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| April 14, 2016 |
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You're invited, Readers!
Grass Roots is thrilled to announce our full-day celebration of the 2nd annual Independent Bookstore Day this April 30, complete with giveaways, raffles, discounts, and cake and punch! See details under Events at Grass Roots.
In honor of National Poetry Month, pick up your copy of collected poems by acclaimed poet Rita Dove, who will be reading at OSU tonight -- and keep scrolling for our featured poem of the week.
New releases this week include Anna Quindlen's latest novel, paperbacks by Gary Snyder, and a middle grade book by Kate DiCamillo, plus music and bargain books.
Stop downtown for the return of the Farmer's Market and browse what's new on our shelves!
~Marissa
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New Hardcovers
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by Rita Dove
[Poetry]
See tonight's author event below!
Rita Dove's Collected Poems 1974-2004 showcases the wide-ranging diversity that earned her a Pulitzer Prize, the position of U.S. poet laureate, a National Humanities Medal, and a National Medal of Art. Gathering 30 years and seven books, this volume compiles the multifaceted gems of "Grace Notes," the exquisite reinvention of Greek myth in the sonnets of "Mother Love," the troubling rapids of recent history in "On the Bus with Rosa Parks," and the homage to America's kaleidoscopic cultural heritage in "American Smooth," all celebrating Dove's mastery of narrative context with lyrical finesse.
Hardcover; $39.95
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 9780393285949
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by Anna Quindlen
[Fiction]
"Growing up in the valley that bears her family name, Mimi Miller learned early on that there is a dance of determination and delicacy in the best and worst of relationships. . .But perhaps no connection was more important than that of the Miller family to the land that had been theirs for generations, as it came under threat of annihilation by a government-mandated flooding project. As she matures from precocious youngster to purposeful young woman, Mimi comes to terms with life as it should be versus life as it is. . .[A] compelling family tale rich in recognizable characters, resplendent storytelling, and reflective observations. . ." - Booklist
Hardcover; $28.00
Publisher: Random House; ISBN: 9780812996081
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by Jennifer Ackerman
[Non-Fiction]
Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. In fact, according to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. Although small, bird brains are packed with neurons that allow them to punch well above their weight. Acclaimed author Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be intelligent.
Hardcover; $28.00
Publisher: Penguin Press; ISBN: 9781594205217
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by Manuel Gonzales
[Fiction]
In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization -- the Regional Office and its coterie of super-powered female assassins -- protects the globe from annihilation. And now, it is under attack. Rose is a young assassin leading the attack, eager to stretch into her powers and prove herself on her first mission. Defending the Regional Office is Sarah, who may or may not have a mechanical arm, fiercely devoted to the organization that took her in as a young woman in the wake of her mother's sudden disappearance. Their stories will overlap, their lives will collide, and the world as they know it just might end.
Hardcover; $28.00
Publisher: Riverhead Books; ISBN: 9781594632419
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by Darrin Lunde
[Non-Fiction]
No U.S. president is more popularly associated with nature and wildlife than Theodore Roosevelt, prodigious hunter, tireless adventurer, and ardent conservationist. Drawing on Roosevelt's diaries and travel journals as well as Lunde's own role as a leading figure in museum naturalism today, The Naturalist reads Roosevelt through the lens of his love for nature. From [Roosevelt's] teenage collections of birds and small mammals to his time at Harvard and political rise, Lunde constructs a perceptively researched and insightful history that tracks Roosevelt's maturation from exuberant boyhood hunter to vital champion of serious scientific inquiry.
Hardcover; $28.00
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY); ISBN: 9780307464309
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New Paperbacks
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by Gary Snyder
[Poetry]
For his first collection of new poems since his celebrated Danger on Peaks, published in 2004, Gary Snyder finds himself ranging over the planet. Journeys to the Dolomites, to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, from Paris and Tuscany to the shrine at Delphi, Snyder lays out these poems as a map of the last decade. Placed side-by-side, they become a path and a trail of complexity and lyrical regard. And in the mix are some of the most beautiful domestic poems of his great career, poems about his work as a homesteader and householder, as a father and husband, as a friend and neighbor.
