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Grass Roots Books and Music
— 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis OR 97339 — 541-754-7668 |
| August 22, 2013 |
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Hello, friends!
Things have been busy at the bookstore as we train new people, try to enjoy the last of the summer days, and plow through our reading stacks. I hope you've had time to stop in and say hello!
While you're here, check out our fresh new inventory of Grass Roots T-shirts, and take advantage of the coupon below. Share the Grass Roots pride!
See you in the bookstore!
Pamela.
Grass Roots T-Shirt Special
8/23/13 to 8/29/13
$2 OFF any Grass Roots T-Shirt
$3 OFF a T-Shirt for I-Card Members
Just mention "T-Shirt Coupon" at checkout.
Not combinable with other discounts. In store purchases only. Limited to stock on hand.
Sale items are not eligible for I-Card stamps. |
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| Newest Books |
Sweet Thunder
Ivan Doig
This is Ivan Doig’s third historical novel featuring Morrie Morgan, con man turned librarian and now crusading journalist. The setting, as in Work Song, is Butte, MT, and the theme is labor strife. Anaconda Mining is set against the seemingly overmatched miners' union until Morrie, recently returned to Butte with his bride, Grace, enters the fray in the guise of editorial writer for an upstart left-wing paper that strives to expose the chicanery of the mining company. The rival newspaper, mouthpiece for Anaconda, brings in a hired wordsmith from Chicago to trade linotype punches with Morrie.
Hardcover, $27.95
Publisher: Riverhead Books; ISBN: 9781594487347 |
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Headhunters on My Doorstep: A True Treasure Island Ghost Story
J. Maarten Troost
The bestselling author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals recounts his latest hilarious misadventures in the South Pacific, following in the footsteps of his unlikely idol, Robert Louis Stevenson. Headhunters on My Doorstep chronicles Troost's return to the South Pacific after his struggle with alcoholism and time in rehab left him numb to life. Deciding to retrace the path once traveled by the author of Treasure Island, Troost travels to the Marquesas, the Tuamotus, Tahiti, the Gilberts, and Samoa, tumbling from one comic misadventure to another as he confronts his newfound sobriety. Along the way, the author gradually awakens to the beauty of life and reconnects with his family and the world.
Hardcover, $26.00
Publisher: Gotham Books; ISBN: 9781592407897 |
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The Daughters of Mars
Thomas Keneally
From the Booker-Prize winning author of Schindler’s List comes the epic, unforgettable story of two sisters whose lives are changed by the cataclysm of the First World War. Australians Naomi and Sally Durance join the war effort as nurses, escaping the confines of their father’s farm and carrying a guilty secret with them. Though they are used to tending the sick, nothing could have prepared them for what they confront, first on a hospital ship near Gallipoli, then on the Western Front. Yet amid the carnage, the sisters become the friends they never were at home and find courage in the face of extreme danger.
Hardcover, $28.00
Publisher: Atria Books; ISBN: 9781476734613 |
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The Residue Years
Mitchell S. Jackson
Mitchell S. Jackson grew up black in a neglected neighborhood in America's whitest city, Portland, OR. In the '90s, those streets had fallen under the shadow of crack cocaine. In his autobiographical novel, Mitchell writes what it was like to come of age in that time and place. The book switches between the perspectives of a young man and his mother. Grace is just out of drug rehab, trying to stay clean and get her kids back. Champ is trying to help his family, but selling crack is the only sure way he knows to do this. In this world of little opportunity, this family fights for family and against what tears one apart.
