February 28, 2008
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | | Five Good Books
| | | | A Life at Work: The Joy of Discovering What You Were Born to Do
Before Green Gables
Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East
Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain
Wallace Stegner and the American West
| | A Life at Work: The Joy of Discovering What You Were Born to Do Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore is a bestselling author and internationally known lecturer. Everywhere he goes, he finds people who are unhappy at work. In The Worth of Our Work, he guides readers through the transformative process of discovering their deepest purpose in life. Using a blend of spirituality and psychology, he explores the strong desire we all have to feel fulfilled by our careers, offering a contemplative guide to overcoming obstacles such as inflated egos, despair, and fear. He also shares the struggles of great thinkers and artists who grappled with their own uncertainty before finding their calling. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Broadway Books, ISBN-13: 9780767922524
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Budge Wilson
Published in 1908, L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables has enchanted generations of readers. The story of the spunky orphan from Prince Edward Island begins when she is eleven and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family. With this novel, Wilson imagines Anne's origins as the child of loving parents who die in an epidemic. When Anne becomes the ward of the Thomas family, her existence is defined by poverty, hardship and violence. Canadian author Budge Wilson has won numerous prizes, including seventeen Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" awards, and the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Canadian Book Award. Hardcover, $22.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), ISBN-13: 9780399154683
| | | | | | Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East Robin Wright
Robin Wright covers U.S. foreign policy for The Washington Post. She has reported from more than a 140 countries on six continents as a foreign correspondent. Dreams and Shadows is an extraordinary tour de horizon of the new Middle East, with on-the-ground accounts of the ideas and movements driving change across the region. Through the powerful storytelling, the book ties together the players and events in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Palestinian territories into a coherent vision of what lies ahead. Hardcover, $26.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9781594201110
| | | | | | Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain Martha Sherrill
During WWII, the intensely loyal Japanese Akitas were donated to help the war effort, eaten, or used to make fur vests for the military. By the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, there were only sixteen Akitas left in the country. In a mountain village, Morie Sawataishi, a fierce individualist, chose to break the law by keeping an Akita hidden in a shed on his property. The survival of the breed became Morie's passion and life, and he passed up prestigious engineering jobs in Tokyo to remain in Japan's remote snow country and raise dogs. In beautiful prose, Martha Sherrill provides a profound look at what it is to be an individualist in a culture that reveres conformity. Hardcover, $25.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9781594201240
| | | | | | Wallace Stegner and the American West Phillip L. Fradkin
Stegner's writing brought the life and landscapes of the West to national and international attention. Now, in this illuminating biography, Philip L. Fradkin goes beyond Stegner’s iconic literary status to show us the influential teacher and visionary conservationist, the man for whom the preservation and integrity of place was as important as his ability to create his brilliantly crafted fiction and nonfiction. Rich in personal and literary detail, this is the definitive account of one of the most acclaimed and admired writers, teachers, and conservationists of our time. Hardcover, $27.50
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9781400043910
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| New in Paperback
| | | | The Book of Air and Shadows
In the Country of Men
Back on the Fire: Essays
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
Sky Time in Gray's River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place
| | The Book of Air and Shadows Michael Gruber
Moving between modern-day America and seventeenth-century England, The Book of Air and Shadows is a thriller that recreates William Shakespeare's life in an intricately layered plot featuring a contemporary man on the brink of self-discovery. While twisting the plot into complex knots, Gruber mixes fascinating details about rare manuscripts, intellectual property, and cryptography with an assortment of odd characters: Russian mobsters, Jewish gangsters, Nazi thieves, international models, and currency traders. Paperback, $14.95
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN-13: Michael Gruber
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Hisham Matar
Matar's debut novel is the moving story of nine-year-old Suleiman, a resident of Qaddafi's Libya in the late 1970s. Matar's writing is succinct, filled with the incongruous details a child would notice, and describes horrific events with an innocent's lack of judgment. The Country of Men stunningly captures the overwhelming feelings of a lonely, vulnerable child as it depicts a rare vision of a troubled time and country. The novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Paperback, $12.00
Publisher: Dell Publishing; ISBN-13: 9780385340434
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Gary Snyder
Following The Practice of the Wild, this new collection of essays employs fire as a metaphor for the crucial moment when deeply held viewpoints yield to new experiences, and our spirits and minds broaden and mature. The essays cover a wide range of topics — explorations of southwestern European Paleolithic cave art, his personal poetic history with haiku, reminiscences of youthful West Coast logging and trail crew days, and talks given in Paris and Tokyo on art and archetypes. Paperback, $14.95
Publisher: Counterpoint; ISBN-13: 9781593761639
| | | | | | Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith Anne LaMott
Anne Lamott knows that faith isn't easy: "I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kinds of things," she writes, "that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace's arrival. But no, it's clog and slog and scotch, on the floor, in silence, in the dark." In this new collection of essays, the author of Plan B grapples with problems of faith as they pop up in unexpected places. As always, her insightful reflections are infused with candor and her signature self-deprecating wit. Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9781594482878
| | | | | | Sky Time in Gray's River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place Robert Michael Pyle
Gray's River, one of the earliest settled communities near the mouth of the Columbia River, remains a relatively isolated place. Pyle (author of 14 books, including Chasing Monarchs and Where Bigfoot Walks) has lived there for almost 30 years, gradually fitting into the self-reliant community. This is an account of an ordinary year among the flora, fauna and folks of his town and countryside, where the daily walk to the compost heap "is the closest thing I know to sacrament." Paperback, $13.95
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; ISBN-13: 9780618919796
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| Music
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China Forbes $16.95
Genre: Pop/folk
After 10 years fronting Pink Martini, vocalist China Forbes returns to the folk and country sounds that she largely left when she joined the band. The sound is intimate and warm. Pink Martini fans will be especially beguiled by the concert favorite "Hey Eugene," presented as Forbes originally wrote the song.
