Top
 July 10, 2014
Quick Links...

 

   
Hello, again!

Here's a few notes about this week:

As our website states, "Downtown Corvallis will be abuzz with great deals this weekend as the annual Crazy Days sale spills out onto the sidewalks. Stop by Grass Roots to score an awesome deal on selected Gifts and CDs. While you're here, don't forget to look for Waldo. Start your search here and visit other downtown businesses that are in on the action. It's a great weekend to be downtown for adults and children!"
 
Also, starting tomorrow (Friday, July 11), Grass Roots will be getting a massive shipment of new puzzles from White Mountain Puzzle Company. You're in on the scoop before anyone else, so make sure you check out the grand additions. 
 
Hope you all are staying cool, but investigating the local downtown charm for Waldo and summer reading. Enjoy the newsletter!

~Jenny

 

New HardcoversNHardcovers

Landline  by Rainbow Rowell [Fiction]
"TV writer Georgie McCool is trying to have it all, but it becomes clear that she's failing when her husband, Neal, heads to Nebraska for a family Christmas with their kids-without her. The career opportunity of a lifetime has appeared, but now her marriage may be ending as a result. What seems to be the setup for just another contemporary novel about midlife struggles takes a near-paranormal turn when Georgie finds a way to talk to Neal, but he's not the Neal who's just left her. Instead, she's talking to him in the past, right before they got engaged. . . Georgie goes back and forth between talking to the Neal she fell in love with and avoiding her rapidly crumbling current life. . . " -Kirkus Reviews


Hardcover; $24.99

Publisher: St. Martin's Press; ISBN:9781250049377

The Queen of the Tearling (Queen of the Tearling #01) by Erika Johansen [Fiction]
"Princess Kelsea has been hiding in the forests of the Tearling since her mother's death, training for the role she will have to play when she turns 19 and becomes the queen. But once Kelsea arrives in the capital and proves her right to the throne, her troubles begin. Her uncle had been acting as regent, and the alliance he made with the sorcerous Red Queen of neighboring Mortmesne is the first thing Kelsea decides to change. She will have to find allies fast as her actions threaten to plunge her kingdom into war." -Library Journal


Hardcover; $26.99

Publisher: Harper; ISBN: 9780062290366

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands  by Chris Bohjalian [Fiction] 
"Emily Shepard is hiding out in a shelter made of ice and trash bags after a nightmarish meltdown at a nuclear plant in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom that left her parents dead. Since the meltdown might have been her father's fault, she's not reaching out for help, but she does take a homeless boy named Cameron under her wing. More heartfelt, engaged work from relentlessly best-selling, best-book author Bohjalian, and how can you not love a heroine who identifies with Emily Dickinson?" -Library Journal


Hardcover; $25.95

Publisher: Doubleday Books; ISBN: 9780385534833

Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden [Fiction]
"The start of another historical series for Iggulden features not a notable figure such as Ghengis Khan or Julius Caesar, but the array of kings and power brokers who afflicted 15th-century England. Henry VI, weak minded and weak willed, is manipulated into trading the English territories of Maine and Anjou for a French bride. The landowners there resist, as back home Richard of York maneuvers to be the power behind the throne. Protecting the unsuspecting king are his new wife, a few other lords of the realm, and Derihew Brewer, the king's spymaster. On top of this, a peasant revolt surges out of Kent toward London, threatening the monarchy itself. . . " -Library Journal


Hardcover; $27.95

Publisher: Putnam Adult; ISBN: 9780399165368

Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival by Laurence Gonzales [Non-Fiction]
"Gonzales (Surviving Survival, 2012) revisits the crash of United Flight 232 in this gripping narrative that includes numerous survivor accounts as well as insight from those in the Sioux City control tower, rescue personnel, and specialists who worked for months to determine the cause. In particular, the survivor stories recounted here in painstaking detail remain no less riveting now than when they were reported 25 years ago. Through numerous interviews and research, Gonzales places readers as close to the accident as possible, from the cockpit to the main cabin, revealing the catastrophic failure of the single part that destroyed not only one of the three engines but, more critically, the entire hydraulic system. . . " -Booklist


