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| Dec. 4, 2014 |
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Dear Readers,
This is a busy weekend. Tomorrow (December 5) is Winter's Eve, and the next day is Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day AND Buy Local First Day. Please refer to the Events at Grass Roots section for details on these last two, and check out the Community Events section for Winter's Eve downtown celebration details. Grass Roots will be open on Winter's Eve until 9 p.m.
In the Store:
Wow, so many excellent releases this week. In hardback we have Ali Smith's
How to be Both and Jose Saramago's Skylight. The paperback table is bedecked Murakami's The Strange Library and Chang-Rae Lee's
On Such a Full Sea.
We have a few more Holiday albums for you this week, and new releases from She & Him and Leonard Cohen. All these and more, just in time for your holiday shopping.
See you this weekend!
~Jenny
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New Hardcovers
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[Non-Fiction]
"Near the start of this rich essay collection, former U.S. poet laureate Hall also a biographer, children's book writer, and literary critic writes that 'poetry abandoned' him after he turned 85, but his prose writing endures and sustains him. And as this book shows, Hall who sometimes puts his essays through more than 80 drafts has not lost his touch. Laconic, witty, and lyrical, Hall is a master stylist, yet he remains refreshingly humble and matter-of-fact about fame (his and others). . ." -Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $22.00
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; ISBN: 9780544287044
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"The chicken, like all domesticated animals, was bred from a wild ancestor: the red jungle fowl, a shy pheasant so distrustful of humans that it seems a very unlikely candidate for domestication. Science-writer Lawler begins this absorbing survey of one of our most important cross-species relationships with a look at the endangered jungle fowl, and from here, he tracks the chicken's journey as it slowly spreads throughout the world. Lawler speaks with numerous archaeologists, scientists, and farmers to tease out what we've learned about when the chicken was domesticated, how it was traded among ancient civilizations, and how it came to symbolize so many attributes in both religion and daily life. . ." -Booklist, Starred Review
Hardcover; $26.00
Publisher: Atria Books; ISBN: 9781476729893
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 "Books mattered. As war machines rolled across Europe after 1939, Nazis shuttered libraries and burned books they deemed objectionable because of authorship or content. Then the U.S. began its own mobilization, early conscripts training with broomsticks for rifles. America's industry eventually supplied requisite war material, but soldiers and sailors needed weapons capable of fighting combat's psychological and spiritual stresses. Under the leadership of redoubtable librarian Althea Warren, the Victory Book Campaign rallied the nation's libraries, publishers, booksellers, and ordinary citizens, marshaling millions of volumes to send to front lines. . . Manning has scoured archives to retrieve soldiers' touching accounts of the therapeutic, life-saving influence of stories that took their minds away from daily horrors. . ." - Booklist, Starred Review
Hardcover; $25.00
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; ISBN: 9780544535022
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 "In this era of extolling genre fiction and the joys of story, Smith's latest novel makes a case for experimental, literary fiction. One half of this daring novel is the mostly conventional tale of a precocious teen struggling with the death of her arty, brilliant mother. George. . . is still living in a kind of stunned stupor. She sees a school counselor but is mostly helped by her first crush, the alluring H, who starts to pull her out of her shell. The other half of the novel is narrated by the disembodied voice of a fifteenth-century painter caught in the wave-laden air of twentieth-century Britain. . ." - Booklist, Starred Review
Hardcover; $25.95
Publisher: Pantheon Books; ISBN: 9780375424106
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 "Nobel Prize winner Saramago's never-before-published first novel is an insightful and surprisingly suspenseful story about the tenants in a Lisbon apartment building in 1952. The characters range from Silvestre, the philosopher/cobbler, and his wife, who rent out a room to a young drifter; Lidia, a kept woman, whose lover begins to fancy a younger neighbor; Carmen and Emilio, an unhappy couple whose son is caught in the middle; grieving Justina and adulterer Caetano, who both loathe and desire each other; and sisters Adriana and Isaura, who struggle to keep a sexual secret from their aunt and mother. . ." - Library Journal
Hardcover; $26.00
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; ISBN: 9780544090026
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New Paperbacks
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by Haruki Murakami
[Fiction]
