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Grass Roots Books and Music
— 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis OR 97339 — 541-754-7668 |
| May 29, 2014 |
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Hello, dear readers! This week we are highlighting our magnificent selection of new titles in both hard and paperback. Insects and western drama seem to be mini-themes this week with such titles as Laline Paull's The Bees, Menno Schilthuizen's Nature's Nether Regions, and Jeff Guinn's Glorious: A Novel of the American West. Great music from the iconic Neil Young (amongst others!) hits our new music releases section, and Grass Roots store events are heating up with oncoming summer.
You'll notice that we have a slightly shorter newsletter this week, but we will be back with community events, contests, store news, and night stands by June 12. We are each busily reading and compiling our summer reading lists in the meantime, and we are ever hopeful you are, too!
That's the word from Grass Roots. See you in the store!
~Jenny |
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| Newest Books |
The Keillor Reader
Garrison Keillor
"Melancholy and joy infuse Keillor's (O, What a Luxury: Verses Lyrical, Vulgar, Pathetic and Profound, 2013, etc.) latest collection. Heir to Mark Twain, James Thurber and E. B. White, Keillor offers more than laconic, sometimes-rueful, reports from the fictional Midwestern town of Lake Wobegon. Besides selected Prairie Home Companion monologues—written in an adrenaline rush on the morning of each show—this collection contains poetry, fiction and assorted essays, each introduced by autobiographical musings. . . " -Kirkus Reviews
Hardcover, $27.95
Publisher: Viking Books; ISBN: 9780670020584 |
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The Bees
Laline Paull
"In the tradition of Watership Down and Redwall, Laline Paull's debut novel, The Bees, is an enthralling story that explores the intricate and brutal social order of the beehive. Paull's hive is a place of mystery and complexities, where religion holds sway with an array of strictly codified laws that coalesce around worship of the Queen, who sustains the hive with her Love. Of the many laws dictating the lives of the bees, paramount is Only the Queen may breed—a law enforced with horrendous efficiency by the fertility police. So when Flora, a despised sanitation worker bee, discovers her ability to lay eggs, her life is immediately placed in jeopardy. . . " -Shelf Awareness
Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Ecco Press; ISBN: 9780062331151 |
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Nature's Nether Regions: What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us about Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ourselves
Menno Schilthuizen
"When writing about genitalia, it is difficult to find the correct balance between dry scientific description and pure titillation, but ecologist and evolutionary biologist Schilthuizen (The Loom of Life), in this remarkable book that explores the evolutionary origins of sex organs, succeeds in finding exactly the right tone. From a scientific perspective, there are obvious reasons for devoting considerable attention to this topic because 'of all the organs that an animal is provided with, the greatest differences between species are. . . in their genitals.' Understanding the evolutionary pressures that have driven this diversity will yield insight into the ways of nature broadly across the animal kingdom, including humans. . . " -Publishers Weekly
Hardcover, $28.95
Publisher: Viking Books; ISBN: 9780670785919 |
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Glorious: A Novel of the American West
Jeff Guinn
"Armed with a gun he doesn't know how to shoot, Cash McLendon is an unlikely candidate for surviving in the mining town of Glorious in the Arizona Territory in 1872. On the run from St. Louis and his wealthy father-in-law, who blames him for his daughter's death, Cash ends up in Glorious, where his jilted former love had moved. Gabrielle Tirritos rebuffs his renewed attentions because her heart has mended thanks to the local sheriff, but Cash sticks around anyway in hopes of winning her back. He soon finds himself changing from someone who only cares about self-preservation to a person who wants to help the townspeople save Glorious from rebellious Apaches and other evil forces. . . " -Library Journal
Hardcover, $26.95
Publisher: Putnam Adult; ISBN: 9780399165412 |
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Any Other Name (Walt Longmire Mysteries)
Craig Johnson
"A not-quite-cold case preoccupies Walt Longmire in bestseller Johnson's top-notch 11th mystery featuring the Wyoming sheriff (after 2013's novella Spirit of Steamboat). Walt reluctantly agrees to help his old boss and mentor, Lucian Connally, investigate the suicide of police detective Gerald Holman in neighboring Campbell County, even though Walt's official powers stop at the Absaroka County line. Holman apparently shot himself because he had seen too much darkness in his job, but the last cases on Holman's desk, involving three very different missing women, get Walt thinking. While it looks as if the women just up and left their lives, Walt's suspicion that the disappearances are connected proves correct. . . " -Publishers Weekly
Hardcover, $26.95
Publisher: Viking Books; ISBN: 9780670026463 |
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| New in Paperback |
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The Fall of Arthur
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fall of Arthur recounts in verse the last campaign of King Arthur, who, even as he stands at the threshold of Mirkwood, is summoned back to Britain by news of the treachery of Mordred. Already weakened in spirit by Guinevere's infidelity with the now-exiled Lancelot, Arthur must rouse his knights to battle one last time against Mordred's rebels and foreign mercenaries. Powerful, passionate, and filled with vivid imagery, this unfinished poem reveals Tolkien's gift for storytelling at its brilliant best.
