Grass Roots Books and Music — 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis OR 97339 — 541-754-7668
September 12, 2013
Contents
Newest Books
New in Paperback
Featured Books for Young Readers
Music
Events
News
This Week's Puzzle
Reading Group Selection
On Our Nightstands
Grass Roots Online — Contact Us
 
 

Hello my reading friends!

You can tell autumn is almost here and the holidays are peeking around the corner: there are SO MANY new books coming into the store! This week's Grass Roots Reader is packed with hardcovers, and we're anticipating a lot of new paperbacks in next week's edition. You might need to clear a space on your nightstand. . .

See you in the bookstore!

Pamela.

 
Newest Books

Dissident Gardens

Jonathan Lethem

Rose Zimmer�an unreconstructed communist who torments her neighbors in Sunnyside Gardens, NY�and daughter Miriam�a strong-willed political activist who shares her mother's misplaced ideology but rejects her influence�are the central characters in this epic yet intimate family saga about three generations of all-American radicals. As the decades pass�from the parlor communism of the '30s, McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, ragged '70s communes, the romanticization of the Sandinistas, up to the Occupy movement of the moment�we come to understand through Lethem's vivid storytelling that the personal may be political, but the political, even more so, is personal.

Hardcover, $27.95

Publisher: Doubleday Books; ISBN: 9780385534932

Enon

Paul Harding

Drawing upon the same New England landscape and family as his Pulitzer Prize- winning debut Tinkers, Harding deftly captures loss and its consequences in this gorgeous and haunting follow-up. Here, the author follows a year in the life of Charlie Crosby as he tries to come to terms with a shattering personal tragedy. The seasons of the dynamic landscape of New England mirror Charlie�s turbulent emotional odyssey. Along the way, Charlie's encounters are brought to life by his wit, his insights into history, and his yearning to understand the big questions.

Hardcover, $26.00

Publisher: Random House; ISBN: 9781400069439

My Brief History

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking has dazzled readers worldwide with a string of bestsellers exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now, for the first time, perhaps the most brilliant cosmologist of our age turns his gaze inward for a revealing look at his own life and intellectual evolution. Writing with characteristic humility and humor, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of ALS at age twenty-one. Tracing his development as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onward through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A Brief History of Time�one of the iconic books of the twentieth century.

Hardcover, $22.00

Publisher: Bantam; ISBN: 9780345535283

A Guide for the Perplexed

Dara Horn

Josie Ashkenazi has invented a software application that records everything its users do. When an Egyptian library invites her to visit as a consultant, her jealous sister Judith persuades her to go. But in Egypt's post-revolutionary chaos, Josie is abducted�leaving Judith free to take over Josie's life at home, including her husband and daughter.

A century earlier, another traveler arrives in Egypt: Solomon Schechter, a Cambridge professor hunting for an archive hidden in a Cairo synagogue. Both he and Josie are haunted by the work of the medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides. What Schechter finds will reveal the power and perils of what Josie's work brings into being: a world where nothing is ever forgotten.

Hardcover, $25.95

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 9780393064896

2
1

Someone

Alice McDermott

�As evidenced by McDermott's National Book Award winner, Charming Billy, few authors are as good as she is at making the ordinary extraordinary. Her new novel opens with a young Marie meeting free-spirited Pegeen, who declares herself an �amadan� (a fool) and thereafter tumbles down a stairs, signaling the unexpected falls we fools all take. Through World War II and beyond, from Marie's marriage to her parents' death and her brother the priest's loss of faith, McDermott tracks one emblematic life.� �Library Journal

Hardcover, $25.00

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux; ISBN: 9780374281090

2
1

Songs of Willow Frost

Jamie Ford

From the bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet comes a second novel set against the backdrop of Depression-era Seattle. Two souls�a boy with dreams for his future and a woman escaping her haunted past�seek love, hope, and forgiveness.

On a birthday outing, William Eng, a Chinese American boy living at Seattle's Sacred Heart Orphanage, sees actress Willow Frost onscreen and is convinced that she is his mother. Determined to find Willow and prove that his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. Shifting between the Great Depression and the 1920s, Ford takes readers on an emotional journey of discovery.

