December 19, 2007
phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
Table of Contents
A Greeting for All Seasons
Special Event - Celebrate Paul Turner's New Book
Introducing This Week's Featured Books - A Coupon
Ten Good Books
Ten More Good Books
Still More...Good Books Galore
Contact Us
A Greeting for All Seasons
I first heard this Jewish folk tale many years ago. It dates back to the Middle Ages.

It's very popular and has been reprinted in many books, so maybe you've already read it. I thought I'd share it with you, since it so beautifully evokes the importance of a caring and thoughtful community.

A rabbi asked God about Heaven and Hell. “I will show you Hell,” said God, who took the rabbi to a room with a huge and delicious-smelling cauldron of soup. Surrounding the cauldron were people weak and famished. They held spoons long enough to reach the soup, but too long to get it into their mouths. “Now,” said God, “I will show you Heaven,” and the rabbi was brought to another, identical room where the people held identical spoons and were joyously feasting on soup. At first the rabbi did not understand. “It’s simple,” said God, “You see, they have learned to feed one another.”

On behalf of the entire Grass Roots staff, thank you for being a part of the Grass Roots community. As you nourish yourselves with the books and music you find here, know that you also sustain us with your energy, enthusiasm, and joy of learning.

Season's Greetings...
Anna

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Special Event - Celebrate Paul Turner's New Book
Paul Turner
Thursday, December 20, 7 pm
Grass Roots loft

Paul Turner will be reading from his new book, Prancing Lavender Bunnies and Other Stuff from the Darkside of Independent Cinema.

The book features irreverent stories about running an alternative, locally owned, independent movie theater; appreciations of fiercely loyal patrons; and rants about the peculiar business of dealing with movie studios.

Paul also writes about his earlier experiences running movie theaters, some of which are now gone forever, and his forays into the American West, as seen from the seat of his motorcycle. The twin passions of movies and motorcycles provide a never-ending supply of inspiration for Paul's creativity.



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Introducing This Week's Featured Books - A Coupon
This week, we're featuring a number of books that were released in 2007. You may recognize some from prior newsletters.

You'll also notice that there are many more books than we usually feature. As a thank-you to the 1100 people who subscribe to the Grass Roots Reader, we're offering a coupon for 20% off all the books in this issue.

If you don't want to print the coupon, you can write down the coupon code ("12-19-BOOKS") and tell the cashier.

If you find the size of this issue daunting, don't worry. We'll be resuming our regular format (5-10 new books plus music) as the holiday season winds down.

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Ten Good Books
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Animal Dialogues : Uncommon Encounters In The Wild
Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs
Christmas Around the World: A Pop-Up
Complete Book Of Aunts
Gonzo: The Life Of Hunter S. Thompson
Nature Girl
Monkey Portraits
Philosophy Made Simple
Free Food For Millionaires

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie, Ellen Forney (Illustrator), Ellen Forney (Illustrator)

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of a Native American boy who leaves his troubled school on the reservation to attend an all-white high school. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, the book, which is based on the author's own experiences, chronicles a boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers, ISBN-13: 9780316013680

Animal Dialogues : Uncommon Encounters In The Wild

Craig Childs

In these eloquent essays, naturalist and adventurer Childs (House of Rain) describes some of his extraordinary experiences with creatures — from wasps, red-spotted toads and hummingbirds to grizzly bears, coyotes and jaguars. Each of the forty short essays focuses on the author's own encounter with a particular species, and is filled with astonishing facts about the species' behavior, habitat, breeding, and lifespan.

Hardcover, $24.99
Publisher: Little Brown and Company, ISBN-13: 9780316066327

Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs

Ansel Adams, Andrea G. Stillman (Editor)

In a career that spanned six decades, Ansel Adams produced a body of work that is a powerful tribute to the American wilderness. This book is the largest compilation of Adams' photography ever published. Organized chronologically, it presents the full range of his finest work. Included are Adams' most popular images — many of them icons of twentieth-century art — as well as a number of little-known photographs.

