to the democracy of creatures, to the light, keen blade of the language opening the envelope of our sleep... These poems are a restorative in their deft humor and quiet promise. They will change your days, if not your life." Goodrich serves as Director for the Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature, and the Written Word at Oregon State University.   Gary Lark's newest collection of poetry is Without a Map from Wellstone Press. Maxine Scates says: "In poem after compelling poem, Lark gives voice to lives which all too often go unheard, lives lived in rural towns, trailer courts and farm houses on the back roads, places where he has grown up, lived and worked, listening all along to the stories that truly matter: what it means to lose a job, and what it means to have one; what it means to fight in wars whose memory never leaves and what it means to be lost then found again." He worked for the Corvallis-Benton County Library for eleven years, and now lives with his wife Dorothy in Oregon's Rogue valley.

Tami

How to Do Everything and Be Happy: Your Step-By-Step, Straight-Talking Guide to Creating Happiness in Your Life

Peter Jones

Have you always wanted to play an instrument, visit the Louvre, bungee jump, however humble or grand your dreams may be, but you thought I'm too busy or I don't have enough money or fill in the blank here? This book is about how, amidst the busyness of life, to carve time out each month for yourself and to move toward what you want to experience in life. It does so in a humorous straight-forward British kind of way with lots of real life examples. It's a quick fun read. 

Paperback; $14.95 

Publisher: HarperCollins; ISBN: 9780007518135   

Tiffany   Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls David Sedaris

When I need a laugh, I can always count on David Sedaris to bring me to stitches. Whether waiting at the airport to fly standby or feeding raw duck to a kookaburra outside a restaurant in Australia, Sedaris writes about everyday absurdities. His humor is always smart, occasionally profane, and not for the easily offended-and beneath the sarcasm and hilarity runs an undercurrent of tenderness for family, his partner, and life itself. Hardcover; $27.00 Publisher: Little Brown and Company; ISBN: 9780316154697

Grass Roots Reading Group

Tiffany leads the July discussion of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, a novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice set in the Amazon rainforest.

Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmaceutical researcher in Minnesota, is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while researching a potentially valuable new drug. Marina is not the first sent into the jungle to find Dr. Swenson; Anders Eckman, Marina's research partner, died before he could complete the mission before her. In the jungle, Marina finds Dr. Swenson-as ruthless and uncompromising as she ever was at Johns Hopkins-using science and subterfuge to dominate her research team and the natives she's studying.

Paperback; $15.99

Publisher: Harper Perennial; ISBN: 9780062049810

On sale for $13.60 until July 2, 1013.

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