 "A boy's routine day at the public library becomes a trip down the rabbit hole in Murakami's ( Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage) short novel. The boy meets a demanding old man, who forces him to read the books he's requested in a hidden reading room in the basement. After following the labyrinthine corridors, the boy is led by the old man into a cell, where he must memorize the history of tax collection in the Ottoman Empire. In the bowels of the library, the boy meets a beautiful, mute girl who brings him meals, as well as a subservient sheepman (whom we also meet in Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase) who fixes the boy crispy doughnuts and clues him in to the old man's sadistic plans. . ." - Publishers Weekly
Paperback; $18.00
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780385354301
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by Gabrielle Zevin
[Fiction]
 "In this sweet, uplifting homage to bookstores, Zevin perfectly captures the joy of connecting people and books. A. J. Fikry, the cantankerous owner of Island Books, is despondent after losing his beloved wife and witnessing the ever-declining number of sales at his small, quirky bookstore. In short order, he loses all patience with the new Knightly Press sales rep, his prized rare edition of Tamerlane is stolen, and someone leaves a baby at his store. That baby immediately steals A. J.'s heart and unleashes a dramatic transformation. . ." - Booklist
Paperback; $14.95
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; ISBN: 9781616204518
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 "University student Claire meets Alan in a life-drawing class at Oxford and falls into a relationship with him despite the disappointing sex they have and Alan's sour personality. After graduation, Claire follows Alan to his hometown of Belfast and takes a job at a local pub. She falls in with Alan's friends, Paul and Grainne, and when she and Alan eventually split up, she takes Grainne up on her offer of a room. Adrift and lonely, Claire makes a rash decision that ultimately leads her on a trip back home to confront truths about her friends and family. . ." - Booklist
Paperback; $15.95
Publisher: Vintage; ISBN: 9780804172615
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 ". . . B-Mor is a rigorously ordered labor settlement founded in what used to be Baltimore by refugees from impossibly polluted New China. They grow stringently regulated food for the elite, who live in gated charter villages, surrounded by open counties, in which civilization has collapsed under the assaults of a pandemic and an ever-harsher climate. In a third-person plural narrative voice that perfectly embodies the brutal and wistful communities he portrays, Lee tells the mythic story of young, small, yet mighty Fan, a breath-held diver preternaturally at home among the farmed fish she tends to. When her boyfriend inexplicably disappears, Fan escapes from B-Mor to search for him, embarking on a daring, often surreal quest in a violent, blighted world. . ." -Booklist, Starred Review
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Riverhead Books; ISBN: 9781594632891
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 "Short and pithy essays drill down beneath the news item to the general absurdity of life and observations of how the media is constantly feeding us information without real context. Interspersed throughout are references to art, literature, and culture and their more enduring messages in contrast to the impression left by the news of a desperate lack of humanity. This is a thought-provoking look at the impact of news on culture and individuals." -Booklist
Paperback; $15.95
Publisher: Vintage; ISBN: 9780307476838
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New For Young Readers
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The Animals' Santa
by Jan Brett
[Fiction]
Ages 3 to 8
 ". . . On his first Christmas Eve, Little Snow, a rabbit in a North Canadian forest, voices skepticism about the existence of the 'animals' Santa.' After all, no other animals have seen him or spotted his tracks in the snow. Even Little Snow's friends' descriptions of gifts Santa has left for them don't persuade Little Snow, who complains, 'I think you are fooling me.' As the animals speculate on Santa's identity, lemming 'elves' are busy in sidebar panels, making birch bark drums, pinecone animals, and other gifts. Native American artwork created with porcupine quills inspired the distinctive patterns that frame these border scenes. The dramatic arrival of Santa an exquisite snowy owl is well worth the wait. . ." -Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $17.99
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780399257841
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by John A. Flanagan
[Fiction]
Ages 8 to 12
 Hal, his Brotherband crew, and the Ranger Gilan have freed the twelve Araluens sold into slavery. Returning to Araluen, Gilan is given a new mission by King Duncan: protect his daughter's life. Princess Cassandra has survived one attempt on her life already, and now whispers of a second attempt have reached the kingdom. A deadly sect known as the Scorpion Cult is thought to be behind the assassination threat.
