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Grass Roots Books and Music
— 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis OR 97339 — 541-754-7668 |
| October 31, 2013 |
| Contents |
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| Newest Books |
Forty Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World
Howard G. Buffet
“A son of legendary investor Warren Buffett (who provides the foreword), Howard G. Buffett considers himself a farmer first and foremost. He explains that all farmers get 40 growing seasons in their lifetime, giving them just 40 chances to improve. In 40 chapters constructed as elegant essays Buffett describes his quest to make a difference in the world, which began well before his father established philanthropic foundations for his three children. The younger Buffett has focused his foundation on wildlife conservation and world hunger. Here, he recounts his personal and professional experiences in surprisingly candid and colorful fashion.” – Publishers Weekly
Hardcover, $26.00
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781451687866 |
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Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair
Anne Lamott
“Lamott's (Help, Thanks, Wow) latest inspirational title explores how we can find significance in the face of pain. . . Readers are guided by an older, wiser Lamott than we met 20 years ago, when Operating Instructions was published. This narrator is not afraid to say that she has learned a few things, and that there are not 'shortcuts to wisdom and self-knowledge. I so resent this.' This is also vintage Lamott: funny, brilliantly self-deprecating, and insightful. Characteristically, she ruminates about needing help to get through life, and about finding your family in a group of people who love you and who are not necessarily your blood kin.” –Publishers Weekly
Hardcover, $17.95
Publisher: Riverhead Books; ISBN: 9781594632587 |
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The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects
Richard Kurin
“Kurin. . . (Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem) presents a chronological selection of Smithsonian holdings that represent the nation's memory, organizing materials according to the themes of U.S. history, from ‘Before Columbus’ to ‘New Millennium. . . ’ Such a small percentage of the Smithsonian's holdings can ever be on exhibit. . . Here are all four of Katharine Hepburn's Oscars, Helen Keller's tactile watch, one of only three surviving Mormon moonstones from the Nauvoo Temple, Neil Armstrong's space suit—and the entire Carnegie mansion . . . much like Harold Holzer's The Civil War in 50 Objects and Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in 100 Objects.” — Library Journal
Hardcover, $50.00
Publisher: Penguin Press; ISBN: 9781594205293 |
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S.
Doug Dorst; Created by J.J. Abrams
Conceived by J.J. Abrams of Lost, Alias, and Star Trek fame, and written by Dorst – the author of Alive in Necropolis and The Surf Guru, S. is a mind-bender. College senior Jennifer finds a book someone left behind, written by prolific but never-before-seen author V.M. Straka. The story-within-a-story is ‘Ship of Theseus,’ about a man shanghaied onto a ship with a monstrous crew travelling perilously. The book’s pages are filled with the margin notes of a stranger. When Jennifer leaves her own mark for the mysterious grad student to read, a struggle with deadly forces begins.
Hardcover, $35.00
Publisher: Mulholland Books; ISBN: 9780316201643 |
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This Day: Sabbath Poems New and Collected 1979-2012
Wendell Berry
Arguably the heart of Berry’s life’s work, The Sabbath Poems create Berry’s solitary Sunday walks on his Kentucky farm for the past thirty-five years. The riverfront, meadows, grass fields and woodlots live inside the compilation, as do memories, beloved family, and animals: Berry’s constant companions. Spirituality makes its appearance, along with the political extremism within the rants of the Mad Farmer, and poems of harmonic domesticity. Berry notes in his preface that poetry is often composed with a live audience in mind, to make a statement at a public reading; but that these pieces were created in quiet solitude with nothing to corrupt the artistic flow.
Hardcover, $30.00
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC; ISBN: 9781619021983 |
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| New in Paperback |
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Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
Allie Brosh
If you’ve never stumbled upon the internet wonder Hyperbole and a Half, the brilliantly hilarious brainchild of Allie Brosh, you clearly don’t spend enough time paying attention to what your friends adore re-blogging. Maybe you prefer interacting with them face-to-face. If so, you are sadly missing out: Brosh’s graphic creation is so funny and immediate that it makes you cry – sometimes tears of poignancy and mirth simultaneously when she reaches a little too close to reality. Safe to say, Brosh’s comics are the cutest and wackiest you’ll have seen since Calvin and Hobbes.