Paperback; $14.95
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC; ISBN: 9781619027381
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by Gary Snyder and Jim Harrison
[Non-Fiction]
Gary Snyder joined his old friend, novelist Jim Harrison, to discuss their loves and lives and what has become of them throughout the years. Set amidst the natural beauty of the Santa Lucia Mountains, their conversations -- harnessing their ideas of all that is wild, sacred and intimate in this world -- reach a level of not only the personal, but the global, redefining our idea of the Beat Generation and challenging the future directions of the environmental movement and its association with Deep Ecology. The Etiquette of Freedom is an all-encompassing companion to the film The Practice of the Wild.
Paperback; $15.00
Publisher: Anchor Books; ISBN: 9780804172417
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by Ernest Cline
[Fiction]
"Cline's first novel, the irresistible gamer quest, Ready Player One, became a big bestseller now slated for a movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. In his second geek-coming-of-age tale, Cline presents Zack Lightman, a teen with anger issues obsessed with his late father, who left behind. . .notebooks delineating a wild conspiracy theory about the truth embedded in popular science fiction novels, movies, and videogames. When Zack looks out a school window and sees an alien spacecraft just like those he shoots down so decisively while playing the online alien-invaders videogame, Armada, he fears he's losing his mind. . ." - Booklist, Starred Review
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Broadway Books; ISBN: 9780804137270
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by Chris Guillebeau
[Non-Fiction]
When he set out to visit all of the planet's countries by age 35, compulsive goal seeker Chris Guillebeau never imagined that his journey's biggest revelation would be how many people like himself exist, each pursuing a challenging quest as diverse as humanity itself. Some involve exploration; others the pursuit of athletic or artistic excellence; still others a battle against injustice or poverty or threats to the environment. Guillebeau draws on interviews with hundreds of questers, revealing their secret motivations, their selection criteria, the role played by friends and family, their tricks for solving logistics, and the importance of documentation.
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Harmony; ISBN: 9780385348867
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by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
[Fiction]
For 14 years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children Alex, 15, and Luna, six. But now Letty's parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she's worked for and her family's fragile hopes for the future.
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Ballantine Books; ISBN: 9780553392333
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by Cynthia Barnett
[Non-Fiction]
Rain is the subject of countless poems and paintings; the top of the weather report; the source of the world's water. Yet this is the first book to tell the story of rain. Barnett's Rain begins four billion years ago with the torrents that filled the oceans, and builds to the storms of climate change. It weaves together science -- the true shape of a raindrop, the mysteries of frog and fish rains -- with the human story of our ambition to control rain. Barnett shows rain to be a unifying force in a fractured world, and a conversation we share.
Paperback; $17.00
Publisher: Broadway Books; ISBN: 9780804137119
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New For Young Readers
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by Vita and Ethan Murrow
[Fiction]
There is a legend that a Great Spotted Whale lives in the ocean, although a sighting 50 years ago was never corroborated. Now two young whale watchers each set out to find the whale, one armed with sound-recording equipment, the other with a camera. When their boats collide, they pool their resources to capture incontrovertible proof that the mythical whale exists. The eventual sighting is a magical moment. The Murrows spectacular wordless adventure is brought to life with stunning graphite drawings that convey the drama and haunting beauty of the ocean and capture the majesty of the awe-inspiring whale.
Hardcover; $17.99
Publisher: Templar; ISBN: 9780763679651
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by Kate DiCamillo
[Fiction]
Raymie Clarke has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. She also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who's determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.
Hardcover; $16.99
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA); ISBN: 9780763681173
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New Bargain Books
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Spring is in full bloom, and it's full of natural inspiration for all kinds of art. Master your technique with the help of our drawing, painting, and other arts and crafts bargain books!
Featured titles (click to reveal the deal!):
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New Music
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Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
Love Letter For Fire
Pop/Folk
Sam Beam is best known as the voice behind Iron & Wine. Jesca Hoop is an artsy folk rocker with a passionate following. Together, they write and sing originals in a pastoral folk vein.