Hardcover; $27.95

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 9780393240023

New PaperbacksNPaperbacks

by Spencer Quinn [Fiction]
"Spencer Quinn, pseudonym for award-winning adult and youth writer Peter Abrahams, continues his clever, dog-narrated private-eye series with a strong sixth volume. Canine narrator Chet and human PI Bernie head to Louisiana to find a missing nephew of a criminal they previously put away. Ralph is the straight arrow in the crazy Boutette family, but no one has heard from him or seen him recently. Chet uncovers clues right and left, but readers are left to interpret them amid his musings on his next meal. Humor scores every scene, and while Chet's thoughts are not linear, they are clear enough to derive what has happened, usually before the human characters do. . . " -Booklist
Paperback; $16.00

Publisher: Atria Books; ISBN: 9781476703244

by Dave Lowry [Fiction]
"St. Louis restaurant critic Lowry spins a debut novel that will satisfy the literary taste buds of any fiction reader interested in diamond heists, Chinese-speaking martial-arts masters, Chinese food, and wooing done well, with lame jokes and ex-girlfriends included. Booted out of college, Tucker is on the road when he meets the mysterious Corinne Chang. Bored, Tucker takes a not-so-hard gamble and ends up with Chang in St. Louis as a new cook at an interesting ethnic restaurant. On the outside looking in. . he quickly impresses his Chinese hosts with his cooking, martial arts, and deft language skills. All of these talents come into play when the Mafia shows up looking for Tucker's ex and the diamonds she may have appropriated. . . " -Booklist

Paperback; $13.95

Publisher: Mariner Books; ISBN: 9780547973319

John Brockman brings together the world's best-known physicists and science writers--including Brian Greene, Walter Isaacson, Nobel Prize-winners Murray Gell-Mann and Frank Wilczek, and Brian Cox--to explain the universe in all wondrous splendor. In Universe, today's most influential science writers explain the science behind our evolving understanding of the universe and everything in it. . . Lee Smolin reveals how math and cosmology are helping us create a theory of the whole universe Brian Cox offers new dimensions on the Large Hadron and the existence of a Higgs-Boson particle Neil Turok analyzes the fundamental laws of nature, what came before the big bang, and the possibility of a unified theory.

Paperback; $15.99

Publisher: Harper Perennial; ISBN: 9780062296085

by Tracy Guzeman [Fiction]
"Legendary artist Thomas Bayber calls reliable art historian Dennis Fincher and eccentric art authenticator Stephen Jameson to task them with an errand. Although Bayber stopped painting years ago, and his artwork has been extensively documented, he shows them a never-before-seen central panel in a triptych that depicts himself as a young man posed with two sisters, Alice and Natalie Kessler. What he wants Dennis and Stephen to find are the other two panels of the painting, which he gave to the sisters, who seem to have vanished without a trace in 1972. . . " -Booklist

Paperback; $15.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 9781451689778

by Sophie Loubiere [Fiction]
"French author Loubiere makes her U.S. debut with a creepy psychological thriller. After 10 years convalescing, Madame Preau, a retired headmistress, returns to her home near Paris, distraught to find that her doctor son, Martin, has neglected the house. What's more, the woodland view outside her window has been replaced by the home of a young family. She focuses her binoculars on the yard across the street, where an energetic boy and girl swing and quarrel, while alone in a corner playing with stones is a scrawny boy who looks uncannily like Bastien, the grandson Martin keeps from her. Convinced that the boy is being abused, she vows to save him." -Publishers Weekly

Paperback; $15.00

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN: 9781455547623

New For Young ReadersYReaders

The Tree House That Jack Built   by Bonnie Verburg [Fiction]
Ages 3 to 7 
"In this reworking of the familiar cumulative tale, young Jack lives with his menagerie of tropical animals in a fabulous tree house by the sea. He has built a fantastic construction of ladders, knotted swinging vines, thatched-roofed platforms, balconies, and swinging bridges into the trunk and boughs of a giant jungle tree. Verburg's enjoyable text is perfectly paced as she introduces a grinning fly that is snapped at by a lizard that is pecked at by a parrot that is in turn swatted by a cat . . . until all the animals are brought up short by Jack's ringing of a bell. It announces storytime, and then Good night to all the things Jack made, as he goes to sleep in his treetop hammock. . . " -Booklist, Starred Review