Paperback, $15.95
Publisher: Mariner Books; ISBN: 9780544227835 |
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Someday, Someday, Maybe
Lauren Graham
"Franny Banks is an aspiring actress who has only six months left on a self-imposed deadline for success. And it seems she might make it. After her acting class's annual showcase, which does not go as planned, Franny is surprised to receive offers from two renowned agents, a guest spot on a TV show, and a national commercial. Then her agent stops calling, the rejections pile up, and she loses a coveted waitressing job. Facing a financial crisis, a love triangle, and a mountain of self-doubt, Franny must figure out whether she really can make it in a field where only five percent of aspirants succeed, without losing herself in the process. . . " -Library Journal
Paperback, $15.00
Publisher: Ballantine Books; ISBN: 9780345532763 |
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Blood and Beauty: The Borgias
Sarah Dunant
“The time is the late 15th century, [and] Italy is a chaotic tangle of loosely joined city-states, caught between the rule of the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. . . What some would consider criminal behavior, the Borgias consider massaging the situation to their advantage. From church law to social law, no rule is so unbreakable as to stop the family in its quest for power. [This novel follows] ruthless Rodrigo Borgia – also known as Pope Alexander VI – and his children's activities, from eldest son Cesare's ice-cold political machinations to daughter Lucrezia's three marriages of convenience, in the name of familial strategy.” –Library Journal
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Random House; ISBN: 9780812981612 |
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And Sons
David Gilbert
"Acutely aware that his time is short after the death of his lifelong friend, Charles Topping, Andrew Dyer, a revered, famously reclusive New York writer, is anxious for his youngest son, 17-year-old Andy, whose birth destroyed Andrew's marriage, to connect with his two half brothers. . . the edgy Dyer men are prevaricators and schemers whose hectic. . . misadventures involve a fake manuscript, a Hollywood superstar, and a shattering video meant to be a private homage but which, instead, goes viral. . . A marvel of uproarious and devastating missteps and reversals charged with lightning dialogue, Gilbert's delectably mordant and incisive tragicomedy. . . maps the interface between truth and fiction, life and art." -Booklist, Starred Review
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Random House; ISBN: 9780812984354 |
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The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Daniel James Brown
"The triumphant moment at the 1936 Berlin Olympics when the eight rowers and one coxswain in the Husky Clipper won gold for the U.S. in the eight-oared crew race has gone down in Olympic record books. To some—including Adolf Hitler, who watched that race—the University of Washington crew had scored an upset. To Al Ulbrickson, the Washington rowing coach nicknamed 'The Dour Dane,' the victory was not entirely a surprise. In April 1933, with a new crop of crew candidates (who had never rowed a boat), Ulbrickson found the qualities needed: raw power, stamina, willpower, the intelligence to master rowing technique and the ability to drop all traces of ego once seated in the boat. . . " -Shelf Awareness
Paperback, $17.00
Publisher: Penguin Books; ISBN: 9780143125471 |
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| Featured Books for Young Readers |
The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Peter Sis
Ages 5 to Adult
"What was essential about one golden-haired boy in love with flying becomes visible in Sis' richly visual biographical portrait of French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Sis covers the basics: Saint-Exupery briefly studied architecture, then was a pioneer air mail pilot and began to publish his stories. Assigned to the mail station at Cape Juby in the Spanish Sahara, 'he loved the solitude and being under millions of stars.' He spent two of the war years exiled in New York and finally returned to fly for France. Sis' work invites readers to take time, to attend to the narrative in both the straightforward text and the nuanced, complex pictures. . . " -Kirkus Reviews
Hardcover, $18.99
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux; ISBN: 9780374380694 |
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Soccer on Sunday (Magic Tree House #52)
Mary Pope Osborne
Ages 7 to 10
Just in time for the 2014 Fifa World Cup, Magic Tree House #52: Soccer on Sunday will take Jack and Annie to a soccer field in Mexico where they must find the final secret of greatness for Merlin. On the field, they'll meet a young soccer player who dreams of one day playing in the World Cup just like his hero, the great Brazilian soccer player, Pele! The Magic Tree House books, with their fiction and nonfiction titles, are perfect for parents and teachers just starting to get into the "Core Curriculum."
