April 24, 2008
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | Pauling Peace Lecture - April 30
| | | | | Rami KhouriBreaking the Mideast Cycle of War and Terror: An Arab View of a Better Path to Justice and PeaceWednesday, April 30; OSU’s Milam Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. Admission: free Rami G. Khouri, a prominent journalist and scholar whose focus is on Middle East politics and conflict, will deliver the 2008 Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture for World Peace. His talk will focus on the prospects and obstacles for peace in the Middle East. Khouri is the director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, which is published throughout the Middle East. He spent seven years as editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times newspaper, and frequently comments on Middle East issues for National Public Radio, CNN and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
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| Five Good Books
| | | | So Brave, Young, and Handsome
Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet
Divisadero
American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
| | So Brave, Young, and Handsome Leif Enge
Following his best-selling novel Peace Like a River, Enger’s new work is a touching and rugged story about an aging train robber on a quest to reconcile past mistakes. He persuades a failed novelist to accompany him on a long journey, which becomes a adventure peopled with sharply carved characters and great surprises. This is a particularly American tale, with many elements from both penny Westerns and Mark Twain. Hardcover, $24.00
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc., ISBN-13: 9780871139856
| | | | | | Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet J.B. MacKinnon and Alisa Smith
Plenty is the amusing and inspiring story of a Canadian couple who make a year-long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment. It meant a year without sugar, Cheerios, olive oil, rice, Pizza Pops, beer, and much more. But their experiment turned into a life lesson as they met revolutionary farmers and modern-day hunter-gatherers, and got personally involved with issues ranging from global economics to biodiversity. Paperback, $13.95
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, ISBN-13: 9780307347336
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Michael Ondaatje
From the author of The English Patient and In the Skin of a Lion comes a new novel that ranges across continents, time, and intersecting lives. In the 1970s, a family works their California farm until their lives are transformed by an incident of violence. The novel moves to San Francisco, Nevada casinos, and eventually to the landscape of south-central France. As the narrative moves back and forth in time, we discover how each of the characters manages to find a foothold in a present. "What an unusual, and unusually rich, experience it is to read Divisadero." – Washington Post Paperback, $13.95
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9780307279323
| | | | | | American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau edited by Bill McKibben, Al Gore (forward)
Arranged chronologically, McKibbin's selection of more than 100 writers includes some of the great early conservationists, such as Henry David Thoreau, John Muir and John Burroughs, and many other eloquent nature writers, including Donald Cultross Peattie, Edwin Way Teale and Henry Beston. Visionaries like Buckminster Fuller and Amory Lovins are represented, as are many contemporary activist/writers, such as Barry Lopez, Terry Tempest Williams, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan, Paul Hawken, and Calvin deWitt. "The book can be read as a survey of the literature of American environmentalism, but above all, it should be enjoyed for the sheer beauty of the writing.” - Publisher’s Weekly Hardcover, $40.00
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA); ISBN-13: 9781598530209
| | | | | | The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mohsin Hamid
From the author of the award-winning Moth Smoke comes a psychological thriller spanning continents and cultures. The story is set in a tearoom in Lahore, Pakistan, yet it encompasses the privileged confines of Princeton University, the Greek island of Santorini, a sanitarium in the Hudson Valley, the galleries of Manhattan, and the highest echelons of American finance. "Extreme times call for extreme extreme writing. Hamid has done something extraordinary with this novel, and for those who want a different voice, a different view of the aftermath of 9/11." - Washington Post Paperback, $14.00
Publisher: Harcourt; ISBN-13: 9780156034029
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| For Young Readers
| | | | | AlphabetMatthew Van FleetAges: Infants and preschool In this interactive book, over 100 creatures and plants hilariously demonstrate action words, synonyms, opposites, and more. Twenty-three textures plus foils, flaps, pull tabs, and even a scratch-and-sniff scent add to the surprises on every page. The book is captioned with quirky rhyme, and there's a pop-up alphabet poster in a rear pocket. Hardcover, $19.99
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9781416955658
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| Music
