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| July 16, 2015 |
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What's new, Readers?
For starters, BARGAIN BOOKS as low as $5! We have limited quantites of each title in stock -- many have only 1 or 2 copies available. We'll be featuring select specially priced titles (on just about any subject you can dream of) in our new Bargain Books section of the Reader, but there's so much more to see in the store. Check back for new titles every two weeks!
Grass Roots got name-dropped again! The BookManager Academy event drew more than 100 indie booksellers across Canada and the U.S., including our very own floor manager and book buyer, Tiffany! Her words were featured in a recent Shelf Awareness newsletter. Take a look to learn about how we're making your book shopping experience even more unique and efficient, and check out our new website powered by BookManager!
This week in new releases, we're bringing you Go Set A Watchman, a compelling memoir on race in America by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and several fantastic debuts by women authors. Plus, our 2015-2016 August to August calendars have arrived, and they're going fast.
There's still time to experience the local charm of downtown Corvallis in summer...we look forward to seeing you!
~ Marissa
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New Hardcovers
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From the beloved, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird. . .Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers, featuring many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some 20 years later after the trial of Tom Robinson. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch Scout struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her. Moving, funny and compelling, the novel casts a fascinating new light on Lee's enduring classic.
Hardcover; $27.99
Publisher: Harper; ISBN: 9780062409850
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by Ta-Nehisi Coates
[Non-Fiction]
". . .Atlantic national correspondent Coates['s] (The Beautiful Struggle) bildungsroman shows the writer as a young man, in settings that include Baltimore's streets, Howard University's campus, and Paris's boulevards. Coates intimately presents the text as a letter to his son, both an expression of love and a cautionary tale. . .As a meditation on race in America, haunted by the bodies of black men, women, and children, Coates's compelling, indeed stunning, work is rare in its power to make you want to slow down and read every word. This is a book that will be hailed as a classic of our time." - Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $24.00
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau; ISBN: 9780812993547
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by Spencer Quinn
[Fiction]
 When a mysterious case of illegal cactus smuggling comes to their attention, Chet and his human P.I. companion, Bernie Little, find themselves in a prickly situation in this eighth book in the New York Times bestselling mystery series. Bernie and his dog Chet return home to encounter some alarming developments: First off, Bernie's grandfather's watch, their most valuable possession, has been stolen. And next door, old Mr. Parsons is under investigation for being in possession of a saguaro cactus illegally transplanted from the desert. Is it possible that such a lovely old couple have a terrible secret in their past?
Hardcover; $25.00
Publisher: Atria Books; ISBN: 9781476703428
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by Annie Liontas
[Fiction]
 "Liontas' debut paints a lively portrait of a dysfunctional Greek American family headed by its patriarch, Stavros Mavrakis, owner of a New Jersey diner, who becomes convinced by a dream that he has only 10 days to live. He sends an e-mail to his ex-wife and three daughters telling each of them what they should do with their lives, and that they should do these things for his sake in his final days. No one takes his letter seriously, believing that Stavros is merely experiencing some sort of midlife crisis, but at least it brings them together, if only to laugh over Stavros' many faults. . ." - Booklist
Hardcover; $26.00
Publisher: Scribner Book Company; ISBN: 9781476789088
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by Natasha Pulley
[Fiction]
 "Pulley's electrifying debut [set in Victorian London] is a triumph of speculative fiction. . .Nathaniel Steepleton is a telegraph clerk in the Home Office, trapped in a life as regular as clockwork. Grace Carrow is a scientist seeking out the mysteries of ether. Their lives are brought together and into peril by association with Keita Mori, a genius watchmaker who can 'remember' the future. When Steepleton receives word of a clockwork bombing and an anonymous gift of a pocket watch on the same day, he begins investigating Mori. . .Pulley expertly employs the tools of mystery and fantasy to examine the social pressures faced by the marginalized. . ." - Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $26.00
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; ISBN: 9781620408339
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New Paperbacks
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by Brock Clarke
[Fiction]
"[Clarke's] whiz-bang spy satire [is] bundled in an edgy tale of redemption. Impulsive cartoonist Jens Baedrup leaves his wife and home in Denmark with the help of love-lorn CIA spy Locs (aka Lorraine). The reason: an impressionable and lonely immigrant takes offense at Jens's drawing of Muhammed with a bomb in his turban, hovering above the 'happiest people in the world. . .frowning inexpertly.' And so begins clueless cultural criminal and eternal optimist Jens's transformation into Henry Larsen, a Broomeville, N.Y., high school guidance counselor. . .The bizarre moose-eye view opening to this culture-clash horror tale expertly sets the tone for what's to come. . ." - Publishers Weekly
Paperback; $15.95
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; ISBN: 9781616204792
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by Nuala O'Connor
[Fiction]
 ". . .Irish writer O'Connor breathes new life into reclusive poet Emily Dickinson in her mesmerizing U.S. debut. Like one of Dickinson's poems, the deceptively simple narrative packs a powerful punch. When Irish immigrant Ada Concannon joins the eccentric Dickinson household as a maid, she and Emily develop a relationship that bridges the age, educational, and social divides that already exist between them. . .Though Emily is deep in the throes of her white phase, seldom leaving the grounds of her family's beloved homestead in Amherst, she summons up her courage to venture outside. . .on behalf of Ada when violent tragedy strikes. . ." - Booklist
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Penguin Books; ISBN: 9780143126751
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by Mark Nepo
[Non-Fiction]
 As a poet, philosopher, and cancer survivor, Nepo has been breaking a path of spiritual inquiry for more than 30 years. Here he explores what it means to become our truest self through the ongoing and timeless journey of awakening to the dynamic wholeness of life, which is messy and unpredictable. Nepo navigates some of the soul's deepest and most ancient questions, such as: What does it mean to inhabit the world? How do we stay vital and buoyant amid the storms of life? What is the secret to coming alive? Nepo affirms that not only is the soul's journey inevitable, it is essential to our survival.