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Cowboy Junkies $19.95
Genre: Pop/folk
Nearly 20 years ago, an unknown Canadian band gathered in a Toronto church to record a unique album of music influenced by rock, folk, country and blues. For the session's anniversary, the now mainstream Junkies returned to the site to rerecord their classic. Joining the band are guests Vic Chesnutt, Ryan Adams and Natalie Merchant. A "making of" DVD accompanies the CD.
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Tift Merritt $18.95
Genre: Pop/folk
Like fellow Americana diva Allison Moorer, Tift Merritt's strength lies in her soulful, Dusty Springfield-esque vocals. It took four years, a label change, and a sojourn to Paris to craft her third release. It resonates with emotion, tenderness, and a sense that she has found comfort in life and her songwriting.
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Punch Brothers $18.95
Genre: Pop/folk
Chris Thile's solo records (he was the mandolin player for Nichel Creek) have shown a musical restlessness as he experiments with elements of jazz, pop and fusion styles. For Punch Brothers (an acoustic super-group gathered from members of Seldom Scene, Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon and more), Thile continues to pursue his muse with instrumental prowess.
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Toumani Diabate $18.95
Genre: Word/ethnic
The celebrated Malian kora master releases his first solo album in years. These eight pieces focus on Diabate's virtuosity, and a number of them would be appropriate in an adventurous classical music program. One reviewer stated: "It is at once the definitive statement on where the kora is today and simply one of the most beautiful and melodically accessible albums you will hear this year." (The kora is 21-string instrument built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin. It has a notched bridge like a lute or guitar and sounds like a harp.)
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| Music - Continued
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Diana Navarro $18.95
Genre: World/ethnic
Recently featured on NPR, flamenco-influenced singer Navarro has been called the voice of a new generation, reinterpreting Spain's traditional music.
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High Kings $18.95
Genre: Celtic/Irish
From the creators of the Irish phenomenon Celtic Woman comes the male analogy: The High Kings. Finbarr Clancy, Martin Furey, Brian Dunphy and Darren Holden - renowned vocalists and musicians - have come together to form this folk ballad group. PBS stations have already scheduled them for a showcase spot on their next pledge drive.
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Tom Paxton $17.95
Genre: Pop/folk
Paxton holds a place among the nation's foremost folk singer-songwriters. Emerging from the 60s Greenwich Village folk scene, he blazed a trail of songs that balance the personal ("Ramblin' Boy", "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound") with the lighthearted ("Marvelous Toy", "Goin' to the Zoo") and the overtly political ("Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation"). The songs here, delivered by Paxton and a band of pickers adept at folk, acoustic pop, and country styles, deal with love, marriage, aging, and mortality.
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Dolly Parton $14.95
Genre: Pop/folk
It's been three years since Dolly Parton released a new album, and nearly two decades since she put out anything close to a mainstream country offering. Nine of the 12 tracks are originals, demonstrating that Parton is still a fine songwriter with an uncommon sense of grace, economy, and wisdom.
| Bedtime Beats (Volume 2): The Secret To Sleep - Tranquil Seductions One Jazz Beat At A Time Bedtime Beats $18.95
Genre: Jazz
2006's first Bedtime Beats album was a surprisingly successful study in matching classical music with sleep science. Volume 2 does the same with jazz. The album is specially sequenced and mastered to deliver a highly tranquil experience in accordance with the Case Western Reserve University study, which discovered that listening to soothing jazz music with a tempo of 60-80 beats per minute induces sleep. Gathered across the two discs are original tunes from Ellington, Coltrane, Brad Mehldau and more.
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| | Book Club Reminder
| | | | | Next meeting: Tuesday March 4, 6:30-8:00 pm, in the cozy Grass Roots loft.
Book: Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu  Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), ISBN-13: 9781594482854
On sale for $11.90 until March 4.
No experience or membership necessary: first-timers always welcome!
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| On Our Nightstands - What We're Reading
| | | | | - Jack - The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
Hardcover $24.00 - Sandy - Sky Time in Gray’s River by Robert Michael Pyle
Paperback $13.95
(See this week's "New In Paperback.")- Tiffany - Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne LaMott
Paperback $14.00
(See this week's "New In Paperback.")- Linda - Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul
Paperback $16.00 - Melody - Pretty Is What Changes: Impossible Choices, the Breast Cancer Gene, and How I Defied My Destiny by Jessica Queller
Hardcover $24.95
(Melody is reading an advanced copy from the publisher. The book is due out on 4/8.)
- Deborah - World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler
Hardcover $24.00
- Anna - March by Geraldine Brooks
Paperback $14.00
(I enjoyed People of the Book so much that I wanted to read Brooks' previous novel.)- Michael - Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide by Robert Pinsky
Hardcover $16.00
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