Paperback, $17.99
Publisher: Touchstone Books; ISBN: 9781451666175 |
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Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories
Sherman Alexie
“A poet and fiction writer for adults of all ages, National Book Award winner Alexie is a virtuoso of the short story. His first two blazing collections, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993) and The Toughest Indian in the World (2000), established him as an essential American voice. Now, many books later, best-selling Alexie has created a substantial, big-hearted, and potent collection that combines an equal number of new and selected stories to profound effect. . . Alexie writes with arresting perception in praise of marriage, in mockery of hypocrisy, and with concern for endangered truths and imperiled nature. He is. . . wholly magnetizing. This is a must-have collection.” –Booklist (Starred Review)
Paperback, $17.00
Publisher: Grove Press; ISBN: 9780802121752 |
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A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five
George R. R. Martin
Martin's epic series chronicling Westeros continues—after six long years—in this, the fifth book. The story refocuses on three major characters: Daenerys Targaryen, ruling with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death; Tyrion Lannister, fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head; and Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, guarding the mammoth Wall of ice and stone with an uneasy feeling. In the rising restlessness of this world, the powers of good and evil—and everything in between—will ride the tides of destiny and politics, inevitably, to the greatest dance of all. Also available as Mass Market for $9.99.
Paperback, $18.00
Publisher: Bantam; ISBN: 9780553385953 |
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Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
Philip Pullman
On the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Grimms' fairy tales (Kinder- und Hausmarchen), celebrated British author Pullman retells 50 of what he calls the cream of the brothers' 210 tales. Many of his selections are familiar ("Snow White", "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", etc.), while others. . . are less so. However, what all have in common, in Pullman's retellings, are a salutary clarity and directness. . . . His book is not only stylish in its simplicity but also scholarly. . . He concludes each tale with his own always interesting commentary and provides, as well, the tale's type (based on The Types of International Folktales, by Antti Aarne), its source, and a short list of similar stories. –Booklist (Starred Review)
Paperback, $18.00
Publisher: Penguin Books; ISBN: 9780143107293 |
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The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?
Jared Diamond
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel) explores traditional societies to consider how modern life is linked to millions of years of human existence. With decades of field work in the Pacific islands and New Guinea —in addition to evidence from Inuit, Amazonian Indians, Kalahari San people, and others—he considers what the differences between the past and the present mean for our lives today. “A symphonic yet unromantic portrait of traditional societies and the often stirring lessons they offer.” –Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Paperback, $18.00
Publisher: Penguin Books; ISBN: 9780143124405 |
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The Last Runaway
Tracy Chevalier
Honor Bright is a modest English Quaker in 1850 when her fiancé breaks their engagement to marry outside the faith, and she decides to travel to the United States with her sister Grace, who is engaged to marry a man in Ohio. Unfortunately Grace dies en route, and Honor is forced to depend on the kindness of strangers. In her new home, she finds that principles count very little, even within a religious community meant to be committed to human equality. Her own principles draw her into helping on the Underground Railroad, eventually challenging her to act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs.
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Plume Books; ISBN: 9780142180365 |
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| Featured Books for Young Readers |
The Quiet Book
Deborah Underwood
Ages 1-3
How many kinds of quiet? First one awake quiet. Lollipop quiet. First look at your new hairstyle quiet. Thinking of a good reason you were drawing on the wall quiet. . . What do you do when a nurse comes in, holding a needle to give you a shot? Pretending-you’re-invisible quiet. That looks like a bear holding its paw over her eyes. What does hide-and-seek quiet look like? A moose’s antlers peeking over the back of a swivel chair. Soon it might be first snowfall quiet, if we’re lucky. Time for bedtime kiss quiet.
Hardcover, $12.95
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; ISBN: 9780547215679 |
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The Hogwarts Library (Harry Potter)
J.K. Rowling
All Ages
It’s not hard to remember the excitement you felt every time a new Harry Potter book arrived in stores, or the glee you felt when Rowling wrote Hogwarts-related books like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Now you can find them all together with Quidditch Through the Ages in an official Hogwarts student case, just as if you were on your way to Care of Magical Beasts with Hagrid. Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy-warty Hogwarts, teach us something please!