Hardcover, $40.00
Publisher: Little Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316117722


Christmas Around the World: A Pop-Up

Chuck Fischer

A Christmas market in a snowy German village, an intimate French street lined with holiday lights, the creche in St. Peter's Square in Rome — all of this and more comes to life in Christmas Around the Worl. With pop-ups, pullouts, and booklets about celebrations in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Latin America, Russia, Scandinavia, and the United States, this interactive book is an wonderful gift for anyone who loves the rich traditions of Christmas.

Hardcover, $30.00
Publisher: Little Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316117951

Complete Book Of Aunts

Rupert Christiansen, Beth Brophy, Stephanie Von Reiswitz (Illustrator)

The premise here is that, of all our blood relations, aunts offer the most potential for uncomplicated friendship. The Complete Book of Aunts is an entertaining exploration of aunts in all their varieties, culled from real-life, literary and historical sources. Bewitching illustrations and anecdotes illuminate the various aunt types: Bargain Aunts, Mothering Aunts, Damned Bad Aunts, and X-Rated Aunts.

Hardcover, $19.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN-13: 9780446580748


Gonzo: The Life Of Hunter S. Thompson

Jann S. Wenner, Corey Seymour, Johnny Depp (Introduction)

Few American lives are stranger, more action-packed, or wilder than that of Hunter S. Thompson. The authors interviewed those who knew him to create a brilliant oral biography. Hell's Angels leader Sonny Barger, Ralph Steadman, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Buffett, Pat Buchanan, Marilyn Manson, Thompson's two wives, son, and dozens of other members of Thompson's inner circle bring into vivid focus the life of a man who was even more complicated, tormented, and talented than any previous portrait has shown.

Hardcover, $28.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316005272


Nature Girl

Carl Hiaasen

From "the funniest important writer in America" (Miami Herald) comes a tale that is gleefully zany and incisively sharp and now available in trade paperback for the first time. The plot features a headstrong "queen of lost causes," an obnoxious telemarketer and his spouse, a particularly persistent sexual harasser, a former drug runner ex-husband pursuer and a failed alligator wrestler. Together, they produce an uproariously funny whodunit.

Paperback, $13.99
Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA; ISBN-13: 9780446581752


Monkey Portraits

Jill Greenberg, Paul Myoda (Afterword), Paul Weitz (Foreword)

Jill Greenberg has spent 15 years photographing celebrities for leading publications, but has recently focused on actors of a different sort. She has been photographing monkeys and apes, many of whom have appeared on film or in television shows. Her intimate portraits of these animals convey a startling range of emotions and personalities, and evoke an almost eerie sense of recognition.

Paperback, $17.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316005128


Philosophy Made Simple

Robert Hellenga

This novel is a poignant and charming fable detailing a widower's adventures as he plans his daughter's Indian wedding while adjusting to single life. He's also been reading the college-level text Philosophy Made Simple by Siva Singh, an uncle of his engaged daughter. Hellenga juxtaposes the history of philosophy, from Plato to Kant, with the man's search for meaning.

Paperback, $13.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316013345


Free Food For Millionaires

Min Jin Lee

In her accomplished and engrossing first novel, Min Jin Lee tells the story of an angry young Korean-American woman, raised by status-conscious immigrant parents in Queens, who falls out with them after she graduates from Princeton. The story offers up a fresh exploration of the complex layers we inhabit both in society and within ourselves.

Hardcover, $24.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN-13: 9780446581080

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Ten More Good Books
Mysterious Benedict Society
Toot & Puddle
Name Of This Book Is Secret
Eclipse
Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition
North River: A Novel
Hug Time
Poets Corner: The One And Only Poetry Book For The Whole Family
Atherton: The House of Power
Look-Alikes Around the World

Mysterious Benedict Society

Trenton Lee Stewart, Carson Ellis (Illustrator)

Grades 5 – 9
After Reynie Muldoon responds to an advertisement recruiting "gifted children looking for special opportunities," he joins the Mysterious Benedict Society. After being trained by Mr. Benedict, the members travel to an isolated school where children are being trained by a criminal mastermind to participate in his schemes to take over the world. Stewart's unusual characters, threatening villains, and dramatic plot twists hold readers' attention.

Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316057776


Toot & Puddle

Holly Hobbie

Ages 4-8
The activities of a homebody and an enthusiastic world traveler are contrasted in illustrations brimming with humor. Two anthropomorphic pigs live in the country setting of Woodcock Pocket. One day Toot takes off to see the world, while Puddle decides to stay home. This is the story of their wonderful adventures both far away and right at home, and about being yourself and being a good friend.

Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316167024


Name Of This Book Is Secret

Pseudonymous Bosch, Gilbert Ford (Illustrator), Gilbert Ford (Illustrator)

Ages 8-12
Blending offbeat humor and insight into the preadolescent psyche, the debut novel from a pseudonymous author is equal parts supernatural whodunit and evocative coming-of-age tale. When an unlikely pair of 11-year-old outsiders team up to solve a mystery surrounding the alleged death of an old magician, they unwittingly cross paths with two villains who are obsessed with finding the magician's notebook. The book is loaded with brainteasers — anagrams, coded messages, and palindromes.

Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316113663

Eclipse

Stephenie Meyer

Young Adult
This is the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. It's the countdown to graduation and immortality for Bella, since the events of New Moon (2006) have convinced boyfriend Edward to let her join him in vampirism. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger.

Paperback, $18.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316160209


Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition

The Onion

Every week, three million readers turn to the world's most popular news organization for a much-needed dose of Onion news and entertainment coverage. Our Dumb World features incorrect statistics on all of the Earth's 168, 182, or 196 independent nations. It also features maps, including a fold-out world map at actual size. Readers will learn about every country from Afghanistan, "Allah's Cat Box," to the Ukraine, "The Bridebasket of Europe."

Hardcover, $27.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316018425


North River: A Novel

Pete Hamill

It is 1934, and New York City is in the grip of the Great Depression. With enormous compassion, Dr. James Delaney tends to his hurt, sick, and poor neighbors, who include gangsters, day laborers, prostitutes, and housewives. If they can't pay, he treats them anyway. Recreating 1930s New York with the vibrancy and rich detail that are his trademarks, Pete Hamill weaves a story of honor, family, and one man's simple courage.

Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316340588


Hug Time

Patrick McDonnell

Ages 3-6
The story centers on a little kitten, Jules, who wants to give the whole world a hug. This story text itself is simple, written in rhyming couplets. As Jules learns, a hug is the simplest — but kindest — gift we can give. And you can start giving right here, right now with the one who's closest to you. This is a story about sharing love, coupled with a gently environmental theme.

Hardcover, $14.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316114943

Poets Corner: The One And Only Poetry Book For The Whole Family

John Lithgow

The wide variety of carefully selected poems in this book provides a mix to appeal to both readers new to poetry, and to poetry lovers. William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Dylan Thomas are just a few names among Lithgow's comprehensive list of poetry masters. His essential criterion is that "each poem's light shines more brightly when read aloud."

Hardcover, $24.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN-13: 9780446580021

Atherton: The House of Power

Patrick Carman

Ages 8-12
The world of Atherton consists of three distinct, interconnected lands stacked atop each other. When the three worlds inexplicably begin to collapse into each other, it may well be young, insatiably curious boy who holds the key to Atherton's survival. Davis portrays a wide range of characters here, and his intimate delivery proves perfect for pulling the listener into the heart of this complex fantasy.

Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316166706

Look-Alikes Around the World

Joan Steiner, Ogden Gigli (Photographer), Ogden Gigli (Photographer)

Using everyday objects in ingenious ways, artist Joan Steiner has created three-dimensional scenes of more than 40 famous landmarks and familiar vacation locales — from the shores of Cape Cod to the Egyptian pyramids and the majestic Taj Mahal. Complete with photographs of the actual sites, fascinating facts, and more than 500 look-alikes, this unique postcard album will challenge and captivate puzzlers of all ages.

Hardcover, $15.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316811729

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Still More...Good Books Galore
Rolling Stone Interviews
Joe Levy (Editor), Jann S. Wenner (Introduction)

Jann Wenner is the founder, owner and editor of Rolling Stone magazine. Compiled from the pages of Rolling Stone, the book includes interviews with Pete Townshend, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Truman Capote, Johnny Carson, George Lucas, Phil Spector, Joni Mitchell, and Oriana Fallaci.

