August 23, 2007
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | Editor's Note
| | | | | This week's newsletter is a bit of a departure, featuring ten books AND ten albums. As summer starts to wind down, we thought you might want to know about both brand new books and some favorites that have just been reissued in paperback. Plus, this is a busy week for new music. I also want you to know about a new newsletter feature. We've set up an email address you can use to write directly to me with your ideas, comments, suggestions, musings, etc. We'd love to hear from you. Grass Roots is very much about community, and there is nothing more valuable to us that hearing directly from our customers. The newsletter email address is: grassrootsnewsletter@gmail.com Best wishes, Anna | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
| Five Good Books
| | | | The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain
Lottery
The Careful Use of Compliments: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel
Strawberry Fields
Not Yet Drown'd
| | The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain Peter Sis (writer and illustrator)
Born out of a question posed to Sís by his children ("Are you a settler, Dad?"), the author pairs his art with journal entries, historical context and period photography to create a powerful account of his childhood in Cold War-era Prague. Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, he shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, but believed what he was told. Then, adolescence brought personal rebellion. In the book's final spreads, he depicts himself flying towards America as the Berlin Wall crumbles below. Hardcover, $18.00
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN-13: 9780374347017
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Patricia Wood
Lottery is a funny, poignant, novel about an underdog who shows everyone just how little his IQ says about his smarts. Perry's IQ is only 76, but his grandmother taught him everything he needs to know to survive. When she dies, Perry is left orphaned at the age of thirty-one. Then his weekly Washington State Lottery ticket wins him 12 million dollars, and he finds himself overrun with family members. Peopled with both wicked and heroic characters, Lottery is story about trust, loyalty, and what it means to be capable. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), ISBN-13: 9780399154492
| | | | | | The Careful Use of Compliments: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel Alexander McCall Smith
Best known for the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, Smith shows he's just as adept at exploring mysteries of the heart in his fourth book to feature Edinburgh philosopher-sleuth Isabel Dalhousie. Isabel has become a mother, but she has an ambiguous relationship with her son's father. Isabel must also deal with petty academic politics and the mysterious death of a Scottish painter. The plot reveals insights into Isabel's humanistic and optimistic philosophy as Smith displays his skill at illustrating subtle nuances of human nature. Hardcover, $21.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9780375423017
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Marina Lewycka
From the author of the international bestseller A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian comes a tender and hilarious novel about a crew of migrant workers from three continents who are forced to flee their English strawberry field for a journey across England in pursuit of their dreams of a better future. Along the way, the workers' fantasies about England keep bumping into the realities of life on the margins of the global labor market. Yet, their wanderings create a setting for an enchanting, merry, and moving journey. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9781594201370
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Peg Kingman
This luminous and accomplished romance is the author’s first novel. The protagonist is astonished to receive a mysterious package from her twin brother, who had reportedly drowned in India a year earlier. She is drawn to India to search for answers where, following an obscure trail, she eventually discovers unsuspected truths. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.; ISBN-13: 9780393065466
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| New in Paperback
| | | | The Echo Maker
This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women
The Island
The Right Attitude to Rain: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel
Truck: A Love Story
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Richard Powers
This novel, a finalist for the National Book Award, addresses the question of how we know who we really are. Set in small-town Nebraska, the story centers on the life of 27-year-old Mark Schluter, who is unable to recognize his sister after suffering a near-fatal accident. Desperate for clarity, his sister turns to world-renowned cognitive neurologist and writer. This novel isn't simply about Mark's damaged brain; it sheds light on the human mind and our struggle to make sense of the past and present. Paperback, $15.00
Publisher: Picador USA, Inc.; ISBN-13: 9780312426439
| | | | | | This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
In this thought-provoking book based on an NPR series, 80 essayists discuss their deepest personal beliefs. The list of contributors includes Colin Powell, Isabel Allende, Bill Gates, John Updike, William F. Buckley Jr., Gloria Steinem, and Penn Jillette; but it also includes relatively unknown people with everyday jobs. The result is a provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people. Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; ISBN-13: 9780805086584
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Victoria Hislop
Travel writer Hislop's debut novel opens with 25-year-old Alexis leaving Britain for Crete, her mother homeland, hoping to learn the secrets of her family's past. She learns that her great-grandmother contracted leprosy in 1939 and was sent to a leper colony. The family she left behind endured their own difficult times. The story follows the lives of four generations of women as it tells of dreams, secrets, and leprosy's touch on a family. Paperback, $14.95
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN-13: 9780061340321
| | | | | | The Right Attitude to Rain: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel Alexander McCall Smith
Philosophical issues are meat and drink to Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. This third novel in the series explores the rights and wrongs of everyday life, especially relationships. Isabel is also confronted with irresistible philosophical issues, particularly when to speak the truth and when to remain silent. Of course, she’s certain of the ethical basis for a little sleuthing now and again – especially when the problems involve matters of the heart. Paperback, $12.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9781400077113
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Michael Perry
Truck: A Love Story recounts a year in which Perry (author of Population: 485) struggles to grow his own food, live peaceably with his neighbors, and sort out his love life. But along the way, he sets his hair on fire, is attacked by wild turkeys, takes a date to the fire department chicken dinner, and proposes marriage to a woman in New Orleans. Hilarious and heartfelt, the tale begins on a pile of sheep manure, detours to the Whitney Museum of American Art, and ultimately becomes a testament to the unintended consequences of love. Paperback, $13.95
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN-13: 9780060571184
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David Dondero $13.95
Dondero has been called one of America's best living songwriters. His literate folk/country lyrics are refreshingly authentic, and he sings straight from the heart.
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Everybodyfields $11.95
Colorful male-female harmonies mark this up-and-coming alternate-country duo. Their memorable melodies, blend country and folk with a contemporary spirit.
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M.I.A. $9.95
Originally from Sri Lanka, MIA incorporates Indian, Trinidadian, and Jamaican genres, Liberian vibes, a British-Nigerian rapper, Australian aboriginal, Baltimore hip-hop, and more. Kala is already one of the best reviewed albums of the year.
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New Pornographers $14.95
New Pornographers is a Canadian cerebral power pop band featuring writers A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar and Neko Case. Compared to their first two releases, Challengers is slower and more thoughtful, almost folky in spots.
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Over the Rhine $16.95
Over the Rhine is a husband/wife duo. The album's music is steeped in kind of Americana that bred Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Randy Newman, Rickie Lee Jones, Maria Muldaur, and Tom Waits.
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Rilo Kiley $13.95
A departure from the group's previous folk/pop efforts, this new album is more groove-oriented and soulful. It's almost 70's sound recalls Heart and Stevie Nicks at times.
| Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter Josh Ritter $13.95
Over the period of five albums, Ritter has morphed from a straightforward folkie to a folk-rock musician. This music is more complex lyrically and musically, and Ritter is still one of the best singer-songwriters around.
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Tom Russell
This album focuses on other artists' interpretations of Russell's songs, including 14 tracks by such artists as Joe Ely, Iris Dement, Nanci Griffith, Eliza Gilkyson, and Ian Tyson. It also includes a few recent tunes by Russell himself.
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Luciana Souza $13.95
Known for her classical vocal technique, Brazilian diva Luciana Souza applies a jazzy sensibility to familiar pop songs. With each song, she recasts the melody into something ineffably Brazilian.
| Nights From the Alhambra - 2 CDs and a DVD Loreena McKennitt $26.95
Recorded live at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, Nights from the Alhambra includes concert performances of fan favorites as well as newer material. This three-disc package includes two nine-track CDs plus a DVD with performances of all 18 songs.
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