Hardcover; $18.99
Publisher: Philomel Books; ISBN: 9780399163562
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New Music
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Genre: Holiday
Revels' latest holiday release delivers musical treats representing the variety of music in Victorian society. "From Parlour to Palace" contains choral music, carols, dances, and children's songs popular in the late 19th and early 20th century.
($15.98) |
Genre: Holiday
The first holiday offering from the a cappella group that won 2011's Sing Off. Alternates between the playful and the reverent, using nothing more than five human voices.
($9.96) |
Genre: Holiday
The Roys' much-heralded sibling harmonies, lead vocals and agile musicianship shine a light on Christmas songs both new and old, all with a bluegrass flair.
($13.98) |
Genre: Pop/Folk
On the heels of his critically heralded Popular Problems studio record, the singer-songwriter releases music from a concert in Ireland. On both CD and DVD in this one set, Cohen performs hits as well as newer cuts.
($39.98) |
Genre: Pop/Folk
From Rolling Stone: "Features 18 performances selected by brother and sister, consisting of tunes Willie has written (such as "Permanently Lonely" and "My Old Peculiar Way"), as well as cover versions of American classics ("Alexander's Ragtime Band," "What'll I Do").
($11.96) |
Genre: Pop/Folk
Pairs M Ward and Zooey Deschanel, applying their vocals and musicianship to pop standards. Songs covered range from Dusty Springfield and Aretha to Elvis Costello.
($11.96) |
Events at Grass Roots
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Thursday, December 4, 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books and Music
When Penelope Easton, a young, vigorous, sensible WWII veteran with a Masters in Public Health Nutrition, embarked on a journey to Territorial Alaska to serve as the dietary consultant for the Alaskan Health Department, she could not anticipate the deplorable health-related conditions that she would find. The author observed the effects of measles and tuberculosis epidemics, educational philosophies that opted to teach Native children only in English, a scarcity of imported food supplies, and the derision of native foodways.
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Take Your Child To a Bookstore Day
Saturday, December 6
Grass Roots Books and Music
Grass Roots is celebrating Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day! Stop by the store on December 6th and pick up an ornament for your child to color at home. Return it by December 13th to be entered into a holiday raffle to win a prize! You'll also get a coupon that can be used immediately for 20% off any one children's book OR 50% off any one little Dover activity book. Plan to come back to the store to see all of the ornaments on display for everyone to enjoy through the holidays!
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Saturday, December 6
Grass Roots Books and Music
Saturday, Dec. 6 is the Corvallis Independent Business Alliance's (CIBA) 4th Annual Buy Local First Day.
Independent, locally-owned businesses in Corvallis will be offering special promotions all day. Grass Roots will offer 15% off holiday books and music, 15% off kids' books, 30% off all Dover kids' activity/coloring books. Also, stop by the store to enter your name for the Buy Local First prize drawing and an opportunity to win a $25 Grass Roots gift certificate!
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Community Events
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Darkside Show Times for 12/5-12/11
-Force Majeure -- R The film is incisive about its characters' attitudes and what those attitudes say about our cultural beliefs in regards to gender roles.
-Remote Area Medical -- NR Three-day clinic held in the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. What the movie does most powerfully and poignantly is capture its subjects' desperation.
-Dear White People -- R A welcome new voice to cinema's oft-neglected discussion of race.
-Citizenfour -- R Part real-life thriller, part sobering examination of 21st century civil liberties. 97% ON RT!
-Whiplash -- R Intense, inspiring, and well-acted, Whiplash is a brilliant sophomore effort from director Damien Chazelle and a riveting vehicle for stars J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller. 97% ON RT!
