The Learned Owl Book Shop, May 1, 2015
Kate's Corner

Happy May! We are really looking forward to sharing Independent Bookstore Day with you. In case you're still wondering what it's all about, I wanted to share what's written on the homepage for Independent Bookstore Day's website:

"Independent bookstores are not just stores, they're community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.

"Indie bookstores, whether dusty and labyrinthine or clean and well-lighted, are not just stores, they are solutions. They hold the key to your love life, your career, and your passions. Walking the aisles of a good bookstore means stumbling upon a novel from India that expands your heart. It's encountering an art book that changes the direction of your life. It's the joy of having a perfect stranger steer you toward the perfect book.

"In a world of tweets and algorithms and pageless digital downloads, bookstores are not a dying anachronism. They are living, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. In fact, there are more of them this year than there were last year. And they are at your service."

We hope to see you all tomorrow. 
Happy Reading!
- Kate
Akron-Canton Hot List
Voting begins May 4
The Hudson Players present
The Addams Family
April 24, 25, May 1, 2, 8, 9, 10*, 15 & 16, 2015
Independent Bookstore Day
Join us for Independent Bookstore Day
Saturday, May 2, 2015

Join us as we celebrate Independent Bookstore Day! At The Learned Owl, you can meet authors Tricia Springstubb (at 11 AM) and Charles Larlham (at 1 PM), and enjoy hourly giveaways, book-related quizzes, and a Count the Owls contest.


Find these fun items at The Owl beginning May 2:






Meet the Authors,
Discuss the Books

Saturday, May 2 (at The Owl)
Independent Bookstore Day!

Saturday, May 2, 11 AM-1 PM (at The Owl)
Children's author Tricia Springstubb will be spotlighting her newest book, Moonpenny Island (a Learned Owl staff pick!).

Saturday, May 2, 1 PM (at The Owl)

Saturday, May 9, 1-3 PM (at The Owl)
Meet John Vourlis, Adjunct Instructor in Film and Digital Media at Cleveland State University. His book Yoga for Freedom chronicles a life-changing trip that nineteen Clevelanders took to Nepal.

Monday, May 11, 1 PM OR Tuesday, May 12, 7 PM (at The Owl)
Join us as our Learned Owl Book Club discusses Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen. New members are always welcome!

Monday, May 11, 7 PM (at the Hudson Library)
Tiffany W. Middleton and James M. Semon, authors of The Clydesdale Motor Truck Company: An Illustrated History, will discuss their ground-breaking research on the Ohio-made "Liberty Trucks of Europe". Register for this free event online, or call 330-653-6658 x1010.

Wednesday, May 13, 7 PM (at the Hudson Library)
Jack Devine, a thirty-two-year veteran of the CIA, will discuss his book Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story. Register for this free program online, or call
(330) 653-6658 x1010.

Saturday, May 16, 1 PM (at The Owl)
Meet Ruth Pollack, whose memoir is entitled Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Dysfunctional Family.

Sunday, May 17, 2-4 PM (at The Owl)
Join our History Book Club to discuss Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Choose any book on this topic and come to discuss what you've read with the group.

Saturday, May 23, 1 PM (at The Owl)
Author Vince McKee with his new book The Redemption of the King: LeBron James Returns to Cleveland.
New for adults: We recommend

The Memory Painter
The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack
[Picador USA, $26.00]
Kate recommends: The Memory Painter is a faced-paced roller coaster ride through time! Thoroughly enjoyable story that will appeal to readers across multiple genres.
Buy the bookBuy the eBook

The Daylight Marriage The Daylight Marriage by Heidi Pitlor
[Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $24.95]
Linda recommends: I did not read Pitlor's first book, The Birthdays, but am definitely putting it on my to-read list after finishing The Daylight Marriage. The story of Hannah and Lovell and their life together uncovers the inherent frustrations that exist when two people try to meld their lives together. Pitlor lays bare the angst and innermost frustrations of this family and, caught up in the truthfulness of her prose, I found myself evaluating my own. After a particularly strong argument, Hannah disappears, leaving her husband and their two children. The story unfolds through Hannah's eyes and those of her family, and the complexities and emotional upheavals last until the very last page. [read more] 
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Re Jane Re Jane by Patricia Park
[Pamela Dorman Books, $27.95; available May 5]
Jane Re - a half-Korean, half-American orphan - takes a position as an au pair for two Brooklyn academics and their daughter; but a brief sojourn in Seoul, where she reconnects with family, causes her to wonder if the man she loves is really the man for her as she tries to find balance between two cultures.
Kate recommends: An enjoyable read that gives a very good look at life in modern-day South Korea.
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by Melissa Cistaro
[Sourcebooks, $24.99; available May 5]
Kate recommends: A heartfelt look at the relationship between mother and daughter. I enjoyed the way the chapters flowed effortlessly between past and present.
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"Consumers control the marketplace by deciding where to spend their money. If what a bookstore offers matters to you, then shop at a bookstore. If you feel that the experience of reading a book is valuable, then read the book. This is how we change the world: we grab hold of it. We change ourselves."

- Ann Patchett, bestselling author and co-owner of Parnassus Books