Hardcover, $26.00
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing; ISBN: 9781620400289 |
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Lookaway, Lookaway
Wilton Barnhardt
“North Carolina native Barnhardt's frothy, satirical latest is Southern gothic at its most decadent and dysfunctional. With each chapter dedicated to a different character one more self-indulgent and flawed than the last the sprawling saga of an esteemed clan's fall from grace and fortune spools out . . . Some members are more emotionally complex (and therefore more entertaining to read about) than others. . . As the scandals pile up, including a raucous Christmas dinner showdown, and a hoot of a finale that's pure shock and awe, this mess of a family has nowhere left to go but up—well, not if they can help it.” —Publishers Weekly
Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; ISBN: 9781250020833 |
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| New in Paperback |
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Hello Goodbye Hello: A Circle of 101 Remarkable Meetings
Craig Brown
Imagine these unlikely but true encounters: Martha Graham and Madonna Igor; Stravinsky and Walt Disney; Frank Lloyd Wright and Marilyn Monroe; Monroe and Nikita Khrushchev; President Richard M. Nixon and Elvis Presley; Harpo Marx and George Bernard Shaw; Salvador Dali and Sigmund Freud; Groucho Marx and T. S. Eliot.
Hello Goodbye Hello is a daisy chain of 101 fascinating true encounters, chance meetings, and disastrous collisions between the celebrated and the gifted, the famous and the infamous. Witty and wicked, Hello Goodbye Hello is the perfect example that truth can be stranger than fiction.
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781451684513 |
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The Way the World Works: Essays
Nicholson Baker
From political controversy to the intimacy of his own life, from forgotten heroes of pacifism to airplane wings, telephones, paper mills, David Remnick, Joseph Pulitzer, the OED, and the manufacture of the Venetian gondola, Nicholson Baker ranges over the map of life to examine what troubles us, what eases our pain, and what brings us joy.
"Baker is one of the most beautiful, original and ingenious prose stylists to have come along in decades . . . and takes a kind of mad scientist's delight in the way things work and how the world is put together." —Charles McGrath, The New York Times Magazine
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781416572480 |
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The District Attorneys of Benton County 1912 to 2012: Enduring Principles in Changing Times
Kenneth A. Osher and Frank D. Knight
“The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely convict.” Benton County has been home to both constancy and change over the last century. The authors, both former prosecutors and circuit judges, tell the story of the people working in this office through years that have brought new problems and possibilities, while championing the values critical to maintaining a lawful and just society.
Paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 9781490595863 |
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| Featured Books for Young Readers |
The Keyboard Kitten: An Oregon Children’s Story
Bob Welch, Illustrated by Tom Penix
Matt, who longs to be a children’s author, has only one real problem: He can’t write worth beans. To make matters worse, an uninvited guest bothers the Oregon man each morning as he tries to finish his book. The Keyboard Kitten blends the spirit of Dr. Seuss with the nuances of Oregon to offer a story of unlikely friendship and unexpected joy.
Hardcover, $19.95
ISBN: 9780988332928 |
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| Music |
John Mayer
Paradise Valley
Genre: Pop/Folk
Singer-guitarist Mayer began his career as a smooth-crooning pop artist, and has since touched on everything from blues to last year's country record. Paradise Valley takes an introspective turn on a collection of more mature roots-oriented fare. ($11.95) |
Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby
Cluck Ol' Hen
Genre: Pop/Folk
Bluegrass multi-instrumentalist Skaggs and roots rock pianist Hornsby collaborate on a live set of traditional and familiar tunes. In addition to familiar tunes like "Darling Corey" and the title cut, the duo paints a bluegrass sheen on Hornsby's hit "The Way It Is". ($12.95) |
Mandolin Orange
This Side of Jordan
Genre: Pop/Folk
"As a young duo with roots deep in the musical soil of North Carolina, Mandolin Orange plucks a ghostly sonic quality that is both calming and invigorating. Part bluegrass, part gospel, part Appalachian folk, Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz blend their voices into something that almost feels like it speaks from beyond the grave." ($16.95) |
Sarah McLachlan
Essential
Genre: Pop/Folk
This collection brings together many of the most popular tunes from the Canadian singer-songwriter. This 2-disc set features offerings from her earliest recordings to her more recent hits. ($13.95) |
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Made Up Mind
Genre: Pop/Folk
As featured on NPR: Husband and wife duo Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks once again bring together their eclectic big band for a collection of originals. Both artists share guitar and vocal duties on tunes that range from electric rockers to bluesy ballads. ($11.95) |
Dominican Sisters of Mary
Mater Eucharistiae
Genre: Pop/Folk
As heard on NPR: "In the cloistered world of classical music recordings, there is great interest in choral music by Catholic nuns these days. In the past year, two separate albums by a group of monastic nuns shot to the top of the classical charts. Now comes the Mother of the Eucharist, a community of nuns outside of Ann Arbor, Mich., that [released] its debut album Tuesday." ($16.95) |
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| Events |
Thursday, Aug. 29 at 4 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Josh Gross
The Hack
Josh Gross returns to Grass Roots to sign copies of his new book, The Hack, while in Corvallis touring with his band.