Arts/Literary Events
-Winter's Eve 2014 Friday, December 5th from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. (Grass Roots will be open until 9:00 p.m.) Madison Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets and in shops throughout downtown Corvallis. This greatly anticipated annual event is the traditional kick-off to the Corvallis holiday season. Shops will stay open late and offer exclusive discounts to ticket holders, who will enjoy an evening of fine food samplings from over 30 local restaurants and caterers. Desserts, wine, champagne, beer, soft drinks, and Starbucks coffee will be available to attendees in the tent. Attractions will include a silent auction with an exciting array of items. Popular Assistance League packaged foods and other specialty items will be for sale. Participating stores will stamp ticket booklets so that attendees can enter the "Snowflake Drawing" for a chance to win a beautiful gift basket. The $40 ticket booklet containing the admission ticket and discount coupons is available at The Inkwell Home Store, Rice's Pharmacy, The Clothes Tree, and Schmidt's Garden Center. The price will be $45 when purchased the night of the event. Full details can be found here!-20th Annual Corvallis Nativity Festival December 5-9, 1-8:30 p.m., 4141 NW Harrison Blvd, The Corvallis Nativity Festival is a holiday celebration of nativity scenes, music, and a puppet theater. With puppet shows and free concerts each day, this is a great holiday tradition for all ages. The beauty and variety of the art is one great reason to attend, the peaceful ambience is another. Beginning in 1994, this festival has grown and developed into a unique and wonderful event.-OSU Annual Staff Art Show Weekly on weekdays, until Jan 1, 2015, 8 am - 5 pm, Giustina Gallery @ LaSells Stewart Center, 875 Southwest 26th Street, Oregon State University, Visit the LaSells Stewart Center to view and celebrate the OSU Annual Staff Art Show! This show is co-sponsored by the Professional Faculty Leadership Association (PFLA) and the Association of Office Professionals (AOP), with support from the Office of the President. OSU's associated staff such as the OSU Foundation, GCA Service Group, and Sodexho (Beavers Catering within athletics facilities) and retirees are also welcome to participate.
-Holiday Book Sale Sat, December 6, 12 pm - 4 pm, Corvallis Public Library Community Room @ 645 Northwest Monroe Avenue, It's time for the Holiday Book Sale, benefiting the Friends of the Corvallis Benton County Library. Books range from $.50-$7 and are individually priced. They are in excellent condition and suitable for gift giving. The Holiday Book Sale is also open from 11 am-3 pm on Sunday, Dec. 7.
Opportunities-Poetics Corvallis Featuring Work of A. Molotkov at Interzone December 5, 7:30 p.m. Poetics Corvallis will feature the work of A. Molotkov from The Inflectionist Review at Interzone Coffee House in Corvallis. Open Mike Sign-Up at 7:30, feature to follow.-Random Review Wednesday, Dec. 10, 12-1:30 p.m., Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, Shocked: My Mother, Schiaparelli, and Me by Patricia Volk. Reviewed by: Leslie Burns. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.-Willamette Writers on the River "Open Mike" December 15, 2014 6:30-8:30 PM (sign-up starts at 6:15), First Presbyterian Church, 114 SW 8th Street (enter Dennis Hall at 9th & Monroe, Corvallis, Oregon; These quarterly readings are free and open to the public. This is your chance to engage in an important aspect of the writing life -- reading your work in front of others. Anyone can participate, but you have to sign up. These events often fill up, so if you want to read, it's a good idea to get there as soon after 6:15 PM as possible. The number of readers is limited. First to sign up is first to read. Each person gets 7 minutes. We ask that you read only one prose piece during the 7-minute time frame (multiple poems are okay). No graphic violence, sex, or hate speech. Please tell the audience if your piece is fiction or non-fiction, and if it is a part or whole.-National Novel Writing Month Writers Get Published at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Deadline for submissions is December 15th, 2014; The Library is proud to support NaNoWriMo this year and to prove it we want to get you published! The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library will publish an anthology of excerpts of the work you do during NaNoWriMo this year that will be displayed and circulated in our own collection. This is an opportunity to get your name in a library book and a chance to polish a portion of the work you do during NaNoWriMo.