Hardcover, $12.99
Publisher: Random House Books; ISBN: 9780307980533 |
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| Music |
Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires
Dereconstructed
Genre: Pop/Folk
Bandleader Bains rose to prominence as a member of the seminal Alt.country band the Dexateens. This is his second record with his new ensemble, extending the soulful Alt.country of his debut in a harder, bluesier direction.
($13.95) |
John Fullbright
Songs
Genre: Pop/Folk
The Oklahoma artist's debut was nominated for both a Grammy and an Americana Music Association nod. His sophomore release continues in the same stellar storytelling vein, dialing back the arrangements a bit, sometimes to just piano or guitar and voice.
($12.95) |
Zoe Muth
World of Strangers
Genre: Pop/Folk
From Seattle, Muth has released a handful of albums with her Lost High Rollers band. Recently relocated to Austin (sans band), Muth's first solo CD finds her Americana venturing in some new stylistic directions.
($16.95) |
Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison
Our Year
Genre: Pop/Folk
While husband and wife Willis and Robison have pursued successful solo careers for years, this marks the duo's second collaboration. The first earned Willis and Robison a nomination for Americana album of the year.
($12.95) |
Neil Young
Letter Home
Genre: Pop/Folk
Young surprised the music world by recently announcing this bare bones release. Recorded live to tape in a retro recording booth operated by Jack White, Letter Home revisits some of Young's favorite cover tunes, featuring little more than Young and his guitar.
($18.95) |
Although we specialize in
new releases, Grass Roots can usually get you any album that's still available.
Ask at the the store! |
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| Events |
Wednesday, June 4, 7 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR |
Dr. Cristina Eisenberg
The Carnivore Way: Conserving and Coexisting with America’s Carnivores
Our tangled history with large carnivores has ranged from a close spiritual bond during pre-European settlement of North America to reviling these species as a threat to our livelihood. Today we are in the process of rewilding America by enabling the return of grizzly bears, wolverines, wolves, lynx, cougars, and jaguars to landscapes from which they had long been missing.
In The Carnivore Way: Conserving and Coexisting with America’s Carnivores, Dr. Cristina Eisenberg explores these species’ fascinating natural history, ecology, and conservation status. Each of the species profiled in The Carnivore Way tells the evocative story of our struggles to rewild ecosystems and live more ethically on this earth.
Cristina Eisenberg conducts trophic cascades research focusing on wolves in Rocky Mountain ecosystems. She teaches ecological restoration and public policy in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University and is a Smithsonian Research Associate. Her first book, The Wolf’s Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades and Biodiversity, was published in 2010 by Island Press.
