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Ten New Books
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Greetings!


Greetings from Clement Street.  Lots of good stuff in the store and on the horizon, so read on!

In today's newsletter we offer:
  • a t-shirt design contest;
  • ten new books we think you'll like
  • a giant El Bulli collection for the hard-core food people; and 
  • more details about California Bookstore Day.
We hope to see you in the store soon, or keep in touch on social media (links to your left).

 

And remember: you can read digitally AND shop locally.  Our partnership with Kobo allows you to read eBooks on any device (except Kindle).  Sign up here and Green Apple will forever get a cut of your eBook purchases.

Read on!
T-shirt Contest

We're overdue for a new t-shirt, so we're turning to you, our loyal customers and fans.  Can you design an image worthy of the Green Apple name?  Can you forward this to an artistic friend?  Know anyone in art school?
 
The prizes are enticing: $250 cash plus a $200 gift card for first place.  We'll have two runners-up winning hefty gift cards, too.
 
Details are here, and the deadline is March 31, 2014.  Please help us spread the word!

New Books we think you'll like

 

After World War II, the U.S. government brought Nazi scientists accused of war crimes--even one convicted of mass murder--into the country in order to make use of their scientific knowledge. Jacobsen has done her research, and here unearths many shocking and disturbing new details, though the story is so scandalous that much remains classified.

 

ADHD Does Not Exist by Richard Saul (HarperWave)

While the title makes the book sound sensationalist, this well-researched book is just the opposite.  In this controversial book, Dr. Richard Saul draws from five decades as a practicing physician and researcher in the field to contend that the definition of ADHD as we know it is completely wrong. Instead, he argues that the "disorder" is a cluster of symptoms stemming from more than twenty other conditions, each requiring separate treatment. The detailed list ranges from mild problems like poor eyesight, sleep deprivation, and even boredom in the classroom, to more severe conditions like depression and bipolar disorder. (PM)

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (Henry Holt)

 

In The Sixth Extinction, her follow up to Field Notes from a Catastrophe, New Yorker staff writer Kolbert takes us across the globe, from an isolated atoll in the Pacific to a Peruvian rainforest, in a quest to understand the massive loss of species currently taking place. Situating our current environmental catastrophe within a larger context, Kolbert extrapolates from scientific research and history an alarming picture of a world in crisis. This is a harrowing must-read. (SS) 

 


A Place in the Country by W.G. Sebald (Random House)


A Place in the Country is classic Sebald: mysterious, melancholy, and meditative. In a series of six interlinking essays about five writers and an artist whose work influenced his, Sebald roves across time and space, digressing as is his wont. A welcome addition to the too-short shelf of his work. (SS) 

 

  

Bark: Stories by Lorrie Moore (Knopf)   

SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS ON HAND! 


I picked up a copy Ms. Moore's book of stories as I was working through a novel by a different "major American author," and not really enjoying the exercise. Within a few pages of Bark, I knew exactly what I had been missing: the subtle wit; the fully-fleshed characters drawn to life with a few gestures or an off-kilter comment; the sadness wrapped in humor wrapped in fine storytelling. A new book by Lorrie Moore is an all-too-infrequent occasion to rejoice. Huzzah! (KPR) 

 

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty (Belknap Press)

 

It seems appropriate that Jeff, our reader of lurid true crime, would pick up Piketty's monumental study of capital. Jeff has this to say about the book: "Economic inequality has returned to pre-Depression levels here in the U.S. How this compares to historical and present-day global conditions is the focus of this tome. Though huge, it's not particularly dense, with an enormous wealth of data presented clearly and concisely. Every page has an interesting and relevant take-away. Recommended for those with an interest in economic history, regardless of their political persuasion."


The Martian by Andy Weir (Crown) 

 
This wildly imaginative debut novel gives us a classic "man vs. nature" scenario, on a landscape devoid of nature. Fresh, funny and gripping to the last line, The Martian is reading gold! (Kevin H)

 

Also, one of our fellow indie booksellers was so nuts about this book, they issued a challenge to their customers to just buy it, sight unseen, with a 100% guarantee.  While a preacher's wife returned one, they sold a bundle.  The whole story is here.      

  

Travel Notes by Stanley Crawford (Calamari Press)

    

What a delight it is to see the great Stanley Crawford's wonderful novel back in print nearly 50 years after its original publication. Travel Notes is a wild jaunt through surreal landscapes familiar to anyone who's ever been a bewildered tourist.

  


The Sound Book: the Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World by Trevor Cox (Norton)

 

With forays into archaeology, neuroscience, biology, and design, Cox explains how sound is made and altered by the environment, how our body reacts to peculiar noises, and how these mysterious wonders illuminate sound's surprising dynamics in everyday settings-from your bedroom to the opera house. The Sound Book encourages us to become better listeners in a world dominated by the visual and to open our ears to the glorious cacophony all around us.

 

 

A biography of our most fearsome neighbor. It's been over a hundred years since the last really big one, but you know it's coming.   This is the story of the scientists who honed our current knowledge of the fault: what it is, where it is, and how it works. Know thy enemy.

 

 

 

El Bulli 2005-2011

We have ordered several copies of this stunning, seven-volume catalogue raisonne.  Yeah, it's $625, but if you pre-order it on our site or in person, we'll match the price of a certain major online retailer.  Put your money where your mouth is and shop local first!

For you, $537.50.  Limited quantities, of course, and the price will go up, alas, once it gets here.
California Bookstore Day at Green Apple
California Bookstore Day We're still finalizing plans for the first ever California Bookstore Day, a statewide celebration at 93 indie bookstores.  We do know there will be thirteen books and art pieces that will ONLY be for sale on May 3 at CA indies, Green Apple included. 

Lisa Brown, Wendy MacNaughton, George Saunders, Neil Gaiman, Dave Eggers, Michael Pollan, Lemony Snicket, a joke book for kids, a signed print from HUGO, and more!  Yes, the Don DeLillo graffiti stencil you've always craved is being laser cut as I write.  And an original collection from McSweeney's on the bookstores of dreams.

Never online.
Never at Barnes and Noble.
Never in Texas.

Beyond those unique gems, we'll have surprises every hour of the day, from free beer to great authors (Eggers is confirmed; McSweeney's writers will be here!), from balloons for the little ones to a food truck out front, from live music to who knows what.  More details to come, so stay in touch via Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Thanks for reading.
 
Sincerely,
 
Pete et al
Green Apple Books and Music
415-387-2272