Grass Roots Reader 
June 26, 2014 
Dear Readers,

It's that time of year again when everyone in downtown Corvallis starts asking one very important question: Where's Waldo?

If you are unfamiliar with the Where's Waldo local business phenomenon, please refer to the Store News section of this newsletter to read up on the fun details. If you know what I'm talkin' about, and you want to join in, you'll probably want to check this information out, also. Waldo is an exciting time for Grass Roots because it kicks off in-tandem with another of our favorite movements: Independents Week!

Each year the American Independent Business Alliance holds a national campaign to "engage local independent businesses and citizens in celebrating entrepreneurial spirit and the freedom our local businesses embody". Get in the spirit and learn about Corvallis' own independent business alliance (CIBA), and all of the great work they do to help local business succeed in our community.

Come down to Grass Roots to celebrate Independents Week with us from July 1-7. On display we'll have a selection of books from independent publishers and authors, and also, your friendly neighborhood booksellers at Grass Roots are revealing what it means to them to be independent. With insights into the magic and benefits of independent publishing, writing, and bookselling - these words are not to be missed!
 
~Jenny
New Hardcovers

 Your Fathers, Where Are They? and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?  

Dave Eggers 

"Thomas is mad as hell. Life isn't going according to his grand plan, his government has made some bad decisions, and the folks he needs to talk with won't respond. Thomas has never hurt anyone. . . but he's so angry and his head hurts, and he just wants someone to share his umbrage. Using a trick he picked up from a TV cop show, Thomas begins his search for the truth by chloroforming and kidnapping Kevin, a NASA astronaut and former instructor. His destination is Fort Ord, an abandoned army base in California. . . Interviewing his captives about war, police brutality, and pedophilia, Thomas reveals the layers of his troubled soul. . . " -Library Journal


Hardcover; $25.95

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN: 9781101874196

 

Mambo in Chinatown  

Jean Kwok

"Clumsy 22-year-old Charlie Wong had hoped to become a noodle maker, like her famous father, but instead toils away night and day as a dishwasher in New York City's Chinatown. Her mother, once a star dancer for the Beijing Ballet, passed away when Charlie was 14, and she has spent the years since looking after her younger sister, Lisa. . . Lisa encourages Charlie to accept a receptionist's position at a ballroom dance studio in Midtown Manhattan, and, for the first time, Charlie begins to realize that she may have inherited her mother's talent. Soon she is entirely transformed, teaching beginning students and competing in a dance competition. . . Drawing on her newfound confidence, Charlie attempts to navigate the great divide between Eastern and Western cultures." -Booklist
 

Hardcover; $27.95

Publisher: Riverhead Books; ISBN: 9781594632006

 

 The Arsonist 

Sue Miller
". . . Frankie Rowley, after years spent doing relief work abroad, has returned to her parents' summer home, unsure of whether she will ever go back to East Africa, feeling depleted by that region's seemingly endless suffering. But the reassuring comfort of the small town she has been coming to since she was a girl is shattered by a series of fires set by an arsonist who has targeted the rambling summer homes of the wealthy. Frankie falls into an unexpected and passionate love affair with the local newspaper editor while also becoming privy to her parents' difficulties. . . The town, awash in fear of the unknown arsonist, splits into factions. . . [and] Miller delicately parses the value of commitment and community. . . " -Booklist

Hardcover; $25.95

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780307594792

 

Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality 

Danielle Allen
"A slow and careful reading of America's founding document.The Declaration of Independence, itself the product of many hands, addressed everybody: 'a candid world' the signers presumed capable of judging the facts and approving the reasons that impelled the colonies to take the fateful step of separating from Britain. Allen. . . insists we take the signatories at their word and that we need not be steeped in history to comprehend a text that works simultaneously as an eloquent statement of philosophical principle and as a utilitarian memorandum. . . As if conducting a friendly conversation, sentence by sentence, she takes readers through all the text's words, and she proves a patient, informed and friendly guide. . . " -Kirkus Reviews
 

Hardcover; $27.95

Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation; ISBN: 9780871406903

 

 The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains: A Tale of Travel and Darkness with Pictures of All Kinds

Neil Gaiman and Eddie Campbell

In Neil Gaiman's most recent endeavor he teams up with artist Eddie Campbell for one of the most exciting published collaboration projects of the year. At the plot level, Gaiman tells the story of a family haunted by the past and an epic search for treasure. The book's images mix graphic novel/comics technique with disarmingly gorgeous paintings, all of which evokes a sense of real artwork. Gaiman and Campbell make a team you don't want to miss out on.