Hamilton Brownstone’s father died when he was six. At the funeral he met a strange, angry boy named Gardner: the brother from another family that neither he nor his mother had known aboutSince then, Gardner won the lottery and has used the money on a campaign of self-destruction, largely through his hobby of applying for minimum wage jobs. Faced with no accomplishments of note, Hamilton has decided to live out the lives of famous writers in order to channel them and write a book. Hamilton bizarrely decides the only way he’ll be able to finish his book is in prison. And there’s only one person willing to help Hamilton end up there: his brother Gardner. |
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Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Author Presentation:
Susan Schneider
The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World
Join us at Grass Roots for a presentation by biopsychologist Susan M. Schneider, exploring her book The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World.
While it's easy to see that consequences are important, few have heard there's a science of consequences, with principles that affect us every day and empowering applications everywhere—at home, at work, and at school. Despite their variety, consequences appear to follow a common set of scientific principles and share some similar effects in the brain (think "pleasure centers"). The Science of Consequences tells a tale ranging from genetics to neurotransmitters, from emotion to language, from parenting to politics—bringing together research from many fields to show how something that seems so simple can explain so much. |
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| Community Events |
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Community Events
Darkside Cinema: Movies showing Aug. 23 to 29, showtimes daily, Darkside Cinema, Corvallis. Visit their website for showtimes.
- Blue Jasmine –PG-13: Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine finds the director in peak late-period form—and benefiting from a superb cast led by Cate Blanchett. In Digital in 2 auditoriums (sort’a)!
- The Way, Way Back –PG-13: A talented cast, finely tuned script, and an abundance of charm to deliver a funny and satisfying coming-of-age story. Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell.
- Much Ado About Nothing –PG-13: Shakespeare done by Joss Whedon, the guy who did Firefly. He has a really big forehead so you know he’s smart. In its 142nd week at the DS!
- 20 Feet from Stardom –PG-13: It is THE really good movie about backup singers. See it. No, really. See it! Held over for 214 weeks!
Opportunities:
- Call for Submissions: Wild in the Willamette is now seeking unpaid contributions of outdoor writing to create this field guide for everyone wanting to explore wild places within the eight major watersheds of the mid-Willamette Valley — by foot, by kayak or canoe, and by bicycle. For more details, please see the WITW website.
- 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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Saturday, Sept. 7,
8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dallas High School
1250 SE Holman Avenue, Dallas |
OSU Master Gardeners of Polk County Fall Fling
The OSU Master Gardeners of Polk County are hosting their eleventh annual Fall Fling: A Gardening Festival, featuring presentations, workshops, and a vendor faire that is open to the public. This year’s presenters include Karen Chapman, co-author of Fine Foliage; Jessi Bloom, author of Free-Range Chicken Gardents, and Rebecca Sweet, co-author of Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small & Large Spaces. Complete information and a registration form is available on the Polk County Master Gardeners’ website.
Books will be available to purchase from Grass Roots Books & Music. |
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| News |
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New Grass Roots Tees and Totes
Update your fall wardrobe with a fresh selection of t-shirts from Grass Roots Books! Our inventory of t-shirts has been replenished, and we’ve added new colors in short sleeves, a long-sleeve version, and an organic cotton with short sleeves. (The organic cotton is my favorite. It is so soft, and has a nice drape.) The best selection of sizes is available now, and prices vary from $14.95 to $21.95. But what's that? A coupon at the beginning of this week's Grass Roots Reader? Now we're talking. . .