Hardcover, $26.00

Publisher: Ballantine Books; ISBN: 9780345522023

2
1

Wilson

A. Scott Berg

One hundred years after his inauguration, Woodrow Wilson still stands as one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, and one of the most enigmatic. After more than a decade of research and writing, Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg has completed this biography about the 28th President. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of documents in the Wilson Archives, Berg was the first biographer to gain access to two recently discovered caches of papers belonging to those close to Wilson. From this material, Berg was able to add countless details that fill in missing pieces of Wilson's character and cast new light on his entire life.

Hardcover, $40.00

Publisher: Putnam Adult ; ISBN: 9780399159213

2
1
 
New in Paperback

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson

Steve Jobs built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering. He was a creative entrepreneur with an intense personality, passion for perfection, and ferocious drive. With these traits, he revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. Walter Isaacson conducted over 40 interviews with Jobs over 2 years, in addition to interviewing over 100 friends, relatives, colleagues, and competitors. With Jobs� cooperation and approval�and none of his control�Isaacson presents a candid, unvarnished glimpse into the life and mind of an icon.

Paperback, $20.00

Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781451648546

4
3

Visiting Tom: A Man, a Highway, and the Road to Roughneck Grace

Michael Perry

The author of Truck: A Love Story and Coop turns his storytelling skills away from his own foibles to his neighbor Tom, an eighty-two year old whose favorite hobby is firing his homemade cannons. Tom has more to share than just �extralegal� explosives, and Perry learns much about life and love from the man about to celebrate his 60th wedding anniversary. With an endless supply of stories dating back to the days of his prize Model A, Tom and Perry converse over the kitchen table as husbands and fathers and friends.

Paperback, $14.99

Publisher: Harper Perennial; ISBN: 9780061894466

4
3

The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us about Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate

Robert D. Kaplan

Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the near and distant past to look back at critical pivots in history and then to look forward at the evolving global scene. Kaplan traces the history of the world's hot spots by examining their climates, topographies, and proximities to other embattled lands, then applies the lessons learned to the present crises in Europe, Russia, China, the Indian subcontinent, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab Middle East. The result is a holistic interpretation of the next cycle of conflict throughout Eurasia.

Paperback, $16.00

Publisher: Random House Trade; ISBN: 9780812982220

4
3

Joseph Anton: A Memoir

Salman Rushdie

�Placed under a fatwa by the Ayatollah Khomeini in February 1989, distinguished author Rushdie was forced underground to save his life. He needed an alias for use by the armed police assigned to protect him and so chose Joseph Anton, which blended the first names of two writers he loved, Conrad and Chekhov. Here he recounts over nine years of moving from safe house to safe house, mastering despair, fighting back, bonding with his protectors, and enlisting the support of governments, journalists, and fellow writers worldwide.� �Library Journal

Paperback, $18.00

Publisher: Random House Trade; ISBN: 9780812982602

Of Walking in Rain

Matt Love

Of Walking in Rain is a 190-page work of creative non-fiction largely written in real time that assays the ubiquitous subject of rain in Oregon in as many ways as rain falls in Oregon. The book blends an eclectic variety of literary genres, including memoir, essay, vignette, diary, reportage, guide, criticism, satire, stream of consciousness, homework, meditation, review, commentary, oral history, weather report, discography, liner notes, polemic, curriculum and confession. Of Walking in Rain also features the exquisite etchings of rain by renowned artist Frank Boyden.

Paperback, $20.00

Publisher: Nestucca Spit Press

 
Featured Books for Young Readers

Star Wars Jedi Academy

Jeffrey Brown

Ages 8 to 12

This original story captures all of the humor, awkwardness, fun, and frustrations of middle school �all told through one boy's comics, journal entries, letters, doodles, and newspaper clippings. The setting? A galaxy far, far away. . . Roan's one dream is to leave home and attend Pilot Academy like his older brother, father, and grandfather. But just as Roan is mysteriously denied entrance to Pilot School, he is invited to attend Jedi Academy�a school that he didn't apply to and only recruits children when they are just a few years old. That is, until now. . .

