|
|
|
|
| September 3, 2015 |
|
Good afternoon, Readers,
Grass Roots is NOW hiring! Please see the full job description and details below.
And...it's September already?! Fall is on the way, and it's so easy to lose track of time. That's why we have calendars in plenty of sizes and designs for you to choose from, this early in the season. Just in time for the end of summer, select BBQ books are up to 65% off! For more great discounts, just look for the yellow BB (Bargain Books) signs in the store. We receive a shipment of these limited quantity titles every two weeks -- don't miss out! Stop by to see what's new. This week in books: National Book Award winner Jonathan Franzen's newest has arrived. And though they are no longer with us, the legacies of these authors live on in writing: The last Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett is here, and the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy has become a quartet with the addition of The Girl in the Spider's Web, an installment by David Lagercrantz. Grass Roots will be open on Labor Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's a fantastic time to browse! Have a great holiday weekend,
Marissa |
New Hardcovers
|
|
by Jonathan Franzen
[Fiction]
Young Pip Tyler doesn't know who she is. She knows that her real name is Purity, that she's saddled with $130,000 in student debt, and that her relationship with her mother -- her only family -- is hazardous. A glancing encounter with a German peace activist leads Pip to an internship in South America with The Sunlight Project, an organization that traffics in all the secrets of the world -- including, Pip hopes, the secret of her origins. TSP is the brainchild of Andreas Wolf, who is drawn to Pip for reasons she doesn't understand, and the intensity of her response to him upends her conventional ideas of right and wrong.
Hardcover; $28.00
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux; ISBN: 9780374239213
|
|
by David Lagercrantz
[Fiction]
"Lagercrantz's worthy, crowd-pleasing fourth installment in the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium saga opens in Sweden, where some intellectual property developed by artificial intelligence genius Frans Balder has been stolen by a video game company with ties to Russian mobsters. Crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who's casting about for a new investigative project, is about to meet with Balder when an intruder kills the scientist and puts Balder's autistic eight-year-old son in danger. . .the pleasure resides in watching Lagercrantz. . .corral an enormous cast of characters into an intricate story revolving around the larger-than-life hacker [Salander] and her desire to right wrongs. . ." - Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $27.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780385354288
|
|
by Amy Stewart
[Fiction]
 "In 1914, on a New Jersey farm, the three Kopp sisters -- the pugnacious-yet-attractive, six-foot-tall Constance; the flibbertigibbet youngest, Fleurette; and the droll pigeon-keeper, Norma -- defy convention by living alone after their mother dies. . .When silk baron Henry Kaufman rams and overturns their buggy with his motorcar, events conspire against the Kopp girls' continued independence, [putting] Constance on high alert: she keeps her sisters corralled indoors, fires shots at nighttime intruders, and works with the sheriff to personally bring down the merchant and his thugs. A sheer delight to read and based on actual events, this debut historical mystery packs the unexpected, the unconventional, and a serendipitous humor into every chapter. . ." - Booklist, Starred Review
Hardcover; $27.00
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; ISBN: 9780544409910
|
|
by Bill Clegg
[Fiction]
"Literary agent Clegg, who has penned two acclaimed memoirs, here turns to fiction with a deeply haunting story. June Reid loses her entire family in a house fire: her daughter, who was about to be married; her daughter's fiance; her ex-husband; and her much-younger boyfriend, Luke. Utterly bereft, June leaves her Connecticut hometown and drives to the Moonstone motel in the Pacific Northwest, where she stays for months, barely leaving her room. . .Clegg is both delicately lyrical and emotionally direct in this masterful novel, which strives to show how people make bearable what is unbearable. . .this mesmerizing novel makes for a powerful debut." - Booklist, Starred Review
Hardcover; $26.00
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press; ISBN: 9781476798172
|
New Paperbacks
|
|
|
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
[Non-Fiction]
". . .Continuing their selflessly indefatigable brand of personal-issue journalism that opened the world's eyes to the horrors of female repression and gender inequities in Half the Sky, the authors now address dozens of other domestic and international challenges, from violence in Chicago to water scarcity in the Congo, from lack of education in Ethiopia to teenage pregnancy in Tacoma. . . Their vibrant portraits of ordinary citizens who are motivated to effect real and dramatic change present a rallying call to action. . .[their] meticulous research into the most worthy charities gives welcome guidance on how and where to contribute securely and responsibly. . ." - Booklist, Starred Review
Paperback; $15.95
Publisher: Vintage; ISBN: 9780345805102
|
|
by Azar Nafisi
[Non-Fiction]
"The Iranian-American author of Reading Lolita in Tehran makes a passionate argument for returning to key American novels in order to foster creativity and engagement. Having taught literature both in post-revolutionary Iran and in America, teacher and author Nafisi. . . finds in works by Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis and Carson McCullers important lessons in combating nefarious trends in the West: insular thinking, bias and a utilitarian mindset. Literature, writes the author, is deliciously subversive because it fires the imagination and challenges the status quo. This can be dangerous in an authoritarian, repressive state such as Iran, but it is necessary for an informed citizenry. . ." - Kirkus ReviewsPaperback; $17.00
Publisher: Penguin Books; ISBN: 9780143127789
|
|
by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
[Non-Fiction]
The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history -- how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington D.C., John Wilkes Booth murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country's most wanted fugitive. The thrilling chase ends in a fiery shootout and a series of court-ordered executions -- including that of the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government, Mary Surratt. Featuring some of history's most remarkable figures, vivid detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.
