July 10, 2008
|  |  | phone: 541-754-7668 address: 227 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR
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| | An Important Note from Jack, Sandy, and the GR Staff
| | | | | Last Sunday (7/6), someone broke into our office and stole the funds yet to be deposited for sales from the 3rd and 5th. We have a clear security video of this person and are actively pursuing an investigation with the Corvallis Police Department. Based on the advice of the police, our credit card processor, and our insurance company, we immediately contacted all banks affected by this theft in order to minimize the window of opportunity for any illegal use of the credit card numbers. While we may have closed the door for compromising our customers' security, we recognize that this may have created a period of inconvenience or embarrassment if a bank placed a hold on your card prior to contacting you. Your privacy and security are our primary concern and this was our only option; we have no control over the banks' policies. Sandy and I want to offer our sincere apologies for any difficulty you may have encountered because of this crime. There is no way for us to retrieve the names or phone numbers associated with each card, so we were unable to contact each of you personally. While this is unfortunate and unsettling for all of us here, we would like to express our appreciation for all the kind words of support and encouragement we've received these past few days. Jack, Sandy and the staff of Grass Roots
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| Crazy Days This Weekend
| | | | | It's bargain-hunting time again in Downtown Corvallis. CRAZY DAYS Sidewalk Sale
July 11, 12, 13 Come wander from store to store, looking for just that things you've always wanted (or maybe never even thought of!), at close-out prices. As always, we'll be participating with some great treasures...fabulous cheap CDs, lots of cards, and an assortment of notions! | | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
| A Short Survey
| | | | | Now that we're in the heart of the summer season, we're wondering about your summer reading habits and plans. It will help us understand your reading needs for the rest of the season, and also help us prepare for next summer. So, we've created this short (5 questions) survey. If you have a minute, please let us know about your warm-weather reading. 
If clicking the image doesn't work, please copy this address into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6fiRJnBlER_2bXGIwY7vPxcw_3d_3d | | | ^ back to Table of Contents | |
| Five Good Books
| | | | Books: A Memoir
Why I Came West: A Memoir
The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars
The Man Who Forgot How to Read: A Memoir
Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
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Larry McMurtry
With charm and good humor, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove returns with a memoir of his lifelong passion for buying, selling, and collecting rare books. McMurtry begins with his Texas childhood in an isolated, "totally bookless" house. His life changed in 1942 when a cousin gave him a box of 19 adventure books, initiating a personal library that has grown to 28,000 volumes. "McMurtry is at his best when he uses his considerable skills as a writer to recreate moments from his personal past." – Publishers Weekly Hardcover, $24.00
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, ISBN-13: 9781416583349
| | | | | | Why I Came West: A Memoir Rick Bass
A native of Houston, Bass worked as a geologist in Mississippi before heading west to find his home and vocation as a writer. In the summer of 1987, he discovered the Yaak Valley in northwestern Montana. After moving to "the Yaak", he was drawn into the struggle to preserve the valley from logging and development. Eight of the 13 chapters in Why I Came West stand as a discrete essays centered on the theme that our relationship to the wilderness is essential to being human. Hardcover, $24.00
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN-13: 9780618596751
| | | | | | The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars Andrew X. Pham
The award-winning author of Catfish and Mandala has written a son’s searing memoir of his Vietnamese father’s experiences over the course of three wars. Once wealthy landowners, Thong Van Pham’s family was shattered by the tumultuous events of the twentieth century: the French occupation of Indochina, the Japanese invasion during World War II, and the Vietnam War. Told in chapters that alternate between events in the past and those closer to the present, The Eaves of Heaven re-creates the trials of everyday life in Vietnam as endured by one man. Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9780307381200
| | | | | | The Man Who Forgot How to Read: A Memoir Howard Engel