Hardcover; $21.99

Publisher: William Morrow & Company; ISBN: 9780062282149

New Paperbacks

One Summer: America, 1927  

Bill Bryson  

"On May 21, 1927, when Charles Lindbergh set off to be the first man to cross the Atlantic alone in an airplane, he profoundly changed the culture and commerce of America and its image abroad. Add to that Babe Ruth's efforts to break the home-run record he set, Henry Ford's retooling of the Model T into the Model A, the execution of accused anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, and Al Jolson appearing in the first talkie, and 1927 became the pivot point when the U.S. began to dominate the world in virtually everythingmilitary, culture, commerce, and technology. Bryson's inimitable wit and exuberance are on full display in this wide-ranging look at the major events in an exciting summer in America. . . " -Booklist, Starred Review



Paperback; $16.95

Publisher: Anchor Books; ISBN: 9780767919418

    

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet  

Bernie Su and Kate Rorick
Twenty four year old grad student Lizzie Bennet is saddled with student loan debt and still living at home along with her two sisters--beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia. When she records her reflections on life for her thesis project and posts them on YouTube, she has no idea "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" will soon take on a life of their own, turning the Bennet sisters into internet celebrities seemingly overnight.

When rich and handsome Bing Lee comes to town, along with his stuck up friend William Darcy, things "really" start to get interesting for the Bennets--and for Lizzie's viewers. But not everything happens on screen. Lucky for us, Lizzie has a secret diary.


Paperback; $15.00

Publisher: Touchstone Books; ISBN: 9781476763163

 

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon ( No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency #14 )   

Alexander McCall Smith
"[A] hopeful attitude is exemplified by Mma Ramotswe, the owner and operator of Botswana's only detective agency, who resolutely tackles the problems people bring to her in her small, out-of-the-way office under an acacia tree. . . This time, the owner of the nearest town's new beauty salon receives a tiny thing, a feather from a ground hornbill bird. But this artifact is a traditional way of conveying hate. This is followed by a highly effective smear campaign. The other case Mma Ramotswe works on here concerns an heir to a great cattle farm who may actually be an imposter. Mma Ramotswe must track the truth alone because her assistant Mma Makutsi is absent (no plot spoiler here). . . " -Booklist, Starred Review

 

Paperback; $14.95

Publisher: Anchor Books; ISBN:9780307473004

 

Birding with Yeats

Lynn Thomson
"In this quiet contemplation of parenting and marriage, Thomson looks back to the surprising years after her youngest child, Yeats, entered high school. No longer a stay-at-home mom, she, with her husband, embarked on the new venture of bookstore ownership as Yeats, always a willful boy, struggled in the classroom. Mother and son formed a new bond through bird-watching, and Thomson recounts their trips and the birds they spotted in adventures far more casual than those of a big year variety. Woven into her reminiscences of Yeats are thoughtful considerations of returning to work, a frank assessment of her long-term marriage, and an honest appraisal of her concerted effort to grapple with all of life's changes. . . " -Booklist

 

Paperback; $15.95

Publisher: House of Anansi Press; ISBN:9781770893894

 

Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature  

Tina Welling
In Writing Wild, Tina Welling shows how the natural world around her has inspired and enlivened her writing and how it can do the same for anyone else through a three-step process - naming, detailing and interacting- which she calls the spirit walk.

". . . Welling discovered the last step while hiking and observing an intricate spiderweb shimmering in sunlight. Spiderwebs, she notes, are both 'wondrous and ordinary' -- ordinary in that they are made of chewed-up insects, yet wondrous in their intricacy. Welling shows writers how to make this kind of connection between the everyday and the hidden, worthy-of-attention beauty all around us. . . " -Shelf Awareness 

Paperback; $14.95

Publisher: New World Library; ISBN: 9781608682867

 

New for Young Readers

Rules of Summer

Shaun Tan   

Ages 6 to 10  

"One summer, two brothers live by mysteriously dire rules laid down by the older of the pair. The little one lists what he learned: . . . 'Never eat the last olive at a party'; 'Never ruin a perfect plan'--and so on. What if you break a rule? You risk facing monstrous red rabbits, crow armies, teetering robots, lumbering metal dinosaurs, large lizards, overgrown fungus and more. You'll miss a chance to ride on that whizzing red rocket, to catch a shooting star, to visit that glowing, golden kingdom. . . Vivid acrylics and oil paints depict a pretend world so surreal, so specific (and sometimes so downright disturbing) readers will spend hours poring over its subtleties and subtexts. . . " -Kirkus Reviews

