June 5, 2008
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | | Five Good Books
| | | | When You Are Engulfed in Flames
The Other
Why Is God Laughing?: The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism
The Size of the World
Plant Seed, Pull Weed: Nurturing the Garden of Your Life
| | When You Are Engulfed in Flames David Sedaris
Autographed copies available
In his sixth collection, David Sedaris brings together a set of uproariously funny and profoundly moving essays. In "The Understudy," the Sedaris siblings unite to battle the odious babysitter Mrs. Peacock, while in "Town and Country," Sedaris and his sister discuss what their father would be most offended to find on his daughter's coffee table (hint: The Joy of Sex comes in a distant second). An avid traveler, Sedaris entertains readers with his experiences around the globe, from sitting in a Parisian doctor's office wearing only his underwear, to warding off birds in the French countryside. The collection culminates in a brilliantly funny account of his journey to Tokyo to quit smoking. Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, ISBN-13: 9780316143479
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David Guterson
Guterson (winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Snow Falling on Cedars) tells the story of two friends who take divergent paths. Neil becomes a devoted schoolteacher and family man. John makes a radically different choice, dropping out of college to become a hermit in the deep woods of Washington State. When Neil agrees to help his friend disappear completely, haunting questions of values, responsibility, and choice leave Neil — and readers — to ponder the definition of a good life. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group, ISBN-13: 9780307263155
| | | | | | Why Is God Laughing?: The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism Deepak Chopra
In this new take on spirituality, bestselling author Deepak Chopra uses a fictional tale of a comedian and his strange mentor to show a path back to joy, and perhaps enlightenment — with a lot of laughter along the way. Mickey Fellows, a successful comedian, meets a mysterious stranger, and the two begin an ongoing discussion about the true nature of being. As Mickey explores how he hides behind a wall of wisecracks, he begins to see that authentic humor opens him up to the power of spirit and real connections with people. After taking the reader on Mickey's journey, Chopra reviews the lessons that the story imparts. Hardcover, $21.95
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9780307408884
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Joan Silber
The world turns out to be astonishingly large but also intimately connected, as this novel moves across several generations, from Thailand to Vietnam, to Mexico and the United States. Silber (National Book Award winner for Ideas of Heaven) has created a set of interlinked stories where minor characters in one piece become the narrators of others. Love, loss, yearning, self-delusion, and forgiveness are depicted as Silber elegantly explores the subtleties of human interaction. Hardcover, $23.95
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; ISBN-13: 9780393059090
| | | | | | Plant Seed, Pull Weed: Nurturing the Garden of Your Life Geri Larken (from Eugene, OR)
Gardens are often used as metaphors for spiritual nurturing. Drawing on her experience working at a large gardening center during her college years, Zen teacher Geri Larkin ( Stumbling Toward Enlightenment, Chocolate Cake Sutra) shows how gardening can help uncover your inner creativity, enthusiasm, vigilance, and joy. As she takes you through the steps of planning, planting, nurturing, and maintaining a garden, Larkin offers funny stories and inspiring lessons on what plants can teach us. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN-13: 9780061349041
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| New in Paperback
| | | | Spook Country
Falling Man
Michael Tolliver Lives
The Poet of Baghdad: A True Story of Love and Defiance
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
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William Gibson
SF innovator Gibson ( Neuromancer, Pattern Recognition) has written another novel set in the near-present, as three separate groups chase after a mysterious freight container. But, despite a full complement of thieves, pushers and pirates, Spook Country is less a conventional thriller than a reflection of the currents of dread, dismay and fury that permeate our culture. "Gibson's work is all edge and chill and incipient panic...His worlds are so striking, so plausible, that you're just happy to be along for the ride." – Chicago Tribune Paperback, $15.00
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9780425221419
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Don DeLillo
The book takes its title from the electrifying photograph of a man who jumped or fell from the North Tower on 9/11. The novel begins with Keith Neudecker standing in a New York City street covered with dust and blood, holding somebody else's briefcase, while the building collapses behind him. In the aftermath, Keith and his family are profoundly affected as a new reality takes over everyone's consciousness. DeLillo also tells the story of Hammad, one of the hijackers on the plane that strikes the North Tower. At the end of the book, De Lillo takes the reader into the terror, fire and smoke in the Tower as Keith navigates the stairs to safely. Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Scribner; ISBN-13: 9781416546061
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Armistead Maupin
Michael Tolliver, the sweet-spirited Southerner in Armistead Maupin's classic Tales of the City series, is one of the most widely loved characters in contemporary fiction. Now, almost twenty years after ending his ground-breaking saga of San Francisco life, Maupin revisits his all-too-human hero. Michael is now in his mid-fifties (despite AIDS) and happy in his relationship, his house, and his job. Thirty years later, he's still proud of the life he's made and the city that made it possible. Though this is a stand-alone novel — accessible to fans of Tales of the City and new readers alike — a reassuring number of familiar faces appear along the way. Paperback, $13.95
Publisher: HarperCollins; ISBN-13: 9780060761363
| | | | | | The Poet of Baghdad: A True Story of Love and Defiance Jo Tatchell