Paperback, $17.99
Publisher: Back Bay Books; ISBN-13: 9780316005265

The Terror
Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons's novel dives headlong into the frozen waters of the Franklin mystery, mixing historical adventure with gothic horror. Meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined, The Terror won't satisfy historians or even Franklin buffs, but as a literary hybrid, the novel presents a dramatic and mythic argument for how and why Franklin and his men met their demise.

Paperback, $14.99
Publisher: Back Bay Books; ISBN-13: 9780316017459

Zigzag: The Incredible Wartime Exploits of Double Agent Eddie Chapman
Nicholas Booth

This tale of World War II espionage is a one-man spy-versus-spy thriller about double-agent Eddie Chapman, who worked for both Britain and the Nazis. Booth offers a wonderful spy story based chiefly on Chapman's memoirs, his widow's recollections and, best of all, on files recently freed under Britain's Official Secrets Act.

Hardcover, $26.99
Publisher: Arcade Publishing; ISBN-13: 9781559708609

Girls
Lori Lansens

In this novel, Rose and Ruby Darlen are conjoined twin sisters who've spent their twenty-nine years on earth joined at the head. Despite their extreme medical condition, the sisters express emotional truths that every reader will identify with: on losing a loved one, the hard lessons of compromise, the first stirrings of sexual desire, the pain of abandonment, and the transcendent power of love. Lansens’s beautiful writing is so detailed that it is often easy to forget that the material is not based on a true story.

Paperback, $13.99
Publisher: Back Bay Books; ISBN-13: 9780316066341

The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold

When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of Alice Sebold, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.

Paperback, $16.99
Publisher: Back Bay Books; ISBN-13: 9780316001823

Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
Malcolm Gladwell

In this best-seller, Gladell (The Tipping Point) weighs the factors that determine good decision-making. Drawing on recent cognitive research, Gladwell concludes that those who quickly filter out extraneous information generally make better decisions than those who discount their first impressions. He cites the implications for such areas as emergency situations and marketing, plus some notable exceptions.

Paperback, $15.99
Publisher: Back Bay Books; ISBN-13: 9780316010665

Her Way: The Hopes And Ambitions Of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Jeff Gerth, Don Van Natta

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta bring us the first comprehensive portrait of the most fascinating and controversial woman in American politics. Drawing upon documents and sources that no other reporters have ever accessed, Gerth and Van Natta will forever change the way you think about Hillary.

Hardcover, $29.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316017428

Body Surfing : A Novel
Anita Shreve

Deceptive love and stark betrayal form the icy core of this dark 12th novel from Oprah-anointed (The Pilot's Wife) Shreve. Set adrift at 29 by the sudden death of her husband, Sydney signs on for a quiet New England oceanfront summer of tutoring the daughter of well-to-do couple at their oceanfront New Hampshire cottage. But when the couple's two grown sons arrive at the beach house, Sydney finds herself caught up in a destructive web of old tensions and bitter divisions.

Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316059855

Then We Came To The End: A Novel
Joshua Ferris

Every office is a family of sorts, and the ad agency Joshua Ferris brilliantly depicts in his debut novel is family at its strangest and best, coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks. With a demon's eye for the details that make life worth noticing, Joshua Ferris tells a true and funny story about survival in life's strangest environment — the one we pretend is normal five days a week.

Hardcover, $23.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316016384

A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place
Eric Abrahamson, David H. Freedman

Enthusiastically embraced by readers everywhere, this groundbreaking book is an antidote to the accepted wisdom that tight schedules, neatness, and consistency are the keys to success. With an astounding array of anecdotes and case studies of the useful role mess can play, coauthors Abrahamson and Freedman demonstrate that moderately messy systems use resources more efficiently, yield better solutions, and are harder to break than neat ones.

Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316114752

Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture
Taylor Clark

Starbucked is the first book to explore the incredible rise of the Starbucks Corporation and the caffeine-crazy culture that fueled its success. Part Fast Food Nation, part Bobos in Paradise, the book combines investigative heft with witty cultural observation to tell the story of how the coffeehouse movement changed our everyday lives.