One morning, novelist Howard Engel opened the newspaper and discovered he couldn't read it. While he slept, Engel had experienced a stroke and now suffered from a rare condition called alexia sine agraphia; he could still write, but he could no longer read. Despite his disabilities, Engel learned to read again. He contacted renowned neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks for advice and visited him in New York City, forging a lasting friendship. And, in the face of tremendous obstacles, he triumphed in writing a new novel. This is an absorbing and uplifting story, filled with sly wit and candid insights. Hardcover, $19.95
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; ISBN-13: 9780312382094
| | | | | | Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel James Lee Burke
The Louisiana lawman is back again. In this 17th Dave Robicheaux novel (after Tin Roof Blowdown), Dave and his former partner, Clete Purcel, find trouble in western Montana — a double murder with possible mob connections. Lyrical passages describing the Montana landscape contrast with the intense way Burke depicts the violence of his characters. Hardcover, $25.95
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group; ISBN-13: 9781416548522
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| Music
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Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis $18.95
Genre: Jazz
Trailblazers in their respective genres, Wynton and Willie enjoy their common ground while spurring each other to hear old sounds in new ways on these Jazz/Blues standards. Backed by a great band in a live concert setting at Lincoln Center, they perform classic tunes such as "Stardust," "Basin Street Blues," and "Night Life." Hear samples of Two Men With The Blues at allmusic.com
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Donna the Buffalo $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Silverlined marks the roots band's twentieth year of blending folk, country, grass, and Louisiana music, led by the shared vocals of Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear. Special guests include Bela Fleck, Claire Lynch, David Hidalgo and Amy Helm.  Recommended if you like: Railroad Earth, Duhks Hear samples of Silverlined at allmusic.com
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Del McCoury $16.95
Genre: Pop/Folk
Bluegrass artist McCoury created Moneyland as a multi-artist collection that offers a hard-hitting look at economic injustice through original and traditional songs. He and his band are joined by a number of guests, including Emmylou Harris, Dan Tyminski, and Bruce Hornsby. Hear samples of Moneyland at allmusic.com
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Gaelic Storm $16.95
Genre: Irish/Celtic
This is the Celtic dance band's seventh album since their debut on the Titanic soundtrack. The album is full of colorful characters and outrageous stories, flavored with Gaelic Storm's signature acoustic sound that will get you up and dancing. Hear samples of What's the Rumpus at allmusic.com
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Great Big Sea $15.95
Genre: Irish/Celtic
Fortune's Favour sees Great Big Sea embracing new sounds and new ideas, pushing the boundaries of their own music. In their quest to marry the traditional music of Newfoundland with their own pop explorations, this album is a new benchmark. Most of the tunes are played on acoustic instruments, sung in close harmony. Hear samples of Fortune's Favour at allmusic.com
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| | Reading Group News
| | | | | Next meeting: Tuesday, August 5, 6:30-9:00 pm, in the cozy Grass Roots loft.
Book: The Brief Wondrous Live of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz No experience or membership necessary: first-timers always welcome! Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight Dominican ghetto nerd. Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fuku – the curse that has haunted Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and ill-fated love. Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of his family, displaying warmth, humor, and insight into the Dominican–American experience. "...a wondrous first novel that is so original it can only be described as Mario Vargas Llosa meets "Star Trek" meets David Foster Wallace meets Kanye West. – New York Times  Hardcover, $24.95
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), ISBN-13: 9781594489587
On sale for $21.21 (15% discount) until August 5.
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| | On Our Nightstands
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Jack: The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri David Bajo Hardcover, $25.95
Sandy:
Service Included: Four Star Secrets of an Evesdropping Waiter
Phoebe Damrosh
Hardcover, $24.95
Tiffany:
Dragon Flight
Jessica Day George
Hardcover, $16.99
Melody:
Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave
edited by Ellen Sussman
Paperback, $14.95
Anna:
Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid
J. Maarten Troost
Hardcover, $22.95
Linda:
Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape
Raja Shehadeh
Paperback, $15.00
Corrine:
Shakespeare: The Invention Of The Human
Harold Bloom
Paperback, $20.00
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