Paperback; $15.99
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; ISBN: 9781250012166
|
|
by Hector Tobar
[Non-Fiction]
"Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and novelist Tobar ( The Barbarian Nurseries) presents the riveting story of the 33 men who spent 69 days trapped more than 2,000 feet underground in Chile's San Jose Mine in 2010. . .Tobar, who was granted exclusive access to the miners and their families, compassionately recounts the miners' personal histories, experiences during the 17 days they were without outside contact, extended rescue, and the drama above ground with the families living near the mine in their makeshift 'Camp Esperanza'. . .Tobar vividly narrates the miners' lives post-rescue as they come to terms with their life-changing experience and the media frenzy surrounding it. . ." - Publishers WeeklyPaperback; $16.00
Publisher: Picador USA; ISBN: 9781250074850
|
|
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
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Picador USA; ISBN: 9781250074713
|
|
by Ken Follett
[Fiction]
 "In the ambitious, commanding capstone to his multigenerational Century Trilogy (after Winter of the World), Follett expertly chronicles the pivotal events of the closing decades of the 20th century through the eyes of a vast array of deftly drawn characters, all suffering the slings and arrows of a world marred by war and global unrest. . .Sweeping through the Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan administrations, Follett's smooth page-turner concludes in 2008 with an epilogue set on the night of President Obama's electoral victory. This mesmerizing final installment is an exhaustive but rewarding reading experience. . .flowing with spicy, expertly paced melodrama, character-rich exploits, familial histrionics, and international intrigue." - Publishers Weekly
Paperback; $25.00
Publisher: New American Library; ISBN: 9780451474018
|
New For Young Readers
|
|
 Penguin embarks on his next journey-becoming the first penguin to explore the North Pole! Along the way, he says hello to all of his old friends. But when he finally reaches his destination, he realizes he's all alone in a strange, foreign place. . .How will Penguin overcome his fears of the unknown and enjoy this new adventure? Countless readers and reviewers have already come to love the adorable Penguin, and Salina Yoon continues this still-growing series with a timeless story of firsts and friendship. Readers will delight in seeing all of their favorite characters from the first four books reunited again.
Board Book; $7.99
Publisher: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books; ISBN: 9781619637306
|
by Nancy Tillman
[Fiction]
Ages 3 to 8
 "Tillman pairs her characteristically cheerful exhortations with layered mixed-media artwork in which startlingly real-looking children and animals play. . .In this interconnected world, she suggests, children's good deeds have effects that they may never know about. . .Polished artwork and character-building verse make this just as desirable as Tillman's previous books." - Publishers Weekly
Hardcover; $17.99
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends; ISBN: 9781250056269
|
by Terry Pratchett
[Fiction]
Young Adult
 Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring. The owls and the foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots. An old enemy is gathering strength. This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power. Now Tiffany stands between the light and the dark, the good and the bad. As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her. To protect the land. Her land. In the final Discworld novel, there will be a reckoning. . .
Hardcover; $18.99
Publisher: HarperCollins; ISBN: 9780062429971
|
New Bargain Books
|
|
|
Football season is close at hand! And, as it happens, so are several bargain books featuring none other than the Dalai Lama. So we decided that's exactly what this week's theme should be: Football and the Dalai Lama. Enjoy these titles at a reduced price here at Grass Roots.
|
New Music
|
|
Pop/Folk
As a producer and as frontman for The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach has a distinct, recognizable bluesy rock sound. His newest project adds tinges of psychedelic soul to the mix.
