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| Sept. 25, 2014 |
Hey Readers!
Guess what? Now you can follow Grass Roots on Twitter @grbooks! Keep up on store news, events, and any and all things BOOKISH we are excited about.
Also, we have a beautiful selection of 2015 calendars, paperblank planners, and Moleskine journals in the store to help you prepare for the new year.
What's to look forward to this week in new releases? We're pretty excited about Caitlin Moran's and John Darnielle's (of the Mountain Goats) new novels, memoirs from Billy Crystal and Jesmyn Ward, and a new album from Leonard Cohen.
Also, there's TONS of events during the fall season, so please make sure you stay up to date on all the authors passing through the store and town.
Enjoy the cooler temperatures this weekend!
~Jenny
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New Hardcovers
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How to Build a Girl
by Caitlin Moran
[Fiction]
 "To make money when she fears she caused her struggling family's government benefits to be cut, teen library-junkie Johanna Morrigan submits a poem about her best friend, her dog, to a contest. She wins, nabbing a cash prize and a spot on Midlands Tonight. . . Nearly overnight, autodidactic freaky fat girl Johanna becomes feared music reviewer Dolly Wilde, her tools of transformation being hair dye, eyeliner, a top hat, all black, and her radio. As herself, Johanna is endearing hilarious, pathetic, and wise. Bawdy Dolly adopts a successful fake it till you make it approach, getting known by tearing new bands to shreds and hastily, gleefully, explicitly jettisoning Johanna's many virginities. . ." -Booklist
Hardcover; $26.99
Publisher: Harper; ISBN: 9780062335975
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Wolf in White Van
by John Darnielle
[Fiction]
 "In his incantatory debut, Darnielle (of the indie band the Mountain Goats) captures the allure and danger of being in thrall to a mythic vision. Lying in the hospital recovering from a gruesome wound, Sean conceives of a mail-based strategy game. . . in the game's scenario, players head across an apocalyptic landscape in search of sanctuary at the Trace Italian, a star-shaped fort on the 'wasted Kansas plain.' . . . When one young couple's attempt to find the Trace Italian in real life leads them to a fatal 'terminus' in the desert, Sean revisits his own dark history. . ." -Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $24.00
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux; ISBN: 9780374292089
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Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General
by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
[Non-Fiction]
 In a biography series that gave us Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus, Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor and Martin Dugard have written the latest installment which is dedicated to the mysterious death of General George S. Patton, Jr. There is suspense and mystery to be found in this history, as many suspect that the WWII general's death was intentional, perhaps an act of assassination. The book studies the last year of the war, and includes an investigation of the heavy-hitting names of those who wanted Patton silenced.
Hardcover; $30.00
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company; ISBN: 9780805096682
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Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan
by William Davis
[Non-Fiction]
 This is a follow-up to Dr. Davis' Wheat Belly, and helps address the question of, "What's next in the battle against wheat?" This book provides plans and tips for how to care for the body after years of wheat damage--how to stay in top health for the rest of your life. There is careful strategy in reordering your diet without wheat, which will maintain whole-body health--everything from the cardiovascular, to the neurological, to the hormonal.
Hardcover; $26.99
Publisher: Rodale Press; ISBN: 9781623364083
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How Google Works
by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
[Non-Fiction]
 "Turn off your phone, lock the door, and settle down for an entertaining and educational book about Google, the company everyone wonders about, written by insiders Schmidt, Google executive chairman; and Rosenberg, former Google employee and now consultant to co-founder Larry Page. From page one, the stories, whether about the early days at Google or the company's unusual, occasionally outrageous, but brilliant business practices, are irresistible. Readers will learn how to manage 'smart creatives,' develop a 'culture of Yes,' and craft a meaningful mission statement. This enthusiastic manifesto encourages readers and leaders - to 'habitually overcommunicate' and 'set (almost) unattainable goals.'. . ." -Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $30.00
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN: 9781455582341
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New Paperbacks
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[Non-Fiction]
 "In four years, five young men dear to Ward died of various causes, from drug overdose to accident to suicide, but the underlying cause of their deaths was a self-destructive spiral born of hopelessness. Surrounded by so much death and sorrow, Ward closely examined the heartbreakingly relentless deathsof her young relatives and friends growing up in the small town of DeLisle, Mississippi, with few job prospects and little to engage their time and talents other than selling and using drugs and alcohol. . . [Ward] weaves her family history and details her own difficulties of breaking away from home and the desperate need to do so. . ." -Booklist
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; ISBN: 9781608197651
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by Billy Crystal
[Non-Fiction]
 With Crystal's trademark wit and heart, he outlines the absurdities and challenges that come with growing old, from insomnia to memory loss to leaving dinners with half your meal on your shirt. In . . . chapters like 'Buying the Plot' and 'Nodding Off,' Crystal not only catalogues his physical gripes, but offers a road map to his 77 million fellow baby boomers who are arriving at this milestone age with him. He also looks back at the most powerful and memorable moments of his long and storied life.