| | |      | | | | A Long, Lovely List of Repairs Amelia $11.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Amelia is a Portland quartet featuring singer-drummer Teisha Helgerson and multiple instrumentalists Scott Weddle, Jesse Emerson, and Mark Orton. With a breathy, mid-range vocalist and three multiple instrumentalists, Amelia displays a great deal of versatility. The group's fourth album is beautifully produced, with strong songwriting that showcases a range of moods and styles — pop, jazz, and folk.  Recommended if you like: Pink Martini, Norah JonesHear samples at allmusic.com
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Michael Doucet $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Celebrated for his contributions to the Louisiana band Beausoleil, fiddler and vocalist Doucet steps out on his own for this album of solo and near-solo tunes (Mitchell Reed joins him on some tracks). Along with the fiddle, Doucet plays guitar and accordion. The results are remarkably diverse, including a bit of gospel, blues, and a song called, "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky." Hear samples at allmusic.com
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The Weepies $17.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
The Weepies' (Steve Tannen and Deb Talan) sound is melodic folk-pop, with harmonious vocals and gently picked guitars. This third album (after the success of Say I Am You) is lush and polished, with hummable melodies and memorable harmonies. Incidentally, Deb Talan, has played in Corvallis a number of times, including the GR loft. Recommended if you like: Rilo Kiley, Rosie ThomasHear samples at allmusic.com
| State of Nature, Stanley Jordan Stanley Jordan $17.95
Genre: Jazz
This is the first studio offering by the trailblazing jazz guitarist in over ten years. True to its name, State Of Nature is an instrumental reflection on the beauty and importance of the natural world. Musically, Jordan's trademark "tap technique" is applied to songs that swing, meditative ballads, and even a bit of Mozart. Hear samples at allmusic.com
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Peppino D’Agostino $14.95
Genre: Ethnic/World
A self-taught Italian guitarist (nowliving in California), d'Agostino played to a very appreciative Corvallis audience (in a show sponsored by GR! ) several years ago. He was named Best Acoustic Guitarist in last year's Acoustic Guitar magazine poll. Made in Italy has a number of vocal tracks, and he has focused on traditional songs from Italy, including tunes from his childhood.
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| Special Events
| | | | | On the Road with the LBCC Poetry Club: What's Pop About Poetry?Tuesday April 29, 3:00pm, Grass Roots LBCC poets perform in a range of performance styles, from spoken word to rap to slam. Join us for a poetry performance as we make connections to American Pop Culture and to each other.
Larry Weinstein, Grammar for the Soul: Using Language for Personal Change
Saturday May 17, 3:00pm
Weinstein shows that simple grammar such as syntax and punctuation can be tools for change and growth, just as yoga and the martial arts are used for self-improvement. He compares the realm of grammar to a kind of psycho-social gymnasium, where — instead of weights, a treadmill, mats, and a balance beam — one finds active verbs, passive verbs, periods, apostrophes, dashes, and a thousand other pieces of linguistic equipment. He suggests that we change who we are when we change our verbal conduct.
Jo Dereske, author of the Miss Zukas mysteries
Friday May 23, 3:00pm, Grass Roots loft Jo Dereske is the author of seventeen published books: two mystery series and three books for young people. The New York Times called the Miss Zukas series, "a loving sendup of the stereotype of the prim and proper librarian." Jo lives in the foothills of Mount Baker near Bellingham, Washington. For more information, visit her web site.
Molly Gloss, The Hearts of Horses
Wednesday June 4, Corvallis Arts Center, details TBD
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| Reading Group News
| | | | | Next meeting: Tuesday May 6, 6:30-8:00 pm, in the Grass Roots loft.
Book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak No experience or membership necessary: first-timers always welcome!
Markus Zusak’s novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich during World War II. Liesel scratches out a meager existence by stealing until she encounters something she can’t resist – books. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.  Paperback, $11.99
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
ISBN-13: 9780375842207
On sale for $10.19 until May 6.
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| On Our Nightstands
| | | | |  Here's what we've been reading this week.
Jack:
The Ginseng Hunter
Jeff Tallarigo
Hardcover, $21.95
Sandy:
Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again
Roger Housden
Hardcover, $16.95
Tiffany:
August
Gerard Woodward
Advanced reading copy; to be released in August (appropriately!)
Melody:
The Year of Disappearances
Susan Hubbard
Hardcover, $25.00 (Advanced reading copy, to be released in May
Deborah:
Knockemstiff
Donald Ray Pollock
Hardcover, $22.95
Anna:
Dreamweaver CS3 (The Missing Manual Series)
David Sawyer McFarland
Paperback, $44.99
Linda:
Thirst: Poems
Mary Oliver
Paperback, $14.00
Corinne:
Runemarks
Joanne Harris
Hardcover, $18.99
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