Hardcover; $18.99

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; ISBN: 9780545639125

    


Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library  

Chris Grabenstein    

Ages 8 to 12 

"Melvil Dewey is alive and well and residing within Mr. Lemoncello's new library. Billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello wants to pay homage to his childhood library by constructing a technological marvel in his hometown that went without a library for 12 years. He invites a dozen 12-year-olds to a lock-in at the new building, and when they arrive they find the eccentric game-maker has offered them a further challenge-if they can find their way out using only what's in the library-they will become the new spokesperson for Mr. Lemoncello's company. Kyle Keeley teams up with other students as unlikely alliances form. . . and suspense builds while the kids enlist the aid of Mr. Lemoncello's childhood librarian. . . " -School Library Journal

Paperback; $6.99

Publisher: Yearling Books; ISBN: 9780307931474

    

New Music

Sarah Borges

Radio Sweetheart

With her Broken Singles, alt.country singer Borges made a name for herself as a singer and writer. She returns from a hiatus with her first solo album, blending a new rockabilly spirit with her tuneful Americana.

Pop/Rock; $13.95

 

   

David Gray   

Henry's career has taken him from alt.country to rock and jazz music. His new record is loosely about marriage, and features relatively bare bones folk arrangements, with occasional horns.
  
 

Pop/Rock; $16.95

 

Phish
After exploring their respective solo and side projects, the popular jam band reunites for their first new music in several years. The tunes from Fuego were largely composed by the entire band in-studio, playing off of their notorious stage work.

Pop/Rock; $13.95

PHOX   

The release of this debut CD follows on the heels of a good deal of industry buzz. The band's unique sound pairs soul with indie folk and jazz, fronted by an unusually expressive vocalist.
    

Pop/Rock; $12.95

Rebirth Brass Band 

Move Your Body
The New Orleans legends return to the music scene with an album demonstrating equal parts swing and dance. The vibe pays tribute to the area's great tradition while moving the sound forward in a more contemporary direction.   
Jazz/Blues; $16.95 
Store Events 

 

 

Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m.

 

Rebecca Gordon

Mainstreaming Torture  

 

Grass Roots Books & Music

227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis

 

In Mainstreaming Torture Rebecca Gordon argues that institutionalized state torture remains as wrong today as it was on the day before the terrible attacks of September 11. Furthermore, U.S. practices during the "war on terror" are rooted in a history that began long before September that day, a history that includes both support for torture regimes abroad and the use of torture in American jails and prisons.

Torture is still an urgent moral issue. This is a book for anyone who cares about how institutionalized torture affects its victims, its practitioners, and the nation that gives it a home.

Rebecca Gordon teaches Ethics at the University of San Francisco Prior to her academic career, she spent a few decades working in various national and international movements for peace and justice: for women's liberation and LGBT rights; for racial justice in the United States and the anti-apartheid movement in the United States and South Africa; and against U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is also the author of Letters from Nicaragua, about the six months she spent living in the war zones of Nicaragua in 1984. 
 

 

In the Community

Darkside Kickstarter Announcement:

 

The Darkside needs to buy a digital projection system to stay in business. Show your support by donating to the Darkside Cinema Kickstarter or donating at the snack bar. The fund is a little over halfway to goal. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing deal, so please help make it successful.

 

 

Darkside Showtimes for 6/27-7/3

-The Grand Budapest Hotel
-R Wes Anderson once again using ornate visual environments to explore deeply emotional ideas.

-Chef
-R A chef who loses his restaurant job starts up a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise.

-IDA-PG-13 A young novitiate nun is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a dark family secret dating back to the Nazi occupation.
 
-Gore Vidal: United States Of Amnesia-NR "The United States Was Founded By The Brightest People In The Country - And We Haven't Seen Them Since."

-Supermench: The Legand Of Shep Gordon-R Hollywood insider who fell into artist management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college.

 
Literary Events
 
         David Sedaris at Powell's!
Friday, June 27th @ 6pm Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, A guy walks into a bar car and. . . from here the story could take many turns. When the guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and leave you deeply moved. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (Back Bay) shows again why Sedaris is widely considered "the funniest writer in America" (O, the Oprah Magazine).