Paperback; $15.99
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; ISBN: 9781250051844
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[Non-Fiction]
 "Why do we knit? Why do we love to knit? And why, at times, do we need to knit? Novelist Hood ( The Knitting Circle) has assembled 26 essays and one poem that meditate on the magic of knitting. Six companion patterns accompany them. With essays as varied as any pattern or skein of yarn, writers as different as Sue Grafton and Andre Dubus III, Anita Shreve and Barbara Kingsolver, follow their own knitting, and the knitting of others, through personal and familial histories, great friendships and romances, through dark, dreamy, and downright dusty times. . . " - Publishers Weekly
Paperback; $15.95
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 9780393349870
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by Molly Antopol
[Fiction]
 "In her debut story collection, Antopol looks deeply into the lives of people whose geographies are not easy to define, such as the Israeli journalist who only feels alive when on assignment in Kiev and the California actor who claims more Russian heritage than he actually has, having lived in the United States since he was two years old. Within these compelling narratives, Antopol conveys not only the inner lives of her characters but also the political and social history they carry with them from the sewers of Eastern Europe (an escape route from imminent capture by Nazis) to the Israeli kibbutz to the streets of New York, among other places in the diaspora. . ." -Library Journal
Paperback; $14.95
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 9780393349962
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by Sam Stall and Grady Hendrix
[Fiction]
 "Imagine you're trapped overnight inside a big-box home-furnishings retailer--an IKEA, say, where strange, spooky things have been happening, and you'll have an idea what's in store for a few Orsk employees in this very clever ghost story. The story is entertaining (a group of staffers, one of them a wannabe ghost chaser, stay in the store overnight to see if they can catch the person responsible for some vandalizing that's been going on in the off-hours), and the book itself is laid out like an Orsk catalog, with illustrations of products and their descriptions at the head of each chapter. This isn't quite a comedy-in fact, it gets pretty dark in a few places but it's full of goofy wit. . ." -Booklist
Paperback; $14.95
Publisher: Quirk Books; ISBN: 9781594745263
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New For Young Readers
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You Are My Baby: Woodland
by Lorena Siminovich
Ages 1 to 3
[Fiction]
 A new title in this series of charming and inventive board books! Readers will find a little book nestled inside a bigger one. Turn the pages to match the baby animals to their parents, and learn early concepts along the way. In this new entry to the series, young ones will discover animal habits in the forest. It's a dynamic, interactive addition to bedtime storytelling little ones will love.
Hardcover; $8.99
Publisher: Petit Collage; ISBN: 9781452134314
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Amulet #6: Escape from Lucien
by Kazu Kibuishi
Ages 8 to 12
[Fiction]
 "Navin and his friends travel to Lucien, a mysterious city that has been left in ruins, to find a beacon that will help them conquer the Elf King. But are they walking right into a trap? Emily journeys to the Void with Max, one of the Elf King's disciples and learns more about her traveling companion. Their adventures place both of them in true danger. This hotly anticipated installment in the Amulet series will be devoured by fans." -School Library Journal
Hardcover; $12.99
Publisher: Graphix; ISBN: 9780545433150
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Skink No Surrender
by Carl Hiaasen
Ages 12 to 18
[Fiction]
 ". . . Richard's cousin Malley is missing, and he fears that she's in danger, despite her eventual calm phone calls and e-mails. When she drops a clue about having spotted the possibly extinct ivory-billed woodpecker, Richard knows she needs help and is giving him a clue. His sidekick on this sleuthing adventure is Skink, from Hiaasen's adult fictiona Vietnam vet, an ex-governor, and an ecological-crusading, road-kill-eating hermit. Eccentric doesn't begin to describe him or the variety of objects he inserts in his empty eye socket. Skink and Richard make quite a dangerous and entertaining duo in a story that careens perfectly from one crazy situation to the next. . ." -Booklist, Starred Review
Hardcover; $17.00
Publisher: Little, Brown Books; ISBN: 9780316320382
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New Music
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Genre: Pop/Folk
Marcia Ball is a celebrated New Orleans jazz and blues pianist and singer. Her new collection of upbeat originals features contributions by Delbert McClinton, Terrance Simien, and Mark Kazanoff.