Hardcover; $17.99

Publisher: Orchard Books; ISBN: 9780439853385

The Inventor's Secret by Andrea R. Cremer [Fiction]
Young Adult 
"Paranormal-romance queen Cremer (the Nightshade series) tries her hand at writing steampunk with an alternative-history twist. The year is 1816. The British have won the Revolutionary War, enslaved the Americans, and turned Boston into a prison and New York City into a socially stratified power center. Giant, robotic Imperial Labor Gatherers and man-eating rats terrorize the population. A colony of teenage resistance fighters are hiding in a remote maze of caves in the New York Wilderness. Tomboy heroine Charlotte rescues a mysteriously invincible but amnesiac boy, nicknamed Grave, and brings him back to the Catacombs. The plot thickens when fellow rebel, tough guy Jack, turns out to be the disgraced son of an elite admiral who holds a powerful position in Empire society. . . " -
Kirkus Reviews

Hardcover; $18.99

Publisher: Philomel Books; ISBN: 9780399159626

New MusicNMusic


 Crosby Stills Nash & Young
CSNY 1974
Genre: Pop/Folk

The legendary quartet refers to their drug-fueled 1974 tour as "the Doom Tour." After years of delays and arguments, the groundbreaking sessions finally see the light of day.
($13.95)

Genre: Pop/Folk

The Canadian alt.country troubadour recently found himself with some free time in Memphis. Lund and his band visited the legendary Sun Studios where they recorded live takes on some of their most popular concert performances.
($15.95)

 Mastersons
Good Luck Charm
Genre: Pop/Folk

Eleanor Whitmore and Chris Masterson spend much of their time as part of Steve Earle's touring band, the Dukes & Duchesses. As the Mastersons, the duo make polished Americana, characterized by tight harmonies and electric tendencies.
($13.95)

Genre: Pop/Folk

Mellencamp continues following his muse through the American roots tradition with this live recording. Recorded in New York City, Mellencamp and his band perform a set of covers, ranging from Dylan to the Animals.
($13.95)

 Peter Rowan
Dharma Blues
Genre: Pop/Folk

Through his long and storied career, Rowan has played with everyone from Bill Monroe to Old & In the Way. His new collection features 12 new cuts, and finds him collaborating with Gillian Welch, Jack Cassady and more.
($16.95)
Events at Grass RootsEventsGRR

 Alex the Ant Goes to the Beach by Eric Wayne Dickey
Saturday, July 19 11:30 a.m.
227 SW 2nd St
Grass Roots Books and Music
Corvallis , Oregon

Incorporating adventure and science, Alex the Ant Goes to the Beach is about a young and curious ant named Alex who aspires to be a great scout for Queen Aziza. He dons his sailor suit and eagerly volunteers as a lookout for the beach work crew. Along the way, Alex is warned by Aloysius, the old sea captain, about the dangers that lurk in the world outside the safety of their home called Underwood. This children's picture book introduces young entomologists to the ecology of ants and is a delight to readers of all ages.

Eric Wayne Dickey is a writer and a father. His poetry has been widely published and anthologized. He lives in Oregon with his wife, a K12 science teacher. Together they tend a huge garden and are raising two children. This is his first children's book.
Come for a reading, sing-a-long, and arts and crafts! 

Tiny Homes on the Move by Lloyd Kahn
Thursday, July 31 7:00 p.m. 
227 SW 2nd St
Grass Roots Books and Music
Corvallis , Oregon

Tiny Homes on the Move chronicles 21st-century nomads - people who inhabit homes that are compact and mobile, either on wheels or in the water. In photos and stories, this fascinating book explores modern travelers who live in vans, pickup trucks, buses, trailers, sailboats, and houseboats that combine the comforts of home with the convenience of being able to pick up and go at any time. Many are hand-crafted by the owners, showing skill and creativity.

With over 1,100 color photos accompanying the stories and descriptions of these moveable sanctuaries, this is a valuable and inspirational book for anyone thinking outside the box about shelter.

In 1968 Lloyd Kahn worked as Shelter editor for the Whole Earth Catalog. In 1971 he published Domebook 2. His shake-covered geodesic dome was featured in Life magazine. Ultimately disillusioned with domes, he took Domebook 2 out of print and in 1973, published the oversized book Shelter that went on to sell over 250,000 copies. In 2004, Kahn published Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter, Builders of the Pacific Coast in 2008, Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter in 2012, and Tiny Homes on the Move in 2014. Kahn and his wife Lesley live and work in a small coastal town in Northern California.
Community EventsCommunityEvents

Darkside Show Times for 7/11-7/17

  

-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.
-Snowpiercer-R In a future, a train that travels around the globe, where a class system evolves.
-Evergreen: Road To Leagalization-NR Tracking the behind-the-scenes efforts in Washington of both the pro- and anti-pot initiative groups.
-Lucky Them-R Veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug (Toni Collette) has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine's editor.
-Third Person-R Tells three stories of love, passion, trust and betrayal, in a multi-strand story line reminiscent of Paul Haggis's earlier Oscar-winning film Crash.