Here are the guidelines and details regarding submissions:
*Submissions may be between 5-20 pages long. We cannot accept submissions longer than 20 pages, double-spaced, in a typical sized font (about 5,000 words).*Please include a brief (150 words or less) biography of yourself with your submission.*Copyright will be retained by you, the author, and this will be expressly noted in the book that will be published.*Submissions will be accepted until December 15th - this should give you time to polish the excerpt from your novel that you would like us to publish.*Please send submissions to Reference Librarian Bonnie Brzozowski at bonnie.brzozowski@corvallisoregon.gov or bonnie4cbcpl@gmail.com. Submissions will be accepted in Word (.doc or .docx), Open Office (.odt), or Google Doc formats ONLY.
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Community Events with Grass Roots
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Store News
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 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2014
As holiday shopping ramps up and the year winds down, the New York Times has come out with their "100 Notable Books of 2014." These titles are selected by the editors of the New York Times Book Review. Click here to find the complete list!
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Featured Gifts in the Store
Hanayama Cast Puzzles
Puzzle inventors from all over the world compete for their designs to be chosen by this top-notch puzzle line. At varying levels ranging from Fairly Easy to Very Difficult, these beautiful puzzles double as interactive, collector's art. We will be carrying them starting this weekend, which will help complete your holiday gift list!
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Graphite Drawing Instrument
 Think about stuffing your stockings with this: graphite sculpture pencils by artist Kelly Barker. Each design is intricate and makes drawing a unique experience, whether you find yourself preferring to sketch with a starfish or eagle feather.
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Jigsaw
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Reading Group Selection
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Grass Roots Books and Music
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 6
 Join Jenny as she leads the January Book Group on Tuesday, January 6 with We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. "As a girl in Indiana, Rosemary, Fowler's breathtakingly droll 22-year-old narrator, felt that she and Fern were not only sisters but also twins. So she was devastated when Fern disappeared. Then her older brother, Lowell, also vanished. Rosemary is now prolonging her college studies in California, unsure of what to make of her life. Enter tempestuous and sexy Harlow, a very dangerous friend who forces Rosemary to confront her past. We then learn that Rosemary's father is a psychology professor, her mother a non-practicing scientist, and Fern a chimpanzee. . ." - Booklist, Starred Review
Regular Price: $16.00
On sale for:$13.60
Until January 6
Publisher: Plume Books
ISBN: 9780142180822
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Night Stands
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 I don't know how I managed to make it through many hectic retail seasons without reading this irreverent and hilarious holiday mash-up. Pine Cove, a small coastal California version of Bedford Falls, and its inhabitants prepare for what ought to be an ordinary Christmas until a little boy thinks he sees Santa get killed and wishes for him not to be dead. Enter the Archangel Raziel, who grants Josh's wish with unintended consequences. Be forewarned: If you don't like your holidays mixed with a little sex, some profanity, zombies, and general mayhem, The Supidest Angel is not for you. But if you're open to Moore's twisted humor (which still manages to convey the magic of Christmas), this book might become a seasonal classic as it has for me.
Hardcover; $15.99
Publisher: William Morrow & Company; ISBN: 9780060842352
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Kendall
 It has never been so easy (or maybe so hard) to find Jesus. This adaption of Where's Waldo encourages you to find Jesus among many scenes -- the wedding of a burly biker-gang member, a shopping mall on Christmas Eve, a crowded movie theater. My favorite scene is of hipsters at a park, complete with PBRs, "unique" T-shirts, tattoos, and typewriters. This book is the perfect humorous gift for either the very devout or the very not.
Hardcover; $9.99
Publisher: Three Rivers Press; ISBN: 9780553418002
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 When you think back to your childhood, if you remember sticky models impossible to make look like the directions, hiding under your desk for an air raid drill, and penny candies, you should reminisce while reading Bill Bryson's memoir of his childhood. If not, read for a hilarious tale of what it meant to grow up in the 1950s in Des Moines. He shares stories of family, friends, and coming of age in a unique era.
Paperback; $15.99
Publisher: Broadway Books; ISBN: 9780767919371
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