In 1979, Nabeel Yasin, Iraq's most famous young poet, was forced into hiding. His poetry, a blend of myth and history, attacked the fear and repression of Saddam's regime. Silenced by a series of brutal beatings by the Ba'ath Party's Secret Police and declared an "enemy of the state," he fled to Beirut, and eventually to England. Jo Tatchell tells the gripping story of the family and their fateful encounter with history. Starting with a lighthearted look at the family before Saddam's rule, she describes Nabeel’s persecution and daring flight in an intimate chronicle of a country and a culture devastated by political repression and war. Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Broadway Books; ISBN-13: 9780767926973
| | | | | | Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA Tim Weiner
For the last sixty years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation by burying its blunders in top-secret archives. Now Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the CIA. Legacy of Ashes is based on more than 50,000 documents and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after 9/ll. Paperback, $16.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9780307389008
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| Music
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Afrissippi $11.95
Genre: Ethnic/World
Afrissippi combines the traditional music of West Africa with Mississippi roots music. Senegalese guitarist Guelel Kumba is joined by a cadre of musicians from North Mississippi and West Africa for a set incorporating the sounds of Delta Blues, African Pop, drumming and call-and-response. Hear Alliance samples at allmusic.com
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Angel Band $17.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Multi-instrumentalist legend Dave Bromberg joins his wife and two other female singers for an album weaving Blues, Country, Folk and Spirituals. Nancy Josephson, Jen Schonwald, and Kathleen Weber are fine singers who handle themselves impressively well on original material as well as covers.  Recommended if you like: Sweet Honey in the Rock, Kim and Reggie HarrisHear With Roots and Wings samples at allmusic.com
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Dr. John and the Lower 911 $18.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
This is the New Orleans pianist and bandleader's musical statement about his post-Katrina homeland. In songs alternately spiced with Jazz, Blues, R&B and Rock, Dr. John directly addresses issues of a spiritual, ecological and political nature. Eric Clapton, Ani DiFranco, Willie Nelson, and more make guest appearances. Hear City That Care Forgot samples at allmusic.com
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Aimee Mann $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Mann's new album is a departure for an artist who generally tends towards melancholy songs that subtly worm their way into the subconscious. These songs are livelier than she's been in a while. Synthesizers, horns, and a polished production give the work a rich pop sound. Hear @#%&*! Smilers samples at allmusic.com
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Art Tatum $18.95
Genre: Jazz
This re-mastered reissue of one of the groundbreaking albums of Jazz piano features music drawn from two sources: a 1933 studio session, and live cuts from a solo concert performance in 1949. It includes Tatum's wondrous version of "Tiger Rag," in which he sounds like three pianists jamming together. Audio technology has improved the sound quality of the initial recording. Hear Piano Starts Here samples at allmusic.com
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| This Week at Grass Roots - Frank Romano - Storm Over Morocco
| | | | | Frank Romano discusses his book, Storm over Morocco: Finding God in the Midst of Fanatics
Sunday, June 8, 3-5pm
Grass Roots LoftIn the 1970's, Romano left school and traveled to Casablanca to search for a Universal Religion. Invited to study Islam in a mosque, he found himself among a group of militant fundamentalists. Eventually, he was falsely accused of being a Zionist spy and tried for sabotage by an inquisitorial tribunal. Although he was acquitted, he remained a prisoner within the mosque.
 Storm over Morocco is an autobiographical narrative about Romano's spiritual path, and about the brainwashing techniques of fundamentalist religions. It also discusses the status of women in orthodox/fundamentalist Islamic communities. Romano describes himself as a student who learned a great deal from studying Islam. His experience has inspired him to organize and participate in interfaith events that include fundamentalist Muslims, Jews and Christians. He is a tenured professor at the University of Paris, adjunct professor at Golden Gate University, and a member of the bar in California and Marseille.
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| Reading Group News
| | | | | Next meeting: Tuesday, June 3, 6:30-8:00 pm, in the cozy Grass Roots loft.
Book: Finn by Jon Clinch No experience or membership necessary: first-timers always welcome! Jon Clinch takes us on a journey into the heart of one of American literature’s most mysterious figures: Huckleberry Finn’s father. The result is a story that springs from Twain’s classic novel but takes on a life of its own. Finn is a novel about race, paternity in its many guises, the shame of a nation, and an unforgettable family. Above all, Finn reaches back into the darkest waters of America’s past to fashion something compelling, fearless, and new. "Haunting...Clinch reimagines Finn in a strikingly original way, replacing Huck’s voice with his own magisterial vision that is nothing short of revelatory." – Washington Post  Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Random House Trade, ISBN-13: 9780812977141
On sale for $11.90 until June 3.
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| | On Our Nightstands
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Jack:
Last Lecture
Randy Pausch
Hardcover, $21.95
Sandy:
At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays
Anne Fadiman
Hardcover, $22.00
Tiffany:
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
David Sedaris
Hardcover, $25.99
Melody:
Concubine of Shanghai
Hong Ying
Paperback, $14.95
Deborah:
What-The-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy
Gregory Maguire
Hardcover, $15.99
Anna:
The Woman Who Can't Forget
Jill Price
Hardcover, $26.00
Linda:
Einstein: His Life and Universe
Walter Isaacson
Paperback, $17.95
Corrine:
Art of Racing in the Rain
Garth Stein
Hardcover, $23.95
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