Hardcover, $25.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316013482

One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life: A Story of Race and Family Secrets
Bliss Broyard

Two months before he died of cancer, renowned literary critic Anatole Broyard called his grown son and daughter to his side, intending to reveal a secret he'd kept all their lives and most of his own: he was black. In her remarkable memoir, Bliss Broyard examines her father's choices and the impact of this revelation on her own life. Seeking out unknown relatives in New York, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, she uncovers the 250-year history of her family in America.

Hardcover, $24.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316163507

Stone Cold
David Baldacci

The modern-day paladins are back in Baldacci's third novel in "The Camel Club" series. Here, they use their special talents to help a scam artist in distress. Eventually, it all has to do with the evil scheming of the former head of the CIA and a Southern senator who believes he would make a dandy president.

Hardcover, $26.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN-13: 9780446577397

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10
Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson

Four US Navy SEALS departed one night in 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to have a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of the men made it out alive. This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history.

Hardcover, $24.99
Publisher: Little Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316067591

Snog: A Puppies Guide to Love
Rachael Hale (Photographer)

Snog features sixty original and captivating images of puppies by the world's most popular animal photographer. Hale uses her lens, her love of dogs, and a great deal of patience to create an enchanting perspective on how puppies see the world. Whether napping or nibbling at each other's ears, these adorable pooches show a deep, easily shared affection for one another.

Hardcover, $19.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316002950

One Good Turn
Kate Atkinson

Case Histories was a dazzling thriller that introduced the engaging detective Jackson Brodie. Now, Atkinson returns her protaganist to active duty in this stunning sequel that opens rather spectacularly with a shocking incident of road rage on an Edinburgh street. Witnessed by Brodie and a motley crew of bystanders, this episode triggers a chain of bizarre events linking everyone — victim, attacker, and specators — in startling, unexpected ways.

Paperback, $13.99
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company; ISBN-13: 9780316012829

Cage Of Stars
Jacquelyn Mitchard

A young girl's life in a close-knit Mormon community is shattered when her two younger sisters are brutally murdered. Although her parents find the strength to forgive the deranged killer, Veronica is unable to do the same. Years later, she sets out alone to avenge her sisters' deaths, dropping her identity and severing ties in the process. As she closes in on the murderer, Veronica discovers the true meaning of sin and compassion.

Paperback, $13.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; ISBN-13: 9780446696722

Toot & Puddle: Let It Snow
Holly Hobbie

Ages 5 - 6. With Christmas fast approaching and no snow in sight, Toot and Puddle are more jumpy than jolly, each trying to find the perfect present for the other as they wish for white weather. With a nod to previous books in the Toot & Puddle series, Holly Hobbie, shows readers that the best kind of present for the best kind of friend is one that shows just how much you care.

Hardcover, $16.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316166867

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
Herge

Join traveling reporter Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy as they embark on extraordinary adventures spanning historical and political events. Hergé, one of the most famous Belgians in the world, was a comics writer and artist. The internationally successful Adventures of Tintin are his most well-known and beloved works. They have been translated into 38 different languages.

Paperback, $10.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-13: 9780316003742

Happiness: A Guide To Developing Life's Most Important Skill
Matthieu Ricard, Jesse Browner (Translator)

For millennia, philosophers, writers and artists have sought the key to human happiness. A Buddhist monk and former cell biologist, Ricard offers his own musings about the nature of happiness and tips on how to attain it. He addresses the pursuit of a meaningful life at its most fundamental level — the strengthening of the inner conditions that lead to genuine happiness.

Paperback, $14.99
Publisher: Little Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316167253

This Year You Write Your Novel
Walter Mosley

Bestselling novelist Mosley claims that anyone can write a novel. In this essential book of tips, practical advice, and wisdom, he promises that the writer-in-waiting can finish it in one year. Intended as both inspiration and instruction, the book provides the tools to turn out a first draft painlessly and then revise it into something finer. He covers creating a writing regimen, finding a narrative voice, and story development.

Hardcover, $19.99
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; ISBN-13: 9780316065412

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