($17.95) |
Genre: Pop/Folk
At 80 years old, Leonard Cohen continues his comeback with another record of dark and philosophical musings. Per the Guardian, Cohen's 13th release, "presents Cohen's wry, wracked recitations against almost ascetic backings overseen by Patrick Leonard, famed for his work with Madonna."
($11.95) |
Genre: Pop/Folk
Jeff Tweedy sought to record a true solo record, from writing to performance and production. Instead, Tweedy marks a collaboration with his 18-year-old son on a selection of new indie rock tunes.
($19.95) |
Genre: Jazz/Blues
Certainly the most curious pairing of the jazz year. Cheek to Cheek presents the jazz crooner Tony Bennett on a collection of standards and pop tunes, paired with controversial pop diva Lady Gaga.
($13.95) |
Genre: Classical
Evancho came into public awareness after a successful appearance on America's Got Talent. Now 14 years old, her new collection focuses on her increasingly expressive voice on a mix of classical and pop pieces.
($11.95) |
Events at Grass Roots
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Crooked Paths and Abandoned Borders, and Rabbit (A Novel?)
(Joint-Author Reading)
Tuesday, September 30, at 7 p.m.
Grass Roots Books and Music
227 SW 2nd
Corvallis, OR 97333
Local authors Kerry Augustyniak and Jared John Smith will read and sign their books Crooked Paths and Abandoned Borders andThe Rabbit respectively.
Crooked Paths and Abandoned Borders is a true story of one human's struggle and one canine's quest to find a pack where they belong. Surviving as castaways, each tries to find footing in a wilderness they were never intended to be part of. It's for those who dance to a different drummer and what happens when they fail to integrate, a story of trespassed boundaries, disintegration, and broken hearts, in the midst of conflicting ideologies. Despite anguish, despair, and knowing nothing but failure, their paths eventually lead to where Love, Hope, Acceptance, and Credence can so often be found, right under our very own nose.
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 Rabbit (A Novel?) explores a young folklorist driving 4,000 miles, collecting ghost stories and meeting his homeless schizophrenic father for the first time. Our narrator is attempting to finish his book, pausing the story to debate with his frustrated editor. The manuscript is unraveling as he approaches its end. Rabbit is a meta-fiction literary novel depicting a young writer's obsessions with our cosmos, estranged parents, abuse, and infidelity. It is an angst-riddled ride through the American subconscious of the twenty-first century.This book is never finished, the author declares. Meeting his father was not the ending he expected. It was the beginning of his darkest psychological descent.
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Travis Mossotti, Field Study, and Kerry James Evans, Bangalore
(Joint-Author Reading)
Saturday, October 11, at 3:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books and Music
227 SW 2nd
Corvallis, OR 97333
Field Study is a window into Travis Mossotti's fieldwork over the last decade, working with his wife (a carnivore biologist), US government, university, and nonprofit organizations on data collection, animal captures/releases, and lab work for various endangered species recovery efforts all across North America-from processing kill sites with the Yellowstone Wolf Project to tracking red wolves on the eastern edge of the Outer Banks. The book engages the tradition of American naturalist writers and offers a rare in situ examination of the relationship between humans and the environments humans occupy, manipulate, destroy, and share, to greater or lesser extents.
Travis Mossotti won the 2011 May Swenson Poetry Award for his first book, About the Dead (USU Press, 2011), and Field Study won the 2013 Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize (Bona Fide Books, 2014). Mossotti is Poet-in-Residence at the Endangered Wolf Center and a professor at Lindenwood University Belleville. |
Drawing upon Kerry James Evans's experience in the military,
Bangalore speaks from the position of a natural class warrior who came of age desperately poor in some of the
most hardscrabble parts of our country. Whether highlighting a barracks argument about gays in the military or contemplating pent-up eros, the poems are experientially political in the best sense.
Kerry James Evans is the author of Bangalore (Copper Canyon Press, 2013). He earned a Ph.D. in English from Florida State University and an MFA in creative writing from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. His poems have appeared in Agni, Narrative, New England Review, Ploughshares, and many other journals.
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Blue Collar Nomad, with Wandering: Blue Collar Nomad Soundtrack
Jake Kaida (author) & Matthew Tavis Johnson (pianist/composer)
(Author and Composer Joint Event)
Tuesday, Oct 14 at 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books and Music
227 SW 2nd
Corvallis, OR 97333
Jake Kaida sponsors his way across the land as a farmhand, cook, organic gardener, landscape artist, writing instructor, mentor to at-risk youth and his favorite tasks-picking apples and gleaning grapes in the autumn. Blue Collar Nomad is a selected compendium of his North American travel and place-based pieces, which he composed between 23-35 years of age. These atmospheric poems, travel stories, and spiritual vignettes blend genuine working class ethics with jazzy intuitive language in order to rouse hidden emotions and knead spiritual nerves within the reader's psyche.