 
Opportunities 
 
  • The Black Box Poetry Prize Email submission deadline: June 30, 2014; Rescue Press invites submissions for the 2014 Black Box Poetry Prize, a contest for full-length collections of poetry open to poets at any stage in their writing careers. Submissions will be accepted during the month of June 2014. This year's judge is Maggie Nelson; see our website or blog for submission guidelines and previous winners. 
  • The Crazy-shorts! Contest Online submission deadline: July 31, 2014From July 1st to July 31st, Crazyhorse will accept entries for our annual short-short fiction contest. Submit three short-shorts of up to 500 words each through our website. 1st place will win $1,000 and publication; 3 runners-up will be announced. All entries will be considered by our editors for publication, and the $15 entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Crazyhorse.
 
  • 2014 NANO Prize Online submission deadline: September 1, 2014 The sixth annual NANO Prize, awarding publication and $500 to a previously unpublished work of fiction 300 words or fewer, is open and this year's contest will be judged by Kim Chinquee! All entrants will receive a one-year subscription to NANO Fiction and winners will be announced in mid-September. Visit website here
 
  • Black Warrior Review Contest Online Submission deadline: September 1, 2014 announcing Black Warrior Review's Tenth-Annual Contest for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry! Grand prize in each genre: $1000 and publication; Runner-up prize in each genre: $100 and publication. Cost to enter: $20 (comes with one-year subscription). This year we are honored to have Richard Siken (Poetry), Lily Hoang (Fiction/Prose), and Kiese Laymon (Nonfiction) as our guest judges. The entry fee covers one 7,000 word fiction or nonfiction submission, or one packet of up to three poems. Send us your best work today; we can't wait to read it! Visit our website here.  

 

Store News

Elusive Book Character Creates Summertime Fun to Support the Buy Local First Movement in July

Where's Waldo? In Corvallis, of course. The famous children's book character in the striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting seventeen different local businesses throughout our community this July. Those who spot him can win prizes, including stickers, book coupons, gift certificates, and more. From Peak Sports at 207 NW 2nd Street to The Toy Factory at 442 SW 2nd, from Street, from Burst's Chocolate at 353 SW Madison Street to Grass Roots Books & Music at 227 SW 2nd be well hidden in local business establishments. Find Waldo is a great summer vacation activity, and a wonderful way for residents to support local business and the Buy Local First movement. The search for Waldo will be from July 1st-31st.   

Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a "Find Waldo Local in Corvallis!" passport at Grass Roots Books & Music with the names of all the participating sites, and get their passport stamped or signed for each Waldo they spot. The first 100 Waldo seekers to get their passports stamped or signed at ten or more sites can bring their passports back to Grass Roots to collect prizes. Collecting store stamps or signatures at fifteen or more businesses will enter diligent seekers into a grand prize drawing on August 3, at the celebration at Grass Roots at 1:30 pm, with the top prize being a 6-volume deluxe set of Waldo books. Prizes available from participating businesses include gift certificates, books, and other items. 


Knotted Bond Reading Recap

On Tuesday, June 24, Grass Roots was full to the brim in support for some of our most treasured local poets, Rick Borsten, Ann Staley, and Jana Zvibleman. In a celebration of sisterhood and community, each poet read from the recent collection The Knotted Bond, which features Oregon poets from all over the state. The writers that night read from a variety of styles and subjects, moving between funny, sad, and striking tones. Over 30 community members showed up to the reading, and we are still thrilled by this enthusiasm for local business and local authors. That is exactly what Grass Roots is all about, so thank you, thank you! See you at the next reading!   


Genre Reading Challenge Display

Are you guys as stoked for summer reading as we are? Oh my goodness, do we love summer reading over here, and if you haven't heard about our Young Readers Genre Reading Challenge yet, or you have and are searching for inspiration, we have a genre display like no other. Our display in the children's section is featuring books from Mystery, Adventure, Animal Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Nonfiction, Poetry, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Sports/Recreation, or YOUR CHOICE. 

 

Side note: What is Your Choice, you or your child may be asking? The eclectic, timeless stuff, such as Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, Matt Doeden's interactive history adventure book The Oregon Trail, or The Small Object's I like To Draw/I Like to Write, full of drawing, coloring, and writing projects for those who like to read, write, AND create their own masterpieces. You'll want to look at all these options AND MORE down at Grass Roots! 