($16.98) |
Dan Bern
Hoody Pop/Folk
Contemporary folk singer-songwriter Dan Bern played some of his earliest shows in the Grass Roots loft. Years later, his new record features full band arrangements of folk and Americana originals.
($15.98) |
Lizz Wright
Freedom & Surrender Jazz
The Georgia soul and folk artist releases her fifth record, an album inspired by a year of personal changes. Produced by Larry Klein, the collection features mostly originals, as well as inventive covers of tunes by the BeeGees and Nick Drake.
($15.98) |
Events at Grass Roots
|
|
|
Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
If you dream of living in a tiny house, or creating a getaway in the backwoods or your backyard, you'll love this gorgeous collection of creative and inspiring ideas for tiny houses, cabins, forts, studios, and other microshelters. Created by a wide array of builders and designers around the United States and beyond, these 59 unique and innovative structures show you the limits of what is possible. You'll also find guidelines on building with recycled and salvaged materials, plus techniques for making your small space comfortable and easy to inhabit.
Derek "Deek" Diedricksen is the author of Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts. His work has been featured on the cover of the New York Times' Home and Garden Section and in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Seattle Times, the Wall Street Journal, Make magazine, and Apartment Therapy.com; and on NPR, CBS, PBS, and ABC. Diedricksen lives in Stoughton, Massachusetts. |
Community Events
|
|
|
Darkside Show Times for 9/4-9/10
-Mr. Holmes -PG A retired, nonagenarian Sherlock Holmes is haunted by a failing memory, a past case, and his own cold heart as he tries to find a cure for aging. Ian McKellan, Laura Linney.
-Jimmy's Hall -PG-13 A wonderful love story woven into a larger tale about Ireland's political troubles during the 1930s, with irresistible performances by Barry Ward and Simone Kirby. Ken Loach directs.
-Steve Jobs: Man In The Machine -NR Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney takes on Steve Jobs and society's ongoing Apple addiction in this deeply critical biographical documentary.
-Phoenix -PG-13 A disfigured concentration-camp survivor (Nina Hoss), unrecognizable after facial reconstruction surgery, searches ravaged postwar Berlin for the husband (Ronald Zehrfeld) who might have betrayed her to the Nazis. 99% ON RT!
-Diary Of A Teenage Girl -NR Seldom has teenage sexual awakening been covered from a female perspective -- with a fickle alternating confidence, self-doubt and voracious appetite -- quite so frankly or delicately.
Arts/Literary Events
Willamette Writers on the River: Character & Plotting Workshops with Susan Kelly
Saturday, September 12 and/or Sunday, September 13, at 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Corvallis, OR
Susan Kelly has a gift for conveying the structure of story. Her workshops are suitable for fiction and creative non-fiction writers. Her goal is always for students to have fun, to participate, and to learn lots. For maximum benefit, Susan recommends taking both workshops. Register before September 1 for reduced pricing at the Willamette Writers on the River website. Attendance is limited to 25 for each workshop.
Friends of the Library Fall Festival Used Book Sale
Saturday, September 26 at 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
*Members - 9:00 a.m. (Join at the door) and Sunday, September 27 at 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Main Meeting Room
Corvallis Public Library
645 NW Monroe Avenue
Corvallis, OR
Lots of lightly used top-quality paperback books at very reasonable prices. Books especially selected for this sale include fiction, children's, youth, biographies, history, memoirs, cooking, and holiday crafts. Sets of high quality books suitable for book groups will also be available.
|
|
Community Events with Grass Roots
|
|
Monday, September 14, at 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Monroe Community Library
380 North 5th St.
Monroe, OR
Bestseller Jance's 51st novel brings together two of her popular series characters Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont and Arizona sheriff Brandon Walker in a highly entertaining plot that honors both of these now-retired cops. Grounded in the legends and lore of the Tohono Oaodham people, the story also delivers a solid look at the vagaries of justice. In 1970, Walker arrested John Lassiter for the shooting murder of Lassiter's foster father, prospector Amos Warren. Still in prison after all these years and suffering from MS, Lassiter refuses a plea deal that might release him. Instead, Lassiter wants Walker to find the real killer. . .