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Atria Books; ISBN: 9781476774664
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 "Blanca Perea's emotions are still raw after her husband leaves her for a much younger woman. When she hears that a new baby is in the picture, Blanca can think of nothing but escaping Madrid. As a college professor, a few research fellowships are immediately available to her, but the most appealing quality of the vacancy at the University of Santa Cecilia is the location. Tentatively settled in California and immersed in the life of a writer who died decades earlier, Blanca gains some much-needed perspective and realizes that the repercussions of this fellowship could be farther-reaching than she ever imagined. . ." - Booklist
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Atria Books; ISBN: 9781451668353
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by Cathy Woodman
[Fiction]
 Life has been tough lately for Zara, a recently divorced country midwife. Now living with her grandmother, it is hardly the ideal situation in which to get her life back on track. And then one day, love walks in, in the form of an abandoned puppy. Zara feels in over her head: she knows nothing about dogs, and her new friend causes havoc wherever they go. She is grateful when a local shepherd, Lewis, offers to help train her. But Lewis has an ulterior motive for helping. And though Zara may be able to trust him with her naughty dog, can she trust him with her bruised heart?
Paperback; $15.95
Publisher: Pegasus Books; ISBN: 9781605988009
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New For Young Readers
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Board Books; $7.99
Publisher: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen; ISBN: 9780062343185
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by Elise Parsley
[Fiction]
Ages 4 to 7
 Note to self: If your teacher tells you to bring something from nature for show-and-tell, she does not want you to bring an alligator! But nothing will stop Magnolia, who's determined to have the best show-and-tell of all -- until her reptilian rapscallion starts getting her into some major trouble. Now it's up to Magnolia to find a way to send this troublemaker home -- but what could possibly scare an alligator away? This unforgettable introduction to a charismatic kid heroine also marks the dazzling debut of an extraordinary new artistic talent!
Hardcover; $17.00
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 9780316376570
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by Chris Colfer
[Fiction]
Ages 8 to 12
 Fairy tales are just the beginning. The Masked Man is on the loose in the Land of Stories, and it's up to Alex and Conner Bailey to stop him...except Alex has been thrown off the Fairy Council, and no one will believe they're in danger. With only the help of the ragtag group of Goldilocks, Jack, Red Riding Hood, and Mother Goose and her gander, Lester, the Bailey twins discover the Masked Man's secret scheme: He possesses a powerful magic potion that turns every book it touches into a portal, and he is recruiting an army of literature's greatest villains!
Hardcover; $18.00
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 9780316406895
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New Bargain Books
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What's new in bargain books? Kids' fiction titles including Newbery Award winners starting at $2.98, picture books (poetry, folk tales, multicultural titles and more) at 40%-60% off, and board books priced at $3.98-$5.98.
Featured titles (click to reveal the deal!):
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New Music
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Anderson East
Pop/Folk
Like Lake Street Dive or St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Anderson East injects a healthy dose of soul into his Americana. Produced by Dave Cobb (see Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, etc.), East is equally comfortable on the country and the R&B side of the equation.
($13.98)
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Leon Bridges
Pop/Folk
You could be forgiven for thinking this young Dallas soul man hails from the 1960s. Like contemporary of Sam Cooke or Marvin Gaye's younger brother, Bridges plays a classic strain of soul.