Hardcover, $29.99
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.; ISBN: 9780545615402 |
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| Music |
Arcade Fire
Reflektor
Genre: Pop/Folk
One of this fall's "buzz" releases, the band pairs contemporary indie music with exotic Haitian influences. As heard on NPR, the roots of the album were planted when the band visited Haiti following the recent disaster. ($13.95) |
Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling
Genre: Pop/Folk
Stirling is a popular violinist, dancer and composer whose music brings together elements of hip-hop, classical, jazz and rock. Stirling rose from obscurity via homemade internet videos. (You can view one here!) ($11.95) |
Dave Van Ronk
Down in Washington Square: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection
Genre: Pop/Folk
Filmmakers the Coen Brothers admit that their forthcoming Inside Llewyn Davis movie is largely inspired by this Greenwich Village folk icon. This triple CD collection ranges Van Ronk's career, from his earliest 1950s recordings to the last recordings before his passing earlier this decade. ($29.95) |
Los Lobos
Disconnected in New York City
Genre: Pop/Folk
The seminal Latin rock band's fourth live record was recorded during an acoustic concert in New York. While there are several popular hits, the album also features debut live takes on a handful of lesser known, "deeper" cuts. ($15.95) |
Capercaillie
At the Heart of It All
Genre: Celtic
One of the foremost Celtic bands celebrates their 30th anniversary with this brand new collection. Their first recordings in five years feature elements of traditional Scottish music, as well as contemporary pop and orchestral rock. ($17.95) |
Various Artists
Am the Center: Private Issue New Age Music
Genre: Pop/Folk
This double disc sampler surveys new age music throughout the years. Artists on this 40-year collection include Constance Demby, Aeoliah, Laraaji and more. ($18.95) |
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| Events |
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Author Event
Morris Walker
The Lives of Carl Atman
Morris Walker joins us at Grass Roots to discuss The Lives of Carl Atman, his inspiring book about the lasting and animating force of love that transcends the boundaries of time. An author with a long history of writing short stories, essays, articles, songs, poems, countless scripts and comedy routines, Walker has always been keenly sensitive to the cycles of life, whether in the mineral, plant, or animal kingdom. With a song in his heart practically from birth, many of his lyrics have reflected an unconscious knowing about cycles of birth and death. Walker’s belief in soul mates becomes obvious in one of the book’s themes—why we’re here and the meaning and purpose of life.
Walker writes: “We continue to make the same mistakes until we get the life lesson right in this lifetime or the next. In the end, my life won’t have been about how much money I made or how famous I became as a result of writing books and music or entertaining. Rather, I hope it will be about the love and compassion I gave to my family and to others.” Through numerous lifetimes, Walker artfully crafts an interesting story that allows Carl Atman to learn this lesson, too.
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Thursday, Nov 14 at 7 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis |
Poetry Reading
Nazifa Islam
Searching for a Pulse
Grass Roots Books & Music will be hosting Nazifa Islam for a reading from her debut poetry collection, Searching for a Pulse, focused on the story of Rosemary, who wants to love and to be loved but finds it tragically impossible. Nazifa Islam grew up in Novi, Michigan, earned her B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, and is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Oregon State University.
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| Community Events |
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Community Events
Darkside Cinema: Movies showing Nov. 1 to 7, showtimes daily, Darkside Cinema, Corvallis. Visit their website for showtimes.
- THE SUMMIT –R: The story of the deadliest day on the world's most dangerous mountain, when 11 climbers mysteriously perished on K2.
- WADJDA—PG (Subtitled Arabic): An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes!
- INEQUALITY FOR ALL –PG: A documentary that follows former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he looks to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap.
- Plays this week with the short THE VIGIL, by Molly Woodstock Gard, about the peace vigil activists in front of the Benton County Courthouse.
Literary Events: Visit our Community Calendar for details on these events and others in the area.
Opportunities:
- Writers on the River: Monday, Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, Corvallis
Kate Ristau will offer the presentation “Putting Away the Red Pen: Editing With Purpose”. Bring a current draft of your writing, or use a sample draft for an interactive editing workshop. Dialogue, exposition and description will be looked at specifically to help you know when to edit, and when to leave it be!
- Call for Submissions:
The Bard Deluxe Awards presented by The Bear Deluxe Magazine
Attn: Emerging Oregon poets focused on a “sense of place”
Deadline: Jan. 13 (email or postmark)
Not a famous poet yet? You can be declared a Bard Deluxe by submitting up to 3 unpublished, place-based poems to The Bear Deluxe Magazine (bear@orlo.org or 810 SE Belmont Studio 5, Portland OR 97214). To enter this free contest, judged by Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen, you must be a current or former Oregonian. Winners will receive publication, reach our 44,000 readers and be invited to perform their work. Visit www.orlo.org for complete submission guidelines and further details.
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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Friday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
The Valley Library at OSU
Corvallis |
The Literary Northwest Series Presents
Charles Goodrich and Mary Szybist
The Literary Northwest Series will host authors Charles Goodrich and Mary Szybist at OSU. Grass Roots Books & Music will sell their books at this event.