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 the Walker Family Series. Over 20 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. Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
|
Crazy Eights Author Event (Corvallis)
Thursday, October 15, at 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Corvallis-Benton County Library
645 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR
Speed dating, only with authors! Each author will have eight minutes to address the audience about their life as a writer and introduce a featured book. It will be a fast-paced literary slam. A mixer, wherein the authors will interact one-on-one with members of the audience to discuss their work and personally sign books, will follow the rapid-fire presentations. Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
Authors include:
- Dan DeWeese (Oregon Book Award fiction nominee, You Don't Love This Man)
- K.B. Dixon (Oregon Book Award finalist, The Sum of His Syndromes; Eric Hoffer Award)
- Cai Emmons (Oregon Book Award winner, His Mother's Son; new work Weather Woman)
- Lisa Ohlen Harris (Oregon Book Award finalist, The Fifth Season)
- Lauren Kessler (Oregon Book Awards; on David Letterman twice; newest: Raising the Barre)
- Phillip Margolin (Nationally known for NYT best selling legal thrillers; Woman With a Gun)
- Ismet Prcic (Bosnian author of Oregon Book Award winner novel, Shards; NYT Notable Book)
- Ellen Waterston (Award winning poet and essayist, novel of verse Via Lactea most recent)
- Emcee: George Byron Wright (Noted for Oregon-based novels; In the Wake of Our Misdeed)
|
Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Corvallis Public Library
645 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR
In death-ravaged Verona, Angelica, a mother mourning her day-old infant, enters the household of the powerful Cappelletti family to become the wet-nurse to their newborn daughter Juliet. Over the next 14 years, Angelica becomes caught up in the Cappelletti's darkest secrets. But when those secrets erupt across five momentous days of love and loss, Angelica must confront her own deepest grief to find the strength to survive.
Award-winning author Lois Leveen's work has appeared in the New York Times, the LA Review of Books, the Chicago Tribune, the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic and on NPR, as well as in numerous literary and scholarly journals and in film and performing arts festivals. She lives in a bright green house in Portland, Oregon, with two cats, one Canadian, and 120,000 honey bees. Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
|
Store News
|
|
|
Job opening at Grass Roots
Love books and looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity? Grass Roots Books & Music has an immediate opening for a part-time receiver/back up frontline bookseller.
The position is both intellectually and physically demanding. Potential applicants must be highly computer literate, and easily able to learn new programs and systems quickly in a multi-tasking environment. Successful candidates must interact well with coworkers and customers, but also be able to function independently in a back room setting.
|
Our newest bookseller!
 Please welcome our newest bookseller, Kerry, to the Grass Roots team! She loves short stories (favorite writers are Mary Gaitskill, Julio Cortazar, and Flannery O'Connor), lit journals, and true crime. See her favorite recommendations here, and stop by the store to say hello!
|
Jigsaw
|
|
Reading Group Selection
|
|
Tuesday, October 6, at 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
 Join Adam as he leads our October Reading Group with The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize. This intense novel follows Tony Webster, a middle-aged man, as he contends with a past he never thought much about -- until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. Tony thought he left this all behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.
Regular Price: $14.95
On sale for: $12.71
Until Tuesday, October 6
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 9780307947727
|
Night Stands
|
|
Née
by Andy Weir [Fiction]
I can't put this book down. I would be finished with it if my stubborn body didn't believe sleep was a necessity. I'm obsessed with finding out what happens to Mark Watney; an astronaut stranded on Mars using his incredible ingenuity to keep himself a live long enough to be rescued -- in four-ish years! I think about his predicament over breakfast, I fret about him at lunch, and by dinner I'm swallowing my food whole so I can devour as many pages as possible before lights out. If you're looking for a page turner, this is it! Read it NOW, like right now, before the movie comes out on October 2, 2015.
Paperback, $15.00
Publisher: Broadway Books/Crown Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780553418026
|
Kerry
[Fiction]
Written nine years before it was published, McBride's debut novel traces its female narrator's journey from adolescence to adulthood and the evolution of her turbulent relationship with her brother. The prose, which is halting and "half-formed", reminds me a little of James Joyce. It took me about a page to get into its strange rhythm, but once I did, I flew through it. In summary: it's not for the faint of heart, but that's what makes it so satisfying.
Paperback, $16.00
Publisher: Hogarth; ISBN: 9781101903438
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