Hardcover, $12.99

Publisher: Scholastic; ISBN: 9780545505178

All Our Yesterdays

Cristin Terrill

Young Adult

�Time travel done right. Narrator Em and her boyfriend, Finn, escape from their totalitarian future, time traveling back four years to commit a heart-wrenching assassination of a loved one in order to prevent time travel from being invented and the future from turning so wrong. The future's hinted-at horrors are threatening but expertly backgrounded, avoiding dystopia-fatigue. The clever, accessible time-space treatment isn't weighed down by jargon. . . . Powerful emotional relationships and tight plotting in this debut mark Terrill as an author to watch.� �Kirkus Reviews

Hardcover, $17.99

Publisher: Disney Press; ISBN: 9781423176374

6
5
 
Music

1

Ry Cooder & Corridos Famosos

Live at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco

Genre: Pop/Folk

The legendary roots guitarist presents his eclectic band, recorded live during a two-night stand in San Francisco. Featuring tunes from his early work as well as from his most recent releases, this is only Cooder's second live record in his long career. ($18.95)

2

Sheryl Crow

Feels Like Home

Genre: Pop/Folk

Sheryl Crow began her career as a soulful folk-pop singer, placing a slew of hits on the charts. Her new album is a nod towards country music, blending Crow's sunny California vibe with a Nashville flair. ($18.95)

Mark Knopfler

Privateering

Genre: Pop/Folk

The founding member of Dire Straits released this double CD in 2012 everywhere else in the world, but a label dispute prevented him from issuing it in the U.S. Privateering is an understated survey of Knopfler's career, featuring new original tunes in the blues, rock, Americana, and pop genre. ($19.95)

Steep Canyon Rangers

Tell the Ones I Love

Genre: Pop/Folk

"Tell The Ones I Love showcases the Steep Canyon Rangers� myriad talents� nimble instrumental agility, tight harmony vocals, and inventive songwriting. The 12-song set ranges from full-band workouts like the title track to the haunting, vocally tight �Hunger.� On �Las Vegas,� the band displays jazzy touches while Mike Guggino�s instrumental �Graveyard Fields� is a bluegrass tour de force." �Cybergrass.com ($16.95)

3

Gipsy Kings

Savor Flamenco

Genre: World

The Grammy winning Gipsy Kings are the highest selling act ever from France. To their trademark upbeat rhythms and vocals, this new collection adds Spanish flamenco rhythms and instrumentation. ($16.95)


Although we specialize in new releases, Grass Roots can usually get you any album that's still available.

 

 

Ask at the the store!

 
Events

Saturday, Sept. 21,
3:30 to 7 p.m.

Downtown Corvallis

 

Rhapsody in the Vineyard

Stop by Grass Roots Books & Music to sample wines from Capitello Wines during the Downtown Corvallis Association�s Rhapsody in the Vineyard event. The event features several Oregon wineries, offering samples of their finest vintages at participating downtown retailers. Drop in and tell us about your favorite tastings of the evening, and sample a wonderful wine while browsing our shelves.

2

Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.

Corvallis-Benton County Public Library

645 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis

Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare's Star Wars

Co-Sponsored by Friends of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and Grass Roots Books & Music

Worlds collide in Ian Doescher�s William Shakespeare's Star Wars. The author joins us this afternoon to read from and discuss his Shakespearean rendition of Star Wars, followed by a book signing.

Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas's epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare's greatest plays. 'Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying. . . pretty much everything.

2

Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m.

Grass Roots Books & Music

227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis

Poetry Reading

John Sibley Williams, with Guest Reader
Sam Roderick Roxas-Chua

 

Grass Roots Books & Music will be hosting two renowned Northwest poets for a reading and book launch. Both writers and literary community leaders, John Sibley Williams (Portland) will be launching his latest collection, Controlled Hallucinations, alongside Fawn Language author Sam Roderick Roxas-Chua (Eugene).

2
 
Community Events

Community Events

Darkside Cinema: Movies showing Sept. 13 to 19, showtimes daily, Darkside Cinema, Corvallis. Visit their website for showtimes.

  • Austenland �PG-13: A romantic comedy about a 30-something woman whose lifelong obsession with all things Jane Austen lead her to an eccentric theme park based on the author's writings.
  • Ain�t Them Bodies Saints �R: This Sundance-sanctioned, love-on-the-run melodrama is indie filmmaking of a deliberately timeless sort.
  • 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: Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell. What else do you need?

Literary Events: Visit our Community Calendar for details on these events and others in the area.