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Saturday, June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR |
Judith Bender
Back to Health: the Twenty Minute Workout
"The key to developing a better quality of life can be found in this simple exercise program, which only takes twenty minutes per day. Timely and practical, Back to Health, the Twenty-Minute Workout contains an illustrated, step by step exercise program to treat and prevent back and neck pain and provides information on anatomy and body mechanics to help you understand why these exercises are important. Written by a physical therapist with years of experience treating patients with orthopedic problems, this book is full of medical knowledge, presented in a practical and easy to use manner, and will benefit anyone who has experienced back or neck pain or wants to avoid these problems." -Booklist |
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Tuesday, June 17, 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR |
Kelly Kittel
Breathe: A Memoir of Motherhood, Grief, and Family Conflict
A mother’s heartbreaking account of losing two sons in the span of nine months—and of learning how to embrace love, honesty, and joy even in the face of tragedy.
This is the story of a girl who dreamed of having a large, loving family, and it’s the story of the struggles she survived as a woman to realize that dream. It’s also the universal tale of the forces that can tear a family apart.
Kelly Kittel tells the story of her sons, not always pleasant but not without moments of joy. This book is proof that truth is stranger than fiction.
Kelly Kittel is a fish biologist by profession; this is her first book. She is married with five living children. She lives with her husband and their two youngest children in Rhode Island but her favorite writing space is in their yurts on the coast of Oregon. She has been published in magazines and anthologies and has written many notes to teachers, but this is her first book. |
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Tuesday, June 24, 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR |
Jana Zvibleman, Rick Borsten, Ann Staley
The Knotted Bond: Oregon Poets Speak of Their Sisters
Sisters are sometimes born into the same family; they can be also be chosen over time and space. In this anthology, sisters of all types share or withhold nurturing and secrets; they celebrate and miss each other; they witness each other’s moods, successes, and deaths. Most of the poets in this anthology are, naturally, women, yet Kim Stafford and other brothers reveal relationships with their sisters. The laughing toddlers, knobby kneed girls, defiant teens, regretful adults, and proud elders in this book can touch us all.
Corvallis poets represented are Rick Borsten, Ann Staley, and Jana Zvibleman; others include outgoing Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen, Dorianne Laux, Penelope Scambly Schott, and Ingrid Wendt.
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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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We will be back with our Community Events Section in the June 12 newsletter! Please stay tuned!
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| News |
News will be back with a passion for our June 12 newsletter, but for this week Grass Roots wanted to give a quick shout-out to Corvallis's Toy Factory and their impressive Lego window displays. If you walk by you will notice that three out of five of their windows are full of Lego Creation entries made by community members for the store's Lego Contest, open to anyone ages 3-99! The contest closes May 31, so you still have a couple days to get your entry in. The different categories will be judged on June 1. Call the Toy Factory at 541-758-5415 for more information.
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| This Week's Puzzle |
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| Reading Group Selection |
Tuesday, June 3, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards
Kristopher Jansma
Kendall will be leading our June reading group discussion with The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma.
"This canny, seductive, and utterly transfixing tale about the magic of storytelling and the misery of writing is told by an itinerant, chameleonic writer who calls himself Nobody. The fatherless son of a flight attendant, he relies on and cares for his rich, gay, and unstable best friend, who turns out to be a truly gifted novelist, and falls hopelessly in love with an actress so beautiful that princes propose marriage. Like a magician pulling a seemingly endless string of colorful scarves from a hat, Jansma streams stories-within-stories-within-stories, each a diabolically clever homage. As Nobody juggles false identities and survives near-catastrophes in New York, Las Vegas, Iceland, Luxembourg, Dubai, Ghana, and Sri Lanka, readers will detect riffs on Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Truman Capote, Bob Dylan, Tolstoy, Salinger, Borges, Kipling, and many more. . . " -Booklist, Starred Review
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Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780143125020
Paperback
Regular price: $16.00
On sale for $13.60 until June 3.
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On Our Nightstands |
 Grass Roots Staff
We will be taking a short break from reporting our Night Stand favorites in light of the recent Memorial Day holiday, coupled with the beginning of summer. We are all busily reading, however, and will be back with our reviews for the June 12 newsletter! Happy summer reading, everyone!
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| Be back soon! |
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| Grass Roots Online — Contact Us |
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