($13.98)
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Sturgill Simpson
Sailor's Guide To Earth
Pop/Folk
The alt-country rocker's 2014 record, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, earned him a slew of awards and accolades. Simpson produces his own music on this follow-up, featuring heavier rockers and introspective songs for his newborn son.
($13.98)
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The Hackensaw Boys
Charismo
Pop/Folk
The Hackensaw Boys make nitro-fueled acoustic music. Recommended for fans of Trampled By Turtles, Devil Makes Three, or Old Crow Medicine Show.
($15.98)
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Events at Grass Roots
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A William Stafford Birthday Celebration
Thursday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
Local writers Ann Staley, Steve Jones, Jerri Otto, Jim Merrill, and Liz Schillinger will be reading from poet William Stafford's work and speaking about his influence on their writing and thinking. This will be followed by an open mic so that whomever shows up can share their favorite Stafford poem, a poem of their own (inspired by William Stafford), or a poem by another Oregon poet.
William Stafford, Poet Laureate of Oregon, Library of Congress Poet, beloved teacher at Lewis & Clark College, published over 6,000 poems and 60 collections of poems during his writing life. Stafford was a member of the Brethren, one of three pacifist religious sects, which also included the Quakers. His brother, Bob was a bomber pilot; Bill was a CO during World War II.
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Margaret Malone and Joe Wilkins
  Thursday, April 22, at 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
People Like You is a finalist for the 2016 PEN/Hemingway Award. In stories all at once funny, unsettling, subtle, and moving, Malone's people exist like most of us, in the thick of everyday experience absent of epiphanies, and they are caught off-guard or cast adrift by personal impulses even while wide awake to their own imperfections.
In When We Were Birds, Joe Wilkins wrestles his attention away from the griefs, deprivations, and high prairies of his Montana childhood and turns toward "the bean-rusted fields and gutted factories of the Midwest," toward ordinary injustice and everyday sadness, toward the imminent birth of his son and his own confusions in taking up the mantle of fatherhood, toward faith and grace, legacy and luck.
Margaret Malone is the recipient of fellowships from the Oregon Arts Commission, Literary Arts, and RACC. Joe Wilkins lives with his family in McMinnville, Oregon, where he teaches writing at Linfield College. The authors will be reading and signing books at this event.
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Readings from The Timberline Review
by Rick Attig, Henry Hughes, Jeanne Krinsley, and Keli Osborn
 Sunday, April 24, at 2:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
Five featured authors will be reading from the Winter/Spring edition of The Timberline Review, a new literary journal published twice a year by Willamette Writers. The Timberline Review features new works of short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essay from local, regional, national and international authors writing in the English language.
Rick Attig is a Portland essayist, fiction writer and former member of the Editorial Board of The Oregonian, where he shared two Pulitzer Prizes, including the 2006 prize for editorial writing and the 2001 prize for Public Service. Henry Hughes is the author of four collections of poetry, including Men Holding Eggs, which received the Oregon Book Award. Jeanne Krinsley has been writing since she was five, and is currently working on a fantasy novel set in the American southwest. Keli Osborn's poems appear in multiple journals and anthologies, including the 2015 Red Sofa Poets chapbook, How to Love Everything. The authors will be reading and signing books at this event.
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Ziggy Rendler-Bregman
The Gate of Our Coming and Going
 Thursday, April 27, at 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
The Gate of Our Coming and Going is a beautiful, self-published collection of both poems and prints created by Ziggy and just released in December 2015. She selected more than a dozen of her poems to be accompanied by a full color monoprint created and hand-pulled in her studio. Her poems tell of growing up in a family of nine children as well as capturing her years with her own children, her home, garden, travels and love for the California landscape.
After receiving a BA in Aesthetic Studies at UC Santa Cruz in 1973, Ziggy Rendler-Bregman co-founded the children's literary and art magazine, Stone Soup. She and her husband Jesse live in Santa Cruz where they raised their three children. The author will be reading and signing books at this event.