Opportunities:

  • Call for Submissions: Ooligan Press seeks creative nonfiction and personal essays from LGBTQ writers of the Pacific Northwest for the anthology More than Marriage (working title), edited by Carter Sickels. Deadline: November 15, 2013. For more information, please visit the Ooligan Press 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 [email protected] 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.

 

 
News

 

Coming Soon: New album from Pink Martini

Get happy: Pink Martini has a new album releasing on Sept. 24! Their first studio album since 2009�s Splendor in the Grass, Get Happy welcomes a brilliant lineup of guest vocalists, including exotic cabaret sensation Meow Meow, sunny French eccentric Philippe Katerine, the handsome and brilliant radio superstar Ari Shapiro, warm-hearted wunder-siblings The von Trapps, and a riveting appearance by the exquisite Rufus Wainwright. Anchored by Pink Martini�s beloved vocalist China Forbes, alongside their co-lead-singer Storm Large on her recording debut with the group, the sixteen songs selected and arranged by Thomas Lauderdale include songs in German, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Farsi, Turkish, and Romanian. Can�t wait to listen? Grass Roots has an advance listening copy, so come by and hear what you think. Want to make sure you�ll get a copy of this CD, which is certain to be a bestseller? Call or stop by Grass Roots and reserve your copy today!

Book Awards

5 Under 35 Honorees: The National Book Foundation announced the authors being honored as this year�s 5 Under 35, selected by past National Book Award Winners and Finalists. Now in its eighth year, the program continues to introduce the next generation of writers to readers. This year�s honorees� books include a mix of short story collections and novels. The 2013 5 Under 35 are:

1

Welcome Erika!

There's another new face in the bookstore to introduce you to this week: Erika will be working in our stock room as the receiver, making sure all of our books arrive on our shelves in tip-top shape. To see Erika's book recommendations, visit her page on the Grass Roots website.

Erika loves the magic one can find in stories and places like Grass Roots. Engulfed in the writer�s words, she enjoys books that allow you to lose yourself and discover a new voice or way of thinking. A few of her favorite titles are The Little Prince and Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person. She enjoys anything by Roald Dahl and most all of Nick Hornby's work. She has a BFA in art & design and is in the process of writing and illustrating her own children's picture books. She loves running with her dogs and cooking new exciting vegan food.

 
This Week's Puzzle



Solve this week's jigsaw.
 
Reading Group Selection

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Jan-Philipp Sendker

Kendall leads her first Reading Group discussion with The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker. A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present, as a young woman from New York journeys to a small village in search of her missing father.

�Sendker's debut is a lush tale of romance and family set in mid-twentieth-century Burma. Four years after her father mysteriously disappeared, Julia Win traces him to the small town of Kalaw after finding a love letter among his possessions addressed to a woman named Mi Mi. In Kalaw, an old man named U Ba approaches her, promising to tell her the story of her father's life before he came to New York and met her mother. . . A beautiful tale bound to enchant readers on this side of the Atlantic.� �Booklist

2
1

Publisher: Other Press

ISBN: 9781590514634

Paperback

Regular price: $14.95

On sale for $12.70 until Oct. 1.

 

 

On Our Nightstands

Kendall

Rawr!

Todd H. Doodler

This is the perfect book for any new kindergartner or a child attending a new school. Reminding us that we all feel uncomfortable sometimes, this book follows an adorable dinosaur through his struggles (and triumphs) at school. Whether your kid is the one feeling left out, or just needs reminding that everyone could use a friend, they'll find what they need here. Plus some delightful drawings. And sometimes us grown-ups need reminding too, that no matter how out of place we might be, sometimes that's a good thing.

Hardcover, $12.99

Publisher: Scholastic Press; ISBN: 9780545511186

10 Susan

Living in Gratitude: Mastering the Art of Giving Thanks Every Day, a Month-by-month Guide

Angeles Arrien

Having read about and practiced gratitude for years, I doubted there was anything new to say about the topic, even by one of my favorite teachers. But cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien takes the practice of gratefulness to a whole new level. This month-by-month guide offers her trademark syntheses of cross-cultural wisdom along with practices and reflection questions tailored to the energies of each month and the seasons of life. I wasn�t sure about diving in this late in the year, but found I could easily start anywhere.

Paperback, $15.95

Publisher: Sounds True; ISBN: 9781604079845

9
8
 
Grass Roots Online — Contact Us