May 25, 2007
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | A Note From Jack
| | | | | Hello Friends. If you're a Harry Potter fan, we'd love to see you at our third Seven Questions bookgroup meeting, Tuesday May 4th at 4:00pm. These discussions are designed around seven key questions readers hope to have answered in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Its been rather a smallish turnout so far, so everyone gets a turn. Please join us so we can keep the conversation alive. All ages are welcome. Looking ahead to next month, on Monday, June 11th at 7:00, author Nik Colyer will read from Channeling Biker Bob, a meditation on the misunderstood realms of manhood, marriage and motercycles. You can read sample pages of all of Nik's novels at: WWW.ChannelingBikerBob.com. Just a short reminder that our May special for Independence Card holders is 10% off (plus stamps) for our Cookbook section ends soon. Come in and check out barbeque books for the weekend, new fresh produce ideas, fair trade cookbooks, cooling ice cream books, campfire cuisine, top secret restaurant recipes and the new Cooking with the Wines of Oregon book & guide! | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
| | Five Good Books
| | | | Assault on Reason
The Dip
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Five Skies
The Alchemist: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
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by Al Gore
A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason. Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies, to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, Al Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking. $25.95 Hardcover. Penguin. ISBN 9781594201226 | | | | | | |
by Seth Godwin
The old saying is wrong-winners do quit, and quitters do win. Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point-really hard, and not much fun at all. And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you're in a Dip-a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try. According to bestselling author Seth Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. Whether you're a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you're in a Dip that's worthy of your time, effort, and talents. $12.95 Hardcover. Penguin Group. ISBN 9781591841661
| | | | | | The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden
The bestselling book for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age old question of what the big deal with girls is. In this digital age there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a wonderful collection of all things that make being young or young at heart fun---building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the world's best paper airplanes. A perfect gift for Father's Day. $24.95 Hardcover. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061243585.
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by Ron Carlson
After several acclaimed short story collections, Ron Carlson makes a welcome return to long fiction with this gorgeous, understated novel about a transformative friendship among three troubled men. Refugees from the painful past, a ranch foreman and two hired hands are drawn together one summer by a bizarre construction project in the Idaho Rockies -- a motorcycle stunt ramp for a spectacularly ill conceived feat of daredevilry. All three are hopelessly mired in their private sorrows; but as the months progress, they find solace in each other's company and self-worth in the standards of excellence they impose on a foolhardy "road to nowhere." Set against the vast, rugged landscape of the American West, this finely crafted story explores the healing power of hope and our overpowering need for human connection in a lonely world. $23.95 Hardcover. Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670038503.
| | | | | | The Alchemist: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
Scott uses a gigantic canvas for this riveting fantasy. The well-worn theme of saving the world from the forces of evil gets a fresh look here as he incorporates ancient myth and legend and sets it firmly, pitch-perfect, in present-day California. Scott keeps his sights on the small details of character and dialogue and provides evocative descriptions of people, mythical beings, and places. He uses as his starting point the figures of the historical alchemist Nicholas Flamel and his wife, who have found the secret of immortality, along with mythical beings, including the terrifying Scottish crow-goddess, the Morrigan; the three-faced Greek Hekate; the powerful Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet; and Scathach, a legendary Irish woman warrior and vegetarian vampire. A fabulous read. $16.99. Bantam Doubleday Dell. ISBN: 9780385733571
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| New Music
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Misty River: Stories. $14.95.
MISTY RIVER, an all female acoustic quartet, calls the Pacific Northwest home. These talented women masterfully arrange their own material which includes award-winning original songs, traditionals and other favorite songs and tunes from many genres. They are probably best known for their "stop you in your tracks" vocal harmonies where each member contributes a different lead vocal timbre that makes the whole "greater than the sum of its parts". Add some astonishing musicianship and you have ... MISTY RIVER! Stepping on a city bus. Longing for home. Dreaming of being a tree. A second chance at life. These are just a few of the stories you'll hear as Misty River explores the music of Americana.
Adrienne Young: Room to Grow. $15.95
On her third album, Adrienne Young maintains the rustic Americana feel from her first two discs, appealingly balancing Americana rootsiness with poppier Nashville melodicism. Her husky, honeyed voice feels right at home in this warm, more refined setting, whether on her own lovely ballad "Givin' Up the Fight" or duetting with Phish's Mike Gordon on the old country chestnut "Once More."
Loudon Wainwright III: Strange Weirdos. $18.95
The soundtrack for the forthcoming film Knocked Up, this album features material that Wainwright had written before the film score that the director wanted to use, other cuts that are instrumental snippets in the movie but are songs with lyrics on the album, and still others that take thematic inspiration from the film. Among the musicians providing stellar support are guitarists Richard Thompson and Greg Leisz and keyboardists Patrick Warren and Van Dyke Parks.
Chick Corea with Bela Fleck: The Enchantment. $18.95
Jazz fans know Bela Fleck and Chick Corea as master musicians in their own right. Now, the two Grammy-award winners have collaborated on a new album, The Enchantment. As a duo, Fleck and Corea combine a variety of musical styles and flavors - from blues to bluegrass, from classical to country. Tannahill Weavers: Live and In Session. $17.95The Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland's premier traditional bands. Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, and original ballads and lullabies. Their music demonstrates to old and young alike the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people. On Live and In Session, The Tannahil Weavers mix live recordings of favorites recorded from their 2005 US tour along side studio recordings of new material.
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| Author Event: Wednesday, May 30th at 7pm
| | | | | Michael D. Yates is a former professor of Economics. He is the author of Naming the System: Inequality and Work on the Global Economy (2003), Why Unions Matter (1998) and Longer Hours, Fewer Jobs (1994). Following his retirement, Yates and his wife, Karen, set off to do what many of us have dreamed, touring thirty states, twenty-five national parks and monuments, numerous cities, small towns, suburbs and exurbs. Having spent time working as a $6.25 per hour desk clerk at Yellowstone, having stayed in cheap hotels and cooked on two-burner hot plates, Michael Yates has written an economist's travelogue, an account of the beauty and wonder of the parks, beaches, small towns and big cities he has visited, shadowed by his observations on the inequality, alienation, and environmental despoliation he and his wife witnessed. What Michael Yates has to say reveals, beyond statistics and case studies, the day-to-day lives of ordinary, working-class people on the bottom rung of the economic ladder. Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate brings a fresh perspective to the broadening debate on how class works in America today. This is a great book--a road story for radicals. It makes you itch to hit the road.
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| Visit our new web forum!
| | | | | Thanks to everyone who has visited our newest project, our web-based forum, to share our love of good books and music. Your comments are appreciated and we are working on some of your suggestions already. Remember, the more people who visit our forum, the better we can serve our community. You don't have to register to take a look, so go ahead- visit us at grassrootsweb. If you do register, you will receive a short confirmation request - just click accept, and you are ready to go. Thanks | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
| | Susan Vreeland Wows Corvallis
| | | | | Susan Vreeland filled ARTCENTRIC to capacity last Tuesday and brought her” joie de vivre” with her. It was easy to realize why she has such devoted fans: her dynamic delivery, wealth of background information and obvious love for her subject were contagious. A pleasant surprise was to learn that Corvallis’s very own independent publisher, CALYX, had published Susan two years before her very successful The Passion of Artemisa was released. Way to go, Margarita and the Calyx Family! Thanks again to Susan and ARTCENTRIC for such a wonderful evening. Please check out her amazing website to enhance your reading enjoyment:
svreeland.com | | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
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