That’s not all! We also have a new Grass Roots Grocery Tote available, bigger than our regular tote, and with a square bottom. It’s the perfect size for grocery shopping, or filling with MORE books of course! Now you can carry your Grass Roots bag with you everywhere! Our Original Tote is still available for $1.95, and our new Grocery Tote is just $2.95. (Only a dollar more for all that extra space!) |
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Summer Home Improvement
Summertime is the perfect time to tackle that long list of home improvement projects. Fortunately Grass Roots has a great selection of books to help you get it all done. What’s on your to-do list? If you’re tackling a landscaping project, pick up a copy of The Naturescaping Workbook: A Step-By-Step Guide for Bringing Nature to Your Backyard, by local author Beth O’Donnell Young. Her book will help you design a beautiful low-maintenance landscape that requires fewer resources, attracts natural wildlife, and saves time and money. Now is also the time to build that small barn you’ve always wanted for your goats and chickens before the rain sets in. Building Small Barns, Sheds & Shelters by Monte Burch and Fred Stetson provides you with everything you need to know to build your own outbuildings. In the midst of all this outdoor improvement, don’t forget the inside of your home. (It’s best to paint furniture and other small items when there’s plenty of sunshine and dry weather to provide adequate ventilation.) Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love by Sherry and John Petersik is a cheerful, useful, and thoughtful guide to projects anyone can do. Even me. You can do it, too; come into the store and peruse our entire selection of home improvement titles. |
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| This Week's Puzzle |
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| Reading Group Selection |
Tuesday, Sept. 3, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
David Eagleman
Neé leads an exploration of the brain with Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman, a renowned neuroscientist.
If the conscious mind accounts for only a tiny fraction of the brain's function, what is all the rest doing? Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain to illuminate surprising mysteries, showing the ways in which we are not the ones “driving the boat.” The emerging understanding of the brain drastically changes our view of ourselves, shifting us from an intuitive sense that we are at the center of the operations, to a more sophisticated, illuminating, and wondrous view of the situation. |
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Publisher: Vintage Books
ISBN: 9780307389923
Paperback
Regular price: $15.95
On sale for $13.56 until Sept. 3.
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On Our Nightstands |
 Pamela
The Wonder Bread Summer
Jessica Anya Blau
The 1970s and early ‘80s could not have consisted only of the dysfunctional lives of young Californians, yet that is what I always find in Blau’s books. And I keep reading them! Through the dysfunction, I always find a character I connect with. The Wonder Bread Summer is perhaps even more warped than her previous two books: a young woman is on the run from her former drug-dealing boss with a Wonder bread bag full of his coke. Her misadventures would be disturbing if Blau did not write the scenes with so much humor. This is a fantastic read for the end of a long, hot summer.
Paperback, $14.99
Publisher: Harper Perennial; ISBN: 9780062199553 |
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Neé
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
David M. Eagleman
“I think, therefore I am.” But what am I when my brain can be deceptive, misguiding, and even lie to the very person who houses it? What and who are we when nearly 90% of our daily actions and activities come from subconscious thought we know or think little about? Incognito is an eye-opening, mind-boggling read! Beyond the pages filled with fascinating factoids about your brain’s daily exploits, there are many picture illusions and brain teasers that give you firsthand evidence of just how illusory your brain can be. Once you’ve delved into this flabbergasting book, you’ll never trust your brain again!
Paperback, $15.95
Publisher: Vintage Books; ISBN: 9780307389923 |
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Tiffany
The Cuckoo's Calling
Robert Galbraith
(a.k.a. J. K. Rowling!)
I, like many, was intrigued to discover that J.K. Rowling had penned a murder mystery under a pseudonym. And not just any mystery, but one that received rave critical reviews. In it, private investigator Cormoran Strike (an Afghanistan war veteran amputee) and his office temp Robin Ellacourt delve into the supposed suicide of supermodel Lula Landry, whose brother believes was murdered. Well-crafted characters, plot twists and turns, and solid detecting make for a satisfying read. Rowling fans will want to read it because she wrote it (and might discover they enjoy mystery genre as much as fantasy), and mystery readers may discover a new favorite.
Hardcover, $26.00
Publisher: Mulholland Books; ISBN: 9780316206846 |
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| Grass Roots Online — Contact Us |
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