Maddie, the rescued coonhound who has become an Instagram and Tumblr sensation, will appear at the store along with her human companion and photographer, Theron Humphrey.  They will present their new book, Maddie on Things: A Super Serious Project about Dogs and Physics (Chronicle Books). Maddie's special talent is balancing on things. Beach balls. Horses. Shopping carts. Railroad crossing lights. Open refrigerator doors. Fire Hydrants. Much more. She has supernatural balancing and posing powers, and they are documented perfectly in this marvelous new book, which is a record of a trip she took in 2011 with Mr. Humphrey that took them to every state in the Union and covered more than 65,000 miles. The photographs can be seen on their website, but we love the book.

And this year, the pair are touring the country again, promoting animal rescue and appearing at one bookstore in each state. We are proud to be their Oregon bookstore! Maddie will meet everyone and perform a few balancing tricks, and books will be pawprinted with a special stamp. Since she prefers to be the queen of the show, we respectfully request that everyone else leave their dog at home. Also, food distracts her, so please, no doggie treats.  Please join us!

Thursday, October 17th, 7 pm: Lynn Partin, A Walkable Feast: Exploring Hemingway's Paris on Foot

 Please join us to hear local author Lynn Partin read from her recently published book A Walkable Feast: Exploring Hemingway's Paris on Foot. After falling under the spell of Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast, Partin retraced his meanderings through Paris as a struggling writer in 1920s Paris, when he was in love with his wife and indeed with life itself. Along the way she discovered that while some of the places mentioned in Hemingway's book have changed, the spirit of his Paris lingers.  

This book of history and walking tours includes the flats where Hemingway lived, as well as those of many of his friends - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and others; the cafes where Hemingway wrote and drank; and even the racetrack where he enthusiastically bet on horses. Interspersed throughout the book are quotes from A Moveable Feast to put each place in context.   

Thursday, October 24th, 7 pm: Matt Love, Of Walking in Rain

Of Walking in Rain is a work of creative non-fiction largely written in real time that assays the ubiquitous subject of rain in Oregon in as many ways as rain falls in Oregon. The book blends an eclectic variety of literary genres, including memoir, essay, vignette, diary, reportage, guide, criticism, satire, stream of consciousness, homework, meditation, review, commentary, oral history, weather report, discography, liner notes, polemic, curriculum, and confession.  

The book launches from one of Matt's favorite Ken Kesey quotations: "Give me a dark smeary shiny night full of rain. That's when the fear starts. That's when you sell the juice." Matt, winner of the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award, is looking for the juice. Of Walking in Rain also features the exquisite etchings of rain by renowned artist Frank Boyden.  

Wednesday, October 30th, 7 pm: Maggie Stuckey, Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community Around a Pot of Soup

Soup brings people together, and tonight a book about soup will bring people together. Please join us as local author Maggie Stuckey presents her new book: Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community around a Pot of Soup, published by Storey Publishing. The book offers 99 recipes for soup, 40 more for accompaniments, and ideas for starting your own neighborhood soup nights. Many of the photographs in the book were taken in the kitchen of one of our best customers!  

The author of The Bountiful Container and seven other books on gardening and horticulture, Maggie is happiest when tending her vegetable garden and using the outcome to create new soups.