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Clemens Starck and Donald Levering
reading from their new poetry collections
Thursday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
The thoughtful design of Old Dogs, New Tricks, printed on creamy paper in an oversize format and accented with Kevin Clark's woodblock prints, perfectly complements the unsentimental beauty of the poems within. Clemens Starck is a Princeton dropout, a former merchant seaman, a retired union carpenter and construction foreman, and the author of five books of poems -- three times a finalist for, and once a recipient of, the Oregon Book Award for Poetry. His books are Journeyman's Wages, Studying Russian on Company Time, China Basin, Traveling Incognito, and Rembrandt, Chainsaw. His poetry has been featured in The Oregonian and on NPR's The Writer's Almanac. He lives outside of Dallas in the foothills of the Coast Range.
Coltrane's God is a book of poetry about music, primarily jazz, blues, and bluegrass. Donald Levering is a former NEA Fellow in poetry and the author of seven full-length poetry books and six chapbooks. His previous book, The Water Leveling with Us, placed 2nd in the National Federation of Press Women competition in creative verse. He has been a featured poet in the Academy of American Poets online forum and a Duende Series Reader.
This event is sponsored by the Spring Creek Project. The poets will be reading and signing books at this event.
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Independent Bookstore Day Celebration
Saturday, April 30, at 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Grass Roots Books & Music
227 SW 2nd St.
Corvallis, OR
Join us at the bookstore for our 2nd annual celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, complete with reader- approved special deals and treats throughout the day:
- Cake and punch refreshments
- Free raffles with great prizes (enter all day, raffle pulled at 4:00 p.m.)
- Extra raffle tickets with purchase
- Free Litograph temporary tattoo (while supplies last)
- Free books for children attending
- Free Indies First shopping bags to the first 15 to make a purchase
- Grass Roots T-shirts on sale at 25% off, while they last
We'll see you there!
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Community Events
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Darkside Show Times for 4/15-4/21
-Krisha -R Krisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities. Winner 2015 SXSW Film Festival Grand Jury and Audience Award. First film for director Trey Edward Shults. 96% ON RT!
- Marguerite -R
In 1921 France, a wealthy woman (Catherine Frot) follows her passion to sing in front of audiences, but no one tells her how bad she is. Subtitled French. 95% on RT!
-Knight of Cups -R A Los Angeles screenwriter (Christian Bale) indulges his wild side with a stripper (Teresa Palmer), a model (Freida Pinto) and a married woman (Natalie Portman). Terrence Malick directs.
-Rams -R In a remote Icelandic farming valley, two brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years have to come together in order to save what's dearest to them -- their sheep. Subtitle Icelandic. Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes! 97% on RT!
Arts/Literary Events
Reviewed by Rebecca Terry; sponsored by Friends of the Library
Wednesday, May 11, at 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Corvallis-Benton County Public Library 645 NW Monroe Ave. Corvallis, OR
Willamette Writers on the River: Monthly Meeting with Maren Bradley Anderson
"Writing a Novel in a Month: How to Get Started"
Monday, April 18, at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church
114 SW 8th St.
Corvallis, OR
Join us in an interactive presentation about how to succeed at the challenge of writing a 50,000-word first draft in 30 days. Bring something to write with, and an idea to get you started. Our guest speaker, Maren Bradley Anderson, is a writer and teacher who lives in Oregon. Her poetry has appeared in The Timberline Review, and her novel, Fuzzy Logic, was released in 2015.
 Willamette Writers on the River workshop with Sarina Dorie
"The Nuts and Bolts of Writing and Selling Short Stories"
Saturday, April 30, at 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Comfort Inn Suites
1730 NW 9th St.
Corvallis, OR
Why write short stories, flash fiction and novellas? Come to this fast-paced workshop to find out. Learn how to sell short fiction, where to find markets, what you need to include in a cover letter for short stories and more. We will practice dissecting markets and magazines to find the right ones for you. Sarina Dorie will share the secrets to her success so that you can write short stories and make money selling them. Register here.
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Community Events with Grass Roots
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Rita Dove
Thursday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Oregon State University
CH2M Hill Alumni Center Ballroom
725 SW 26th St.
Corvallis, OR
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove has been selected as the 2016 recipient of Oregon State University's Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement. The biennial award is presented to a major American author who has created a body of critically acclaimed work and who has mentored young writers.
Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993-1995 and has received numerous awards for her work, including the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. She is the only poet to receive both the National Humanities Medal (1996) and the National Medal of Arts (2011). She holds the Commonwealth Professor of English chair at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
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David Allen Sibley
  Monday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m.
645 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR
The Sibley Guide to Birds has been released as an enhanced two volume set, The Sibley Guide to Birds of Western North America and The Sibley Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. Now completely revised and updated -- the indispensable resource for all birders seeking an authoritative guide to the birds of the East and West is in a portable format they will want to carry into the field.
David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of the series of successful guides to nature that bear his name. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Birding Association and the Linnaean Society of New York's Eisenmann Medal. Grass Roots will be selling books at this event.
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Store News
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National Poetry Month: This week's featured poem
The Musician Talks About "Process" (after Anthony "Spoons" Pough)
I learned the spoons from
my grandfather, who was blind.
Every day he'd go into the woods
'cause that was his thing.
He met all kinds of creatures,
birds and squirrels,
and while he was feeding them
he'd play the spoons,
and after they finished
they'd stay and listen.
When I go to Philly
on a Saturday night,
I don't need nothing but
my spoons and the music.
Laid out on my knees
they look so quiet,
but when I pick them up
I can play anything:
a dripping faucet,
a tambourine,
fish shining in a creek.
A funny thing:
When my grandfather died,
every creature sang.
And when the men went out
to get him, they kept singing.
They sung for two days,
all the birds, all the animals.
That's when I left the South.
In these brilliant poems, Rita Dove treats us to a panoply of human endeavor, shot through with the electrifying jazz of her lyric elegance. From the opening sequence, "Cameos", to the civil rights struggle of the final sequence, she explores the intersection of individual fate and history.
Paperback, $14.95
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company; 9780393320268
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2016 Oregon Book Awards; PEN Literary Awards
The winners of the 2016 Oregon Book Awards were announced this week,
honoring the state's finest accomplishments by Oregon writers across genres. Among the winners, David Biespiel won the Frances Fuller Victor Award for general nonfiction. Grass Roots has signed copies available of Biespiel's essay collection, A Long High Whistle. View the full list of winners here.
The full list of 2016 PEN Literary Award winners can also be viewed here.
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Jigsaw
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Reading Group Selection
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Tuesday, May 3, at 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Join Amber as she leads our May reading group with Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.
"Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia's body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait.
Regular Price: $16.00
On sale for: $13.60
Until Tuesday, May 3
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780143127550
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Night Stands
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by Mohamed A. El-Erian
[Non-Fiction]
Using insights from economics, finance, and behavior science, author El-Erian argues that we are on an unsustainable path. Since the 2008 crash, central banks have been artificially propping up the equity markets, and unless politicians can get their act together and compromise on pro-growth reforms, the future looks unstable at best. If you are interested in economics, concerned about investment outcomes, or enjoy reading about global issues, this is an objective and interesting read.
Hardcover; $28.00
Publisher: Random House; ISBN: 9780812997620
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by Jenny Lawson
[Non-Fiction]
Ever since I read Beyonce the Giant Metal Chicken on Jenny Lawson's blog, The Bloggess, I have been hooked on her special brand of humor. Jenny Lawson is seriously brilliant, a little nutty and absolutely freaking funny. Even if she wasn't such a hilarious writer, her bizarre life experiences would make reading this memoir worth your time. Uninhibited and absurd, this is the laugh-out-loud funniest thing I've read in a long time.
Paperback; $16.00
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group; ISBN: 9780425261019
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by David Rothenberg
[Non-Fiction]
This book examines Darwin's theory in a whole new light; is survival for the fittest or for the beautiful? Survival of a species sometimes depends so heavily on aesthetics, like a peacock's feathers, rather than the practical function, like a lion's claws. The theory of evolution in regards to adaption can't explain why nature is so beautiful. Rothenberg's book is a brilliantly fun guide on a journey that takes us from bower birds to the neuroesthetics of Semir Zeki. While reporting on the latest scientific conjectures about beauty, human and inhuman, he shows that all our theories still fail to do justice to nature's unutterable strangeness.
Paperback; $19.00
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press; ISBN: 9781608193882
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