($11.96)
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Various Artists
Jazz
Almost a decade after her passing, this collection pays tribute to the uncompromising soul and blues singer. A companion piece to a new documentary about Simone, the music was produced by Robert Glasper and Lauryn Hill, featuring contemporary soul artists like Usher, Mary J. Blige, and more.
($11.96)
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Events at Grass Roots
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Billie Ruth Hopkins Furuichi, Bobbie Hopkins Spivey, Jerrine Minkus Rowley, and Lisa Swallow
My Mother -- Myself
Monday, July 27, at 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
My Mother -- Myself is a compilation of real stories written by 
women from varied backgrounds and many levels of education. As we share stories about our mothers, our greatest and first love is revealed. In sharing these moments with other women, we recognize the kinship and commonality which connect us, even when we are of different ethnicities, different social structures and different generations. Our commonality weaves us together as women.
Billie Ruth Hopkins Furuichi is an Art Activist, songwriter, poet, dancer, musician, and teacher. A recent widow, she is the Writing Center Coordinator at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon. Co-editor Bobbie Hopkins Spivey is a published prizewinning author of short stories and lives in Sacramento, California. Contributing author Jerrine retired in 2008 and lives with her husband in southern Oregon. Contributing author Lisa Swallow is a children's book writer living in Portland, Oregon.
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Waldo Celebration!
Saturday, August 1, at 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
You've finished finding Waldo all over downtown. You have 15 or more stamps on your Waldo passport. What now? Join us on August 1st at 2:30 p.m. to celebrate your success! The raffle drawing will be held, and you may win prizes!
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Community Events
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Darkside Show Times for 7/17-7/23
-Gemma Bovery -R A cheeky literary mash-up of Flaubert's literary classic Madame Bovary starring Gemma Arterton and Fabrice Luchini.
-Farewell Party -NR A group of friends at a Jerusalem retirement home decide to help their terminally ill friend. For all its talk of death, this is a story about life featuring a terrific ensemble cast. Subtitled Hebrew. 93% on RT!
-The Wolfpack -R Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. An engrossing portrait of a decidedly peculiar family.
-PG-13 An unconventional look at the life and legacy of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Paul Dano, John Cusack. 90% on RT!
-Far From The Madding Crowd -PG-13 Perfect for a Downton Abbey fix between seasons. Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen.
Arts/Literary Events
Willamette Writers on the River presents 
An Evening with Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears
Monday, July 20, at 6:30-8:30 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church
114 SW 8th St.
Corvallis, OR
Peter will read from his own work and also provide writing prompts for the audience. With his excellent ear for the sound of language, he'll provide instant and valuable feedback to those who share their drafts. This will be an interactive event, so bring pen and paper.
Peter is the author of four full-length poetry collections: Tour, The Brink, Green Diver, and Small Talk. Peter is the founder of the Oregon Literary Coalition and co-founder of Friends of William Stafford and Cloudbank Books. He serves on the board of advisors for Fishtrap, and splits his time between Corvallis and Portland. He was appointed Oregon Poet Laureate in 2014 by Governor Kitzhaber.
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Community Events with Grass Roots
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"Sick Around the World" Showing
Thursday, July 16, at 7:00 pm
Darkside Cinema
215 SW 4th St.
Corvallis, OR
T. R. Reid, author of The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, has created a PBS program, "Sick Around the World," that will be showing at Darkside Cinema.
In "Sick Around the World," Frontline teams up with veteran Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid to find out how five other capitalist democracies -- the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland -- deliver health care, and what the United States might learn from their successes and their failures. Grass Roots will be selling copies of The Healing of America at the event.
Saturday, July 25, at 7:00 p.m.
Russell Tripp Theater, Linn Benton Community College
6500 Pacific Blvd. SW
Albany, OR
 For all the rights and privileges enjoyed in the U.S., this country remains the only industrialized one that does not guarantee medical services to all its citizens. As a result, our health-care system ranks poorly when it comes to infant mortality, life expectancy, satisfaction, and overall performance. Reid traveled the globe to study the health-care systems of other democratic nations, such as France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and Canada, where medical services are available to every citizen, giving a clear picture of why we have a moral imperative to implement a health-care system for all Americans.
T. R. Reid has become one of the nation's best-known reporters through his books and articles, his documentary films, his reporting for the Washington Post, and his light-hearted commentaries on NPR's Morning Edition. Reid is a member of the board of the Health Research and Education Trust, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, and other community and educational institutions. Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
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Store News
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Go Set a Watchman release recap
 
Harper Lee's highly anticipated new novel came out in droves this past Tuesday, and so did you! We had an excellent morning serving up fresh tarts and lemonade, notes from Atticus Finch, and of course, plenty of pre-ordered copies of Go Set A Watchman. Grab your copy today! For more in-store summer events, see Events at Grass Roots.