Blue Collar Nomad explores gritty urban areas and isolated pastoral landscapes; and often presents meaningful dialogues between the author and those citizens who have been misplaced or forgotten by mainstream society.
Matthew Tavis Johnson's musical pieces evoke the emotional fluidity and changing ambiences that a nomad encounters in various locations. Matthew deftly captures the unencumbered rhythm and transitory openness that occurs during the transitional phases of traveling from place to place. This CD is the atmospheric audio accompaniment to the written work.
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Community Events
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Darkside Show Times for 9/26-10/2
-Trip To Italy-NR Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy.
-Boyhood-PG-13 The life of a young man, Mason, from age 5 to age 18.
-The Congress -NR More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with The Princess Bride, an aging actress (Robin Wright, playing a version of herself) decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Paul Giamatti.
-Five Star Life -NR (Italian, French, English) Maria Sole Tognazzi has directed a piquant movie about the difference between loneliness and being alone.
Literary/Community Arts Events
-Friends of the Library FALL FESTIVAL BOOK SALE
Saturday, Sept. 27 9:00-10:00 Friends of the Library members only; (Become a member for just $10!)
Saturday September 27, 10-4:00 p.m. Open to the public Sunday, September 28, 12:00-4:00, Main Meeting Room, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Lots of lightly used top-quality paperback books at very reasonable prices. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. All proceeds are used to benefit the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library system.
Prices slashed from 3:00-4:00 PM Sunday, September 28.
Contact Katherine Inman (541-753-0078) for more information.
-Corvallis Fall Festival 2014 Central Park Saturday, Sept. 27 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (street dance from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.), and Sunday, Sept. 28 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Fall Festival features over 160 artists showcasing their work for sale and celebration, as well as live music and performances, creative workshops and more. Visit the festival's website for full details.
-Chamber Music Corvallis: Moscow Quartet and Piano September 29, 2014 @ 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., Austin Auditorium LaSells Stewart Center, 875 Southwest 26th Street, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR Tickets cost: $26 - $120 The Moscow String Quartet, featuring Mykola Suk, will perform selections from Haydn, Schnittke and Tchaikovsky. For more information about this concert, visit the Chamber Music website here for a full calendar of events. Tickets @ Grass Roots!
-'Imperfect Perfection' at the Arts Center October 2, 2014 @ 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. and 5:30-7:30; The Arts Center 700 Southwest Madison Avenue Corvallis, OR; The exhibition's title "Imperfect Perfection" refers to the study of classical music - on string instruments - by young people. Chui Hui Shen, a mother and artist living in Corvallis, draws and paints her children and their peers over and over while the kids practice their violin and cello.
-Random Reviews, Corvallis Public Library, Wednesday, October 8 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Mary Oliver's Poetry Reviewer: Robin Havenick
Opportunities
-The Writers' Workroom! with C. Lill Ahrens; Nine week course: $99.00 Afternoon class, Tuesdays, 1:00-4:30 p.m. @ Imagine Coffee (Corvallis) Register by contacting Lill: cclill@comcast.net, or 541-740-9606; Evening class, Tuesdays, 6-9:00 p.m. Location: LBCC Benton Center, Corvallis OR, Register at the Benton Center, or through LBCC's online catalog.
For all skill levels and genres but poetry. Improve your writing via Ahrens' fun and supportive teaching method. By answering and asking questions during the critique of your writing, you will learn: what is working, what can be improved, and techniques for raising your writing to the next level and beyond.
-Plot Planning Party (NaNoWriMo) Corvallis Public Library Main Meeting Room, Saturday, October 18th, 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Learn what NaNoWriMo is (and how to say it), create an outline or storyboard for your novel, name your characters, build your world, and bounce ideas off of other local writers. This is the first in a series of events celebrating National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
-Rose Metal Press Ninth Annual Short Short Chapbook Contest Online submission deadline: December 1, 2014 Rose Metal Press, an independent nonprofit publisher of works in hybrid genres, seeks submissions to its Ninth Annual Short Short Chapbook Contest. Please submit your 25-40 page, double-spaced manuscript of flash fiction or flash nonfiction (each story under 1,000 words) from November 1 to December 1. The winner will have his/her chapbook published in Summer 2015, with an introduction by the contest judge. $10 fee. Judge: Pamela Painter. More details here.