  

Literary Events

-The Flickering Page: E-books and Changes in the Reading Experience
Tuesday, July 22 12:10 - 1:00 p.m. Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Are printed materials and books merely in need of updating? What characterizes the electronic reading experience versus reading print? Author Mark Allen Cunningham addresses these and other important cultural, historical, and social questions regarding our shift in reading methods.

-Reading: Driftwood Forts of the Oregon Coast by James Herman Tuesday, July 15th @ 7:30pm Powell's City of Books on Burnside (1005 W Burnside (800) 878-7323) Blending reportage, ethnography, meditation, history, art, and photojournalism, James Herman's Driftwood Forts of the Oregon Coast (Nestucca Spit Press) also serves as a useful, all-ages, entertaining guide to building a driftwood fort. "This is a dynamic and original book about a totally undocumented cultural pastime. James has made an outstanding contribution to the literature of the Oregon Coast and makes you believe in the magical power of fort building" (Matt Love).

-
Reading: The Spark and the Drive by 
OSU's Wayne Harrison 
Wednesday, July 16th @ 7:30pm Powell's City of Books on Burnside (1005 W Burnside (800) 878-7323). Justin Bailey is 17 when he arrives at the shop of legendary muscle car mechanic Nick Campbell. Anguished and out of place among the students at his rural Connecticut high school, Justin finds in Nick, his captivating wife Mary Ann, and their world of miraculous machines the sense of family he has struggled to find at home. But when Nick and Mary Ann's lives are struck by tragedy, Justin's own world is upended. Wayne Harrison's The Spark and the Drive (St. Martin's) is the unforgettable story of a young man forced to make an impossible decision - no matter the consequences.

 

Opportunities
 
-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. Visit website here

-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.

-The Coniston Prize from Radar Poetry Online deadline: September 1, 2014
The first annual Coniston Prize will be open to submissions from July 1 to September 1, 2014! Radar Poetry's annual, endowed prize recognizes an outstanding group of poems by a woman writing in English. This year's judge is the poet Mary Biddinger. The winner will be awarded $1,000, and her work will be featured in the October issue of Radar. Up to ten finalists will also be awarded publication. The entry fee is $15. For details or to submit a manuscript, please visit here. We look forward to reading your work!

Community Events with Grass Roots

Master Gardener's Mini-College
Saturday, July 12, 8:30 a.m. & Sunday, July 13, 5:00 p.m.
875 SW 26th St
LaSells Stewart Center
Corvallis , Oregon

Mini-College is the annual conference of the Oregon Master Gardener Association and the OSU Extension Master Gardener Program. The event includes three days of gardening seminars, networking opportunities and celebration of accomplishments.

Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
Remains of Innocence by J.A. Jance 
Tuesday, July 29 11:30 a.m. 
Corvallis High School Main Stage 
1400 NW Buchanan Ave 
Corvallis , Oregon
 
The story opens far away from Cochise County, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Selma Machett is on the verge of death from emphysema, which is hardly tragic news to her daughter Liza-who endured constant psychological abuse and deprivation of basic necessities from her mother, and was happy to escape her reign of terror.
As Selma enters her final days, she summons Liza and orders her to fetch an old cookbook from her house-which is in a state of utter disrepair and squalor. As the younger Machett confronts the terrible memories the building holds, she makes a startling discovery: Many hundred-dollar bills between the pages of the cookbook... and the one next to it... and the one next to it...
Selma passes away before the origin of the money can be determined. The day of her funeral, her house mysteriously burns down-and Liza's landlady turns up murdered. Knowing she's in danger, Liza begins a furtive trip across the country to get answers about her family from her brother Guy-who happens to be Cochise County's medical examiner.

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, and four interrelated thrillers about the Walker Family. Over twenty million copies of her books are in print. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

 

Store NewsStoreNews

Staff Summer Reading Display 
Summer reading, anyone? We're well into July, so I hope so! We have a display for our Staff Picks for summer reading, and it's chock-full of all kinds of genres. It's really lovely, so if you are curious for some titles, swing by Grass Roots. (We've got the air-conditioning on for you, too!)
Just some examples:


Actors and Musicians Can Write Books, Too!