Charles Goodrich is the author of three volumes of poems, Going to Seed: Dispatches from the Garden, Insects of South Corvallis, and, just out from Silverfish Review Press, A Scripture of Crows, and a collection of essays about nature, parenting, and building their house, The Practice of Home. He now serves as Director for the Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature, and the Written Word at Oregon State, a program that hosts writers' residencies, literary readings, and symposia at the intersection of literature, environmental science, and ethics.
Mary Szybist is Assistant Professor of English at Lewis & Clark College, and received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She is the author of Granted (2003), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Incarnadine, a finalist for the National Book Award, published by Graywolf Press in 2013. The latter collection was just shortlisted for the 2013 National Book Award in Poetry. She was one of two recipients of the 2009 Witter Bynner Award, selected by Poet Laureate Kay Ryan for the Library of Congress.
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| News |
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Write Your Novel!
November is almost here; are you ready to write a novel? Every November, thousands of aspiring novelists across the country jump in with ten typing fingers and participate in National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo challenges writers to write a 50,000 word novel in November—that's just 30 days. Think you're up to it? Visit the NaNoWriMo website for more information, and check out the regional forum for Corvallis/Albany meetups! If you need some inspiration, stop by Grass Roots for a helpful guide, or scour our shelves to find your own inspiration. No Plot? No Problem! is the official guide, and Ready, Set, Novel!: A Writer's Workbook provides even more direction.
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World Book Night 2014
World Book Night Registration: World Book Night (WBN) spreads the love of reading, person to person. Each year 30 titles are chosen, the authors waive their royalties, and the publishers produce special WBN editions of the books to be donated. This means you get 20 FREE paperback copies of your chosen WBN title to handout to light- or non-readers in your community on April 23, 2014. Applications to become a WBN Book Giver open today, October 24, and can be filled out online at the WBN website. Deadline to apply is December 31st, 2013. |
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| This Week's Puzzle |
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| Reading Group Selection |
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The Orchardist
Amanda Coplin
Tiffany leads the exploration of this month’s book, The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin.
A reclusive farmer’s lonely harmony in the rural Pacific Northwest is disrupted when two pregnant teenage girls steal his fruit at the market. When he doesn’t give chase, they appear at his farm seeking sanctuary from the armed men who hunt them. The man is forced to spontaneously open his heart and jeopardize his own sheltered safety in this debut novel about turn-of-the-century America.
"Beautifully written, so alive to the magnificence of the land and the intricate mysteries of human nature, that it inspires awe rather than depression." —Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
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Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN: 9780062188519
Paperback
Regular price: $15.99
On sale for $13.60 until Nov. 5.
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On Our Nightstands |
 Jill
Sweet Thunder
Ivan Doig
In his newest historic novel, Ivan Doig offers up a high-stakes story set in 1921 in Butte, Montana, where the Anaconda Copper Mining Company—source of livelihood and despair—looms over the struggling mining community. The novel’s narrator is witty Morrie Morgan, a likeable magnet for mishap, who’s called upon to write for Butte’s brand new union newspaper aptly named the Thunder. Celebrating the power of the written word, this is a novel about labor wars and politics, dueling newspapers and big personalities, all tied together by Ivan Doig’s generous embrace of place and history, and—of course—his characteristically superb writing.
Hardcover, $27.95
Publisher: Riverhead Books; ISBN: 9781594487347 |
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Neé
The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear
Matt Kaplan
I’ve always been fascinated by spooky things that go bump in the night. So it’s only natural that a book subtitled “Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear” would be right up my alley! The author demystifies some of my favorite monsters (dragons, chimeras, giant squid, oh my) by uncovering their births across cultures, exploring their roots in our psyche, and using science to investigate their more plausible explanations. For me, the best part was the author’s inclusion of modern day attempts to bring these beasts to life – including a real world Jurassic Park experiment at the Natural History Museum in London!
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Scribner Book Company; ISBN: 9781451667998 |
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Linda
Bound in Venice: The Serene Republic and the Dawn of the Book
Alessandro Marzo Magno
This book, with its cover showing old leather-bound books, stood out on the bookshelf, so I picked it up right away. I knew it must have a wealth of information and history. Following the Gutenberg Bible (Germany, 1400s) Venice became the world's haven for book printing, publication, distribution, and sales in the sixteenth century. Book stores were in high density in Venice then, led by Aldus Manutius as the premier publisher, introducing printed books to the people of the Renaissance world. This blossoming of the printed word is fascinating to read about, and pertinent, as we contemplate changes in today's world.
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Europa Editions; ISBN: 9781609451394 |
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