-Hamlin Garland Award for the Short Story
Online/Postmark Deadline: December 1, 2014 $2,000 and publication will be awarded to the top unpublished story on any theme Novelist David Rhodes, author of Driftless, will judge the contest. One story per entry/multiple entries OK. Maximum 7,000 words. All entrants will be considered for publication. The award may be split at the judge's discretion. Deadline Dec. 1, 2014. Visit the Beloit Fiction Journal here.
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Community Events with Grass Roots
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Fermented Vegetables
by Kirsten and Christopher Shockey
[Non-Fiction]
Sunday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m.
1007 SE 3rd St.
First Alternative Co-op Corvallis ,
 Even beginners can make their own fermented foods! Fermented Vegetables includes in-depth instruction for making kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles and then offers more than 120 recipes, using the same basic methods, for fermenting 80 different vegetables and herbs. You'll discover how easy it is to make dozens of exciting dishes, including pickled Brussels sprouts, curried golden beets, carrot kraut, and pickled green coriander. The recipes are creative, delicious, and healthful, and many of them can be made in small batches - even just a single pint.
Kirsten and Christopher Shockey got their start in fermenting foods with their farmstand food company, where they created over forty varieties of cultured vegetables and krauts. They now teach classes at their farm, host small farm workshops, and blog at www.fermentista.us. They live in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon. Grass Roots is sponsoring (and will be selling books) at this event. |
Willamette Writers on the River Presents
"An Evening with Brian Doyle"
Monday, October 20th 6:30-8:30 p.m.
1007 SE 3rd St.
First Presbyterian Church
(enter Dennis Hall at 9th & Monroe)
 FREE to members of Willamette Writers and full-time students. Guests of Willamette Writers members pay $5. Non-members pay $10 to attend. The event will consist of "partly a reading of my work and partly some time spent just on starts and ideas and seeds and sourdough starters and notes toward what might be pieces hatched later by members who come home and putter with their fingers in an admirably maniacal way." Please bring something to take notes on.
Doyle is the author of 14 books of essays, poems, stories, nonfiction ( The Grail, about a year in an Oregon vineyard, and The Wet Engine, about the "muddles & musics of the heart"), and the sprawling novels Mink River and The Plover (April 2014). His books have seven times been finalists for the Oregon Book Award, and his essays have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion, The American Scholar, The Sun, The New York Times, The Times of London, and The Age (in Australia), among other periodicals. Honors include three Pushcart Prizes, the John Burroughs Award for Nature Essays, and the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2008.
Grass Roots will be selling books at this event. |
Store News
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Autuuuuummmmn!
 The first day of fall has come and gone--whoosh! In perfect northwestern fashion the rains began right on cue, but we're all a bit relieved for a respite from the heat.
In this spirit, we've created an Autumn display to set the mood. Come and find charming cards by some of our local artists, or curl around your mug of tea and a copy of Henning Mankell's timely mystery An Event in Autumn, OR divulge in Rowan Jacobsen's homage to the falliest of fruits--the apple!--in Apples of an Uncommon Character. It's starting to get cozy. . . eeee!
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Jigsaw
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Reading Group Selection
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Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 6:30-8:00 p.m.
 Join Tiffany as she leads the October Reading Group with The Paris Wife.
A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures the love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness-until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group--the fabled "Lost Generation"--that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Regular Price: $15.00
On sale for:$12.75
Until Monday, Oct. 6
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 9780345521316
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Night Stands
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Kendall
My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut
by Hannah Hart
[Non-Fiction]
 I am a hartosexual! I proudly claim this title which means I am committed to making myself into the best possible me I can be, while helping the people around me and the world I live in to also be their best. In her delightfully hilarious not-quite-a-cookbook, Hannah Hart will make you laugh, get you try new (and weird) things, all the while turning every page into a useful lesson on how to live happier. If you need any more convincing about the endless delights of the YouTube personality, notice that John Green wrote the introduction to this masterful book of joy.
Paperback; $22.99
Publisher: Dey Street Books; ISBN: 9780062293039
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Claire
Jackaby
by William Ritter
[Fiction]
 In this fantastical Sherlock Holmes-style story (written by Springfield author William Ritter), Abigail Rook throws off gender roles and jumps headfirst into a mystery. Jackaby, a detective who can observe and identify creatures others are oblivious to is investigating a brutal death, and by chance Abigail is drawn in. The story is engaging, and the relationship between Abigail and Jackaby is intriguing. Just remember, do not stare at the frog!
Paperback; $16.95
Publisher: Algonquin Books; ISBN: 9781616203535
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