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Where's Waldo? Here at Grass Roots!
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Find Waldo Local
All July long, Grass Roots will be hosting Find Waldo Local! Here's what you need to know:
1. Stop at Grass Roots any time in July to pick up a passport and fill out your contact info.
2. Find Waldo at 10 local businesses in Corvallis and get a stamp at each one.
3. Return to Grass Roots for a Waldo button (optional) and a coupon!
4. Find Waldo at 15+ more businesses, then return to Grass Roots to enter a raffle to win a prize from participating businesses.
5. Join us for our Waldo Celebration party on Saturday, August 1st at 2:30 p.m. We will have activities, draw names for the raffle, and give out prizes!
Participating businesses are:
Grass Roots Books & Music
American Dream Pizza
Animal Crackers
Burst's Chocolate
Cyclotopia
Fingerboard Extension
Footwise
Francesco's
The Golden Crane
Gracewinds
The Inkwell Home Store
Irene's Boutique
Kaleidoscope Studios
Many Hands Trading
Mod Pod Décor
New Morning Bakery
Peak Sports
Sedlak's Boots and Shoes
Sibling Revelry
Soft Star Shoes
The Toy Factory
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Kids' Summer Reading Challenge
If your child is between the ages of 5-12, Grass Roots wants you to participate in our Kids' Summer Reading Challenge! Stop by the store and pick up a challenge form listing 10 book genres. Find a book from each of the genres to read or listen to. Return the form to Grass Roots between June 15th -- August 16th with 4 different genres completed and you'll get a 20% off coupon good toward any one children's book and a raffle ticket for a chance to win prizes.
Want more raffle tickets? Keep reading! If you complete 8 different genres you'll get a second ticket, and if you complete all 10 you'll get a third!
Need help finding a book to read? Grass Roots' friendly booksellers are happy to provide you with a
recommendation -- see our display in the store for suggestions within genres! Also, the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library is a great place for recommendations and resources.
Genres include:
Adventure
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Nonfiction
Poetry
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Your Choice!
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Jigsaw
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Reading Group Selection
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Tuesday, August 4, at 6:30-8:00 p.m.
 Join Neé as she leads our August Reading Group with The Bees by Laline Paull, a 2015 finalist for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.
This brilliantly imagined debut tells the story of Flora 717, a devout young worker bee who finds herself in possession of a deadly secret. Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, a member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive, where work and sacrifice are the highest virtues and worship of the beloved Queen the only religion. But Flora is not like other bees. With circumstances threatening the hive's survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw, but her courage and strength are assets. But when Flora breaks the most sacred law of all -- daring to challenge the Queen's preeminence - enemies abound. . .
Regular Price: $15.99
On sale for: $13.60
Until Tuesday, August 4
Publisher: Ecco Press
ISBN: 9780062331175
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Night Stands
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 Capital Dames is a wonderful history book concerning the Civil War in America as seen through the words and deeds of the Washington women of that time. Cokie Roberts has done a fantastic job of gathering information and ideas from the letters these women wrote, from their diaries, and from other sources. The book details the viewpoints of particular individual women and, in their historic timeline, all they had to offer. From Dolley Madison, who returned to influence Washington after her husband's death, to the political and observational comments of Elizabeth (Lizzie) Blair Lee, to Mary Todd Lincoln, this excellent book is important and interesting. Hardcover, $27.99
Publisher: Harper; ISBN: 9780062002761
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 I am a collector; a curator of feathers, stones, pinecones, and bones. I love going out into the natural world and bringing a piece of its beauty and intrigue back indoors with me. Alan Dudley is a fellow collector, only he's taken it far beyond my wildest dreams. Through the pages of this marvelous book you have the privilege of exploring perhaps the world's most comprehensive private collection of skulls. There are stunning detailed photos of all things wild including: the pangolin, aardwolf, hippopotamus, capybara, silvery cheeked hornbill, and so much more! This book has substance too, providing a rich cultural history of skulls throughout time. On top of that, it's on sale for $16.98 (originally $29.95). |
[Non-Fiction]
Recently she opened an All-Girls School in Syria, calling for world leaders to invest in "books, not bullets," and of course, became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize -- and she only just turned 18. Malala Yousafzai is living proof that our individual influence is rooted in courage. But we can only begin to understand her journey in her own words, detailing the cultural and political history of her country. Her memoir is worth a read for anyone, if only to remind us that the basic human rights we take for granted are rights that others fight for with their lives.
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Clank! Rattle! Bang! Who's making all that noise? Backhoe Loader, reporting for duty. This construction vehicle with an attitude loves every second of his dirty job! For fans of 