We have a new display near our Mystery section featuring the latest books written by artists we've seen in other mediums-namely the movies, television, and pop/country music-but here they are trying their hand at books. And they're good! Remember The Breakfast Club? Are you a fan of Monty Python? Well, here's what some of those celebs are up to in the book world.

Molly Ringwald's short story collection, When It Happens to You, has received acclaim from the likes of the Washington Post and Vanity Fair; Goldie Hawn's parenting book, 10 Mindful Minutes, has been reviewed favorably by Mark Williams, director of the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre; and Monty Python's Michael Palin, meanwhile, has written his second novel, The Truth, which Reader's Digest recalls as, "Well-crafted, warmhearted-and wholly recommended." We've got these at Grass Roots, and more (of course!). Please stop by and take a look for more book gems by the celebs.
JigsawJigsaw

Solve this week's jigsaw!
Reading Group SelectionReadingGroup

by Manuel Gonzales 

Join Ne� as she leads the August Reading Group with The Miniature Wife by Manuel Gonzales. 

In the tradition of George Saunders and Aimee Bender, an exuberantly imagined debut that chronicles an ordinary world marked by unusual phenomena. The 18 stories of Gonzales's exhilarating first book render the fantastic commonplace and the ordinary extraordinary, in prose that thrums with energy and shimmers with beauty.

"It's rare that a debut author is also a seasoned storyteller, but this is the case with Gonzales, whose first book is a deeply imaginative collection of short stories. With commendable skill, Gonzales seamlessly blends the real and the fantastic, resulting in a fun and provocative collection that readers will want to devour. . ." -Publishers Weekly

 

Regular Price: $16.00
On sale for:$$13.60 until Monday, August 4

Publisher: Riverhead Books
ISBN:9781594632273

Night StandsNightStands

Jenny
Kurt Vonnegut: Letters  
by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. [Non-Fiction]

I find myself utterly delighted and moved over and over by the wisdom of this American icon. Separated by decade and composed entirely of letters Vonnegut wrote to various people (his children, agents, [ex-]wife, fellow writers, movie directors, book-burning moralists, and so on), I'm totally immersed in how a writer talks about his own life submerged within the daily tasks of writing, raising a family, and teaching. Not to mention the wit, humor, and stunning intellect he manages to pack into the tiny punches of each one-two paragraph letter. Vonnegut is a master of everyday language, an art, I think, we don't praise enough.


Paperback; $20.00 

 Publisher: Dial Press; ISBN: 9780385343763

Adam

The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe  by Theodore Gray [Non-Fiction]

Ever wonder what raw zinc looked like? Or how lithium can be in both pharmaceuticals and batteries? Have you even heard of Gadolinium? The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe offers a fascinating image-packed look at the building blocks of the entire known universe. Chock full of interesting facts and surprising details, Elements is both informative and fun for any curious mind.

 

Paperback; $19.95

Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; ISBN: 9781579128951

Linda

The Secret Lives of Codebreakers: The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park  by Sinclair McKay [Non-Fiction]

A fascinating and informative read, this well-researched book covers the code-breaking activity at Bletchley Park in England during World War II in precise detail, step by step, day by day. McKay takes the reader in behind the scenes and introduces us not only to the intelligent and innovative men and women who worked there, but shows how the Bombe Machines, that successfully decoded the German Enigma machines, were the forerunners of today's computers. The shear brilliance and shared knowledge of the Bletchley Park operation thwarted many enemy maneuvers and saved many lives during the war.

Paperback; $16.00

Publisher:Plume Books; ISBN: 9780452298712

Ne�

Greek Mythology's Adventures of Perseus ( Can You Survive? ) by Blake Hoena [Fiction]

Adventure stories are fun to read, but being part of them is even better. You can go on an epic journey, stepping into the pages of the Adventures of Perseus and right into the main characters shoes! As you read, you get to make the choices as if you were Perseus! You get to decide whether or not you go on quests, what tools you'll use along the way, and who you trust enough to ask for help. This exciting, action-packed book is alive with twists and turns - pick it up and see if you can survive!

Paperback; $8.95

Publisher: Lake 7 Creative; ISBN: 9780982118795

Back To Top