Short Story Appreciation Display

We wanted to send out a heartfelt thank you to all our customers and writing enthusiasts who came down to the store during May to help us celebrate Short Story Month. We've made a display near our Mystery section to honor participants by showcasing some of our favorite 6-10 word short-shorts submitted by you, the people of Corvallis! If you come down, you'll notice all this pithy writing overlooks a small sea of fashionable short story collections for your summer reading this season, featuring the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, Alice Munro, George Saunders, and more.  


John Green on the Report!

Our new favorite indie bookstore spokesperson Stephen Colbert did a recent interview with The Fault in Our Stars author John Green. The jokes (and implied tears) fly in this clip, linked here for your viewing pleasure. 

Jigsaw Puzzle!!!

 

Click the link here to find out most recent jigsaw puzzle. I'm still playing around with interesting image ideas...see if you can guess where this one came from. . . =)

Grass Roots Reading Group

Tuesday, July 1, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
 
 Never Let Me Go 
Kazuo Ishiguro. 

 Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis

Jenny will be leading our July reading group discussion with Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were pupils at Hailsham-an idyllic establishment situated deep in the English countryside. The children there were tenderly sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe they were special, and that their personal welfare was crucial. But for what reason were they really there? It is only years later that Kathy, now aged 31, finally allows herself to yield to the pull of memory. What unfolds is the haunting story of how Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, slowly come to face the truth about their seemingly happy childhoods-and about their futures. Never Let Me Go is a uniquely moving novel, charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of our lives.
Paperback; $15.95  

 

Paperback; $15.95

Publisher: Vintage Books; ISBN: 9781400078776

 

On sale for $13.56 until June 30, 2014.

Night Stands

Ne�

The Miniature World of Marvin & James ( Masterpiece Adventures #01 ) 

Elise Broach 

Special note from Ne�: This summer, kids throughout Corvallis are taking on the Children's Summer Reading Challenge at Grass Roots - and I am too! I'm working my way through all ten book genres and I started with a great animal fiction read!

The Miniature World of Marvin & James is for early readers, ages 6 to 9, and it introduces them to the characters from Broach's popular children's novel, Masterpiece (age 9-12). This delightful little book is packed full of life lessons: from the meaning of friendship and valuing our role and importance in them to making new friends and finding adventure in seemingly ordinary places. Young readers will enjoy this exciting and entertaining story, with simply magical and expressive pictures, and a size that is not overwhelming. Be sure to look for more adventures of Marvin and James in future installments of the Masterpiece Adventures series!

Hardcover; $15.99 

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company; ISBN:9780805091908

    


Linda

Seven Flowers: And How They Shaped Our World  

Jennifer Potter 

The fascination with flowers, our companions in color, has often centered within our occupations and pastimes over the years. Jennifer Potter goes into great depth with seven of these beautiful flowers, and describes their long and entwined history with humankind. Each story is fascinating, intriguing, and full of facts. How fortunate we are to have the exquisite beauty of flowers all around us. This lovely book shows how they have always given us symbols, influenced our economy, graced our gardens, and presented us wonder.

Hardcover; $26.00

Publisher: Overlook Press; ISBN: 9781468308174

    


Jenny

Rules of Summer 

Shaun Tan  

A simple opening sentence: "This is what I learned last summer." Turn the page and we are off on a surreal adventure piloted by two young brothers. The enchanting disconnect between the simple commands ("Never leave a red sock on the clothesline.") and the beautiful, richly absurd paintings of giant rabbits, strawberry-coveting robots, and crow-filled dystopias mark the imaginary world childhood so unquestionably, unapologetically inhabits. Shaun Tan is a genius, and this picture book blows my whimsical socks right off my book-loving feet.

Hardcover; $18.99

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; ISBN: 9780545639125

    


Adam

Whispers
 Passenger 

If you are not familiar with the British folk songwriter, Passenger, or his hit "Let Her Go," there is a new album to help make the introduction. The album Whispers is full of his soft spoken anthems to love and the day-to-day reality of the work-a-day world. If you are a fan of Kings of Convenience, Turin Brakes, or the Weepies check Passenger out.

CD; $13.95

Pop/Rock

    


Grass Roots Books and Music
227 SW 2nd Street
Corvallis OR 97333
541-754-7668

Send us an email. 

 

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www.grassrootsbookstore.com 

 

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